Patent Application
20220249966
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The invention relates to a retrofit of a cloth-bodied doll having a thermoplastic head and neck with strands of wire to render the doll poseable and self-standing.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,940:
[Years ago, dolls were manufactured with flexible body members, as by being, for example, of stuffed fabric construction or else having a more or less rigid torso to which the legs were flexibly attached. In recent years, doll manufacture has seen the increasing use of plastics and synthetic materials to provide relatively rigid constructions allowing the legs and other body members to be re-oriented by the user and even to permit the doll to stand on its own feet.
However, there recently has been extraordinary commercial success for a more primitive, fabric type of doll having the homespun, fundamentally homely character of earlier dolls which, because of the flexibility and general materials of constructions, are not ordinarily self-supporting and will not permit the legs to remain in a desired position. If the owner of the doll wishes to have the doll in a standing position, use must be made of a doll stand. For example, collectors prefer sometimes to have dolls in a standing position on shelves; and a child may prefer to have the doll stand as would a real person.
According to an online article authored by Ethel Leslie that it titled “How to Make Poseable Dolls” at the online address howtoadult.com/make-poseable-dolls-8622646:
An insertable wire skeleton is an easy way to make any cloth-bodied doll poseable. Placed inside the doll before stuffing and finishing, the skeleton frame may then be bent into a variety of poses. Florist wire wrapped in foam or batting is inserted into the doll's body like a real skeleton, giving stiffness and support to the doll before it is stuffed, decorated and dressed.
Measure the proportions of your doll, including the arm length from hand to hand, the body length from the middle of the head to the crotch, and the leg length from hip to foot. These measurements will be used to customize your skeleton.
Cut lengths of florist wire to match the arm span width, the length of each leg and twice the length of the body, as previously measured.
Fold the body wire over double, so it becomes an inverted V shape. At the two points of the V shape, attach the leg wires by twisting the ends together. Tuck wires tightly to prevent sharp edges.
Lay the arm wire across the torso wire in a cross shape, so that the arm wire would be sitting level with the doll's shoulders. Use the doll body as a reference. Cross wrap the arm wire to secure the piece in place, creating a stick figure-like shape.
Fold over the tips of the wire ends at the feet and hands, and bind tightly in foam strips or cotton batting. This prevents the wire from damaging the cloth on the doll's body.
Insert the skeleton through the largest opening in the doll body. Straighten and position the wire so that the top of the skeleton extends into the head of the doll, making a bendable neck, with each arm and leg in the correct area of the doll body.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,590,898 shows a doll having a first wire having two ends extending respectfully into the two legs and having a loop in the middle that extends into the head. A second wire extends between the arms and is connected at its center to the first wire by a flexible tie. The first and second wires may be bent into desired orientations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,484 mentions in its Abstract:
The improved bendable framework in at least a portion of the interior of the doll consists of at least one linear framework member consisting of flexible metal wire coated with an external annular layer of flexible resilient plastic. The combination of central metal wire and annular plastic layer is preferably formed by extrusion of wire stock with in situ deposition of the outer plastic layer. The linear framework member typically extends centrally and longitudinally through a limb of the doll, so that the limb is bendable, and the terminal end of the member at the outer terminus of the limb is retroflexed so that the terminal end of the wire portion of the member is bent away from direct contact with the outer terminus of the limb. An entire internal framework of specific configuration and held together by at least one metal clip is also provided.
It is desired to retrofit a non-poseable doll having a cloth-body and a thermoplastic head and neck with strands of wire to render the doll poseable and self-standing, but without wrapping the wire around itself or making a skeleton wire shape in advance before inserting the wire strands. A non-poseable doll is one that cannot retain its limbs in position when posed or self-stand on its own.
One aspect of the invention resides in a retrofit for a cloth-bodied doll with two or three strands of wire. Such is effected by removing the head of the cloth-bodied doll to gain access to the interior of the cloth-bodied doll, cutting threads at seams as needed along the limbs of the cloth-bodied doll to gain access to the interior, and inserting the strands of wire one at a time into the interior of the cloth-bodied doll so that a single strand of wire extends across the full length of both arms of the cloth-bodied doll and a remaining one or two wires extend from each leg to within where the head will be after the head is reattached.
If a total of two strands of wire are used instead of three, then there will be just the remaining one wire, which needs to be long enough to fit into both of the legs and be looped within where the head will be located after the head is reattached. If a total of three strands of wire are used, then there will be a remaining two wires that can both be of the same length. Whether there are two or three strands of wire, the terminal ends of each of them needs to be retroflexed or curled. That way, the terminal ends of the wires are not placed in direct contact with the outer terminus of the limbs. Instead, the bent portion of the retroflexed or curled portion is closer to the outer terminus of the limbs than the terminal ends.
For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description and accompanying drawings, while the scope of the invention is set forth in the appended claims. The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.
