US3264779A - Motion delay mechanism and animated toy employing it - Google Patents

Description

1956 J. L. BONANNO 3,264,779

MOTION DELAY MECHANISM AND ANIMATED TOY EMPLOYING IT Filed July 10, 1964 1N VENTOR. Jose/ H L. 501w; IVA/O Kw 4M Q dii'o United States Patent 3,264,779 MOTION DELAY MECHANISM AND ANIMATED TOY EMPLGYHNG IT Joseph L. Bonarmo, South Orange, N..I., assignor to Deluxe Reading Corp, Elizabeth, Ni, :1 corporation of New Jersey Filed July 10, 1964, Ser. No. 381,714 19 Claims. (Cl. 46120) This invention relates generally to mechanisms in which a driven component is caused to move relative to another component, and has particular reference to a motion delaying means for retarding the movement in a predetermined controllable manner.

It is an object of the invention to provide a motiondelay device which is simple in structural nature, inexpensive to manufacture, easily regulated, reliably effective over long periods of usage, silent in operation, and exceptionally staunch and rugged, and resistant even to immersion in water.

The improved motion-delay mechanism is characterized by the employment of a means such as a tensioned coil spring for imparting rotation, through a limited arc, to a shaft which controls the movement of the component to be driven; and by recourse to a helical braking spring to impede the shaft frictionally when the shaft is rotated in driven direction. The convolutions of the retarding spring extend in a direction in which they automatically tighten against the shaft, or against a drum carried by the shaft, during its driven movements. Thus the frictional effect can be accurately regulated whereby the driven movement is slowed to the desired extent,

while the return or re-setting movement can be brought about with a minimum of externally applied force.

The invention is useful for a wide range of purposes. It is particularly applicable to animated toys, for assuring relatively slow movement of one part with respect to another. For example, in a doll, the movement of the head, or of one or more of the appendages, can be regulated to bring about relatively slow life-like animation. The invention will therefore be described and illustrated as part of a doll mechanism.

In the embodiment chosen for illustration, a doll body contains a mechanism which includes a pair of shafts, each of said shafts having a limited rotative movement, one of the shafts carrying the dolls head and the other shaft carrying the arms. Mounted on each shaft is a drum encircled by two springs, one of which springs is a coiled driving spring and the other a contractible braking spring, the arrangement being such that the rotation of each shaft under the torque imposed on it by its driving spring is resisted by the contractible spring to such an extent that the movement of each of the shafts is slowed causing the arms and head to move in a slow, lifelike manner. Latches are provided by which the drive springs can be held under tension until released by manual pressure exerted on the body of the doll, the latch releases being exteriorly accessible.

One way of achieving these objects and advantages, and such other benefits as may be pointed out hereinafter, is exemplified in the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of an animating mechanism constructed according -to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the same, with certain parts shown in section;

FIG. 3 is a face view, on a reduced scale, of the base member of the animating mechanism;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the same;

FIG. 5 is an end View of the base member; and

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of a portion of the "ice body of a doll showing how the arms and head thereof are moved by means of the animating mechanism.

The animating mechanism is shown, by way of example, housed within the body 1 of a doll and is coupled to the head 2 and also to the arms 3 in a way which causes these parts of the doll to move slowly from one position to another and thus simulate the leisurely movements of an infant. That is to say, the head of the doll can be caused to turn slowly from a forwardly-fa=cing position, as shown in full lines in FIG. 6, to a side-facing position as shown at 4 in dotted lines, or vice versa. This movement, when slowly carried out by the present animating device, tends to simulate the act of a baby in falling asleep during the turning of the head as above described. The animating device also provides means by which the arms 3 of the doll can be slowly raised above the head, i.e., from the lowered retracted position shown in full lines in FIG. 6, to the raised or extended position shown in dotted lines, or vice versa. The head movement and arm movement can be effected simultaneously, or operated separately, as may be desired.

