Toy figure with rump-actuated sound generator

• US 5,695,381 A
• Filed: 09/06/1996
• Issued: 12/09/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Joseph Truchsess
• Original Assignee: Joseph Truchsess
• Inventors: Truchsess, Joseph F.
• Primary Examiner(s): DeMille, Danton D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MUIR, DAVID N
• Application Number:
  US08/708,211
• Time in Patent Office: 459 Days
• Field of Search: 446/297, 446/298, 446/299, 446/300, 446/301, 446/302, 446/303, 446/397, 446/484, 446/175
• US Class Current: 446/297
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 3/28 Arrangements of sound-producing means in dolls; Means in dolls for producing sounds

Abstract

A bear or baby doll that laughs or sings a nursery song when bounced or dandled is disclosed. A particular area on the rump of the doll is pressure sensitive and produces the given sound when a pressure level is detected in that particular area that is within a range of pressure levels produced when the doll'"'"'s rump contacts the child'"'"'s knee in a gentle bounce. Tapping one of the bear'"'"'s knees selects a respective song and controls the sound generator'"'"'s mode of operation.

Claims

1. A child'"'"'s toy comprising:

a toy figure representing a child'"'"'s playfellow, said toy figure including a first contact switch located in a first predefined area of a rump of said toy figure positioned to contact a child'"'"'s knee when said toy figure is bounced on a child'"'"'s knee during play simulation, said contact switch being actuated each time said first predefined rump area is contacted by the child'"'"'s knee during said play simulation;

a sound generator for storing a sequence of sound elements that, when sequentially generated, form a sound recitation, said sound generator being connected to said first contact switch for producing a sound clement of said sequence of sound elements in response to actuation of said first contact switch during said play simulation, said first contact switch causing said sound generator to produce a first sound element of said sequence of sound elements when said first contact switch is first actuated, and wherein upon each subsequent actuation of said first contact switch, said first contact switch causes said sound generator to produce a subsequent sequential sound element of said sequence of sound elements thereby generating said sound recitation upon repeated actuation of said contact switch during said play simulation of bouncing said toy figure on a child'"'"'s knee, whereby a child playing with said toy figure is entertained by said sound recitation by repeatedly bouncing said toy figure on a knee during said simulated play.

2. The child'"'"'s toy of claim 1, wherein said sound generator is disposed in proximity with said contact switch.

3. The child'"'"'s toy of claim 1, wherein after said sound generator produces a last sound element of said sequence of sound elements, said sound generator is reset such that upon the next actuation of said first contact switch during said simulated play, said sound generator re-starts said sequence of sound elements by producing said fixer sound element of said sequence of sound elements.

4. The child'"'"'s toy of claim 1, wherein when said first contact switch is actuated during said simulated play while said sound generator is producing a sound clement of said sequence of sound elements, said contact switch causes said sound generator to truncate said produced sound element, and wherein said sequence of sound elements is selected such that each sound element remains intelligible when it is truncated.

5. The child'"'"'s toy of claim 4, wherein each of said sound elements includes an elongated phoneme portion for facilitating intelligibility when said sound elements are truncated.

6. The child'"'"'s toy of claim 5, wherein at least one sound element of said sequence of sound elements includes an extra terminal consonant sound for anticipating an initial consonant sound of a next sound element, whereby apparent continuity is maintained between subsequently produced sound elements despite separate production of each sound element and the use of elongated phonemes.

7. The child'"'"'s toy of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of sequences of sound elements, and a second contact switch positioned in a second predefined area of said toy figure and connected to said sound generator, for selecting, in response to contact with said second predefined area, a particular sequence of sound elements from said plurality of sequences of sound elements for production by said sound generator in response to actuation of said first contact switch during said simulated play.

8. The child'"'"'s toy of claim 1, wherein said sound generator comprises a first setting where a sound element of said sequence of sound elements is sequentially produced in response to actuation of said first contact switch, and a reset setting where said sound generator restarts production of said sequence of sound elements from said first sound element by generating sad first sound element of said sequence of sound elements in response to a next actuation of said first contact switch, and wherein said toy figure further comprises an additional contact switch positioned in a different predefined area of said toy figure than said first predefined area and connected to said sound generator, for selecting, in response to contact by a child with said additional predefined area, one of said first setting and said reset setting for said sound generator.

9. The child'"'"'s toy of claim 1, wherein said switch is actuated by a contact with said first predefined rump area within a predefined range of pressure levels, and wherein a minimum contact pressure necessary to actuate said first contact switch is greater than the static force of gravity on said first predetermined rump area of said toy figure.

10. The child'"'"'s toy of claim 1, further comprising:

sensing means, connected to said first contact switch, for detecting when excessive force is exerted on said first predefined rump area; and

control means, connected to said sensing means and to said sound generator, for inhibiting said sound generator from producing a sound element from said sequence of sound elements when said sensing means detects excessive force being exerted on said first predefined rump area of said toy figure, such that contact with said first predefined rump area that is uncharacteristic of said simulated play does not actuate said sound generator.

11. The child'"'"'s toy of claim 1, wherein at least one said sound element of said sequence of sound elements is one of a word, a song portion, and a musical piece.