Walking doll 4

Abstract

A walking doll that produces a satisfying walking motion when assisted and vertically supported by a person holding the doll's hand and guiding the doll forward and from leg to leg, causing the weight to shift from leg to leg, and when the weight is relieved from one leg, that unweighted leg swings forward as a result of the influencing force of an internally located spring-like material, allowing each respective leg to move forward for the next step as weight is shifted from leg to leg.

Claims

1. A method of operating an assisted walking doll comprising of the following steps: a. supporting said assisted walking doll by holding at least one arm; b. tilting said assisted doll to the left such that the majority of the doll's weight is supported on the doll's left leg and leading the doll forward so the right leg moves in front of the left leg such that said right leg and said left leg form an angular separation between a finite angle of separation and a maximum angle limited by the freedom of the left leg mechanism, or tilting said assisted doll to the right such that the majority of the doll's weight is supported on the doll's right leg and leading the doll forward so the left leg moves in front of the right leg such that said left leg and said right leg form an angular separation between a finite angle of separation and a maximum angle limited by freedom of the right leg mechanism; c. tilting said assisted doll from the left to the right such that the majority of the doll's weight is supported on the doll's right leg and leading the doll forward so the left leg moves in front of the right leg such that said left leg and said right leg form an angular separation between a finite angle of separation and a maximum angle limited by the freedom of the right leg mechanism, or tilting said assisted doll to from the right to the left such that the majority of the doll's weight is supported on the doll's left leg and leading the doll forward so the right leg moves in front of the left leg such that said right leg and said left leg form an angular separation between a finite angle of separation and a maximum angle limited by the freedom of the left leg mechanism; d. repeating step c any number of times; whereby the assisted walking doll is comprised of: a torso with a left hole or socket and a right hole or socket, two moveable arms, and head; a left leg with a left femur ball at one end, said left femur ball having attached a left leg hook; a left attachment zone located on the left side of said torso; a left elastic band with a first end attaching to said left leg hook and a second end attaching to said left attachment zone, said left elastic band being stretched in tension, and thus generating a compressive force between said left femur ball and said left hole or socket; a right leg with a right femur ball at one end, said right femur ball having attached a right leg hook; a right attachment zone located on the right side of said torso; a right elastic band with a first end attaching to said right leg hook and a second end attaching to said right attachment zone, said right elastic band being stretched in tension, and thus generating a compressive force between said right femur ball and said right hold or socket.

2. The method of claim 1 whereby the left femur ball is grooved, with said left leg being stabilized by the groove of said left grooved femur ball being mated with said left hole or socket; whereby the right femur ball is grooved, said right leg being stabilized by the groove of said right grooved femur ball being mated with said right hole or socket.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said left hole or socket that mates with the groove of said left grooved femur ball is oriented to travel within a left plane diagonally oriented to the central axis of said torso and said right hole or socket that mates with the groove of said right grooved femur ball is oriented to travel within a right plane diagonally oriented to the central axis of said torso, and said left plane is a mirror image of said right plane relative to a vertically oriented plane passing from the front of said torso to the back of said torso.

4. The method of claim 1 whereby the assisted walking doll further comprises a restorative force alteration subsystem.

5. The method of claim 4 whereby the restorative force alteration subsystem comprises a left cam plate fixed within said torso and an expandable left cam follower attached to or incorporated within said left grooved femur ball and a right cam plate fixed within said torso and an expandable right cam follower attached to or incorporated within said right grooved femur ball.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said left cam plate produces a lesser or different restorative force than would be experienced without said restorative force alteration subsystem by said left leg when angularly displaced off the center line created by said left leg and said torso and said right cam plate produces a lesser and/or different restorative force than would be experienced without said restorative force alteration subsystem by said right leg when angularly displaced off the center line created by said right leg and said torso.