The mechanism shown includes a metallic base member 10 shown in detail in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. It has a back Wall 11, on which are formed integral side flanges 12 and 13 in which a cross shaft 14 is mounted for limited rotative movement. The cross shaft 14 has its opposite ends extending respectively beyond the flanges 12 and 13, the ends of the shaft being attached to the arms 3 of the doll. For this purpose, each arm 3, which may be of hollow construction and composed of a soft plastic material, may be fitted with an appropriate insert or plug 15 (shown in FIG. 2 in association with the neck portion 43 of the head 2 of the doll). The plug consists of a cylindrical piece having a central hub 16 from which spokes 17 radiate and connect to a rim 18. The ends of the cross shaft 14 are force-fitted into the hub 18 and to further securely attach the arms 3 to the shaft 14, a wire ring 19 may be tightly fitted around each arm.

Mounted on the shaft 14 is a drum 20 formed with a disk 21, said disk having on its periphery a plurality of hook members 22. A coil spring 23 encircles one part of the drum and constitutes a snubbing or braking device tending to control the rotative speed of the shaft 14, so that upon the manual disengagement of a latch or control member to be described, the regulated ro tative speed of the shaft 14 will be slow and the arms 3 borne by the shaft will be slowly raised to the position shown in dotted lines 3 in FIG. 6.

The rotating means for the shaft 14 consists of a torsion spring 24 encircling a part of the drum 20 between the disk 21 and the side flange 13. This is a drive means and has one end 25 engaged with a lug 26 formed at one end of the flange 13. The second end 27 of the driving spring 24 is engaged with the disk 21 and is connected with a selected one of the hooks on said disk to properly tension the spring 24 and cause it to rotate the shaft 14 at the desired speed.

The braking or snubbing spring'23 which encircles the inner part of the drum 20 has one end 28 adjustably connected to a post 29 secured to the base plate 11. This spring 23 can be adjusted to provide the necessary contracting force around the drum 20 to frictionally slow down the rotation of the shaft 14 so that the arms 3 carried by the shaft 14 will very slowly move from their lowered to their raised position.

Tension is stored in the spring 24 by manually moving the arms 3 downwardly from their raised position to the lowered position, and when this position is reached, a latch member or catch 30, best seen in FIG. 2, will have its nose 31 engage with a recess 32 for-med in the 3 wall of the drum 23 and thus hold the. drum and shaft 14 against rotative movement.

to bias the latch member in a direction away from the base plate so as to hold the latch member normally in the drum-engaging position shown in FIG. 2. The 'latch member 30 is pivoted at on a lug 36 formed as an integral extension of the base plate 11.

The animating mechanism is housed within and concealed by the hollow body ofthe doll and when a child desires to have the arms of the doll raised or elevated,

she will exert pressure on the part of the body of the doll behind the fingerpiece 30a on the latch member 30, thereby releasing the latch member from its engagement with the slot 32, whereupon the tensioned' drive spring A coil spring 3-3 isfitted. around a lug 34 on the side of the base plate 11 and serves 24 will begin to rotate the shaft 14 while the braking Y The manner in Which the head 2 of the doll can be rotated (e.g., from front-facing position to side-facing position) is substantially similar to the manner in which the arms are moved. At 40 is shown a square shaft which is rotatively mounted in the flanges 41 and 42,of:the.

base member. The head of the doll is formed witha tubular neck 43 in which one of the plugs 15 is .fitted, the hub 16 thereof receiving the endof thegshaft 40 substantially as shown in FIG. 2. A wire clamping ring 19 may also be used to firmly attach'the neck of the doll to the inserted plug. The shaft 40 carries a drum 44, substantially similar to the drum 20, the drum 44 carrying a disk 45 having the peripherally hooked edge :40

brakingspring 46 having its end 47 adjustably connected 46. Encircling the upper part of the drum 44 is the to the post 48. The propelling or torsion spring .49 has its other end 52 connected to an end 50 connected to a lug 51 formed on the flange 42, and has selected one of the hooks 46 on the disk 43- The drive spring may, by the selection of'the proper hook on the disk 4'3,' be

set for the required torque to rotate the shaft 40Jat the desired speed.

