Mechanism for animating a doll's facial features
AssigneeCal R&D, Inc.
InventorsRichard L. May, Kenneth J. Curran
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A mechanism for animating a doll's jaw, eyes and eyelids. A single motor powers all three movements. The eyes and jaw are connected to the motor such that they continually move while the motor is in operation, while the eylids are connected to the motor such that reversal of the direction of rotation of the motor causes the eyelids to blink once. All movements are therefore controlled by controlling the speed and direction of rotation of the motor. Thus, movement of the jaw can be synchronized with a sound track, the eyes move in an apparently random path, and the eyelids blink at random intervals independent of the other facial features' position or movements.
Claims14
In an animated figure designed for movement of certain parts thereof, a mechanism contained therein for moving said parts in a seemingly independent manner, said mechanism comprising:
- a bidirectional motor capable of continuous rotation in either direction upon selection;
- a first moveable part;
- a second moveable part;
- means interconnecting said bidirectional motor to said first and second moveable parts for moving said first and second moveable parts in directions independent from each other in response to said bidirectional motor rotating in either direction;
- said interconnecting means including:
- a specific friction drive coupling of establishable limits rotated by said motor;
- a means for linking said friction coupling with said second moveable part;
- and
- a means for impeding motion of said friction drive coupling after a certain number of rotations in either direction, at which point slippage in the coupling allows the motor to continue rotating,
- whereby the second moveable part only moves upon a change in direction of rotation of the motor.
In an animated doll having a simulated face with various facial features capable of movement, the improvement comprising:
- a single bidirectional drive means;
- means for operatively connecting the drive means to a first facial feature capable of movement so that the first facial feature continuously cycles through its movement capabilities while the drive means is operational;
- means for operatively connecting the drive means to a second facial feature capable of movement so that the second facial feature moves for only a limited amount of time upon a change in direction of rotation of the drive means;
- and
- means for changing the direction of rotation of the drive means.
A mechanism for animating a doll's eyelids, eyeballs and jaw, comprising:
- a motor capable of forward and reverse rotation;
- a first cam driven by said motor;
- a first linking means for transferring motion of the first cam to an up and down motion of the jaw;
- a second cam driven by said motor;
- a second linking means for transferring motion of the second cam to a side-to-side motion of the eyeballs;
- a crank mechanism;
- a friction coupling coupling rotation of said motor with the crank mechanism;
- a third linking means for transferring motion of the crank mechanism to a closing and opening motion of the syslids;
- and
- a rotation limiter disposed within the path described by the crank mechanism to prevent rotation beyond the rotation limiter's position,
- whereby rotation of the motor in either direction imparts an up and down motion to the jaw and a side-to-side motion to the eyeballs, and, additionally, causes the eyelids to blink whenever the motor changes direction of rotation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.