Compact motion mechanism for an animated doll

• US 20020111112A1
• Filed: 02/12/2002
• Published: 08/15/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mattel Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Mattel Incorporated
• Inventors: Willett, William
• Granted Patent: US 6,793,553 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 446/330
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 3/365 allowing a choice of facial features, e.g. to change the facial expression change of expression through animation A63H3/48, self-moving A63H13/005; movable eyes A63H3/40
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 3/40 movable

Abstract

A tiny articulation eye and mouth (facial-expression structures) opening and closing structure installable in the hollow interior of a doll head, and utilizing a single, upright-axis motor, and a rotary, co-axial, stepped-diameter drive drum which is rotated by the motor. Circumferential drive tracks formed on the outside of the drum drive followers and actuation which directly impart opening and closing motions in the doll head'"'"'s eyes and mouth.

Claims

1. An animated toy doll comprising:

a hollow doll head component,

plural, changeable-position, movable facial-expression structures movably mounted on said head component, and

a single, shared, rotary drive device rotatably disposed within said head component and operatively drivably connected to said facial-expression structures, whereby rotation of this device produces defined, coordinated, related, respective position-changing motions in said structures;

wherein said drive device takes the form of plural co-axial, operatively connected, different-diameter cylindrical elements.

2. The doll of claim 1, wherein said facial-expression structures are mounted on said head component for bidirectional reciprocation.

3. The doll of claim 1, wherein said cylindrical elements form axially-spaced portions of a unitary drum.

4. The doll of claim 1, wherein said facial-expression structures are generally vertically reciprocable, and said drive device is supported for rotation about an upright axis.

5. The doll of claim 4 which further includes a single, selectively power-operated drive motor disposed within said head component and drivingly connected to said drive device, operable to rotate the device.

6. The doll of claim 1 which further includes a single, selectively power-operated drive motor disposed within said head component and drivingly connected to said drive device, operable to rotate the device.

7. An animated toy doll comprising

a hollow doll head component,

generally vertically reciprocable, openable and closable eye and mouth structures movably mounted on said head component, and

a single, shared, rotary drive device rotatably disposed within said head component and operatively, drivably connected to said eye and mouth structures, whereby rotation of this device produces defined, coordinated, related, respective opening and closing motions in the eye and mouth structures.

8. The doll of claim 7 which further includes a single, selectively power-operated drive motor disposed within said head component and drivingly connected to said drive device, operable to rotate said device.

9. The doll of claim 8, wherein said drive device takes the form generally of an elongate, upright-axis, cylindrical body having upper and lower cylindrical ends, which body is mounted within the head component for rotation about its upright long axis, and a pair of elongate, motion-promoting, generally circumferential drive tracks formed, one each, on the outside of a different one of said ends, with each track being operatively associated with a different one of said eye and mouth structures.

10. The doll of claim 9, wherein each track, progressing therealong circumferentially about its associated cylindrical body end, is at least partially defined by adjacent track regions that are characterized by having different longitudinal positions relative to the axial length of said body.

11. The doll of claim 10, wherein said tracks are circumferentially continuous, and generally closed-loop in character.

12. The doll of claim 11 which further includes two pivoted actuators, one operatively connected to and for each of said eye and mouth structures, and the actuator for each associated eye or mouth structure provides, at least in part, the operative driving connection between that associated structure and the associated track in said rotary drive device.

13. The doll of claim 12, wherein the actuator associated with each of said eye and mouth structures includes a track follower which is drivingly engaged with the associated track.

14. The doll of claim 7, wherein said drive device takes the form generally of an elongate, upright-axis, cylindrical body having upper and lower cylindrical ends, which body is mounted within the head component for rotation about its upright long axis, and a pair of elongate, motion-promoting, generally circumferential drive tracks formed, one each, on the outside of a different one of said ends, with each track being operatively associated with a different one of said eye and mouth structures.

15. The doll of claim 14, wherein each track, progressing therealong circumferentially about its associated cylindrical body end, is at least partially defined by adjacent track regions that are characterized by having different longitudinal positions relative to the axial length of said body.

16. The doll of claim 15, wherein said tracks are circumferentially continuous, and generally closed-loop in character.

17. The doll of claim 16 which further includes two pivoted actuators, one operatively connected to and for each of said eye and mouth structures, and the actuator for each associated eye or mouth structure provides, at least in part, the operative driving connection between that associated structure and the associated track in said rotary drive device.

