US3267608A

US3267608A - Walking toy

Info

Publication number: US3267608A
Application number: US477146A
Authority: US
Inventors: John W Ryan
Original assignee: Mattel Inc
Current assignee: Mattel Inc
Priority date: 1965-08-04
Filing date: 1965-08-04
Publication date: 1966-08-23
Anticipated expiration: 1983-08-23
Also published as: ES325429A1; NL6604645A; BE674958A; DE1603450A1; GB1077099A; DE1603450C3; CH459850A; DE1945538U; DE1603450B2

Description

J. w. RYAN fjv Aug. 23, i966 www@ *iov 8 Sheets-Sheet 2' Filed Aug. 4, 1965 Aug. 23, nass www@ TOY B Sheets-Sheet 3 F1101! Aug. 4, 1965 J. W. RYAN WALKING TOY ug.. 23, was

.Find Aug. 4, 1965 a sneeze-smet e* .gw al. Ryn# Aug. 23, i966 J. w. mmm 3,267,503

.n I y l WALKING TY ma Aug. a, 196s e sheets-sne f2@ 1g l I Iii /za @fn/g if 4 Aug. 23. 1966 J. w. RYAN 3257,08

WALKING 'my uw Au I 1965 A118- 33 3935 .1. w. RYAN 3,267,60

mamma To? y 2*. rma Aug. 4. 1965 e sheets-sneek a Mraz 3,267,6@3 Patentedv August 23, i965 WALKING 'roY John W. Ryan, Bcl Air, Calif assigner to Mattel,

corporation of California Filed Aug. 4, 19645, Ser. No. #71H6 11 Claims. (Ci. i6- 247) The present application is a continuation-impart of ocr-pending application Serial No. 326,544 which is entitled, Adjustable Walking Toy, and which was tiled Novembcr 27, i963, by the applicant herein. ln general, the

Ine., a 5

present invention relates to a walking toy. More specilically, the present invention involves a doll adapted to walk independently with natural body and leg motions.

in the past, there have been many attempts to create walking toys, such as walking dolls, to simulate the actual behavior of people or animals. While generally satisfactory, these walking dolls do have certain dis advantages.

One disadvantage resides in the fact that, in power driven toys, the walking action varies in accordance with the amount of power supplied to the toy.

Another disadvantage with certain prior art walking toys resides in the fact that the leg motion is usually a function of the angle between the body unit and the leg unit.

Yet another disadvantage with other prior art walking 'toys resides in the fact that an unnatural walking action results because there is a aed orientation of the fore and aft leg motion with a rocking action of the body portion of the toy.

A further disadvantage with some of these prior art walking toys resides in the fact that the toy does not move forward withva constant velocity because of fore and aft inertia loads which make the toy unstable in the forward direction.

A still further disadvantage with prior art walking toys resides in the fact that the entire length of cach individual foot of the toy does not contact the floor simultaneously with the result that a heel of the foot usually contacts the tloor first `giving a point contact which is unstable.

In view of the foregoing factors and conditions characteristic of prior art walking toys, it is the primary object of the present invention torprovide a new and useful walking toy not subject to the disadvantages enumerated above and having a body unit, a leg unit and means connecting the body unit and leg unit together for relative rocking action between them.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and useful walking toy of the type described having a leg motion which is not a function of the angle between the toys body unit and its leg unit, but is a function of the rocking angle between the leg unit and the ground.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a walking toy of the type described having power means connected to the toys leg unit and its b ody unit in such a manner that the toy will move with a uniform velocity regardless of the power supplied to the power unit and the speed thereof.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a walking toy having a cam which is spring loaded against a clutching means in such a manner that, when the cam is employed to drive the fore and aft motion of the toys legs, leg motion will automatically be oriented to a rocking action between the power unit which carries the cam and the body portion of the toy regardless of the initial position of the legs.

A. still further object of the present invention is to provide a new and useful cam for a walking toy which actuates the fore and aft action of the toy's legs in such n Another object of the present invention is to provide i a cam and clutch arrangement for a walking toy which is designed and arranged in such a manner that the legs of the toy can be driven backward but not forward while the weight of the toy is on a particular leg, whereby the cam and clutch arrangement coordinates with a rocking of the leg unit relative to the ground and independent of the rocking of the leg unit relative to the body.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a walking toy of the type described wherein the forward motion o the toy is a substantially constant velocity, thereby avoiding fore and aft inertia loads which tend to make the toy unstable.

