Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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DOLL HAVING REALISTIC TWISTING MIDRIFF
SPECIFICATION
Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to fashion dolls
and particularly to those fabricated to have movable
and articulated body parts.
Background of the Invention
Fashion dolls are a well known and a very popular
type of doll toy product. While the fabrication of
fashion dolls has varied some what through the years,
generally all are fabricated of relatively rigid
molded plastic components which include a torso or
main body having a neck supporting a head together
with articulated arms and legs all of which usually
formed of a relatively rigid molded plastic. In most
fashion dolls, arms and legs move to facilitate
dressing the doll in various interchangeable clothing
garments. In addition, most fashion dolls are
sufficiently articulated to be capable of being posed
in various positions such as sitting, standing or
lying prone. A variety of cooperating accessories are
also used with fashion dolls which have included such
devices as cars, houses, work areas such as offices
and campers or the like.
One of the more interesting aspects of fashion
dolls is the play pattern which utilizes a variety of
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stylish and often very fashionable garments which the
dolls may wear. Much of the appeal of fashion dolls
involves the use of such garments. Notsurprisingly,
practitioners in the toy arts providing fashion dolls
often strive to make available garments which are in
tune with the latest styles and fashions or which fit
a particular selected theme. One style or fashion
which periodically rises in the fashion world involves
a bare midriff look or style. The utilization of such
bare midriff styles present substantial difficulty for
manufactures of fashion dolls in that the torso which
is exposed in a typical fashion doll includes various
unnatural visible joint structures or structural
elements for example, US Patent 3,942,284 issued to
Kublan sets forth a DOLL WITH SEVEN SPHERICAL TORSO
JOINTS AND FIVE APPENDAGES HELD BY THREE-SECURED
ELASTIC MEMBERS having a doll utilizing a torso formed
of an upper torso and lower torso joined by a ball
joint together with a pair of arms and a pair of legs
pivotally joined to the upper and lower torso
portions. A single elastic member extends from the
lower torso through the upper torso and into the doll
head while second and third elastic members are
stretched between the arm pair and the leg pair.
US Patent 4,968,282 issued to Robson et al. sets
forth a POSEABLE DOLL constructed of sub units
connected to one another by ball and socket joints. A
skin which encloses the sub units is secured to the
sub units by insertion of appendages into sockets in
the sub units and by means of a fastener which snaps
into a groove pining the skin to the doll.
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US Patent 3,699,710 issued to Glass et al. sets
forth a DOLL JOINT having a doll body defining upper
and lower torso components movably related to each
other and characterized by the connection of the torso
components so as to permit rotational movement
therebetween.
US Patent 3,425,155 issued to Ryan et al. sets
forth a DOLL CONSTRUCTION FOR NATURAL MOVEMENTS AND
POSITIONS having an upper and lower torso joined by a
rotational attachment. The upper and lower torso
portions of the doll as well as the head to neck
attachment of the doll is rotatable with respect to a
plane of rotation which is angled by an acute angle
relative to the height of the doll body.
US Patent 4,135,327 issued to Sapkus et al. sets
forth a DOLL CONSTRUCTION WITH PIVOTABLE TORSO MEMBERS
having upper and lower hollow torso members
supportable in an upright position along the
longitudinal center line of the doll. The doll torso
portions are adapted to be pivoted with respect to
each other about an axis angled at approximately
thirty degrees from the longitudinal axis of the doll.
US Patent 4,662,857 issued to Quinn et al. sets
forth an ARTICULATED SOFT DOLL CONSTRUCTION ASSEMBLY
in which a soft skin covers a soft head and a soft
torso of a doll. The torso has a first skin covering
a fiber filler material formed with an opening in
which a neck connecting member is received. A second
soft skin cover is used to cover a soft head filled
with a fiber material. A neck plug is received
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through an opening in the head and the second soft
skin cover.
US Patent 4,723,932 issued to Kelley et al. sets
forth a TOY DOLL HAVING ARTICULATED ARMS AND A
TILTABLE UPPER TORSO in which upper and lower torso
portions are joined at a ball and socket joint. The
upper torso is coupled to the lower torso by a
rotatable shaft which allows tilting thereof.
US Patent 4,954,118 issued to Refabert sets forth
FLEXIBLE BODIED DOLLS having a plurality of rigid or
semi-rigid members embedded within the body. The
rigid or semi-rigid members form a supporting skeleton
for the doll and facilitate posing by bending the doll
and its supporting members.
