Toy doll bed having jumping doll

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6537129
  • Patent Number
    6,537,129
  • Date Filed
    Friday, May 31, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, March 25, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Original Assignees
  • Examiners
    • Ackun; Jacob K.
    • Francis; Faye
    Agents
    • Ekstrand; Roy A.
Abstract
A generally square-shaped doll bed includes a square base supporting a quartet of vertical posts at its corners. The base defines a center recess within which a platform is supported by a pivoting arm. The pivoting arm is secured to a further pivoting arm which extends outward beyond the base and terminates in a depressible pad. A doll is supported above the platform by a pair of resilient bands secured to frame members coupled between the vertical posts. As the user depresses and releases the pad, the platform exerts upward forces against the doll causing it to move in a jumping action.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




This invention relates generally to dolls and doll accessories and particularly to those doll accessory which impart motion or activity to a cooperating doll.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Dolls and doll accessories are well known in the art and have proven to be a popular and long lasting form of toys for young girls in particular. Not surprisingly, the popularity of dolls and doll accessories has prompted practitioners in the art to provide a virtually endless variety of dolls and doll accessories for use therewith.




One of the more pervasive types of doll accessories is found in doll sized furniture and accommodations for playsets having doll houses or other play environments. Such accessories have often included doll sized furniture items such as kitchen equipment, chairs, couches, tables and bedroom apparatus such as beds and night tables. A somewhat different type of doll accessory has also been provided in sport or game activity type accessories. Thus, accessories have been provided which, in part, jumping or other motions to dolls. In many of these doll apparatus, the doll itself is a simple molded plastic or similar doll fabrication completely lacking in any motion or movement capability.




Despite the continuing and virtually tireless effort of practitioners in the toy arts to provide new and more amusing doll accessories for use in play patterns with dolls, there remains a continuing need in the art for evermore improved, amusing and interesting doll accessories.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved accessory for use in a doll play sets. It is a more particular object of the present invention to provide an improved accessory for use in a doll playset which imparts jumping motion to a cooperating doll.




In accordance with the present invention there is provided a toy doll bed comprising: a base having an upper surface and a recess; a fabric layer loosely spanning the recess; a platform and a pivot arm supporting the platform within the recess beneath the fabric layer; a depressible pad and arm coupled to the pivot arm; a pivot pivotally supporting the arm and the pivot arm; a doll; and means for resiliently supporting the doll upon the fabric and the platform.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The features of the present invention, which are believed to be novel, are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in the several figures of which like reference numerals identify like elements and in which:





FIG. 1

sets forth a perspective view of a toy doll bed having a jumping doll constructed in accordance with the present invention;





FIG. 2

sets forth a section view of the present invention toy doll bed having jumping doll.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT





FIG. 1

sets forth a perspective view of a toy doll bed having a jumping doll constructed in accordance with the present invention and generally referenced by numeral


10


. Toy doll bed


10


includes a generally rectangular base


11


having a fabric cover


17


formed thereon. Base


11


further supports a plurality of vertical posts


13


,


14


,


15


and


16


positioned at the corners of base


11


and linked by a plurality of frame members


20


,


21


,


22


and


23


. Base


11


further defines a recess


12


within which fabric cover


17


is loosely sagging.




In accordance with the present invention, a platform


30


is positioned beneath fabric cover


17


in recess


12


and is supported by a post


31


which in turn is supported by an arm


32


. Arm


32


is pivotally secured to a pivot


33


and an arm


34


. Arm


34


extends outwardly beyond base


11


and fabric cover


17


and is joined to a pad


35


.




In accordance with the present invention, a doll


40


is supported above recess


12


by a waist band


41


and a pair of extending elastic bands


42


and


43


. Bands


42


and


43


resilient secure doll


40


to frame members


20


and


22


. Doll


10


is movable vertically as elastic bands


42


and


43


are stretched.




In operation, doll


40


, due to its weight and balance generally rests upon the upper surface of fabric cover


17


above platform


30


as fabric cover


17


relaxes downwardly into recess


12


. Play is initiated as the child user forces pad


35


downwardly in the direction indicated by arrow


50


. This downward movement of pad


35


causes platform


30


to be moved vertically in the direction indicated by arrow


51


raising doll


40


against the resilient force of bands


42


and


43


.




The user then releases pad


35


which, due to the offset positioning of pivot


33


, causes pad


35


to rise in the direction indicated by arrow


54


. The rise of pad


35


is accompanied by a corresponding drop of platform


30


. As platform


30


drops, the support of doll


40


is removed and the elastic energy stored in bands


42


and


43


drives doll


40


downwardly in the direction indicated by arrow


53


.




The user is able to depress and release pad


35


to provide successive jumping and falling of doll


40


as the dolls weight and the forces exerted by platform


30


interact with the resilient forces of elastic bands


42


and


43


.




The result is a jumping action for doll


40


which, after the user masters the timing and skill of moving pad


35


, can be caused to undergo various trick or stunt movements.





FIG. 2

sets forth a section view of the present invention toy doll bed having a jumping doll shown partial depiction therewith. As described above, toy doll bed


10


includes a base


11


having a fabric cover


17


and forming a recess


12


therein. Within recess


12


, a platform


30


is positioned beneath the portion of fabric cover


17


which overlies recess


12


. Platform


30


is supported by a post


31


which, in turn, is supported by an arm


32


. An arm


34


is joined to arm


32


at a pivot


33


. Arm


34


extends outwardly from base


11


and supports a pad


35


. A doll


40


is movable above recess


12


and is acted upon in the manner described above by the movement of platform


30


and its own weight together with the elastic force of elastic bands


42


and


43


(seen in FIG.


1


).




In the solid line depiction shown in

FIG. 2

, platform


30


is lowered due to the greater length of arm


32


relative to arm


34


and the placement of pivot


33


. Also shown in

FIG. 2

in dashed phantom line depiction, is the raised position of platform


30


produced as the user depresses pad


35


in the above described manner to exert upward force against doll


40


.




While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects. Therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.



Claims
  • 1. A toy doll bed comprising:a base having an upper surface and a recess; a fabric layer loosely spanning said recess; a platform and a pivot arm supporting said platform within said recess beneath said fabric layer; a depressible pad and arm coupled to said pivot arm; a pivot pivotally supporting said arm and said pivot arm; a doll; and
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3669451 Welbourn Jun 1972 A
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3839820 Serman, Jr. Oct 1974 A
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4120117 Terzian et al. Oct 1978 A
4804323 Kim Feb 1989 A
5344156 Levin Sep 1994 A
5370571 Bosch Dec 1994 A
5435570 Labrasseur Jul 1995 A
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5622490 Cheng Apr 1997 A
5813946 Lin et al. Sep 1998 A
6056623 Arriola May 2000 A