Yet another object of the present invention is to pro' vide a new and useful leg and foot arrangement for a walking toy which is so constructed and arranged that the foot will"I remain parallel to the floor at all times during fore and aft motion of the associated leg, whereby the entire length of the foot contacts the tloor uniformly during the ground-contacting portion of each leg stroke.

Another object of the present invention is a walking doll wherein the leg motions are adjustable independently of the body motions.

Still another object of the present invention is a walking toy wherein the body controls the drive means for auch toy to synchronize the movement of the body and legs and the drive means.

Still another object of the present invention is a walking doll wherein the body motions include both bending of the torso and twisting of the torso and such bending and twisting motions may be varied independently.

Still another object of the present invention is a wall@ ing doll wherein the pivotal attachment between the torso and each of the legs includes a first pivot means for rotating said leg approximately about a side lateral axis of the torso and a second pivot means for rotating said leg approximately about a forward-rear lateral axis of the torso.

Still another object of the present invention is a walking doll which includes 'control means for each of said lega wherein a first regulator means governs the side angular displacement of the leg and a second regulator means governs the forward-rear angular displacement of the leg.

lin general, the present invention involves a toy adapted to walk independently with natural body and leg motions. A rst embodiment comprises a body including a torso and legs pivotally attached thereto. The torso has drive means mounted therein for bending the torso and lifting the legs in sequence. by the body to synchronize the movement of the body `and the drive means. Also, the drive means is directly connected to the legs to cause the above-described movements of the torso and the legs. The leg motions of the toy may be adjusted independently of the body motions and the toy includes control means for directing the movement of said legs.

According to a second ,embodiment of the present invention. a new and useful walking toy is provided in the t'orm of a walking doll. The doll includes (l) a body unit comprising a body shell, batteries and miscellaneous switch elements and (2) a leg unit comprising a motor, a motor-gear housing having internal mechanism mounted therein for controlling the operation of the toy and legs which are attached by rigid pivots to the motor-gear housing. An action is provided between the body unit and the leg unit in such a manner that, when the motor is energized, the leg unit will rock, lifting first one foot and then the other off the ground. This is accomplished by Such drive means is controlled providing a lote and ait pivoting axis between motorgcar housing and the body shell and by providing e L crank. The center imc of the erantt is placed at rient angle to the pivot arde. This supplies o. pore eine wave .action to the reciting action between the motor-gear ing and the body shell. The motoria ovverccl by a pair oi dry cells which will produce a roc 'ing action of proximately 1Z0 cycles per minute .vhentoliy charged and of approximately 3G cycles per minutie when onder charged. A clutch driven cam `ia employed to actuele g sociatod leg thi-oughta system of spring Washers and detent means which are locked in position during the wall-f.- ing action, but which may oe overcome to facilitate placing the doll in a sitting position. Each toot oi the doll is connected to its associated leg and to the actuator assembly in auch a manner that each toot is heet parallel with the ground during lore and ait motion of its esenciated leg, whereby each foot will contact the door ortilormly throughout the length oi each step.

The cam includes a slot which has two slopes arranged to drive the leg actuators in auch a manner that the legs will be driven bache/ard during 30% of the cam rotation and driven forward during 20% ot the com rotation. 'the slope or the section of the cam which drives the legs for wardis four times as great as the slope oi the section ot the cam which driven the legs backward. When a leg is on the ground, the clutching action or the caro is great enough to overcome the small slope ol the section o the cam that drives the leg hach. leg will be driven bacir until the actuator 'reaches the top end of this section of the cam. At this point, the steepness o the loop of the cam that drives` .the ieg forward is sucient to slip the clutch. This holds the caro stationary until the Weight of the doll is shifted to the other toot. At this point, the actuator of the opposite leg will be at a point on the com where it will, ,in torri, drive the leg bach. Thus, the difference in slope oi tire fore and ait sections of the cam-in conionctiort with the clutching torque will allow afoot to be driven back, bot not forward, while the lweight ot the doll is on that par ticolar foot. ln'this way, the earn will be slipped rotatably until it coordinates with the roel; of the leg unit relative to the ground and independent ot' the reciting of the leg unit relative to the body ooit.

the cam is designed in such a manner that a particolar foot starts its backward motion belote it contacte the toor. The cam is also designed to give a constant velocity stroke to the ieg action. Thos, the doll has a forward motion of a more or lesel constant velocity avoiding fore and ait inertia loads that tend to maire the doll unstable.

The features of the present invention which are believed to benovel are set iorth with particolarity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to ite organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof may best be understood by reference to the following description, tairen in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference charactersrefer to like elemente in the several viev/a.

in the drawings:

FIG. l is a side cross-sectional view oi a first specihc embodiment of the walking doll of the present invention.