The latchfor controlling the rotation of the shaft40 is indicated at 5 3.

It has one end pivoted at :54'tO a the edge 59 of the latch enters into a notch;60 (FIG;

5) in the flange 42 and engages with aslot in the :hub 44, said slot being similar to that shown at 32 in the drum 20. The flange 41 has a lug 61 which constitutes a stop member, and by its contact with one or the other of the spokes 17 in the neck plug .15 it limits the. -ro-. t-ative movement of the head from a front-facing position to .a side-facing positionand vice versa.

From the foregoing, the operation of the animating.

device will be readily understood.' The tension in the.

ing the head 2 from its side-facing position to its frontfacing position. 53 engages the notch in the drum 44 andholds the shaft 40 from turning. When the lach 53 is manually de-v pressed by pressure exerted at the proper position on the body of the doll, the drum 44 will'be released from the latchand the shaft 40 will begin to rotate toward a sideing, the braking spring will frictionally create a drag or When this position is reached,:the latch 65 torsional propelling spring 49 is stored by manually turn- I facing position of the head. While the shaft 40 is turnretarding efiecton the drum 44and will materially slow down the turning of the. dolls head, thus simulating the natural turning of the. head of a sleepy infant about to begin its slumber.

The;-shaft14 carrying the arms 3 operates'inza similar manner; By bringing the arms 3 .down from raised position'to lowered position, energy will be stored in the tor-. sional or propelling spring '24 and when the lowered position of the arms is reached thelatoh30 will engage the slot 32 in the drum and hold it from rotating. Upon exertion of manual pressure on that-part of. the body of the doll be-. hind which the .fingerpiece of the latch is, situated, the

latch will be depressedand will free. the drum 20. The shaft 14. will then turntand raise. the .arms to elevated position. The frictional effect of t-he.braking spring 23. I on the drum 20 will be to slow'dowu theyrotation of the shaft 14 so that.the movement;of thearms 3 from lowered to raised position will be slow and leisurely.

The arms and head thus; have their propelling springs. tensioned or cockedby simply. moving these parts of the doll from their'advanced positions to retracted positions.

No winding keys, .leversr or other. parts' project from the body of the doll. Moreover, the'deviceis solely springoperated, and is noiseless in operation.

While the invention has been described in connection with a doll, it willibe understood that'it is of: wider scope and provides a highly useful and versatile mechanism'that can control a variety of movable components. For ex? ample, .it could be embodied in ;a.delayed-action domestic .electric light switch of the kind which employs a tiltable mercury switch 1 unit. Another illustrative field of use of the: invention wouldv be in .a telephone dialing mechanism;

In iwhatever environmentthe invention may be used, is operates silently and reliably, and can be readily designed and adjusted to impart. precisely the desiredretardation.- The several parts of the mechanismare made of .non-corrodable material so. thathumidity, and even complete submer-gcnce, will not ;cause damage toI the.

mechanism: The drum is composed .of stable wear-resistant plastic such as acetal' resin plastic,.and thesprings of stainless steel or other non-corrodable material. The braking effect is! dependent, of course, .upon the coefficient of friction,'and in each case the: braking spring, is formed with just-right diameter, and the correct selected number of convolutions, to impart; the desired retarding.

force. This can be regulated,ialso,. by ;varying the tension on the driving spring.

Although only; a single embodiment of the invention has been described, it is therefore obvious that the invention is not restricted thereto, but is. broad- .enoughto cover all structures coming within the scope. of the .annexed claims.-

What is claimed is: a e

1. In an animated vtoy,;a component mounted for relative movement with. respect. to another relatively fixed component, a rotatableishaft for moving said first-named component, driving .means for imparting rotative movement' to said shaft; throughia limitedarc, and a helical braking spring having convolutions encircling the=shaft and. acting to restrain itfrictionally and thereby-retard said movement, the convolutions extending in a direction in which the rotative movement of the. shaft in the driven direction induces them to tighten.

