U.S. patent application number 10/017854 was filed with the patent office on 2002-04-25 for electromagnetic doll's eye.
This patent application is currently assigned to Groupe Berchet. Invention is credited to Simeray, Janick.
Application Number | 20020049023 10/017854 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 9546755 |
Filed Date | 2002-04-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020049023 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Simeray, Janick |
April 25, 2002 |
Electromagnetic doll's eye
Abstract
The invention concerns a doll's, toy baby's or teddy bear's eye
whereof the opening and closing are controlled by an
electromagnet
Inventors: |
Simeray, Janick; (Colombes,
FR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Victor A. Cardona
Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C.
5 Columbia Circle
Albany
NY
12203
US
|
Assignee: |
Groupe Berchet
31 Cours de Verdun
Oyonnax
FR
01100
|
Family ID: |
9546755 |
Appl. No.: |
10/017854 |
Filed: |
December 14, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10017854 |
Dec 14, 2001 |
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PCT/FR00/01625 |
Jun 13, 2000 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
446/392 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63H 3/40 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
446/392 |
International
Class: |
A63H 003/38 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 14, 1999 |
FR |
99.07502 |
Claims
1. A teddy bear's, doll's or toy baby's eye, which can rotate, open
and close at will, the opening and closing of which are controlled
electrically by means of an electromagnet, the moveable ocular
globe (5) of which includes at least one magnet and in that the
ocular cavity includes at least one coil (6) and at least one core
made of hard iron (4), making an electromagnet, characterized in
that it undergoes a travel of about 90.degree. in one or other
direction owing to the effect of a current pulse flowing through
the coil (6), and in that each extreme position is stable without
any current flowing through the coil, owing to static magnetic
attraction.
2. The eye as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the magnet
(3) is of cylindrical shape, coaxial with the eye, and has four
poles uniformly distributed around the turn.
3. The eye as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the coil
(6) and the hard iron core (4) lies in the plane of the magnet (3)
and in that the core confines the magnetic flux of the magnet.
4. The eye as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that it includes
two magnets (3) and two coils (6) which are provided with a core,
these being distributed in such a way that the
end-of-angular-travel limit stops are formed by the contact of a
magnet on a core (4).
Description
[0001] The invention relates to the production of a doll's, toy
baby's or teddy bear's eye of the type which opens or closes.
[0002] It is common practice to produce eyes which close
spontaneously when the doll is laid down, and which open when the
doll is stood up, owing to the effect of a counterweight which
orients an ocular globe suspended by its horizontal axis.
[0003] According to the invention, the opening and the closing of
the eye is controlled by an electric current delivered by an
autonomous electronic unit incorporated into the doll.
[0004] It is common practice to produce eyes driven by an electric
motor; however, the noise of the motor reduces the attraction of
this function, which claims to be discreet and natural, the
complexity of the mechanism results in an excessively high cost
together with difficulties of incorporating it into the doll's head
and ocular globe, and finally the search for a lower electrical
consumption is pleading for an economic principal.
[0005] According to the invention, the principle governing the
animation of a rotating ocular globe
[0006] is silent,
[0007] dissipates only a small electric current, and only for the
opening and closing phases,
[0008] the eyes remain open or closed, depending on the state, in
the absence of electrical supply and
[0009] the control mechanism is housed in a cavity to the rear of
the ocular globe, and is both discreet and accessible for
conventional mounting via the doll's visible face.
[0010] Document U.S. Pat. No. 3,492,760 relates to a ocular globe
driven by an electromagnet opposite to a biasing force. It
therefore consumes a permanent current for maintaining it open.
[0011] According to the invention, the ocular globe of the doll or
teddy bear is driven not by a motor but by an electromagnet whose
moving part--the ocular globe--rotates by a quarter of a turn, in
both directions, about a horizontal axis.
[0012] According to the invention, the rotating ocular globe
includes at least one magnet and this ocular globe is incorporated
into a support which guides its rotation with an amplitude of about
a quarter of a turn.
[0013] The support is intended to be incorporated into the teddy
bear's or doll's orbit.
[0014] The support includes at least one coil and at least one
ferromagnetic core which, owing to the effect of a pulsed electric
current, generates a magnetic field which orients said magnet.
[0015] Two electrical wires leave the support and are intended to
be connected to the control electronics.
[0016] According to a first nonexclusive embodiment of the
invention, which is optimized for its effectiveness and its
simplicity, the magnet is a cylindrical disk, incorporated into the
ocular globe, having an axis common to the rotation axis of the
globe.
[0017] The magnet has a particular magnetic polarization in the
plane of the disk, with two north poles and two south poles, the
two north poles being diametrically opposed, the two south poles
being diametrically opposed and the norths and souths alternating
at 90.degree. to one another.
[0018] The electromagnet consists of a horseshoe-shaped core made
of hard iron, surrounded by a coil and lying in the plane of the
disk, behind the ocular globe.
[0019] FIG. 1 shows a simplified diagram of this embodiment. The
support casing 1 is incorporated into the teddy bear's or doll's
ocular cavity or orbit and supports the spindle 2 which rotates
freely, with little friction.
[0020] A magnetized disk 3 as shown, with the poles distributed at
90.degree. to one another, rotates integrally with the ocular
globe, whose iris and eyelashes may be seen. Its axis coincides
with 2.
[0021] A core 4 made of hard iron confines the magnetic field of
the magnet and of the coil 6.
[0022] The limit stops 5 limit the travel to 90.degree. in
rotation.
[0023] According to the invention, the when there is not any
current and field generated by the coil 6, two stable positions
optimize the field generated by the magnet 3 and confined by the
core 4.
[0024] Since the field closes up in the core, the magnet exerts a
stabilizing return torque at the ends.
[0025] A pulsed current in the coil 6 generates a magnetic field in
the core 4. If the field is opposite that of the magnet 3, the
poles are repelled and the globe rotates one quarter of a turn and
finds another stable position.
[0026] The new stable position then corresponds to the eye
appearing closed.
[0027] The duration of the pulse and the energy deployed
corresponds to the rotation time of the globe and to its
inertia.
[0028] The direction of the current is determined so that the field
induced by 6 opposes the stationary field produced by 3.
[0029] Many alternative embodiments are conceivable:
[0030] The magnet 3 may be an assembly of several "tiles". The
magnet 3 may be toroidal.
[0031] The core or the coils may be oriented differently.
[0032] The ocular globe will be made of plastic, assembled or
injection-molded, of glass or of ceramic and the casing 1 will be
made of metallic plastic, independent or incorporated into the
doll's ocular cavity.
[0033] According to another embodiment of the invention, the ocular
globe includes two magnets and two coils, the eye rotates through
an angle close to 90.degree., owing to the effect of a current
pulse in the two said coils, and each angular position is stable
with no electric current, owing to the effect of the static
magnetic attraction of said magnets.
[0034] FIG. 2 shows the distribution of the components, with two
magnets 3, two cores 4 and two coils 6.
[0035] The equilibrium positions, which are also mechanical limit
stop positions, are formed by the contact of the magnet on the
ferromagnetic core, this being a stable sticking position held by
static ferromagnetic attraction and exclusively broken by a current
pulse generating an opposing magnetic field.
* * * * *