US Patent 4,995,846 issued to Mariol sets forth a
TOY FIGURE WITH PIVOTAL LOWER TORSO having a lower
torso and legs defining an angled plane together with
an upper torso, arms and head defining a
correspondingly angled plane and a rotatable coupling
therebetween. The angled plane about which the upper
and lower portions of the toy figure are rotatable
causes the angle between body portions to change as
the figure is rotated.
US Patent 3,124,901 issued to Beebe sets forth a
BALL JOINT BETWEEN DOLL HEAD AND BODY which
facilitates a snap-in attachment and pivotal support
of a doll head upon the neck and shoulders of a doll
body.
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US Patent 5,752,869 issued to Huff sets forth a
TOY CONSTRUCTION SET suitable for modeling an animal,
bird, insect, dinosaur humanoid figure. A skeleton
having a plurality of snap-fitted ball and socket
5 members which may be interchanged facilitates the
adaptation to various types of figures.
While the foregoing described prior art devices
have improved the art and is some instances enjoyed
commercial success, there remains nonetheless a
continuing need in the art for ever more improved,
interesting and realistic fashion dolls.
Summary of the Invention
Accordingly, it is a general object of the
present invention to provide an improved fashion doll.
It is a more particular object of the present
invention to provide an improved fashion doll which
presents a realistic appearing twistable torso
suitable for use with "bare midriff" fashions or the
like.
In accordance with the present invention there is
provided a doll comprising: an upper body having a
neck, a lower edge and a pair of arms; an upper body
armature joined to the upper body and having a
downwardly extending first support; a lower body
having a pair of legs and an upper edge; a lower body
armature joined to the lower body and having an
upwardly extending second support; a ball and a socket
joined to the first and second supports to form a ball
and socket joint between the upper body armature and
the lower body armature, the first and second
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armatures supporting the upper and lower bodies such
that a space exists between the lower edge and the
upper edge; and a midriff formed of a soft resilient
material enclosing the ball and socket joint and
extending between the upper edge and the lower edge to
span the space.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The features of the present invention, which are
believed to be novel, are set forth with particularity
in the appended claims. The invention, together with
further objects and advantages thereof, may best be
understood by reference to the following description
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,
in the several figures of which like reference
numerals identify like elements and in which:
Figure 1 sets forth a front perspective view of a
fashion doll body constructed in accordance with the
present invention;
Figure 2 sets forth a partial front view of the
present invention doll having the supporting skeletal
members shown in invisible dash-line;
Figure 3 sets forth a section view of the present
invention doll taken along section lines 3-3 in Figure
2;
Figure 4 sets forth a perspective assembly view
of the present invention doll;
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Figure 5 sets forth a section view of the present
invention doll taken along section lines 5-5 in Figure
2.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
Figure 1 sets forth a front perspective view of a
doll constructed in accordance with the present
invention and generally referenced by numeral 10.
Doll 10 includes a doll body 11 having an upper
portion 12, a midriff 20, and a lower body 17. Upper
body 12 is formed of a front portion 23 and a rear
portion 24 and supports a pair of arms 15 and 16 in
the manner set forth below in greater detail.
Similarly, lower body 17 is formed of a front portion
21 and a rear portion 22 and supports a pair of legs
18 and 19 in the manner set forth below in greater
detail. Midriff 20 is joined to upper body 12 along a
seam 26 and is joined to lower body 17 along a seam
25. Upper body 12 further defines an upwardly
extending neck 13 having a head connector 46. For
purposes of illustration, the lower portion of a
typical doll head 14 is shown in dash-line
representation. It will be understood that head 14 is
connectable to head connector 46 in accordance with
conventional fabrication techniques (not shown).
In accordance with the present invention, upper
body 12 and arms 15 and 16 are preferably fabricated
of a relatively rigid molded plastic material or the
like. Front portion 23 and rear portion 22 are joined
utilizing conventional fabrication techniques such as
sonic welding, thermal welding or adhesive attachment
or other equivalent attachments. In further
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accordance with the present invention, lower body 17
together with legs 18 and 19 are also preferably
fabricated of a relatively rigid material such as
molded plastic. In further accordance with the
present invention, midriff 20 is fabricated of a soft
resilient flexible material such as rubber or the like
and is supported by an upper body armature and a lower
body armature joined by a ball and socket structure in
the manner set forth below in greater detail. Suffice
it to note here, that the underlying skeleton coupled
between upper body portion 12 and lower body portion
17 which passes through and which supports soft
flexible midriff 20 utilizes a ball and socket
coupling within midriff 20 to permit upper body 12 and
lower body 17 to be twisted about a vertical axes
relative to each other. In accordance with an
important aspect of the present invention, midriff 20
is generally contoured and textured to closely
resemble human skin in both color and flexing
characteristics. Accordingly, the twisting motion
between upper body 12 and lower body 17 is
accommodated by the flexibility of midriff 20. In
further accordance with an important aspect of the
present invention, the unique structure of midriff 20
and the supporting armatures therein maintains a
realistic natural midriff appearance for body 11
despite its capability to twist or flex. Thus, in
common to prior art devices which accomplish such
twisting or flexing capability at the expense of
unrealistic and visible joint structures, the present
invention doll is uniquely configured and constructed
to allow the doll to wear a variety of so-called "bare
midriff" fashion garments.