2. :Ananimated toy as defined in claim 1, in which said first-named component=is mounted on said shaftfor slow relative movementwith respectto another relatively fixed component, a rotatable shaft carrying said first-namedv component,: a coil. spring interposed between said com-.

ponents for imparting rotative movement to said shaft through a limited arc, means for releasably latching said shaft in a position in which said coil spring is tensioned, a drum on said shaft, and a braking spring having convolutions encircling said drum and acting frictionally to restrain the rotative movement of the shaft when said latch is released, the convolutions of said braking spring extending in a direction in which the rotative movement of the shaft in the driven direction induces them to tighten against said drum.

5. An animated toy as defined in claim 4, in which said drum carries a notched disc, one end of the coil spring being anchored to said relatively fixed component, the other end being selectively engageable with one of the notches in said disc so that the torque exerted by said spring upon the shaft can be regulated.

6. In a doll, a hollow body, an appendage mounted for relative movement with respect thereto, a rotatable shaft journaled in said body and carrying said appendage, a coil spring encircling said shaft for imparting a limited rotative movement to it, said spring having one end anchored to said body and the other to said shaft, a drum on said shaft, and a helical braking spring having convolutions encircling said drum and acting to restrain it frictionally and thereby retard the shaft movement, the convolutions extending in a direction in which the rotative movement of the shaft in the driven direction induces them to tighten against said drum.

7. A doll as defined in claim 6, including a means for releasably latching said shaft in a position in which said coil spring is tensioned, and a latch release in a location accessible from the exterior of said body.

8. A doll as defined in claim 7, in which said shaft extends transversely across said body and said appendage is an arm of the doll.

9. A doll as defined in claim 7, in which said shaft extends in a longitudinal direction and said appendage is the head of the doll.

10. A doll as defined in claim 6 in which there are a plurality of shafts of the character described, including a coil spring, drum, and helical braking spring for each, the doll appendage carried by one of said shafts being the head of the doll.

11. In a doll, a hollow body, a pair of arms mounted for relative movement with respect thereto, a rotatable shaft journaled transversely in said body and carrying said arms at its opposite ends, a coil spring encircling said shaft for imparting to it a rotative movement which swings said arms from a retracted position alongside the body to an extended position projecting from the body, said spring having one end anchored to said body and the other to said shaft, a means for releasably latching said shaft in a position in which said coil spring is tensioned, a latch release in a location accessible from the exterior of said body, a drum on said shaft, and a helical braking spring having convolutions encircling said drum, said convolutions extending in a direction in which the rotative movement of the shaft in the driven direction induces them to tighten against said drum while rotative movement of the shaft in the opposite direction is not impeded, whereby the shaft may be readily rotated by hand to the latched position, whereupon release of the latch causes the arms to move slowly from their retracted to said extended position.

12. In a doll, a hollow body, a rotatable shaft journaled longitudinally in said body and carrying the doll head at one end, a coil spring encircling said shaft for imparting to it a rotative movement which swings the doll head through an arc of movement between two positions, said spring having one end anchored to said body and the other to said shaft, a means for releasably latching said shaft in one of said doll head positions with said coil spring tensioned, a latch release in a location accessible from the exterior of said body, a drum on said shaft, and a helical braking spring having convolutions encircling said drum, said convolutions extending in a direction in which the rotative movement of the shaft in the driven direction induces them to tighten against said 'drum while rotative movement of the shaft in the opposite direction is not impeded, whereby the shaft may be readily rotated by hand to the latched position whereupon release of the latch causes the head to move slowly from one of its positions to the other.

13. A toy doll provided with a head having a limited rotative movement from a front-facing position to a side facing position, a frame, a shaft mounted for restricted rotative movement therein, the head being mounted on said shaft, a drum on said shaft, a pair of helical springs encircling said drum, one of the springs being effective to rotate the shaft, the other spring acting to retard the driven rotation of the shaft and thereby effect a slow turning movement of the head, the convolutions of said retarding spring extending in a direction in which the rotative movement of the shaft in the driven direction induces them to tighten.