My retrofit technique can be explained by carrying out in sequence the sixty-four steps the follow. Each numbered step corresponds to the figure numbers in sequence. Thus,
1. On the back of an elf under the white zigzagged-cut bib, there is a glob of glue. The glue attaches the white bib and the red body to hide a cable tie head. The cable tie is around the elf's neck attaching it to the red felt body. The cable tie head needs to be cut in order to remove the elf's head from the red body.
2. The white bib 1 and red body are made of felt, so are fragile and susceptible to ripping. It is impossible to pull the white bib up to get to the cable tie head without ripping the red body or the white bib.
3. In order to accomplish the task of getting past the glue, I take the metal tip of a heated hot glue gun and press it against the glue 2 on the bib and the body. The tip of the heated hot glue gun loosens the glue that attaches the bib to the body and eventually reveals the cable tie head that is around the back of the neck.
4. Once getting through the glue, the clear cable tie head 3 around the back of the neck end is exposed.
5. I use a wire cutter to cut and break the cable tie head 3.
6. I pull the cable tie 4 out of the fabric loop around the neck.
7. The head is removed easily once the cable tie is re-moved from the fabric loop around the neck.
8. Cable tie and head removed. Shall I need to replace the body of a damaged elf, I'd simply throw this body away and continue with the following steps using a new elf body from elsewhere. If the body isn't damaged, I'd continue to wire the original body using the following steps.
9. I remove all the stuffing from the torso and the bag of beans located in the bottom. The bag of beans help the elf in the sitting position prior to wiring, but creates a standing/balancing issue if left in the torso post-wiring. I save the stuffing but discard the bag of beans.
10. I use a seam ripper to cut the threads 5 holding the white mittens together. This allows for me to add wire down the entire arm and hand and permits posing of the elf post-wiring. If the threads are left uncut, they would interfere with adding such wire and such posing.
11. The stuffing and bag of beans are removed and the white mittens are now unattached.
12. I use a seam ripper to remove the seam stitching from the “joints” 6 of the elbows, so I may eventually pass wire through those areas.
13. I use a seam ripper to remove the seam stitching 7 from the “joints” of the knees, so I may eventually pass wire through those areas.
14. I use a seam ripper to cut through the seam stitching 8 at the back of the leg closest to the elf's bottom.
15. I've cut approximately an inch through the seam stitching 8 on both sides of the legs.
16. I use a seam ripper to cut through the seam stitching 9 under the arm or “arm pit” area.
17. I've cut approximately an inch through the seam stitching 9 on both sides of the “arm pit” area closest to the neck and torso.
18. I remove and save all the stuffing from both the arms and the legs. This will allow a stem wire to pass through those areas a lot easier. At this point, the elf is completely void of any stuffing and is a hollow shell.
19. I then insert the end of one 18 inch (16 gauge) floral stem wire 24 through the opening in the leg I created with the seam ripper.
20. I then wiggle and push the end of the stem wire 24 through the inside seam that attaches the leg to the elf's bottom 25. It doesn't take much force and easily glides through this area.
21. I repeat steps 19 and 20 in the other leg with a further stem wire 28 and push both stem wires 24, 28 through the neck opening where I re-moved the head.
22. I then insert the end of one 18 inch (16 gauge) floral stem wire 20 through the opening in the arm pit I created with the seam ripper.
23. Just like I did in the legs, I then wiggle and push the end of the stem wire 20 through the inside seam that attaches the arm to the bottom of the neck (see circle 27). It doesn't take much force and easily glides through this area.
24. The stem wire 20 then appears in the opening of the neck.
25. Just like I did in the previous arm, I then wiggle and push the end of the stem wire 20 through the inside seam that attaches the arm to the bottom of the neck. It doesn't take much force and easily glides through this area.
26. One stem wire 20 is now through the neck and runs down through both ends of the arm.
27. I've used a total of three strands of stem wires. I have two separate stem wires 24, 28 going from the legs through the neck and one stem wire 20 going from the one arm through the neck and out the other arm.
28. I use the stuffing I set aside from the torso and place it back into the torso and around the wires.
29. I use one four-inch (18 lb tensile strength) cable tie to replace the head back on the body.
30. I feed the new cable tie 4 around the fabric loop of the neck.
31. Using a round nose pliers, I curl the ends 26, 30 of both stem wires that run through the legs, torso, and neck. This prevents the vinyl elf head from being damaged on the inside.
32. I will then put the curled ends of the stem wire inside the elf's neck and head 12.
33. The curled ends are inside the elf's head.
34. I use a needle nose pliers to tighten the cable or zip tie around the neck of the vinyl elf head.
35. I use a wire cutter or scissor to cut off the excess cable tie from the head of the cable tie.
36. The elf's head is secure and you can only see the cable tie head just as it was prior to me breaking the cable tie in step 5.