7. A method of operating an assisted walking doll comprising of the following steps: a. supporting said assisted walking doll by holding at least one arm; b. tilting said assisted doll to the left such that the majority of the doll's weight is supported on the doll's left leg and leading the doll forward so the right leg moves in front of the left leg such that said right leg and said left leg form an angular separation between a finite angle of separation and a maximum angle limited by the freedom of the left leg mechanism, or tilting said assisted doll to the right such that the majority of the doll's weight is supported on the doll's right leg and leading the doll forward so the left leg moves in front of the right leg such that said left leg and said right leg form an angular separation between a finite angle of separation and a maximum angle limited by freedom of the right leg mechanism; c. tilting said assisted doll from the left to the right such that the majority of the doll's weight is supported on the doll's right leg and leading the doll forward so the left leg moves in front of the right leg such that said left leg and said right leg form an angular separation between a finite angle of separation and a maximum angle limited by the freedom of the right leg mechanism, or tilting said assisted doll to from the right to the left such that the majority of the doll's weight is supported on the doll's left leg and leading the doll forward so the right leg moves in front of the left leg such that said right leg and said left leg form an angular separation between a finite angle of separation and a maximum angle limited by the freedom of the left leg mechanism; d. repeating step c any number of times; whereby the assisted walking doll is comprised of: a torso with a left hole or socket and a right hole or socket, two moveable arms, and head; a left leg with a left grooved femur ball at one end, said left grooved femur ball having attached a left leg hook; a left attachment zone located on the left side of said torso; a left elastic band with a first end attaching to said left leg hook and a second end attaching to said left attachment zone, said left elastic band being stretched in tension, and thus generating a compressive force between said left grooved femur ball and said left hole or socket, with said left leg being stabilized by the groove of said left grooved femur ball being mated with said left hole or socket; a right leg with a right grooved femur ball at one end, said right grooved femur ball having attached a right leg hook; a right attachment zone located on the right side of said torso; a right elastic band with a first end attaching to said right leg hook and a second end attaching to said right attachment zone, said right elastic band being stretched in tension, and thus generating a compressive force between said right grooved femur ball and said right hole or socket, with said right leg being stabilized by the groove of said right grooved femur ball being mated with said right hole or socket.

8. The method of claim 7 whereby the assisted walking doll further comprises a restorative force alteration subsystem.

9. The method of claim 8 whereby the restorative force alteration subsystem comprises a left cam plate fixed within said torso and an expandable left cam follower attached to or incorporated within said left grooved femur ball and a right cam plate fixed within said torso and an expandable right cam follower attached to or incorporated within said right grooved femur ball.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said left cam plate produces a lesser or different restorative force than would be experienced without said restorative force alteration subsystem by said left leg when angularly displaced off the center line created by said left leg and said torso and said right cam plate produces a lesser and/or different restorative force than would be experienced without said restorative force alteration subsystem by said right leg when angularly displaced off the center line created by said right leg and said torso.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein said left hole or socket that mates with the groove of said left grooved femur ball is oriented to travel within a left plane diagonally oriented to the central axis of said torso and said right hole or socket that mates with the groove of said right grooved femur ball is oriented to travel within a right plane diagonally oriented to the central axis of said torso, and said left plane is a mirror image of said right plane relative to a vertically oriented plane passing from the front of said torso to the back of said torso.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

(1) The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments to the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. It is to be understood that in some instances various aspects of the invention may be shown exaggerated or enlarged to facilitate an understanding of the invention.

(2) FIG. 1 (which is comprised of 1A, 1B, 1C more specifically described below) depicts a simplified leg and socket system in three positions.

(3) FIG. 1B depicts a simplified leg and socket system in a centered equilibrium position.

(4) FIG. 1A depicts a simplified leg and socket system with a restorative force in the clockwise direction.

(5) FIG. 1C depicts a simplified leg and socket system with a restorative force in the counter-clockwise direction.

(6) FIGS. 1D-1G depicts a leg and socket system showing a grooved femur ball.

(7) FIG. 2A depicts an expandable cam follower in the compressed position.

(8) FIG. 2B depicts an expandable cam follower in the expanded position.

(9) FIG. 3 (which is comprised of 3A, 3B, 3C more specifically described below) depicts three positions of a simplified leg and socket system incorporating an expandable cam follower. For simplicity, elements of FIG. 1 are not shown.