PKG.. 2 is a cross-sectional view oi liiii. l teiten along the linea Z-il o liG. l.

Pi. .'l is a perspective view oi a portion oi' 2 showing the means pivotally attaching each to the torso.

tilGS. fiare achentatic views ahoy-vn a portion or the operation ot the doll wherein n Each leg is connected to an actuator which is i Therefore, a particular il oi the allait oortlon oi the cranlr moana, FlG. 5' sitotve the correagaonding iront View oli the doll, and FlG. shows the corresponding side view oi the doll at the height ot a alega.

MGS. 7-9 are similar to NGS. 45, eneept that the f corresponding poeitions are shown at theend` of a eten rey err-'ro te.

is a cross-sectionai view similar to lilG. l? teiten at right angles thereto.

i9 is an enlarged crose-aectional view tation along linee .iii-i9 ot' FlG. ld.

Pi. Ztl is a graphical repreaentation of a com emjioyed in the walking toy of Pi. i7.

llG. 2l ie a diagrammatic aide view of the walking toy HG. i7 showing the relationship ot relative porsitiona et' ite lega with respect to the cam of lFlG. 2G doring n walking operation.

22 a diagrammatic iront view oi the toy ot WG. i7 showing the position of its leg in relationahig to cant oi 20 during a walking; operation.

iFlG. 23 is en elevational view ot one et the lega of the toy of Fit". i7 shoe/ing, in broken lines, the relationship oi the toot of the toy 'with respect to the leg during o walking operation.

ttifG. 2d ie a diagrammatic View illustrating the roching mode oi the toy ci lilG. i7 at approximately titl rein.

lCliG. 25 is o diagrammatic view similar to lFlG. 2li! ahowing the rocltirag mode at approximately l2() Mlm.

llG. 26 is an exploded, perspective view showing e rhodicd torrn i'or the toy of Fifi. i7.

llG. 27 is an enlarged, exploded, perspective view o1? the leg structure and actuator ot' the toy of Fifi. 26.

lili?. 2h is an enlarged elevational View, with parte shown in cross-section, ot' the toy of FiG. 26.

ll'itv. 29 is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional view teiten along line d--t of llG. 28.

Pitt. 3d is an enlarged bottom view of one toot portion ot the toy of lil@ 2b.

llG. 3l ia an enlarged, exploded perspective view oi portions; ot one leg and foot assembly for the toy of MG. 3?. is an exploded perspective view oi the motorgear assembly which is shown in lilG. 26 and which may be used in the toy of Fl'G. il'.

iilG. 33 is o cross-sectional view of the motor-gear asaembly of HG. i7.

in general, as illustrated in FlGS. l-3, the irst embodiment of the present invention involves a bilaterally symmetrical doll 2li which is adapted to Wall; independently with natural body and leg motions and to have the leg motions adjustable independently oi the body motions and the body motions adjustable independently oi each other. The doll 2b comprises a body 2l, including a The drive moana escasos 'M The torso 22 comprises a front wall 23 and a rear wail 2d which are oriented substantially perpendicular to a forward-rear lateral axis 25 of the torso 22. Similarly, the torso 22 has side walls 26 and 27 which are oriented substantially perpendicular to a side lateral aids 2d et the n torso 22. The torso 22 has holes 29 in its lower portion' f through which the drive means may be directly connected." to the legs 80 and preferably holes 39 for connecting arms A 3l and a hole 32 for connecting a head 33 to the torso 22.

The arms 31 and the head 33 may be connected to the w torso 22 by any conventional means.

The drive means 40 for the doll body 2l comprises a `rotatable crank means 41 connecting the torso 22 to the legs 80 and adapted to periodically bend the torso 22 and the legs 8@ towards each other, twist the torso 22 15 'with respect to the legs Sil and lift the legs all with respect to each other alternately to each side. The crank means di are rotated by a gear means and the gear means Sil in turn are driven by a motor means 55. The crank means il comprises a substantially offset shaft d2 having 2t) awgentral body 43 with angle arms 44 at each end extending'in substantially opposite directions from the axis of the central body 43. Preferably, the angle arms d4 have an angle of 180 therebetween so that the movement of each leg Si? is 180 from the other leg Sti, is., the leg 25 movements are equally spaced. Also, preferably, the angle amis 44 extend at substantially right angles to the central body 43. However, other angles may be utilized, as discussed below in connection with the description of the operation of the present invention. Extending outdit wardly at the outer end of each angle arm itl is a finger l5 at an acute angle to the axis 43' of the central body d3 of the shaft 42. The axes 45' of the fingers d5 are displaced from each other. The shaft d2 is mounted on the bottom wall 3d of the torso 22 by means of a pair 35 oi posts 46 having coaxially aligned holes d'7. Seated in the holes 47 of the posts 46 are bearings d8 through which the central body d3 of the shaft 42 extends.