37. Just like I curled the end of the stem wire in the neck. I curl the end of the stem wire close to the hands or white mittens of the elf.
38. Curled end of the stem wire by the elf hand/mitten. Curling prevents the wire from poking through causing injury or damage of the white felt mitten.
39. I then pull the other end of the stem wire so the curled end 22 arrives at the opening under the arm pit.
40. I push the curled end 22 of the stem wire into the opening of the arm. I continue to push the curled end 22 of the stem wire all the way down to the white mitten. The curled end will end up inside the white mitten.
41. Once I can no longer push the curled end of the stem wire any further as it's touching the end of the mitten 23, I then address the opposite end of the stem wire in the other arm. I will pull the elf's arm taught prior to cutting the stem wire.
42. I leave about an inch to an inch and a half above the mitten to allow for enough wire to be curled on this end 22 as well. I cut off any excess wire.
43. Just like the previous hand, I curl the end 22 of the stem wire with a round nose pliers to prevent the wire from poking through the white mitten causing injury or damage to the white felt mitten.
44. I then bend the wire in half so the curled end can reach the opening under the arm pit. I put the curled end into the opening to feed the wire though the arm so the curled end reaches the inside of the white mitten.
45. It's helpful to use a needle nose pliers to help push the wire inside and through the opening under the arm pit. Then I straighten out the wire with my fingers by bending and applying pressure on the outside of the arm.
46. The arms are now wired.
47. Just like in the arms, I push the stem wire in the legs up until the curled ends hit the inside roof of the elf's head. This is important as it provides stability when balancing the elf to stand.
48. Just like in the arms, I will pull the elf's leg taught prior to cutting the stem wire. I leave about an inch to an inch and a half about the tip of the foot to allow for enough wire to be curled at its end 30. I cut off any excess wire.
49. About an inch and a half of wire above the tip of the foot remains to be curled.
50. I curl the end 30 of the stem wire with a round nose pliers by the foot just as I did in the white mittens.
51. I grab the middle of the stem wire 28 with the curled end and bend it in half.
52. I bend the stem wire until its curled end 30 reaches the opening I made in the of the leg just below to torso.
53. I put the curled end 30 of the stem wire into that opening and push the curled end all the way down into the foot just as I did with the arms in step 44. It's helpful to use a needle nose pliers to help push the wire inside and through the opening. Then I straighten out the wire with my fingers by bending and applying pressure on the out-side of the leg.
54. I repeat step 47-53 for the other leg. Now I have two wired arms and two wired legs that can be bent for posing and balanced to stand.
55. I replace the stuffing 40 I saved back into the legs through the same opening the wire went into. I use a wooden dowel to help me get the stuffing 40 all the way down the to the foot and in the length of the legs.
56. I replace the stuffing I saved back into the arms through the opening the wire went into. I use a wooden dowel to help me get the stuffing all the way down the to the hand/mitten and in the length of the arms.
57. Once the wire and stuffing are complete, it is time to stitch the two openings 50 I made in the legs just below the bottom of the torso.
58. It is time to stitch the two openings 52 I made in the arm pit areas.
59. I use a needle and red thread and stitch the opening 50 of the one leg shut using a conventional invisible stitch method for which the stitching appears hidden. The conventional invisible stitch method can be described as involving the following steps: pull a needle and thread tightly, push the item away from the needle and thread, cut the thread where it exits the fabric and thus the thread will simply jump back inside the item to become hidden from view from the outside once it has been cut, because it was being pulled tightly. An instructional online video for the method of making such an invisible stitch is titled “How to Sew: The Invisible Seam Stitch|Hand Sewing Tutorial for Beginners ladder|Slip Stitch” at youtube.com/watch?v=WbE5hXt27uU&feature=youtu.be.
60. Then I move on to the next leg and close its opening 50 using the conventional invisible stitch method. The leg opening that was closed from step 59 using the conventional invisible stitch method can be seen. The opening 50 in the other leg will be closed in a like manner.
61. I repeat steps 59 and 60 for the two arm openings 52 using the conventional invisible stitch method.
62. Arm openings 52 are closed and the result after using the conventional invisible stitch method can be seen.
63. I use a hot glue gun and add glue under the bib 1 on the cable tie head of the newly wired elf. This hides the cable tie head and prevents the cable tie head from causing injury.
64. Complete. The elf on the left is a before. He cannot stand or be posed without wire. The elf on the right is wired. He stands and can be posed and positioned.
A cable tie (also known as a hose tie, zip tie, or by the brand name Ty-Rap) is a type of fastener, for holding items together. The most common cable tie consists of a flexible nylon tape with an integrated gear rack, and on one end a ratchet within a small open case at the head. Once the pointed tip of the cable tie has been pulled through the case and past the ratchet, it is prevented from being pulled back; the resulting loop may only be pulled tighter.
While the foregoing description and drawings represent the preferred embodiments of the present invention, various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
