Toy figure with rump-actuated sound generator

• US 5,820,440 A
• Filed: 09/17/1997
• Issued: 10/13/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pragmatic Designs, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Pragmatic Designs, Inc.
• Inventors: Truchsess, Joseph F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hafer, Robert A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MUIR, DAVID N
• Application Number:
  US08/932,077
• Time in Patent Office: 391 Days
• Field of Search: 446/297, 446/298, 446/299, 446/300, 446/301, 446/302, 446/303, 446/397, 446/484, 446/175, 446/304, 446/305
• US Class Current: 446/305
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 3/28 Arrangements of sound-producing means in dolls; Means in dolls for producing sounds

Abstract

A toy doll or bear 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. In an alternative embodiment, electrically conductive sensors are provided on the rump area of the doll to detect when the doll'"'"'s rump is wet. 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 and positioned to contact a liquid when said first predefined rump area is selectively exposed to the liquid to simulate a wetting of said first predefined rump area, said contact switch being actuated each time said first predefined rump area is exposed to the liquid during said wetting simulation; and

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 generating a sound element of said sequence of sound elements in response to actuation of said first contact switch during said wetting 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 responsively generate a subsequent sequential sound element of said sequence of sound elements thereby producing said sound recitation upon repeated actuation of said contact switch during said wetting simulation of exposing said first predefined rump area to the liquid, so as to entertain by said sound recitation a child playing with said toy figure by repeatedly exposing said first predefined rump area to the liquid during said simulated wetting.

2. The child'"'"'s toy of claim 1, wherein said first contact switch further comprises two electrically conductive contacts.

3. The child'"'"'s toy of claim 1, wherein after said sound generator generates 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 wetting, said sound generator re-starts said sequence of sound elements by generating said first sound element of said sequence of sound elements.

4. The child'"'"'s toy of claim 1, said sound generator being configured so that when said first contact switch is actuated during said simulated wetting while said sound generator is generating a one of the sound elements of said sequence of sound elements, said sound generator truncates said one generated 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 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 generation by said sound generator in response to actuation of said first contact switch during said simulated wetting.

6. 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.