The gear means 50 of the drive means dll includes a first gear 5l iixeclly mounted on the central body d3 of all the shaft 42 and a second gear 52 engaged with the hrst gear 51. The second gear 52 is in turn operatively connected to a gear box S3 by means of a shaft 5d ou which it is fixedly mounted. The gear box d2 is in turn connected to a motor means which is adapted to drive 45.

the gear means 50. The gear box 53 contains a conventional gcaring Iarrangement for suitably adjusting the speed of the motor means to the desired rate of rotation of the crank means 4l?. Both the gear box 53 and the motor means 55 are mounted on a stand Sti which is in turn 50 connected to the rear wall 24 of the torso 22.

The pivotal attachment between the torso 22 and each of the legs Sli comprises a first pivot means 6i for rotating the leg d0 approximately about a side lateral axis of the torso, i.e., an axis parallel to the side lateral axis g5 28. The first pivot means 61 comprises a block 62 joined to the leg 80 having a bore 63 extending approximately parallel to a side lateral axis of the torso. The finger 45 of the drive means 40 is rotatably received in the bore 63 ot' the block 62. The pivotal attachment 66 also includes gg a second pivot means for rotating the leg Sti approximately about a forward and rear lateral axis of the torso 22, i.c. an axis parallel to gie forward-rear axis 25. The second pivot means 70 comprises a yoke 7l which is joined to the leg by mounting the yoke 7l on a plate 75 emg5 bedded in leg 80. The yoke 51 has a rod 72 extending between its ears 73 which extends' approximately paralle! to the forward-rear lateral axis of the torso 22. The second pivot means 7d also includes a second bore 74 in the block 62 of the first pivot means di in which the rod im aide angular displacement of the legs di? and a second 75 I regulator means for governing the forward-rear anf holding means is adapted to restrain the side angular displacement of the second end d? ofthe strut 8S.

The second regulator means 9d, similar to the first regulator means d2, comprises the hanger 83 having u holding means in the form of an aperture 84 therethrough and the strut 85 with its iirst end lid lixed to the yoke 7l and its second end 87 slidabiy received in the aperture 2d oi the hanger 33. However, in the case of the second regulator means 953, the holding means is adapted to restrain the forward-rear angular displacement of the second end '87 of the strut 35. in addition, the second regulator means 9b includes a bracket 91 rotatably mounted at its first end 92 Iabout a side lateral axis in the upper portion of the torso 22. More specifically, the first end 92 of the bracket 9i is rotatably mounted on a rod 93 and separated therefrom by bearings 9d. The rod 93 extends parallel to a side lateral axis of the doll torso 22 and is mounted on the ribs 95 extending between and attached to the front wall 23 and rear wall 2d of the torso 22. The second end 96 of the bracket 91 is operatively connected to the drive means 40 to follow the forward-rear movement of the drive means 40. More specifically, the second end 96 of the bracket 9i has a slot 97 therein in which is slidably received the linger d5 of the drive means dit., The configuration of the slot 97 is such that the upand-down movement of the finger l5 caused by the rota tion of the crank means di does not move the bracket 91 while the forward-rear movement of the finger 45 is directly translated to the bracket 91. The hanger 33 is mounted on the bracket 91 adjacent to the leg 80 and preferably, as shown, the hanger d3 is simply punched out of the bracket 91. Also, preferably, the forward-rear movement of the bracket 91 is insured by a pair of spaced parallel guide bars 98 which extend between and are attached to the front wall 23 and rear wall 2d of the torso 22. The bracket 9i is slidably received between the guide bars 98 whereby they form a track upon which the bracket 91 travels. l

When the doll 20 is actuated to start walking, the motor means 55 rotates the crank means 4l of the drive means d0 which causes the offset shaft 42 to rotate. The eiiect of the rotation of the shaft l2 is relatively compiex with respect to the torso 22 and the legs 80 and may best be explained by discussion each portion of the configuration of the shaft 42 with respect to the relative movement which such coniiguration causes between the legs and the torso.

lf the shaft 42 were formed as illustrated in Sketch A below, the rotation oi the shaft would merely lift one leg with respect to the other leg without causing any bending or twisting of the torso with respect to the legs. 0f course, there would be some bending of the body with respect to the surface upon which the doll is walking. However, such bending would be similar to the mechanical type of motion associated with prior art walking dolls.