18. The doll of claim 17, wherein the actuator associated with each of said eye and mouth structures includes a track follower which is drivingly engaged with the associated track.

19. The doll of claim 7, wherein said drive device is configured to produce, with its rotation, a pattern of related eye and mouth openings and closings in plural, successive, cyclic phases, including both (a) phases in which one only of the eye or mouth structures is shifting in some manner between open and closed conditions, while the other structure retains a non-changing condition, and (b) phases in which both eye and mouth structures retain non-changing conditions.

20. The doll of claim 19, wherein said drive device is specifically configured, whereby a motion in either direction between an open and a closed condition is permitted for only one of said eye and mouth structures at a time.

21. The doll of claim 19, wherein said drive device is specifically configured, whereby each phase that involves any motion of one of said eye and mouth structures in some manner between open and closed conditions is followed by a next-successive phase which involves no such motion in either of these structures, and vice-versa.

22. Animated doll-head structure comprising

a head component with a hollow interior,

nominally independently openable and closeable movable eye and mouth structures, each mounted for reversible opening and closing motions on said head component,

for each of said movable structures, and disposed within the interior of said head component, a respective, associated, operatively connected pivoted actuator including a follower drivable to move the actuator in a manner producing related motions and positioning controls in the associated movable eye or mouth structure,

for each of said followers, and also disposed within the interior of said head component, a respective, associated, operatively connected, cyclically drivable rotary track instrumentality, operable, with rotation of the instrumentality, to create related cyclical movements in the follower and in the follower'"'"'s associated actuator, thus to produce related cyclic motions and positioning controls in the associated movable eye or mouth structure,

rotary interconnect structure operatively and drivingly interconnecting said track instrumentalities for co-rotation as a unit with interconnect structure, and

a single, power-operated motor disposed adjacent and drivingly connected to said interconnect structure within the hollow interior of said head component, operable to rotate the interconnect structure so as to create, ultimately, cyclic opening, closing and position control in and for said eye and mouth structures.

24. The doll head of claim 23, wherein said motor is selectively operable unidirectionally to produce successive, cyclic, continuous rotation of said drum, thus to create successive, cyclic raisings and lowerings of said eye and mouth structures.

26. The doll of claim 25, wherein said drive members form axially spaced portions of a unitary drum.

27. The doll of claim 26 which further includes a single, selectively power-operated drive motor disposed within said body component and drivingly connected in common to said rotary drive members.

28. The doll of claim 26 which further includes a single, selectively power-operated drive motor disposed within said body component and drivingly connected in common to said rotary drive members.

29. The doll of claim 25 which further includes a single, selectively power-operated drive motor disposed within said body component and drivingly connected in common to said rotary drive members.

23. Animation structure in a doll head which is hollow, said animation structure, with the doll head disposed substantially upright, comprising:

movable eye structure mounted on the head, raisable and lowerable appropriately between open and closed conditions,

movable mouth structure mounted on the head below said eye structure, raisable and lowerable appropriately between closed and open conditions,

a pivoted actuator for each of said eye and mouth structures, drivingly connected thereto and each including a portion which is generally reversibly vertically movable to effect driving interaction with the associated eye or mouth structure,

a single, elongate rotary drive drum mounted within the head for rotation about the drum'"'"'s long axis which has a generally vertical disposition, and which drum is located closely adjacent said eye and mouth structures,

two, vertically disposed, generally circumferential drive tracks formed on the outside of said drum, each drivingly engaged with a different one of said actuator'"'"'s said portions, and

a single, power-operated drive motor disposed within the doll head, drivingly connected to said drum, and having a drive axis which is substantially coincident with said drum'"'"'s said long axis, operable to drive said drum in rotation, thus to effect, through interaction with said actuators, relative, coordinated raising and lowering of said eye and mouth structures.

25. An animated toy doll comprising

a hollow body component,

plural, outwardly visible, changeable-position, movable body-expression structures movably mounted on said body component,

for each said body-expression structure, a rotary drive member rotatably disposed within said body component and operatively drivably connected to its associated body-expression structure, whereby rotation of the device produces defined position-changing motions in that structure and

interconnection structure operatively interconnecting said rotary drive members for defined, coordinated rotational movements;

wherein each drive member comprises a cylindrical structure having a diameter and an axis of rotational symmetry which is also an axis of rotation for the cylindrical structure, and said cylindrical structures have different respective diameters, and axes of rotation which are common to one another.