(10) FIG. 3B depicts a centered position incorporating an expandable cam follower in the compressed position.

(11) FIG. 3A depicts an off-centered position incorporating an expandable cam follower in the expanded position, thus producing a non-restorative force in the clockwise direction.

(12) FIG. 3C depicts an off-centered position incorporating an expandable cam follower in the compressed position, thus producing a non-restorative force in the counter-clockwise direction.

(13) FIG. 4 depicts a non-linear restorative force employing an expandable cam follower and non-linear cam plate.

(14) FIG. 5 depicts the superposition of elements of FIG. 1 and elements of FIG. 3.

(15) FIG. 6A depicts a qualitative graph of force vs. angle for the system shown in FIG. 1.

(16) FIG. 6B depicts a qualitative graph of force vs. angle for the system shown in FIG. 3.

(17) FIG. 6C depicts a qualitative graph of force vs. angle for the system shown in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(18) Detailed descriptions of particular embodiment are provided herein. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure or manner.

(19) FIG. 1 depicts a simplified leg and socket system in three positions.

(20) FIG. 1A depicts a simplified leg and socket system with a restorative force in the clockwise direction. A hook 12 is affixed to ball 10, and one end of elastic band 14 is attached to hook 12. The other end of the elastic band 14 is not shown for clarity, but is affixed above in such a manner that when under tension it produces a compressive force between the ball 10 and the hole or socket 13. Leg 11 is affixed to ball 10 and located on the opposite side of hook 12 or mostly on the opposite side of hook 12. There can be some deliberately offset to apply an appropriate positional bias as to where the center position of the leg 11 is.

(21) In FIG. 1B (components not labeled for clarity but the same as in FIG. 1A) this system is shown in the centered equilibrium position, such that when elastic band 14 is pulled upward the hook 12 is also pulled upward, and leg 11 tends to remain centered. In FIG. 1A, when the hook 12 is off-center to the left, the leg 11 is off-center to the right, and a restorative force tends to rotate the leg 11 in the clockwise direction.

(22) FIG. 1C (components not labeled for clarity but the same as in FIG. 1A), when the hook 12 is off-center to the right, the leg 11 is off-center to the left, and a restorative force tends to rotate the leg 11 in the counter-clockwise direction.

(23) FIGS. 1D-1G depicts four positions of a leg 11, ball 10 incorporating groove 15, and hole or socket 13.

(24) FIG. 2A depicts an expandable cam follower in the compressed position. Shown is top cap 21, bottom cap 22, and spring 23 contained between both, and compressed.

(25) FIG. 2B depicts the same expandable cam follower of FIG. 2A in the expanded position. Components not labeled for clarity but the same as in FIG. 2A. The expandable cam follower can take a number of forms and is not limited to the exemplary embodiment depicted in the figures.

(26) FIG. 3 depicts three positions of a simplified leg 11, ball 10, and hole or socket 13 system incorporating an expandable cam follower 20 and cam plate 25. For simplicity, elements of FIG. 1 are not shown.

(27) FIG. 3B depicts a centered position incorporating expandable cam follower 20 in the compressed position of FIG. 2A, compressed between ball 10 and cam plate 25. In this centered position, the leg 11 is in a meta-stable position, and any offset from the centered position will tend to keep the leg 11 moving in the direction of the offset. Cam follower 20 can be located within and secured within the interior of ball 10.

(28) FIG. 3A depicts an off-centered position incorporating expandable cam follower 20 in the expanded position of FIG. 2B, thus producing a non-restorative force in the clockwise direction. In other words, there is a tendency for the leg to want to move away from the centered position. Components not labeled for clarity but are the same as in FIG. 3B.

(29) FIG. 3C depicts an off-centered position incorporating expandable cam follower 20 in the expanded position of FIG. 2B, thus producing a non-restorative force in the counter-clockwise direction. In other words, there is a tendency for the leg to want to move away from the centered position. Components not labeled for clarity but are the same as in FIG. 3B.