Stretch A 0n the other hand, if the shaft 42 were shaped as illustrated in Sketch B below, wherein the lingers of the shaft are coaxially aligned, the resulting motion would involve merely the bending and twisting of the torsowith respect to the legs without any lifting of the lega with respect to each other.

aparece 'The le@ 12d (FIGS. 17, 18 and 23) are connected to the housing assembly 112 by rigid pivots, indicated generally at 228, so that the complete leg unit 113 will roclt with respect to the body unit 112 lifting iirst one foot 231i and then the other foot 232 oli the ground. This is accomplished by the pivotal mounting oi the housing assenti:

bly 122 coupled with the action of the crank 1%. The.

\ type of rocking action obtained by this forced rocking between the leg unit 118 (housing assembly 122 and legs 12d) and the body unit 112 will be readily understood by referring to PlGS..24 and 25. The action shown in FIG. 25 is one normally encountered at high reciting speeds of approximately 120 cycles per minute. The rocking action shown in FIG. 24 is one that is normally encountered at lower speeds of approxi-mately 80 cycles per minutc. Assuming that FIGS. 24 and 25 are drawn from the back of the walking toy, it will be noted that in FIG. 25 the left foot 230 is on the ground 234 when the body unit 112 is rocking to the right and the right foot 232 is on the ground 23d when the body unit 112 is roclting to the left. In a rocking situation oi this type, the right leg 12d must move forward when the body unit 112 is rocltiug to the right, relative to the leg unit 112. Contrary to this in the rocking system shown in FIG. 24, the right foot is on the ground 234 when the Abody unit 112' is rocking to the right and the left foot 23@ is on the ground 23d when the body unit 112 is rocking to the left. lin this situation, the right foot 232 must move forward when the body unit 112 is rocking to the left, as viewed in FIG. 24. Since the walking toy will rnove in both the @il r.p.m. rocking male and the 120 r.p.rn. rocking mode, it can be seen that the motion of legs 124 cannot be a function of the rocking angle between the legs 12d and the ground 234, or other surface, upon which the walking toy llutravels. This situation is further complicated by the fact that thereis no definite transition point between the two rocking modes, but rather a smooth change as the walking speed increases.f.

A series of experiments were undertaken to study the modes of rocking .motion and power consumption of the walking toy 110 for the purpose of optimizing its operating parameters. The objective was to define a region of operating range for the toy for minimum power requirement and maximum rocking stability. A region of stable rocking motion was -found. A pertinent physical parameter is the product of the body unit moment ci inertia times the maximum driving amplitude angle times the cosine of the tilt angle. The experiments indicated that the power required is almost proportional to frequency and is only slightly dependent on the product of the body unit moment of inertia times the maximum driving amplitude angle times the cosine of the tilt angle. This indicates that the toy 110 is a constant torque device and that the power requirement will decrease with the lower frequency. With a gear ratio of 32:1, the no-load gear train torque loss is about 3.5 gr./cm. at the motor input shaft. The average torque for normal operation ranged from to 12 gr./cm. although the instantaneous torque was sometimes as high as gr./cm. For a given configuration,

generally, at high driving frequency the 'body unit 112 leads the leg unit 113 by i60 degrees in phase, i.e., they are rotating in opposite directions. As the driving trequency decreases, the phase shift becomes less and less. it was observed that the toy 110 cannot be made to operate when the phase lead becomes less than 90 degrees. lt was also observed," that the foot lift increases with the decreased rocking frequency. This is expected because o the non-linear nature of the System. The center of gravity of the body unit 112 is approximately at the location of the batteries 116 and the center of gravity of the ieg unit 118 lies on the pivot axis thereof. The leg unit dii til)

112 has less mass than the body unit 112. The relationship between these masses, the centersot gravity of the two units, the rocking frequency and the amount ot roching motion between the two units governs tbe type of 1d walking action produced. lt has been -found that an angle of 3G degrees between the body unit and the ieg unit produces a satisfactory amount of rocking motion.

Although various methods can be employed to coordinate the action of the legs 124 withthe rocking of the leg unit 113 relative to the ground 234, the ethod shown and described herein for purposes of illust tion, but not of limitation, may employ a clutch driven cam assembly 236 (FIGS. 17, 19 and 33) to actuate fore and aft mo tion of the legs 126. The clutch driven cam assembly 236 includes a plastic `bearing 238 having a hub portion 24u which is ournaled in an aperture 242 provided in the bottom wall 162 and an enlarged annular portion 2M having an upper face 246 providing a clutch surface. The bearing 238 is keyed to the shaft 196 by a key 24d for rotation thereby.

