The present disclosure is directed generally to interactive doll stands and, more particularly, to display devices to which dolls may be mounted, where the dolls and/or the display devices include one or more associated movable components that may be selectively actuated so as to substantially enclose the doll within the display device. Examples of interactive doll stands and devices with selectively actuable components are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,990,668, U.S. Pat. No. 4,298,199, U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,661, U.S. Pat. No. 6,874,833, U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,520, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,318,766. The disclosures of all the above-referenced patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
A toy product including a doll and a display device that may be used with the doll or other similarly configured character or persona is provided. The doll may have one or more movable features and may further include wings detachably coupled to the doll. An actuating assembly of the display device may communicate through one or more selectively actuable components with one or more movable features of the doll.
The actuating assembly may be operatively connected to a folding assembly that may alternately enclose and reveal the doll releasably mounted to the display device. The folding assembly may include one or more enclosure pieces that, in some embodiments, may be in the form of flower petals and may fold over the doll so as to form an enclosure and, thereby, substantially surround the doll. Each enclosure piece may have a sleeved portion configured to matingly receive a corresponding flexible member adapted to bend between an extended and retracted position in response to the operation of the actuating assembly. The bending of the flexible members may be facilitated by linkage elements operatively connecting the actuating assembly with each flexible member.
The actuating assembly may include an actuator and a locking member configured to releasably retain the folding assembly in the retracted position. The actuator may be partially or substantially housed within the display device and may be configured for transmitting a motion of the actuator to a reverse-blooming motion of the folding assembly.
In some embodiments, the actuating assembly may be actuated by manually pushing the actuator in the direction of actuation. The actuator may operatively engage and simultaneously pull the linkage elements so the flexible members and associated enclosure pieces move from the extended toward the retracted position. In the embodiments in which the enclosure pieces resemble flower petals, such movement of the pieces may have the effect of a flower closing up to surround the doll.
The flexible members and associated enclosure pieces may be releasably retained in the retracted position by way of a locking member, such as by releasably locking the actuator when the enclosure pieces are in the retracted position. The actuating assembly may further include a push-button that may be configured to release the actuator and return the flexible members and associated enclosure pieces to the extended position. As a result, the folding assembly may unfold, thus, revealing the doll mounted to the display device. In the embodiments in which the enclosure pieces resemble flower petals, such unfolding may have the effect of a flower bloom opening up.
The actuating assembly may further include a lifting member that may partially or substantially support one or more movable features of the doll. The lifting member may be operatively connected to the actuating assembly and may be configured so as to concomitantly lift or, otherwise, move one or more features of the doll as the enclosure pieces surround the doll. Thus, the lifting member may further facilitate enclosure of the doll within the display device.
The dolls and display devices of the present disclosure may be understood more readily after a consideration of the drawings and the Detailed Description.
As seen in
Toy product 10 may represent or further a particular theme and/or simulate a fictional or non-fictional story, as well as a traditional fairy tale. In the embodiments in which enclosure pieces 20 resemble flower petals, the movement of the enclosure pieces may have the effect of a flower closing up to surround the doll. As such, doll 14 may be perceived as a humanoid, such as a winged fairy, that lives in a flower that blooms and closes, as desired, to house or shelter the doll. Optionally or alternatively, toy product 10 may have no theme.
It should be appreciated that even though a plurality of flower-like petals is illustrated, enclosure pieces 20 may have any desired shape of form, and that display device 14 may include a single enclosure piece configured to substantially enclose doll 12, when in the retracted position of
Doll 12 may be configured to represent a human-like character, licensed character, copyrighted character, or any other suitable fantasy or real-life character, as mentioned above. To simplify discussion, features of toy product 10 shown in
Still referring to
Arms 30 may be movably secured to torso 28 in any conventional manner. In the configuration shown, arms 30 may be frictionally fit within shoulder joints 34 allowing each arm to pivot independently about the shoulder joints so as to enable posing of each arm at a variety of pivotal positions. Optionally or alternatively, arms 30 may be rigidly connected together via a shared arm connector for simultaneous rotation relative to torso 28 along a common substantially horizontal axis.
Legs 32 may be rotatably attached to a lower portion of torso 28 at hip joints 36 to enable for a wide degree of independent pivoting about a substantially horizontal axis. Under some circumstances, however, it may be preferable to limit the relative rotational movement of legs 32 at the respective hip joints of doll 12. Optionally or alternatively, legs 32 may be rigidly connected to each other via a shared leg connector for simultaneous rotation relative to torso 28. In addition, appropriate stoppers may be provided to effectively prevent the legs from being pivoted beyond prescribed points and/or to allow for a desired clearance with enclosure pieces 20 or other elements or members of display device 14.
