[0001] The invention relates to a toy, such as a toy animal, doll or the like, which has
means for making a noise when a body portion of the toy is pressed.
[0002] Dolls or stuffed animal toys equipped with "voice" mechanisms are known. Most such
toys on the market use an electrical voice mechanism using an LSI (large scale integrated
circuit) for sound generation, and as well as being expensive and requiring a battery,
such toys can be less enjoyable because of the rather flat quality of the sound produced.
[0003] According to the invention there is provided a toy animal, doll or the like having
a body portion, means for making a noise when the body portion is pressed, and means
for causing a movable member of the toy to move when the body portion is pressed.
[0004] With a toy of this kind, the action of pressing the body portion results in simultaneous
emmision of a noise and movement of the movable member. The toy may be in human form
or in the form of a variety of animals, for example a gorilla, pig, or duck, and the
noise may be selected as appropriate to the particular form of the toy.
[0005] The means for moving the member may comprise a lever pivotally mounted within the
body portion and arranged to pivot inwardly thereof when the body portion is pressed,
the lever being resiliently biased to an outward position, and a link coupling the
lever to the movable member. The resilient bias on the lever may for example be effected
by a spring.
[0006] Preferably the movable member is pivotally mounted relative to a fixed member, the
two members together defining lower and upper jaws arranged to be normally closed
and to be opened by pivotal movement of the movable member when the body portion is
pressed. Thus the jaws may define the mouth of the toy which is normally closed and
may be opened by pressing the body portion of the toy, such pressing also causing
the noise to be made.
[0007] In a preferred embodiment the link coupling the lever to the movable member comprises
a spring so that return pivoting of the lever to its outward position can occur without
closure of the jaws. With this arrangement, if a finger is accidently placed between
the closing jaws injury is prevented since the lever can return under its resilient
bias to its normal outward position while the flexible link provided by the spring
permits the jaws to remain open.
[0008] The means for making a noise may comprise a blowing device operable when the body
portion is pressed to blow air past a vibration member, and a resonance chamber for
amplifying sound generated by the vibration member. Thus the noise is made mechanically
rather than electrically and this can lead to savings in costs while allowing a rich
variety of different noises depending on the creature to be imitated. Since a noise
is made each time the body portion is pressed the toy is particularly suitable for
making intermittent sounds.
[0009] Preferably the blowing device comprises a flexible bag in which is located a resilient
filler arranged to restore the bag to its normal shape after it has been distorted
by pressing of the body portion. The resilient filler, which may be in the form of
a sponge, may also assist the return of the lever to its outward position when the
body portion is released after being pressed.
[0010] In a preferred embodiment the resonance chamber is elongate and terminates in the
region of the movable member. With this arangement the noise will appear to originate
in the vicinity of the movable member of the toy, creating a particularly good effect
if the movable member forms part of the mouth of the toy animal, doll or the like.
[0011] Preferably the toy has a frame to which are secured the means for making a noise
and the means for moving the movable member. This enables the components of the toy
to be secured together in a compact manner.
[0012] A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the
accompanying drawings in which:-
Figure 1 is a vertical section of a toy according to the invention, showing its internal
components;
Figure 2 is a perspective exploded view of the internal components of the toy; and
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the toy.
[0013] Referring to Figure 3, the toy animal in the form of a gorilla comprises a stuffed
body 1, made by die-forming a piece of relatively soft plastic, and covered almost
entirely by cloth C. The face F, hands and feet of the body are left uncovered. The
body 1 has a belly 2 which is the part to be pressed to cause a noise or "voice" to
be made.
[0014] The voice mechanism consists of a self-restoring blowing device 3 comprising a wind
bag 3a made of a sheet of soft synthetic resin and a sponge filler 3b located inside
the bag 3a for its restitution, lower and upper valve members 12,13 arranged to clamp
therebetween a vibration member or reed 4 and coupled with an outlet 3c of the blowing
device 3, and a resonance device 5 formed of a flexible bellows pipe connected to
the outlet side of the valve members 12,13. The lower valve member 12 protrudes into
an insertion hole 3d of the sponge filler 3b.
[0015] The lower valve member 12 fits within a lower portion 10B of the upper valve member
13 and is secured thereto by means of an inwardly projecting snap-fit ring 15 of the
portion 10B. The outlet 3c of the blowing device 3 is defined by the neck of the wind
bag 3a which is secured to the outer surface of the upper valve member 13 by a fixing
ring 11. An annular recess 16 in the lower portion 10B of the valve member ensures
that the connection is secure.
[0016] The pipe of the resonance device 5 has an end ring 14 engaging a shoulder of the
valve member 13 and is secured to the upper portion of the valve member 13 by means
of annular ribs 17 formed on the latter. The pipe is bent through a substantial angle
such that its end remote from the valve members is located in the region of the mouth
of the toy gorilla. The pipe extends vertically through a passage 10A formed in a
frame 9 of the toy.