The clutch driven cam assembly 136 also includes a cam 249 having an upper cam half 250 and a lower cam half 252 which are rotatably mounted on the shaft 196 in telescopic relation in such a manner that they form a cam slot 254. The upper half 250 includes a clutch face 256 which is biased into engagement with a like clutch face 25S provided on the gear 19d by a compression spring 260 which encompasses the shaft 196 and which engages the cam halves 252 and 254 in such a manner that it tends to spread them apart. The cam half 252 is also provided with a clutching surface 262 which engages the clutch face 246 provided on the bearing 238. The spring 260 is loaded against the cam halves 250 and 252 with a spring load sufficiently light to allow the shaft 195 to continue rotation when the cam halves 250 and 252 remain stationary. In this way, the cam driven clutch assembly 236 can be oriented to the shaft 196 in any position. Since the cam assembly 236 is used to drive the fore and aft motion of the legs 124, this motion can, therefore, be oriented to the rocking action between the leg unit 118 and the body unit112 at any position.

As best shown in FIG. i9 each leg -124 is rigidly connected to the housing 122 by a leg actuating assembly 22d which includes an axle 270 having an internally threaded end 272 and an end 274 near which a tlanged arm 276 is provided. The end 27% may be inserted through an aper ture 278 provided in the side walls 160 of the housing 122 after which a washer 280 may be placed over the end 27d 'which is -peened over against the washer 280 as indicated at 222. Each flanged arm 276 carries a pin 234 which engages an aperture 286 provided in the housing 122 to prevent the axle 279 from rotating. Each flanged arm 276 is provided with suitable detents, such as the one shown at 283, which are positioned adjacent a hub 299 provided on the axle 27h. An actuator link 292 having an arm 29d which carries a pin 295 and an apertured ilange 293 may be installed on the hub 290 in such a manner that a slot 300 provided on the flange 298 engages an associated detent 288 provided on the axle 270.

The mechanism 228 also includes a dctent ring 302 which is provided with an annular flange 304 intermediate its ends 306 and 308. The flange 301i is provided with a plurality of detents, such as the one shown at 310, which arc engagcable with suitable slots, such as the one shown at 312, provided on an actuator assembly 314 when it is in position on the end 3&6 of thc detent ring 302. The detents 282 are caused to engage their associated slots 300 and the dctcnts 31|) are caused to engage their associated slots 312 by a pair of spring washers 316 each of which has suitable resilient fingers, such as the one shown at 313 for each washer 316, adapted to force the actuators 3118 and the actuator links 292 into engagement with their associated dctcnt moans. The spring washers 316 exert a sufcient force so that the actuator links 292 and the actuators 314 will move the legs 124 in a manner to be hereinafter described, but are sufficiently light so that the legs 1211i may be swung by hand to overcome the spring tension so that the toy may be placed in a seated position wherein the legs 124 are at right angles to the body unit 112.

The cam assembly 24921 includes an upper cam half 250:1 having three unequally spaced pins 360 which depend from the upper cam haif 250a and which are engageable with similar spaced apertures (not shown) provided in a lower cam half 252a sp that the cam halves 250e and 2520 may be connected together with a cam slot formed in proper orientation which is identical to the cam .slot 254 previously described and shown in laid-out form in FIG.`20. The cam 249a may be rotatably mounted on the crank shaft 196 on top of the bearing 23311 after which a compression spring 260a and a clutch 362 may be rotatably mounted on the shaft 190 inside the upper cam half.250a in such a manner that an axially extend ing slot 364 provided on the clutch 362 engages a pros tuberance 366 provided in the upper cam half 2S0a in such a manner that the clutch 362 is prevented from rotating while remaining free to reciprocate within the cam half 250:1. The clutch 362 includes an upstanding protuberance 368 which is biased, by the spring 260e, into engagement with a notch 370 provided on the under surface of the gear 194.

Since the gear 194 is keyed to the shaft 190 by the key 212 and the clutch 362 is vlteyed to the cam 249a by the slot 364 engaging the protuberance 366, rotation of the gear 194 by motor 120 would impart rotation to the cam 249e so long as the protuberance 363 is in engagement with the notch 370. However, the protuberance 363 will become disengaged from the notch 370 permitting the gear 194 to rotate without imparting rotation to the cam 249a when the cam 249i: meets sufficient resistance. As previously described in connection with the cam assembly 236, the difference in slope in the fore and aft sections of the cam 24911 in conjunction with the clutching torque provided by the clutch 362 allow a particular foot to be driven back, but not forward, while the weight of the toy is on that particular foot. In this way, the cam 249s is also slipped rotatably until it coordinates with the rocking of the leg unit 118 relative to the ground 234 and independent of the rocking of the leg unit 118 relative to the body unit 112.