(30) FIG. 4 depicts a non-linear restorative force employing the expandable cam follower 20 affixed to ball 10, and the expandable cam follower 20 compresses against the non-linear cam plate 25A. In this embodiment, the non-linear cam plate 25A incorporates concave dimple 26, thus tending to stabilize the ball 10 in the centered position, but when a certain off-center angle is reached, there is an increase in force to drive the ball 10 further off center as depicted in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3C.

(31) FIG. 5 depicts the superposition of elements of FIG. 1 and elements of FIG. 3. Shown is the ball 10, with elastic band 14 attached to hook 12, thus pulling ball 10 into hole or socket 13. Also incorporated in this embodiment is expandable cam follower 20 compressing between ball 10 and cam plate 25. Cam plate 25 could just as easily be replaced with non-linear cam plate 25A. Only a portion of leg 11 is show. The principle being demonstrated is that when combining elements of FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, both restorative forces and non-restorative forces are additive, thus producing a resultant non-linear action when the doll is being assisted and walked by the user.

(32) FIG. 6A depicts a qualitative graph of force vs. angle for the system shown in FIG. 1. Force is depicted on the vertical axis and angle is depicted on the horizontal axis. Restorative force vs. angle transfer function 30 demonstrates in this embodiment that the restorative force to drive the leg back to center position increases as the leg is displaced off-center.

(33) FIG. 6B depicts a qualitative graph of force vs. angle for the system shown in FIG. 3. Non-restorative force vs. angle transfer function 31 demonstrates in this embodiment that the restorative force to drive the leg back to center position decreases as the leg is displaced off-center, thus making the leg want to displace further off center the more the leg is displaced off-center.

(34) FIG. 6C depicts a qualitative graph of force vs. angle for the system shown in FIG. 4.

(35) Combined restorative force vs. angle transfer function 32 is the superposition of restorative force vs. angle transfer function 30 and non-restorative force vs. angle transfer function 31. By controlling the shape of cam plate 25 and/or non-linear cam plate 25A or an arbitrary shape, and by adjusting the force ratios of elastic band 14 and spring 23 or an equivalent type of force in a mechanism producing an equivalent effect, it is possible to tune the action of the legs and how the doll feels during the motion of assisted walking, and this can dramatically improve the play pattern and feel and action of the doll.

(36) While the instant invention has been shown and described in accordance with preferred and practical embodiments thereof, it is recognized that departures from the instant disclosure are contemplated and would remain within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the true scope of the invention should not be limited since other modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a study of the claims, drawings, descriptions, explanations, and specifications herein.

(37) A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material to which a claim for copyright is made. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but reserves all other copyright rights whatsoever.

Component List for Drawings

(38) Following is a partial list of the components depicted in the drawings:

(39) TABLE-US-00001 Component Number Component Description 10 ball 11 leg 12 hook 13 hole or socket 14 elastic band 20 expandable cam follower 21 top cap 22 bottom cap 23 spring 25 cam plate 25A A non-linear cam plate 26 concave dimple 30 Restorative force vs. angle transfer function 31 Non-restorative force vs. angle transfer function 32 Combined restorative force vs. angle transfer function

DEFINITIONS

(40) These definitions are in addition to the words and phrases specifically defined in the body of this application.

(41) In the context of this invention, an elastic band can be anything from a rubber band to a spring or anything that performs the equivalent mechanical spring-like function of generating a restorative force in a mechanical member when the mechanical member is pulled and extended in length from a lesser state of elongation to a greater state of elongation, thus producing a force in tension to restore the elongated member to a length of lesser elongation. Further, a spring that operates in tension and/or compression can just as easily be a leaf spring or folded leaf spring similar to the shape of a safety pin, a plastic living spring, or it can be a compressible piece of rubber or other spongy material that can be compressed and can return to an unstressed position depending on compression.

(42) As used herein, the term and/or, when used in a list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items can be employed by itself, or any combination of two or more of the listed items can be employed. For example, if a device is described as containing components A, B, and/or C, the composition can contain A alone; B alone; C alone; A and B in combination; A and C in combination; B and C in combination; or A, B, and C in combination.