As viewed more readily in
Support plate 41 may include an aperture 43 that may be non-circular in cross-section and may correspond to the cross-section of elongate projection 38. Wings 40 may be detachably coupled to doll 12 by inserting elongate projection 38 into aperture 43 when the aperture and the projection are aligned, as shown in the dash-dotted line. The non-circular nature of both cross-sections may limit rotational movement of wings 40 relative to doll 12. Optionally or alternatively, wings 40 may not be detachable from doll 12.
As mentioned above with reference to
The various components of doll 12 may be fabricated from any suitable material, such as plastic, foamed plastic, flexible plastic, one or more layers of fabric, wood, cardboard, pressed paper, metal, or any combination of materials. A suitable material or combination of materials may be selected to provide a desirable synergy of weight, strength, durability, cost, and/or manufacturability.
Display device 14 may include actuating assembly 24 that may be partially or substantially housed within a base 48 and a folding assembly 50 supported by upper portion 22 of the base. In the configuration shown, base 48 may further include a lower portion 49 having a generally vertical tubular body. One or more contoured slotted openings 52 may be positioned on opposite sides of lower portion 49 to facilitate an actuation of actuating assembly 24, as will be described in greater detail below. As seen, display device 14 may be configured as a free-standing structure, and lower portion 49 of base 48, thus, may further include a flattened platform, such as a leaf-shaped platform 54, to stabilize the device in a standing position on a substantially horizontal surface.
In the present example, each enclosure piece 20 may be fabricated from one or more layers of a soft material, such as fabric and/or flexible plastic, and may include a pocket or sleeved portion 58, indicated in dash-dotted lines, adapted to matingly receive corresponding flexible member 56 in a tightly-fitted relationship. It should be noted that flexible members 56 may be sufficiently resilient so as to facilitate moving of folding assembly 50 from the retracted position indicated by arrow R in
Folding assembly 50 may further include one or more linkage elements 60 that may be fixedly secured to a respective coupling element 62 and may operatively connect folding assembly 50 with actuating assembly 24 via a hub 63, as particularly seen in the example of
Linkage elements 60 may partially or substantially extend along the length of corresponding flexible member 56 and may be slidably engaged within a wedge-shaped retaining element 64. Retaining elements 64 may be provided with one or more apertures and may be configured to have any desired shape and/or cross-section to further their particular function. In addition, folding assembly 50 may include one or more guides 66 to maintain linkage elements 60 in a predetermined orientation relative to flexible members 56.
As shown in
In operative use, actuating assembly 24 may engage hub 63 and, thus, simultaneously draw linkage elements 60 in the direction of actuation, schematically represented by arrow A. In turn, linkage elements 60, slidably guided through respective retaining elements 64 and tightly-fit sleeved portions 58, may engage respective coupling elements 62 to draw and to forceably bend associated flexible members 56 toward the retracted position, as indicated by arrow R. Upon disengagement, flexible members 56 may return to the extended position, as represented by arrow E, using the resilient properties of the members, or by way of gravity, or both. Optionally or alternatively, actuating assembly 24 may include a resilient member that may facilitate the return of flexible members 56 to the extended position, as will be seen.
As illustrated, retaining elements 64 may be configured to remain in substantially the same orientation relative to base 48 when flexible members 56 move—and associated enclosure pieces 20 follow—from the extended to the retracted position so as to create a substantially enclosed space S sufficient to surround doll 12. This effect may be accomplished by placing retaining elements 64 on the associated flexible members at a desired distance from platform 57 and by a closely-spaced cooperating relationship between linkage elements 60, flexible members 56, and associated sleeved portions 58. It should be appreciated that in some embodiments retaining elements 64 may be positioned closer or further away from platform 57 so as to create a smaller or larger space, respectively, depending on the size of doll 12.
As seen in this example, mounting structure 70 may include a plurality of leaf-shaped bracing members 72 that may have a slightly curved or arcuate shape and may extend upwardly from platform 57. Bracing members 72 may be rigidly connected to the platform by appropriate means and may be spaced apart so as to frictionally retain torso 28 of doll 12 therebetween. As a way of illustration, platform 57 is shown to include a plurality of leaf-shaped elements 73 designed to further the theme of toy product 10. Optionally or alternatively, platform 57 may have no theme-oriented design.
An irregularly-shaped aperture 74 may be formed within the upper portion of platform 57 and may have a non-circular cross-section that may correspond to cross-sections of elongate projection 38 of doll 12 and aperture 43 in support plate 41. In assembled relationship, elongate projection 38 may be aligned with, as shown in dash-dotted lines, and may project through aperture 43 in support plate 41 so as to be matingly positioned within aperture 74, thus, effectively linking doll 12 and display device 14 together. The non-circular nature of the cross-sections may help with self-alignment of doll 12 within display device 14 so as to facilitate correct positioning of the doll's legs on lifting member 18, as will be seen.
