US2148010A - Animated toy - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 21, 1939. c. E. BOWERS 2,143,010

, ANIMATED TOY Filed Oct. 9, 1957 2 sheets-sheet 1 C. E. BOWERS Feb. 21, 1939.

ANIMATED TOY Filed Oct. 9, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheej. 2

Patented Feb. 21,1939 V I T 2,148,010

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ma fc ror Cecilia E. Bowers, Arlington, Application October 9, 1937, SerialNo. 168,284 1 24 Claims. (01.46-118) This invention relates to animated dolls of the the invention, with the understanding that sounding type, and more particularly to infant changes in the asse y, nfl'sur tiom m asdolls incorporating a motor associated with the sociation of the parts, and in the details of the limbs thereof and with a sounding mechanism construction thereof such as fall within the scope ,5 for operating the same. of the appended claims, may be made without The primary object of the invention consists departing from the spirit of the invention. in the provision of a doll simulating in many In said drawings:

respects a live infant in that it cries, kicks and t Figure l is a perspective view of a toy, incorwaves its arms when placed on its back b t beporating the features of the present invention, comes quiet and still when picked up and held shown in operative Position; l0 exactly in the manner of a spoiled or distressed Figure 2 is a r nt e evation of the motor mechbaby, anism, a portion of the body of the toy being re- An important object of the invention consists moved tc' e s e t ew; in the provision of a novel motor mechanism for gu 3 s a r ts e lev ion 0f t e motor 1.; operating the limbs and sounding d vic of an mechanism with certain portions of the doll brokl5 animated doll. en away to permit showing of interior parts;

Another object consists in the provision of an Figure 4 is a w ar t Figure 3 b t showinfant doll which cries when placed on its back s the left Side Of motor mechanism with but ceases instantly on being lifted to substan- Pa thereof broken w y for h w in eri r tially a vertical position. mechanism; 20 More particularly, it is an object of the inven- Figure 5 is a Ve cal section On line 5-5 of tion to provide a motor'enclosed within the body Figure 2 oking in the direction of the arrows; of a doll and having mechanical association with and the limbs of the same for oscillating all of these Figure 6 s a Vertical sec 9 a e a independently, together with means permitting a e t ou t e arm d Winding shafb- 5 the spring of the motor to be wound by rotating The present invention, pp p y p one of the limbs. rated in the doll, representative of an infant, is

An important feature of the invention resides intended to provide mechanism whereby such a in the arrangement of a sounding apparatus for y is iven the actions and soundslof a human to operation from or in unison with one of theflimbs infant, and is made to perform in a manner quite Q of the toy. like that of the normal infant. The invention Another important feature consists in the arincorporates a suitable spring motor with the rangement of the motor mechanism for driving doll, whereby when the toy is placed on its back, one set of limbs at a different rate of speed than after winding the spring, the infant is caused to the othersin order to simulate the action of the kick its legs alternately, and at the same time 35 imitated child. wave its arms at a slower rate of speed, and to A further important feature of the invention periodically emit cries, which closely simulate consists in the provision of stop mechanism for those of a human infant. The mechanism is so the motor which is position-controlled, i. e., the arranged that the spring motor is prevented from 40 motor is permitted to operate only when the operating except when the doll placed on its 40 figure is in certain predetermined positions, and back, and in order that the configuration of the is stopped when the figure is placed in any other a doll be uninterrupted by winding keys or the like, position. v an arrangement is made whereby manual move- Another important feature of the invention ment of one of the limbs serves to wind the spring, consists in the arrangement of the motor mechbut does not interfere with the subsequent oscil- 45 anism securely attached to one portion of the lation of the limb by the motor when the doll is body of the toy and provided with support means placed in the proper position, i. e., supine.

for all of the limbs thereof, each of which is in- Referring now to the drawings, there is shown dependently journalled thereto and adapted to at Hi the body of an infant doll appropriately be driven separately by the motor. molded of suitable material, such as papier- 50 Other and further features and objects of the mach or the like. This. body may be in two invention will be more apparent to those skilled in portions for convenience of access to the spring the art upon a consideration of the accompanymotor mechanism, and is, shown as having a ing drawings and following specification, wherein removable front section I I. The doll is provided 56 is disclosed a single exemplary embodiment of with ahead l2. the neck of which bears on a projection, formed by the front and back portions of the body, under the action of coil spring l3 appropriately connected within the head and within the body so that the head can be moved as desired. The head may be provided with the conventional eye mechanism weighted to close the eyes when the doll isplaced in a horizontal position.

