Doll Twistable At The Waist

Abstract

A doll including upper and lower torso portions pivotally interconnected at the waist. A head and an arm are pivotally mounted on the upper torso portion. Transmission means, such as meshing gears, connected to the arm, head, and lower torso portion, transmit swinging movement of the arm to the head and lower torso portion.

Description

This invention relates to animated dolls, and more particularly to a doll having parts which move in response to movement of a limb of the doll.

It is an object of the invention to provide a doll which twists at the waist in response to movement of one of its limbs, so as to simulate human body movement, such as occurs during dancing.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a doll whose head turns in response to the same limb movement which causes twisting at the waist, and particularly whose head turns in a direction opposite to the direction of waist-twisting movement.

Additional objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a doll incorporating the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the doll with the front half of the upper torso portion removed;

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2, with the front half of the upper torso portion in place;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is an exploded fragmentary perspective view of the doll.

The doll chosen to illustrate the present invention includes a torso comprising a hollow upper torso portion 10 and a separate lower torso portion 11. The upper torso portion 10 is defined by a front upper torso portion 12 and a rear upper torso portion 13 which are joined at their edges, such as by a suitable cement. A pair of legs 14 are pivotally joined to the lower torso portion 11.

The upper face 17 of lower torso portion 11 and the lower face 18 of upper torso portion 10 are in opposed and mutually slidable relation, the faces 17 and 18 being at the waist of the doll. A stem 19 (FIG. 5) projects upwardly from lower torso portion 11, and carries a flange 20 spaced above face 17. The stem portion 21 between flange 20 and face 17 is pivotally accommodated within an opening 22 in the bottom wall 23 of upper torso portion 10, flange 20 preventing separation of the two torso portions. Fixed to the upper end of stem 19 is a crown gear 24. The stem portion 25 between flange 20 and crown gear 24 is pivotally supported in a recess formed in a bearing bracket 26 projecting from rear upper torso portion 13, the stem portion being held within the recess by a plate 27 (FIG. 3) projecting from front upper torso portion 12. Thus, it will be seen that the upper and lower torso portions are pivotally interconnected at the waist of the doll for twisting movement about a substantially vertical axis.

Upper torso portion 10 has a hollow neck 32 within which a stem 33 is pivotally arranged. Two spaced apart collars carried by stem 33 prevent axial movement of stem 33 with respect to neck 32. A doll head 35 is fixed to the upper end of stem 33, and a crown gear 36 is fixed to the lower end of stem 33.

Upper torso portion 10 has two openings 39 and 40 in its shoulder region. The upper end of a doll arm 41 is pivotally secured to one shoulder of the doll, a pin 42 projecting from arm 41 through opening 39. An enlargement 43 on the end of pin 42 prevents separation of arm 41 from upper torso portion 10.

A shaft 47 projects from the upper end of the other doll arm 46, and fixed to the shaft are a flange 48 and a spur gear 49. The portion of shaft 47 between arm 46 and flange 48 is rotatably accommodated within opening 40, and flange 48 prevents separation of arm 46 from upper torso portion 10. The portions of shaft 47 on each side of gear 49 are rotatably accommodated in recesses in bearing brackets 50 projecting from rear upper torso portion 13. Shaft 47 is held in the recesses in brackets 50 by plates (not shown), similar to plate 27, projecting from front upper torso portion 12. Spur gear 49 meshes with both crown gears 24 and 36, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

When playing with the doll, a child may grasp the upper torso portion 10 with one hand and with the other hand swing arm 46 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1. As a result, gear 49 will pivot in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 3 causing pivotal movement of gear 24 and hence lower torso portion 11 in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1. At the same time, gear 36 and hence head 35 pivot in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 1, which is opposite to the direction of movement of lower torso portion 11. When arm 46 is swung back in the reverse direction, the directions of movement of the lower torso portion 11 and head 35 are also reversed.

Thus, it will be seen that in response to swinging movement of arm 46, lower torso portion 11 and head 35 turn in opposite directions, simulating live dancing movements. Although in the present illustration the doll torso and head respond to movements of arm 46, they could be arranged to respond similarly to movement of one of the doll's legs 14.

The invention has been shown and described in preferred form only, and by way of example, and many variations may be made in the invention which will still be comprised within its spirit. It is understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment except insofar as such limitations are included in the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A toy doll comprising:

a. an upper torso portion,

b. a lower torso portion separate from said upper torso portion, at least one of said torso portions being hollow,

c. means pivotally joining said torso portions to permit twisting movement of the doll torso at the waist about a substantially vertical axis, said joining means permitting only said twisting movement but being other wise inflexible,

d. a limb pivotally mounted on said hollow torso portion, and

e. means within said hollow torso portion responsive to swinging movement of said limb about its pivot connection to said hollow torso portion for pivoting the other torso portion with respect to said hollow torso portion, whereby the doll experiences a twisting movement at its waist.

2. A doll as defined in claim 1 including a head pivotally mounted on said upper torso portion, and wherein said means (e) includes means for pivoting said head in response to swinging movement of said limb.

3. A doll as defined in claim 2 wherein said means (e) is constructed to turn said head and other torso portion in opposite directions.

4. A doll as defined in claim 2 wherein said hollow torso portion is said upper torso portion, and said limb is an arm of the doll.

5. A doll as defined in claim 1 wherein said means (e) includes a gear rotatable with said limb, and a gear meshing with said limb gear rotatable with said other torso portion.

6. A doll as defined in claim 4 wherein said means (e) includes a gear rotatable with said arm, and gears meshing with said arm gear and rotatable with said other torso portion and said head, respectively, whereby said head and lower torso portion turn in opposite directions in response to movement of said arm.