The gear 194 is provided with a transverse slot 372 which permits mounting the gear 194 on the shaft 190 by moving the gear 194 past the key 212. The gear 194 may then be rotated until a notch 374, which is provided on the upper surface of the gear 194, is aligned with the key 212 after which the gear 194 is moved upwardly into locking engagement with the key 212. The key 212 is maintained in locking engagement with the notch 274 by a C-shaped washer 376 which includes an opening 378 and which is moved into position between the gear 194 and the cam 24911 by passing the opening 378 over the clutch 362. Thus, the assembly comprising the gear 194, clutch 362, cam 249a and bearing 238g cannot be removed from the shaft 19t) until the washer 376 is moved laterally away from the clutch 362. The gear 194 may then be moved downwardly sufiiciently to permit rotating it until the slot 372 is aligned with the key 212 permitting the gear 194 to be removed from the shaft 190.

The leg unit 118 shown in FIGS. 17-19 may be modified as indicated at 113s in FIGS. 26-31. The leg unit i18n includes a leg actuating assembly 223 which is identical to that shown and described in connection with FIGS. 17-19, and which will not be described further in connection with FIGS. 26-31.

The major difference between the

leg units

118 and 1180 resides in the structure of the legs, which are indicated generally at 124a in FIGS 26-31. Each leg assembly 124g includes an inner housing half 380 and an outer housing half 381 in which an inner leg member 350:1 is mounted. Each member 350d is connected to an associatcd actuator link 292 by a right-angle portion 382 which extends through a slotted aperture 383 provided in a leg cap 320d formed integrally with the inner housing half 380. The cap 320i: connects a leg 124a to an as- 254 being 18 sociated leg actuating mechanism 228 in the manner previously described for the leg 124. The

housing halves

330 and 381 may be secured together by engaging pins 384 provided on each outer housing half 381 in hollow bosses 386 provided on each inner housing half 380. The assembled

housing halves

380 and 381 may be pivotally con nected to a left foot member 230:1 and a right foot member 232e by a first set of pins 388 which pivotaily connect the ankle portions 389 of the

housing halves

380 and 381 to an upper foot portion 390 at the rear portion there of and by a set of pins 392 which pivotally connect the instep portions 393 of the members 35011 to an associated upper foot portion 390 near the front portion thereof. This type of connection produces the parallelogram action previously described in connection with FIGS. 17-l9 which maintains the foot 230a and the `foot 232e in parallel alignment with the ground 234 (FIG. 28) in all positions of operation of cach leg 1240 as it is swung by the actuator mechanism 228 during walking operations. The

feet

230a and 2320 each includes a lower foot portion 394 having offset brackets 396 engageable with pins 398 for connecting the lower foot portion 394 to the upper foot portion 390. The

foot portions

390 and 394 include inner edges 400 which are free to reciprocate with respect to each other as indicated by arrows 402 in FIG. 29. The edges 400 are biased apart by a spring member 404 which is cradled in notches 406 provided in an associated lower foot portion 394 and which is engaged by` a depending tab 408 provided on the upper foot portion 390. The amount that the edges 400 may separate from each other is limited by a stop member 410 (FIG. 29) which depends from the upper foot portion 390 and which is engageable with the lower foot portion 394. This construction constitutes resilient means in the leg unit 1180 which facilitates the raising of a particular foot 23011, 23211 and results in more side-to-side motion of the leg unit 11M for a given angular relation between the body unit 112 and the leg unit 118e in a given rocking mode. In addi tion, as clearly seen in FIG. 29, the lower foot portion 394 slopes downwardly and laterally from its inner edge 400 to an apex portion 394a which is positioned intermediate the inner edge 400 and an outer edge 40011 while lying closer to the inner edge 400.