The doll is provided with arms I5 and I6, of any desired configuration, and withlegs i1 and I8 appropriately bent at the knees, and if de sired slightly bowed, as in small infants.

The motor mechanism is generally represented by the reference character 20 and comprises side plates or frame members 2| and 22 connected together on their underside by spacers 23 and 24 which are securely fastened to the back of the body in any desired manner to hold the motor rigid therein. Front spacers 25 and 26 complete the frame and provide a rigid structure for carrying all of the moving parts. The two side frame plates are spanned by stirrups 21, 28 to which the front removable portion of the body may be attached by screws as. shown.

The main or spring shaft 30 of the motor is journalled at its ends in the side plates and sup- 5 ports the usual clock spring housed in the barrel 3|. The inner end of the spring is attached to the shaft and the outer end to the barrel which carries the main gear 32 secured to the inner face thereof. This main gear meshes with a pinion 33 on the shaft 34 parallel to the spring shaft and likewise carried by the two frame members. This second shaft 34 has attached thereto the large worm wheel 35 which meshes with the quick thread worm 36 best shown in Figures 2 and 4. This worm is mounted on the shaft 31 journalled in a yoke 38 attached to an intermediate plate 39 forming a part of the framework of the motor. This shaft runs through a cup 40 carried from the yoke 38 and extends upward to support at its far end the disc or wheel 4| which serves to attach the leaf spring 42 to the upper end of the shaft. The lower end of this spring supports a semi-circular weight 42' which under the action of centrifugal force is thrown into engagement with the inner wall of the cup and acts as a speed limiting governor for the motor. This governor is quite sensitive because of the high speed to which the quick thread worm is driven by the large worm wheel which is in turn driven by the small pinion from the large gear on the spring.

- The high speed shaft 31 is made use of in controlling the stopping and starting of the motor in accordance with the position of the doll and for this purpose a cam 44, best shown in Figure 5, is caused to be engaged with the surface of the disc 4| under the action of a pendulum weight 45 journalled on shaft 45 which also carries the cam. This pendulum is so positioned that when the doll is placed supine the cam is released from the disc and the motor permitted to operate. When the doll is lifted, the weight of the pendulum engages the cam with the disc and holds the motor inoperative. Suitable stops limit the movementof the pendulum as clearly seen in Figure 4.

The shaft 34 carries a pair of eccentricsor cams 48 and 49 adjacent each other and between the gear 33 and the intermediate frame member 39. These are conveniently circular in form and eccentrically mounted with their centers displaced 180. The cam 43 is arranged to cooperate with the fingers 50 of a lever 5|, while cam 49 is arranged to cooperate with the fingers 52 of a lever53. The opposite ends of these levers are loosely journalled on a shaft 55 carried by an offset portion 58 of the intermediate frame member 39 and an arm 51 supported from the spacer 26. This shaft is parallel to the spring shaft and has loosely journalled on ltn ends the hubs 58 and 59 to each of which is attached one of the legs l1, l8 of the doll. Suitable means 50 is used to prevent longitudinal movement of the hubs on the shaft while permitting oscillation thereof. Hub 58 is attached to cam fork or lever 5| and hub 59 to the lever 53 so that as the levers and their forks follow the rotating cams the legs of the doll are given an oscillating movement inde-- pendent of each other to imitate the kicking of .an infant when lying on its back. The forks on the cam levers fit the cams loosely so that the legs are permitted of some movement manually when the motor is not running. Under certain conditions, when the cams are as remote as possible from the lever axes, this movement may be quite pronounced.