Actuating assembly 24 may include an actuator, such as a cross-shaped actuator 78 with one or more leaf-shaped actuator handles 80 projecting outwardly through associated slotted openings 52 in lower portion 49 of base 48, as has been previously mentioned. Actuator 78 may be slidably retained within inner support members 76 to allow for a linear reciprocal motion and may further include a shoulder portion 81 and an angled locking portion 82. As will be seen, actuating assembly 24 may be configured for transmitting a motion of actuator 78 to a reverse-blooming motion of folding assembly 50.
In the configuration shown, a T-shaped end portion 84 of actuator 78 may operatively connect the actuator to folding assembly 50 via hub 63 by way of one or more inserts 86. A resilient member, such as, for example, a compression spring 88 may be interposed between shoulder portion 81 of the actuator and inner support member 76 so as to bias actuator 78 upwardly.
Actuating assembly 24 may further include a locking member 90 with an integrally-formed push-button 92 protruding outwardly through an aperture 93 in platform 54, and an angled tooth 94 adapted to engage and retain locking portion 82 of actuator 78. Locking member 90 may be pivotally secured within platform 54 with a pin 96 so as to allow the limited amount of pivoting and may be biased upwardly by a compression spring 98. It should be appreciated that any other resilient means may be used to bias push-button 92, as well as actuator 78, in suitable directions to further their particular functions.
In the present example, tooth 94 and locking portion 82 may include angled regions 97 and 99, respectively. The angled regions may be configured such that a downward motion of actuator 78, represented by arrow A, may bring the regions in contact, and may impart a forced pivoting of locking member 90 in the direction indicated by arrow P.
As previously discussed, actuating assembly 24 may further include lifting member 18 that may be pivotally secured to platform 57 by means of a fulcrum pin 100 so as to allow for a wide degree of pivoting about a substantially horizontal axis. Lifting member 18 may be operatively linked to actuator 78 by way of a tension spring 102 fixedly secured with one end to hub 63 and with another end to an effort arm 104 of lifting member 18. It should be noted that any other appropriate means may be used to operatively connect lifting member 18 with actuator 78.
During play, the actuation of actuating assembly 24 may cause the reverse blooming motion of folding assembly 50 and may substantially enclose doll 12 within display device 14. In the present example, actuating assembly 24 may be actuated by manually pushing handles 80 of actuator 78 in the direction of actuation, as indicated by arrow A. T-shaped end portion 84 of actuator 78 and, more specifically, inserts 86 may engage hub 63 to travel downward.
Since hub 63 is operatively connected to flexible members 56 by linkage elements 60, the hub may simultaneously draw the linkage elements so as to bend flexible members 56 and associated enclosure pieces 20 of folding assembly 50 toward the retracted position, as has been described with reference to
As actuator 78 travels downward, angled region 97 may contact and exert force against angled region 99, thus, forcing locking member 90 to pivot about the axis of pin 96 against the biasing action of spring 98 in the counter-clockwise direction, as indicated by arrow P. Forced pivoting of locking member 90 may continue until actuator 78, in its downward movement, passes a predetermined point, such as, for example, when angled region 97 completely passes angled region 99 of locking member 90. As this occurs, locking member 90 may pivotally snap back in the clockwise direction due to the biasing action of spring 98 so as to engage locking portion 82 and, thus, retain actuator 78 in a lowered or locked position by tooth 94.
Folding assembly 50, thus, may be retained in the retracted position, as shown in
Exerting sufficient force on push-button 92, as indicated by arrow U, may disengage locking member 90 and may return folding assembly 50 to the extended position, as shown in
As further seen in the examples of
While embodiments of a toy and methods of toy play have been particularly shown and described, many variations may be made therein. This disclosure may include one or more independent or interdependent embodiments directed to various combinations of features, functions, elements and/or properties. Other combinations and sub-combinations of features, functions, elements and/or properties may be claimed later in a related application. Such variations, whether they are directed to different combinations or directed to the same combinations, whether broader, narrower or equal in scope, are also regarded as included within the subject matter of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the foregoing embodiments are illustrative, and no single feature or element, or combination thereof, is essential to all possible combinations that may be claimed in this or a later application.
Each example defines an embodiment disclosed in the foregoing disclosure, but any one example does not necessarily encompass all features or combinations that may be eventually claimed. Where the description recites “a” or “a first” element or the equivalent thereof, such description includes one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements. Further, ordinal indicators, such as first, second or third, for identified elements are used to distinguish between the elements, and do not indicate a required or limited number of such elements, and do not indicate a particular position or order of such elements unless otherwise specifically stated.
The present application claims priority to provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/125,081. titled “DOLLS AND DOLL STANDS WITH SELECTIVELY ACTUABLE COMPONENTS,” filed Apr. 21, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
61125081 | Apr 2008 | US |