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Figure 2 sets forth a front view of doll 10
showing the underlying structure and supporting
armatures thereof in dash-line or invisible
representation.
As described above, doll 10 includes an upper
body 12 and a lower body 17 coupled by a resilient
midriff 20. As is also described above, upper body 12
supports a neck 13 having a head connector 46
supported therein. A pair of arms 15 and 16 having
arm bearings 41 and 45 respectively and ball ends 43
and 44 are pivotally secured to upper body 12. Upper
body 12 defines a lower edge 48 which meets midriff 20
to form a seam 26. Similarly, lower body 17 deffines
an upper edge 56 which meets midriff 20 to form a seam
25.
Lower body 17 supports a lower body armature 70
secured therein by cooperating posts 27 and 28 in the
manner seen in Figure 3. Lower body armature 70
includes a pair of outwardly extending hip supports 76
and 77 which in turn support a pair of spring clips 80
and 84. Spring clips 80 and 84 are received within a
pair of split balls 81 and 85. Lower body armature 70
further includes a horizontally disposed plate 71 and
an upwardly extending ball support 72. A ball 73 is
supported upon ball support 72.
Doll 10 further includes a pair of leg armatures
90 and 92 upon which legs 18 and 19 are formed. In
accordance with conventional fabrication techniques,
leg armatures 90 and 92 are molded into legs 18 and
19. Thus, a rigid structure for legs 18 and 19 may be
obtained while utilizing a some what softer more
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realistic material for legs 18 and 19. Leg armature
90 defines a hip socket 91 receiving split ball 81 and
spring clip 80. Similarly, leg armature 92 defines a
hip socket 95 which receives split ball 85 and spring
5 clip 84. The resulting assembly of legs 18 and 19 and
lower body armature 70 provides pivotal attachment of
legs 18 and 19.
In further accordance with the present invention,
10 body 11 includes an upper body armature 30 having a
pair of forwardly extending supports 36 and 37. Upper
body armature 30 further includes a rearwardly
extending flange 35 (seen in Figure 4) which is
supported within grooves 50 and 51 or rear portion 24
(also seen in Figure 4). Suffice it to note here,
that upper body armature 30 is secured within upper
body 12 in a rigid attachment. Upper body armature 30
further includes a downwardly extending housing
supporting a generally horizontal plate 34. Plate 34
in turn supports a downwardly extending socket support
33 having a socket 32 joined thereto. In accordance
with the structure set forth below in Figures 3, 4 and
5 in greater detail, ball 73 is pivotally supported
within socket 32.
In the preferred fabrication of the present
invention, midriff 20 is molded upon upper body
armature 30 after socket 32 receives ball 73. Toward
this end, plates 34 and 71 are structured to grip the
material of midriff 20 as midriff 20 is molded
thereon. Once midriff 20 is molded upon the
combination of upper body armature 30 and lower body
armature 70, the attachment between upper body 12 and
lower body 17 is complete and the realistic midriff
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appearance and twisting and flexing action thereof is
provided.
Figure 3 sets forth a section view of doll taken
along section lines 3-3 in Figure 2. As described
above, doll 10 includes a body 11 formed of an upper
body 12 and a lower body 17 joined by a flexible
midriff 20. As is also described above, upper body 12
is formed of a front portion 23 and a rear portion 24
joined by adhesive attachment. Upper body 12 defines
a neck 13 supporting a head connector 46 which is used
in accordance with conventional fabrication techniques
to secure a conventional doll head (not shown). Front
portion 23 of upper body 12 defines a lower edge 48
while rear portion 24 thereof defines a lower edge 47.
An arm baring 41 rotatably supports arm 15 (seen in
Figure 2).