It has been found that without such resilient means, the toy is not self-starting in a forward direction at lower rocking frequencies. The doll 110 is provided with a 32.811 gear reduction and draws about 250 milliamps. With this gear reduction, it has a crank frequency of 116 r.p.m. at 3 volt terminal voltage. The toy will operate down to 67 r.p.m. at 1.9 volts terminal and the batteries 116 (2 D-cells in series) will have a life of about 3.6 hours continuous duty. However, the toy is not self starting without the resilient means in the leg unit 113:1. It has been found, on the other hand, that a gear reduction of 25:1 provides a suliiciently high crank frequency for making the toy self-starting. With this gear ratio, the toy will rock at r.p.m. at 2.8 volts and 72 r.p.m. at 1.9 volts terminal. The current draw then increases to 370 milliamps and the useful life of the batteries decreases to about 1.5 hours. Thus, the resilient means in the leg unit 118a is an important feature of the invention because it permits increasing battery life and reducing power consumption by employing a higher gear ratio foi driving the leg unit 1l8a. The rocking action creates a side-to-side motion which, in conjunction with the mas: of the toy, is sutticient to lift the feet off the ground This appears to meet the objective of dening a regior of operating range of the toy 110 for minimum power re quirement and maximum rocking stability. A configura tion that is self-starting is associated with a arge mo mentum of the body unit 112. This means either a heavf body unit, large amplitude of driving function or higl speed of rocking. This, on the other hand, is not com patible with the requirement of low power input or brom region of operating range. it is to be noted that thi d. A walking ligure comprising:

a substantially upright torso;

a leg assembly comprising a frame portion pvoted to said torso on a generally fore and aft asis;

e pair of legs depending from and separately pivotnlly mounted with respect to each other on said frame y portion for'fore and aft swinging movement thereon;

drive means drivingly connecting said frame and torso to cyclicaliy osciilate them relative to each other about said fore and aft axis; and

cam means connecting said drive means to said legs to cyclicaliy swing said legs in fore and att directions, said cam means having a predetermined coniiguration for swinging each leg in one direction relative to said torso more slowly than it is swung in the other direction, said drive means being arranged to relatively osciilate said torso and frame and to swing said legs in such timed relation that the weight of said figure is thrown onto one of said legs by an oscillation of said torso and frame while the other leg is being swung forwardly.

9. A walking 'gure as delined in claim 3 including slip clutch means connecting said drive means to said cam means, said slip clutch means controlling said drive means in such a manner that said legs cannot be swung by said drive means unless the weight of said figure is supported by only one leg.

W. A walking figure comprising:

a substantially upright torso;

a leg assembly comprising a frame portion pivoied to said torso on a generally fore and aft anis;

a. pair of iegs depending from and separately pivotaily A .f as mena llil monnt, relative to each otner, on said rame por- 22 'Tl-M N.' tion for fore and aft swinging movement thereon; and drive means drivingiy connecting said frame and torso to cyclically oscillate them relative to each other about said fore and ai! axis, said drive means also being drivingly connected to said le s to cyclicaily swing said legs in fore and aft direct l ns, said drive means being arranged to relatively' oscillate said torso and frame and to swing said legs in such timed relation that the weight of saidtigure is thrown onto one of said legs by an oscillation of said torso and frame while the other leg is being swung forwardly, said drive means being further arranged to start each leg to swing rearwardly before the weight of said figure is shifted thereto.

il. A walking figure as defined in claim 3 wherein said drive means also includes an electric motor and crank means connecting said motor, frame and torso together to form said driving connection.

L 3. BGVSSO, Assistant Examiner'.

Claims

1. A WALING FIGURE COMPRISING: A SUBSTANTIALLY UPRIGHT TORSO HAVING A PAIR OF DEPENDING SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID LEGS SEPARATELY PIVOTED THERETO AND RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER AND HAVING GROUND-ENGAGING FEET AT THEIR LOWER ENDS; SAID LEGS EACH BEING MOUNTED ON SAID TORSO FOR FORE AND AFT SWINGING MOVEMENT RELATIVE THERETO SUBSTANTIALLY ABOUT A TRANSVERSE AXIS AND FOR LIMITED LATERAL SWINGING MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID TORSO ABOUT A FORE AND AFT AXIS; DRIVE MEANS IN SAID FIGURE AND ARRANGED TO SWING SAID LEGS IN OPPOSITE FORE AND AFT DIRECTIONS RELATIVE TO SAID TORSO; SAID DRIVE MEANS BEING ARRANGED TO SWING AT LEAST ONE LEG LATTERALLY RELATIVE TO SAID TORSO TO THEREBY THROW THE WEIGHT OF SAID FIGURE ONTO SAID ONE LEG AND TO SWING THE OTHER LEG FORWARDLY WHILE ALSO SWINGING SAID ONE LEG REARWARDLY TO MOVE SAID TORSO FORWARDLY, SAID GROUND-ENGAGING FEET EACH HAVING AN INNER EDGE, AN OUTER EDGE AND A PORTION