Expression mechanism for a toy, such as a doll, having fixed or movable eyes
First Claim
1. An expression mechanism for a toy having a lower lip, a cheek and an eye, comprising:
- a) a first member for engaging the lower lip of a toy;
b) a second member in pivotable engagement with said first member for engaging a cheek of the toy;
c) a third member for opening or closing the eye of the toy; and
d) a motor for actuating one of said first and second members to cause the toy to simulate a facial expression.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An expression mechanism for a toy having a lower lip, a cheek and an eye, includes a support frame, a lip lever pivotally connected to the support frame for engaging the lower lip of a toy, a cheek lever pivotally connected to the support frame for engaging a cheek of the toy, an eye linkage for opening or closing the eye of the toy, and a motor for actuating one of the lip and cheek levers to cause the toy to simulate a facial expression. The lip and cheek levers are interconnected in a manner that when the cheek lever pivots in one direction, the lip lever pivots in a generally opposite direction. The expression mechanism causes the toy to assume various facial expressions, including, but not limited to, smile, frown, and neutral.
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Citations
75 Claims
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1. An expression mechanism for a toy having a lower lip, a cheek and an eye, comprising:
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a) a first member for engaging the lower lip of a toy;
b) a second member in pivotable engagement with said first member for engaging a cheek of the toy;
c) a third member for opening or closing the eye of the toy; and
d) a motor for actuating one of said first and second members to cause the toy to simulate a facial expression. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An expression mechanism for a toy having a lower lip, a cheek and an eye, comprising:
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a) a support frame;
b) a lip lever pivotally connected to said support frame for engaging the lower lip of a toy;
c) a cheek lever pivotally connected to said support frame for engaging a cheek of the toy;
d) an eye linkage for opening or closing the eye of the toy;
e) a motor for actuating one of said lip and cheek levers to cause the toy to simulate a facial expression; and
f) said lip and cheek levers being interconnected in a manner that when said cheek lever pivots in one direction said lip lever pivots in a generally opposite directions. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. An expression mechanism for a toy having a lower lip and a cheek, comprising:
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a) a lip lever for engaging the lower lip of a toy;
b) a cheek lever for engaging a cheek of the toy;
c) a motor for actuating one of said lip and cheek levers to cause the toy to simulate a facial expression; and
d) said lip and cheek levers being interconnected in a manner to move in generally opposite directions. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44)
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45. A toy for simulating a facial expression including upper and lower lips, left and right cheeks and eyes, comprising:
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a) a support inside the toy;
b) a lip lever pivotally connected to support and including front and rear end portions;
c) said front end portion of said lip lever being in operable engagement with the lower lip of the toy;
d) a cheek lever pivotally connected to said support and including front and rear end portions;
e) said cheek lever being in operable engagement with the left and right cheeks of the toy;
f) said rear end portion of said lip lever being in pivotable engagement with said front end portion of said cheek lever;
g) an eye linkage for opening or closing of the eyes;
h) a motor for actuating one of said lip and cheek levers; and
i) said lip and cheek levers being interconnected in a manner that when said front end of said cheek lever moves upwardly, said front end of said lip lever moves downwardly. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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53. A method of causing a toy having a lower lip, a cheek and an eye, to simulate a facial expression, comprising the steps of:
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a) providing an expression mechanism, comprising;
i) a first member for engaging the lower lip of a toy;
ii) a second member in pivotable engagement with the first member for engaging a cheek of the toy;
iii) a third member for opening or closing the eye of the toy; and
iv) a motor for actuating one of the first and second members to cause the toy to simulate a facial expression;
b) actuating one of the first and second members to move the cheek and the lower lip to cause the toy to simulate a facial expression. - View Dependent Claims (54)
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55. An interactive play method, comprising the steps of:
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a) providing a toy comprising an expression mechanism;
b) actuating the toy to an on position wherein the toy assumes a coo or baby-talk mode;
c) providing a first tactile stimulus to cause the toy to simulate at least one expression selected from the group consisting of smile, laugh, giggle, frown, and a combination thereof;
d) placing the toy in a lying position to cause the toy to assume a yawn mode;
e) providing a second tactile stimulus to cause the toy to assume a sleep mode; and
f) lifting the toy upright to cause the toy to assume a wake-up mode. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63)
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64. An interactive play method, comprising the steps of:
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a) providing a toy comprising an expression mechanism;
b) actuating the toy to an on position wherein the toy assumes a coo or baby-talk mode; and
c) providing a first external stimulus to cause the toy to simulate at least one expression selected from the group consisting of smile, laugh, giggle, frown, and a combination thereof. - View Dependent Claims (65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75)
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Specification