It will be noted that the legs are operated by the rapidly driven shaft 34. The arms are also intended to be given a movement each one oscillating independent of the other and since the normal infant kicks its legs much more rapidly than it moves its arms, arrangement is made to drive the arms from the more slowly rotating spring shaft 30. As previously mentioned, the spring shaft 30 is rotated only for winding the spring. It remains stationary when the spring is unwinding during which time the barrel 3| and its gear 32 are driven. These drive a sleeve 60' journalled on the shaft 30. This sleeve carries the pair of eccentrics or cams BI and 62 which like the leg operating eccentrics are preferably circular discs mounted off-center and with 180 spacing. Each of these cooperates respectively with a follower 63, 64 supported on levers B5, 66 which are in turn attached to the two parts of what may be referred to as the arm or winding shaft 68 of the doll best shown on a large scale in Figure 6. Here the arm. I5 is shown as having its hub 10 pinned to the left hand portion H of the winding shaft while the arm I6 is shown having its hub 12 pinned to the right hand portion 13 of the winding shaft. The two portions are in alignment and journalled in the frame members 2| and 22 of the motor. The

7 arm 66 is secured to the inner end of the portion 7 II and the spacer sleeve 15 extends between it and the inner face of the frame 2| while a collar 71 against the outer face of this frame member prevents longitudinal movement of the shaft section II. The portion 13 of the winding shaft passes through and is journalled in the frame member 22. Abutting against the inner face of frame member 22 and rotatably mounted on the shaft portion 13 is a gear 18 having a hub 19, the left hand face of which is substantially flat except for the projection 80 of less than 90 extent having the square edges 8|. A corresponding collar 82 having the similar projection 83 is attached to the shaft section 13 by the pin as shown and the projecting portions 80 and 83 cooperate to permit approximately 90 relative movement between the shaft and the hub of the gear for a purpose to be hereinafter described. The end of the shaft portion 13 has attached thereto a collar or the like 85 the hollow end of which forms a pilot bearing for the shaft section II. The lever 55 of the cam fork 54 is loosely journalled on the shaft'13, abutting against the right hand end of the collar 85, and the helical spring 85 extends between it and the collar 82 tion when viewed from the left and the collar 92 rigid. thereon engages through its extension 83 with the extension 89 on the hub 19 of the gear 18 andlcauses that gear to rotate and through its meshing gear 88 to wind the shaft 39. When this winding is completed and the infant is placed in a position to release the clutch on the motor, the rotation of the spring drum drives the two eccentrics on sleeve andxeach one-causes its follower to oscillate the associated lever. The infants right arm is thus actuated in a normal manner as are the legs, but the left arm attains its drive through the friction connection of the follower arm with the collar on the shaft section 13 under the urge of spring 86. This movement or oscillation being less than in extent is permitted by the disposition and extent of the cooperating lugs 89,, and 83 as previously described.

' In order that the doll may emit suitable sounds to imitate the cry of an infant a sounding mechanism is carried by the motor frame plate 2|. This comprises a lower plate 90 rigidly attached to the frame plate and forming the bottom of a bellows, the upper movable plate 92 of which is joined to the lower plate by a flexible membrane from the spirit ofthe invention. Certainly 'any 93 of conventional form. This upper plate slides over a tubular member 94 rigidly fastened by the screw 95 to the bottom plate 99. It has interior connections with the bellows and includes a reed or other cry producing mechanism. Also sliding over the tube 94 is a further plate 96 attached by spacers 91 to the upper member 92 of the bellows. This plate 96 bears against the surface of the frame member 2| which prevents it from rotating about the tube 94. A slot 99 in the tube permits the. escape of air from the reed mechanism and as the plate 96 on rising passes over the slot the sound is momentarily stopped and for each stroke thus of ithe bellows mechanism two successive sounds are given which because of the differences in air pressure and speeds of movement of the bellows may have slightly different pitches.

The details of this sounding device are inde, pendent of the present invention, but the mechanism for driving it is novel and is best seen in Figure 3. It will be remembered that a collar 11 is secured to the shaft section H and this collar carries integral therewith an arm or lever98 which is caused to oscillate in unison with the movement of the right arm. It is connected by a short link 99 to a lever I00 pivoted at "it to the frame member 2| and havingits opposite end connected by a link I02 to the plate 96 of the sounding mechanism which is thus caused to move up and down in unison with the movement of r the right arm. By proportioning the levers and links any desired extent of movement required can be imparted to the sounding device.