Lower body 17 is formed of a front portion 21 and
a rear portion 22 joined by conventional attachment
such as adhesive attachment or the like. Front
portion 21 defines a pair of rearwardly extending
bosses 100 and 101 while rear portion 22 defines a
pair of forwardly extending posts 27 and 28. Posts 27
and 28 are received within bosses 100 and 101 and
secured by conventional means such as adhesive
attachment or the like.
In accordance with the present invention, an
upper body armature 30 includes a flange 35 received
within a pair of grooves 50 and 51 (groove 50 seen in
Figure 4) both of which are formed in rear portion 24.
Upper body armature 30 further includes a downwardly
extending housing 31 having a plate 34 extending
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therefrom. A socket support 33 extends downwardly
beyond plate 34 and supports a socket 32. Socket 32
includes a pair of limit tabs 105 and 106.
A lower body armature 70 defines a pair of
apertures 78 and 79 which receive bosses 100 and 101
together with posts 27 and 28 to securely attach lower
body armature 70 within lower body 17. Conventional
attachment such as adhesive attachment or the like is
used to secure lower body armature 70. Lower body
armature 70 further includes an upwardly extending
ball support 72 and a laterally extending plate 71.
Ball support 72 is joined to a ball 73 which is
received within socket 32 of upper body armature 30.
Ball 73 defines a front opening 74 and a rear opening
75. As is better seen in Figure 5, front opening 74
receives limit tab 106 while rear opening 75 receives
limit tab 105. The operation of limit tabs 105 and
106 within openings 75 and 74 is described below in
connection with Figure 5 in greater detail. Suffice
it to note here, that the cooperative effect thereof,
provides an angular limit on the twisting or pivoting
range of motion between ball 73 and socket 32. This
limits the twisting of midriff 20 a realistic degree
of motion to maintain realism.
As described above, front portion 21 of lower
body 17 defines an upper edge 57 while rear portion 22
thereof defines an upper edge 56. Correspondingly, a
lip 55 receives edges 56 and 57 to provide a smooth
seam 25 between midriff 20 and lower body 17. A
similar smooth seam 26 is formed between midriff 20
and upper body portion 12 at edges 47 and 48.
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Thus, the pivotal attachment between upper body
12 and lower body 17 provided by ball 73 of lower body
armature 70 and socket 32 of upper body armature 30
together with the smooth flexible and realistically
contoured molded on structure of midriff 20 combines
to provide a novel doll fabrication which is suitable
for wearing garments having a bare midriff or exposed
midriff area. The degree of pivotal twisting of upper
body 12 with respect to lower body 17 or vise versa is
limited by the structure is limited by the structure
of ball 73 and socket 32 to maintain a realistic range
of motion and to avoid damage to the present invention
doll. The attachment of ball 73 within socket 32 also
provides additional strength which resists forces
tending to stretch body 1l in a manner pulling upper
body 12 and lower body 17 apart. The strength
provided by upper body armature 30 and lower body
armature 70 in resisting this force allows midriff 20
to be formed of a highly realistic feeling resilient
material closely simulating the touch and feel of the
human body. But for the provision of armatures 30 and
70, midriff 20 would of necessity need to be
fabricated of a substantially stronger and therefore
less realistic material.
Figure 4 sets forth a perspective assembly view
of the present invention doll. As described above,
doll 10 includes a front portion 23 and a rear portion
24 which are joined to form upper body 12 (seen in
Figure 1). Rear portion 24 defines socket portions 60
and 62 while front portion 23 defines docket portions
61 and 63. In addition, rear portion 24 defines
grooves 50 and 51 and bottom edge 47. Front portion
23 defines a bottom edge 48. When front portion 23 is
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joined to rear portion 24, socket portions 60 and 61
form a shoulder socket as due socket portions 62 and
63. A pair of arms 15 and 16 having ball ends 42 and
43 together with arm bearings 41 and 44 are received
within the shoulder sockets thus formed.
In accordance with the present invention, an
upper body armature 30 having a housing 31 supporting
a rearwardly extending flange 35 and forwardly
extending supports 36 and 37 is captivated between
front portion 23 and rear portion 24. This
captivation results from the insertion of flange 35
within grooves 50 and 51 prior to the assembly of
front portion 23 to rear portion 24. Upper body
armature 30 further includes a plate 34 supporting a
downwardly extending socket support 33 which in turn
supports a downwardly open socket 32.