[0017] The frame 9 consists of an upper part 9A connected to a lower part 9B by means of
ribs 22 which project inwardly from an upper rim 20 of the lower part 9B so as to
engage in corresponding recesses 21 formed in the upper part 9A. A lever 6 is pivotally
supported on coaxial spindles 25 which extend from supports 24 depending downwardly
from the frame upper part. The lever 6 projects downwardly through an opening 23 provided
in the frame lower part 9B. A spring 7 provided on the spindles 25 has one end engaging
the frame lower part and the other end engaging beneath the lever 6 to urge it outwardly.
The free end 6a of the lever is disposed between the belly 2 of the toy gorilla and
a portion 18 of the wind bag 3a which is to be pressed.
[0018] The frame upper part 9A is formed with an outward projection which forms the upper
jaw 28 of the mouth of the toy gorilla. At the base of this projection are located
a pair of supports 31 for coaxial spindles 32 which pivotally mount at 33 a movable
member 8 forming the lower jaw of the mouth. The movable member is linked to the lever
6 by a coil spring 27 which is hooked at one end to a lug 34 of the movable member
and at the other end to a lug 35 provided on an upwardly projecting rib 29 of the
lever 6. The movable member 8 is thereby linked mechanically to the lever 6 in such
a way that when the rib 29 of the lever 6 comes into contact with the frame 9, the
movable member which forms a lower jaw is in a closed state against the upper jaw
28. The use of a coil spring for the abovementioned linkage effectively protects from
injury a finger caught accidentally between closing upper and lower jaws.
[0019] In the toy constructed as described above, pressing the belly 2 of the body 1 causes
the blowing device 3 to be compressed, making it work as a kind of pump so that air
discharged from this pump causes the vibration member 4 to vibrate, resulting in generation
of sound which, after being amplified by the action of the resonance device 5, comes
out of the mouth of the body 1 to be heard as the "voice" of the animal. Since the
pressing action on the belly 2 also operates the lever 6, the movable lower jaw 8
linked to the other end of the lever 6 through the coil spring 27 is forced to open,
i.e. the pressing action leads to opening of the mouth. The controllability of the
length of the voice and a unique characteristic of synchronization between the mouth
opening and the voice length permit a truely realistic effect to be achieved. Furthermore,
a wide range of voices can be provided by changing the size, thickness and material
of the vibration member 4, and the selection or change of these features is very easy.
Another advantage is that the blowing device 3, composed of the wind bag 3a and a
sponge filler 3b, is easy to construct, and is not affected by deformation which occurs
during transport or storage. The power of the pump can be easily modified and once
the blowing device has been made it can if necessary be compressed to fit into a space
smaller than its natural size. The blowing device 3 could alternatively take the form
of a folding bellows rather than the illustrated flexible bag.
[0020] In summary, the toy is provided with a built-in simple and compact voice mechanism
and an operating device 2 - a part of the body 1 - linked to the movable member 8
which is an element of the mouth. Therefore, the voice can be synchronized with the
movement of the movable member 8, allowing a unique and characteristic vocalization.
Moreover, the voicing manner can easily be changed by varying the way in which the
operating device or belly 2 is handled, thereby providing true fun as a toy. In addition,
because the toy requires no battery and complicated devices, a low manufacturing cost
can be expected.
[0021] Modifications of the invention, both in its broad aspects and its specific embodiments,
may be apparent to a person skilled in the art and it is intended that such modifications
be encompassed within the scope of this disclosure.
1. A toy animal, doll or the like having a body portion, means for making a noise
when the body portion is pressed, and means for causing a movable member of the toy
to move when the body portion is pressed.
2. A toy as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means for moving the member comprises
a lever pivotally mounted within the body portion and arranged to pivot inwardly thereof
when the body portion is pressed, the lever being resiliently biased to an outward
position, and a link coupling the lever to the movable member.
3. A toy as claimed in claim 2, wherein the movable member is pivotally mounted relative
to a fixed member, the two members together defining lower and upper jaws arranged
to be normally closed and to be opened by pivotal movement of the movable member when
the body portion is pressed.
4. A toy as claimed in claim 3, wherein the link coupling the lever to the movable
member comprises a spring so that return pivoting of the lever to its outward position
can occur without closure of the jaws.
5. A toy as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the means for making a noise comprises
a blowing device operable when the body portion is pressed to blow air past a vibration
member, and a resonance chamber for amplifying sound generated by the vibration member.
6. A toy as claimed in claim 5, wherein the blowing device comprises a flexible bag
in which is located a resilient filler arranged to restore the bag to its normal shape
after it has been distorted by pressing of the body portion.
7. A toy as claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein the resonance chamber is elongate and
terminates in the region of the movable member.
8. A toy as claimed in any preceding claim, having a frame to which are secured the
means for making a noise and the means for moving the movable member.