Because-of the relative movement permitted between the cam forks and the cams undercertain conditions as previously described in connection with the legs and similarly with the arms, it is possible, when the motor stops with the cam for the right arm properly positioned, to operate this arm manually through almost the full extent of its movement to thus operate the sounding device independently of the motor.

The operations of the various parts of the whole mechanism have been already described and it will be obvious that by rotating the left arm as described the motor can be fully wound and during this operation itis preferable to hold the doll-substantially verticalso that the pendulum weight causes the cam to engage the disc on the high speed shaft and lock the motor against operation. Thereafter the doll can be placed face downward while permitting the motor to remain in an operative condition. If, however, the doll is placed on, its back, the pendulum releases the cam, the motor comes into operation and the eccentrics cause the arms and legs to bemoved.

in a natural manner, the legs moving independently of each, other and at a different speed from M the independent operation of the arms. The crying apparatus functions in unison with the right arm and the performance continues until the spring is run down or until the doll is lifted to nearly a vertical position, in' much the manner that a spoiled or distressed infant acts when picked up and held.

It will be obvious that many of the features and details of this invention can, by appropriate changes, be adapted to other animated toys or the. like. v

It will be appreciated that the invention has been illustrated by one preferred embodiment of the mechanism for carrying out the same, but that obvious changes in details ofconstruction. and operation can be made without departing single large disc or fixed cam equipped with a plurality of oppositely disposed lobes from which all of the limbs could be oscillated. But simple mechanism would be required to turn the head from side to side in unison with the kicking and arm Waving and in order to add to the realistic effect it might be advisable to equip the head with the noise producing device rather than have it in the body as shown. Obviously it would be operated by the same mechanism as now actuates it with the link I92 extendingv upwardly instead of downwardly.

In commercial production the various elements of the mechanism would undoubtedly be some- 'what amplified, lightened and reduced in size and the mechanism would probably be molded directly into the body instead of being attached thereto as shown. 'All of these variations are deemed to fall within the scope of the invention as claimed herein.

Having thus described the invention, .what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a doll of the type described, in'combination, a body, a spring motor fitted within the body and having a main or spring shaft, arms jour-' ated with one arm for actuating said bellows in unison with movement of that arm.

3. In a doll of the type described, in combination, a body, arms, legs and a head, a spring motor fitted in said body, a frame for said motor, means journalling the arms and legs to said frame each for independent movement, means associating each limb and said motor to oscillate the arms independently of each other and the legs independently of the arms andat a different speed, a sounding device carried by said frame, means to actuate said device at arm speed, and means to wind the spring of said motor on rotation of one of said limbs.

4. In a doll, the combination with a body, of a spring motor mounted therein, said motor having a spring shaft, a second shaft driven from said spring'shaft and at higher speed, a winding shaft geared to the spring shaft, said doll having arms pivoted concentric with said winding shaft, means associating one of said "arms and said shaft for winding the spring on rotating the arm, means on the spring shaftto oscillate said arms independently, legs for said doll, and means on said second shaft to oscillate said legs independently.

5. In a doll, the combination with a body, of a spring motor mounted therein, said motor including means to actuate limbs of the doll, a shaft driven at high speed from said motor, a disc on said shaft, a brake cooperating with said disc to stop the shaft and motor and a weight in control of said brake, said weight being arranged to release the brake when the doll is in position to have the limbs actuated.

6. In a doll the combination with a body, of

. a spring motor mounted therein, said motor including means to actuate limbs of the doll, a

governor shaft positively driven at high speed from said motor, a brake cooperating with said shaft to stop thesame when applied, a pendulum weight in control of said brake and arranged to apply said brake when the doll is in positions other than supine.

7. In a doll, in combination, a body, head, legs, and arms, a spring motor housed in saidbody, a frame for said motor mounting parallel shafts 'including a spring shaft, a winding shaft, a leg shaft and a driven shaft, arms journalled on said winding shaft, cams on said spring shaft, ,cam followers engaging said arms and cooperating with said cams, cams on said driven shaft, legs journalled on said leg shaft and carrying cam followers cooperating with said driven shaft cams,

means to rotate said winding shaft by movement of one of said arms, and a geared connection from the winding to the spring shaft.