Front portion 21 and rear portion 22 combine to
form lower body 17 (seen in Figure 1). A lower body
armature 70 defines apertures 78 and 79 together with
outwardly extending hip supports 76 and 77. Hip
supports 76 and 77 further support spring clips 80 and
81 respectively. A pair of split balls 81 and 85
having slots 82 and 86 together with apertures 83 and
87 formed therein are configured to receive spring
clips 80 and 84. A pair of legs l8 and 19 having
supporting armatures 90 and 92 (armature 92 seen in
Figure 2) define respective hip sockets 91 and 95.
Front portion 21 and rear portion 22 of lower body 17
are joined using conventional attachment such as
adhesive attachment or the like, to captivate lower
body armature 70 upon posts 27 and 28 passing through
apertures 78 and 79 respectively. Once lower body
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aperture 70 is secured within front portion 21 and
rear portion 22, legs 18 and 19 are assembled by
initially inserting split balls 81 and 85 into hip
sockets 91 and 95 respectively. Thereafter, spring
5 clips 80 and 84 are forced through apertures 83 and 87
respectively and are resiliently locked therein to
secure legs 18 and 19 to lower body armature 70.
Lower body armature 70 further includes a plate
10 71 having an upwardly extending ball support 72 which
in turn supports a ball 73. Ball 73 defines a front
opening 74 and a rear opening 85.
The assembly of doll 10 proceeds by joining lower
15 body aperture 70 to upper body aperture 30 as ball 73
is forced into socket 32 to provide the assembly shown
in Figure 2. Once upper body aperture 30 is assembled
to lower body aperture 70, midriff 20 is formed upon
doll 10 to provide the completed doll shown in Figure
1. In the preferred fabrication of the present
invention, midriff 20 is formed of a flexible
resilient soft material such as rubber or the like and
is molded directly upon the remainder of doll 10 to
form lips 46 and 55 against edges 47 and 48 of front
portion 23 and rear portion 24 and against edges 56
and 57 of rear portion 22 and front portion 21. Thus,
while midriff 20 is shown pre-formed for purposes of
illustration in Figure 4, it will be understood that
in the preferred fabrication of the present invention
shown in Figure 2, midriff 20 is molded upon upper
body armature 30 and lower body armature 70.
The resulting structure assembled in the manner
shown in Figure 4, provides the above described
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resilient midriff having a realistic appearance
together with the twisting action and high strength
attachment provided by the ball and socket joint of
ball 73 within socket 32.
Figure 5 sets forth a section view of doll 10
taken along section lines 5-5 in Figure 2. Figure 5
is provided to more clearly shown the limitation of
pivotal movement between ball 73 and socket 32 which
in turn limits the twisting or pivotal motion
obtainable between upper body 12 and lower body 17.
Accordingly, a ball 73 defining a front opening 74 and
a rear opening 75 is received within a socket 32 in
accordance with the ball and socket joint formed
between upper body armature 30 and lower body armature
70 shown in Figure 2. Socket 32 defines a limit tab
105 extending into opening 75 and a limit tab 106
extending into opening 74. Midriff 20 is shown molded
upon socket 32 and ball 73 in the manner shown in
Figure 2.
In operation, twisting movement between upper
body 12 and lower body 17 (seen in Figure 2) is
accommodating by the flexing of midriff 20 together
with the rotation of ball 73 within socket 32. The
rotation motion of ball 73 in either direction
however, is limited by the extension of tabs 105 and
106. In this manner, the twisting movement or
rotation of upper body 12 with respect to lower body
17 is limited to a realistic angular twist or pivoting
motion.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art
that while the illustrative embodiment set forth in
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Figures 1 through 5 utilizes a ball and socket joint
between upper body armature 30 and lower body armature
70 in which upper body armature 30 supports a socket
and lower body armature 70 supports a ball, the
reverse relationship of the ball and socket joint may
be utilized without departing from the spirit and
scope of the present invention. Thus, for example, it
is equally within the present invention to provide a
ball such as ball 73 supported upon support 33 of
upper body armature 30 and a socket such as socket 32
supported upon support 72 of lower body armature 70.
The resulting structure is a simple reversal of the
ball and socket elements with the identical
performance and capabilities thus it is believed
clearly within the scope of the present invention to
utilize a reversed ball and socket combination between
armatures 30 and 70.
While particular embodiments of the invention
have been shown and described, it will be obvious to
those skilled in the art that changes and
modifications may be made without departing from the
invention in its broader aspects. Therefore, the aim
in the appended claims is to cover all such changes
and modifications as fall within the true spirit and
scope of the invention.