14. A doll as defined in claim 13, including a releasable spring-biased latch, the drum having a notch for engagement by said latch to hold the drum against rotation, and a disk carried by the drum and having hooks arranged around its periphery for selective engagement by one end of the shaft-rotating springs to regulate the torque exerted by said spring on the shaft.

15. A doll having a movable head and movable arms, a rotatable shaft carrying the head, a rotatable shaft carrying the arms, a drum carried by each shaft, a pair of spring encircling each drum, one of the springs on each shaft being a shaft-propelling spring, the second spring on each drum being a braking spring having convolutions extending in a direction in which the rotative movement of the shaft in the propelled direction induces them to tighten whereby said second spring is effective to resist rotative movement of its drum and serving to slow down the shaft on which the drum is mounted.

16. A doll as defined in claim 15, including a springbiased manually-releasable latch for each drum to hold the shafts against rotation.

17. An animated doll comprising a doll body, containing a pair of shafts, each of said shafts having a limited rotative movement, a drum mounted on each shaft, each drum being encircled by two springs, one of said springs being a driving spring for rotating its shaft through an arc of movement, the second spring on each drum being a contractible braking spring exerting a frictional influence on its drum to thereby resist the rotative movement of the shaft under the torque imposed on it by the driving spring to thereby materially slow down the movement of each shaft, the convolutions of said braking spring extending in a direction in which the rotative movement of the shaft in the driven direction induces them to tighten, a dolls head carried by one of the shafts, and arms carried by the second shaft, the head and arms being moved slowly from one position to another by the slow rotative movement of said shafts.

18. An animated doll as defined in claim 17, wherein releasable latches are provided for engagement with each drum to hold each shaft against rotation, the shafts crossing one another at substantially right angles, the arms and head each containing an insert, and stop means engaging a part of each insert to restrict the rotative movements of the arms and head.

19. A motion-delay mechanism comprising a shaft mounted for rotation with respect to a relatively fixed component, a coil spring encircling the shaft and serving as a driving means for imparting rotative movement to the shaft through a limited arc, one end of said spring being fixed to said fixed component and the other end being fixed with respect to said shaft, and a helical braking spring encircling and frictionally engaging said shaft and thereby acting to retard said movement, one end of said braking spring being fixed to said fixed component and 7 8: the other end being slidable with respect to said shaft as 2,942,377 6/1960 Beebe 1 46119 the latter rotates, the eonvolutionsof said braking spring 2,954,639 10/ 1960 Walss 46-120" extending in a direction in whichthe rotative movement 3,009,468 I g ;185-37 0f the shaft in the driven direction induces them to tighten. 3, 9,552 4/ 1962 Katz 46-120' t 5 3,128,575 4/1964 StanetZki 46120 References Cited by the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS v UNITED'STATES PATENTS 68,153 4/1893 Germany 1,805,156 5/1931 w hn 46-419 7 2 9 43 9 1954 i f 1 1O Cl Przmary- Examiner.

2,911,063 11/ 1959 Wolfson 185-37 L. JJBOVASSO, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. 6. IN A DOLL, A HOLLOW BODY, AN APPENDAGE MOUNTED FOR RELATIVE MOVEMENT WITH RESPECT THERETO, A ROTATABLE SHAFT JOURNALED IN SAID BODY AND CARRYING APPENDAGE, A COIL SPRING ENCIRCLING SAID SHAFT FOR IMPARTING A LIMITED ROTATIVE MOVEMENT TO IT, SAID SPRING HAVING ONE END ANCHORED TO SAID BODY AND THE OTHER TO SAID SHAFT, A DRUM ON SAID SHAFT, AND A HELICAL BRAKING SPRING HAVING CONVOLUTIONS ENCIRCLING SAID DRUM AND ACTING TO RESTRAIN IT FRICTIONALLY AND THEREBY RETARD THE SHAFT MOVEMENT, THE CONVOLUTIONS EXTENDING IN A DIRECTION IN WHICH THE ROTATIVE MOVEMENT OF THE SHAFT IN THE DRIVEN DIRECTION INDUCES THEM TO TIGHTEN AGIANST SAID DRUM.

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