8. In a doll, in combination, a body, arms, a spring motor housed in said body and including a spring shaft, a winding shaft, one of said arms being fast to one end of said winding shaft, 9. gear loosely fitting said shaft and engaging a gear on the spring shaft, a collar fast on said winding shaft, means associating said collar and gear to engage the same for movement in unison after limited relative rotation, a cam driven by said motor, a follower for said cam loosely journalled on said winding shaft, and a friction connection between said follower and said collar to oscillate said shaft and arm from said cam.

9. In a doll of the type described, in combination, a body, a spring motor fitted within said body and having a plurality of parallel shafts extending transversely of said body, arms independently journalled on one of said shafts, legs independently journalled on another of said shafts, and cams driven by said motor to independently actuatesaid arms and legs.

10. In a doll of the type described, in combination,- a body, a spring motor fitted within said body and having a plurality of parallel shafts extending transversely of said body, arms independently journalled on one of said shafts, legs independently journalled on another of said shafts, cams driven by said motor to independently actuate said arms and legs, and mechanism for winding the motor spring upon manual rotation of one of said limbs on its shaft.

11. In a doll of the type described, in combination, a body, a spring motor fitted within said body and having a plurality of parallel shafts extending transversely of said body, arms independently journalled on one of said shafts, legs independently journalled on another of said shafts, cams driven by said motor to independently actuate said arms and legs, side plates for said motor, a sounding device including a bellows, a stationary plate forsaid bellows secured to one of said side plates, a movable plate for said bellows sliding on said'side plate, and a connection from said movable plate to one of said limbs.

12. In a doll of the type described, a body portion, a crying mechanism therein,a motor for driving said mechanism and a brake for stopping said motor, said brake being responsive to the position of the doll.

13. In a doll simulating an infant, a body, head, legs and arms, a motor housed in said body, means to associate the motor and arms and legs to wave and kick the same in simulation of the motions of a supine child and stop means for said motor effective in all positions of the doll except supine.

14. In a doll in combination, abody, arms mounted thereon so as to be waved, legs mounted thereon so as to be kicked, a motor, means associating said motor and arms and legs to actuate the same and a positive actuated stop for said motor to prevent movement of the limbs except when the dollis in a supine position.

15. In an infant doll, in combination, a motor driven crying mechanism, a pendulum brake for the motor, said brake being arranged to stop the motor when the doll is held substantially upright.

16. In an infant doll, in combination, a spring motor driven crying mechanism, a position operable brake for said motor arranged .to stop the same when the doll is upright and means to wind the motor spring by actuation of one of the dolls limbs. ,1

17. In a doll of the type described, in combination, a crying mechanism, means to actuate said mechanism,,stop means for said actuator, said stop means being position responsive.

18. In a doll of the type described, having crying means therein, and a position responsive control for said means.

19. In a doll, in combination, a body and head, a sounding device within one of said parts, a

limb articulated to said body, and a connection from said limb to said device to actuate the same when the limb is moved relative to said body.

20. In a doll of the type described, in combination, a body, a spring motor within said body, arms and legs independently articulated to said body, means to drive all of said limbs from said motor to simulate the action of a child, and means to wind the spring 01. said motor upon manual manipulation of one of said limbs.

21. In a doll of the type described, in combination, a body, limbs articulated to said body, a motor within said body, means connecting said motor ,to oscillate said limbs and position responsive stop means for said motor.

22. In a doll, in combination, a motor and a sounding device housed therein, means to drive said sounding device from said motor and means tor manual actuation of said device independently 01 said motor.

23. In a doll comprising head, body and limb parts, in combination, a motor in said body, a sounding device in one of said parts, means connecting said limbs to said motor for movement thereby, means connecting said sounding device to one of said limbs for actuation thereby, and means to wind said motor connected to another of said limbs.

24. In a doll comprising head, body and limb parts, in combination, a motor in said body, a sounding device in one of said parts, means connecting said limbs to said motor for movement thereby, means connecting said sounding device to one of said limbs for actuation thereby, means to wind said motor connected to another of said limbs, stop means for said motor and control mechanism for said stop means, said control mechanism releasing said stop means only in a predetermined position of the doll.

CECILIA E. BOWERS.

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