Abstract:
A modular motion device capable of incorporated into a greeting card has a packaging structure, a module drive mechanism and one or more visual elements capable of being set in motion by a user&#39;s interaction with the drive mechanism. The module drive mechanism includes a plurality of motion components, such as gears and pivot hubs. The motion components are activated in a first embodiment via manual rotation of a drive gear, in a second embodiment via manual rotation of a crank arm, and in a third embodiment via a motor.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application, having attorney docket number HALC.130460, claims the benefit of and priority to commonly owned U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/821,688, filed Aug. 7, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    The present invention is related to amusement devices, and more particularly, may be embodied as a greeting card product utilizing motion as a primary form of attraction. 
         [0004]    Over the years, designers have utilized a wide variety of features to make greeting cards and related gift items more attractive and desirable to consumers. In addition to the use of various colors, pictures, designs and phrases, cards have also been designed with selectively moveable portions in an effort to draw attention to the card. A popular means for incorporating some form of motion into a greeting card is to employ paper mechanics technology with the moving items being located inside the card. The particular arrangement of folds in the paper inside the card make it such that the motion is generally caused by the opening and closing of the card, creating what is commonly referred to as a “pop-up” effect. While paper mechanics technology is well known and can provide for various types of movement, this method of imparting movement in the card is limited to the interior of a card and requires opening and closing of the card for activation which can partially obscure the moving objects. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a different method of imparting movement to objects on a card which are not limited by the drawbacks of the prior art. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    A modular design greeting card motion device is disclosed for providing an animated gift product. The modular design allows for integration of reconfigurable motion mechanisms into a greeting card, enabling a wide variety of animation effects to be created for amusement of the product recipient. Furthermore, the modular design provides a compact product for ease of handling by the user. 
         [0006]    In one aspect, the system takes the form of an amusement device, or animated greeting card assembly, including a packaging structure, a module drive mechanism and one or more visual elements set in motion by the user&#39;s interaction with the drive mechanism. The packaging structure includes a cover panel, and optionally a bottom panel, for concealing the drive mechanism. The module drive mechanism is formed of a base tray and a cap, with a plurality of motion components disposed therebetween and operatively supported on the base tray. The visual elements are interconnected with the motion components through openings in the packaging cover panel and the drive mechanism cap, such that the visual elements are positioned adjacent to the cover panel and viewable by the user. Upon the user providing manual input to the module drive mechanism, the motion components initiate animation of the visual elements. The animation may encompass a variety of movement schemes, including a pivotable action, a translational or path-tracing action, a circular or non-circular looping action, and other simple and complex motion patterns. 
         [0007]    In another aspect, the motion components of the module drive mechanism may include one or more drive gears and output gears. The drive gears may be positioned at multiple locations on the mechanism base tray, depending on the desired orientation of the greeting card and where manual input is to be received on the system. The output gears may connect directly to the visual elements, or may transfer rotational motion to certain “action” components that convert the rotation into other animation patterns (e.g., a reciprocating pivot, translation, looping). A pulley system may be employed to directly receive the user input and transfer the applied force to the drive gears. Additionally, because the drive mechanism tray may be formed with a plurality of bearing regions for supporting motion components, such components are easily reconfigured on the tray and coupled to other action components to create new animation patterns. 
         [0008]    Additional advantages and features of the invention will be set forth in part in a description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a base tray of a module drive mechanism for integration with a greeting card, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a build up of the module drive mechanism, with a sample set of gears positioned on the base tray of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a further build up of the module drive mechanism, with a mid-level cap placed over the subassembly of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a still further build up of the module drive mechanism, with a sample of various action components coupled with the set of gears and placed over the subassembly of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a further build up of the module drive mechanism, with a top cap placed over the subassembly of  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a back perspective view of an embodiment of the module drive mechanism integrated with a greeting card, depicting a user providing input to a drive gear to initiate motion activity; 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of another embodiment of a module drive mechanism build up integrated with a greeting card, with a sample set of gears positioned on a base tray; 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a build up of the module drive mechanism, with a sample of various action components coupled with the set of gears and placed over the subassembly of  FIG. 7 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a further build up of the module drive mechanism, with a cap placed over the subassembly of  FIG. 8 ; 
           [0019]      FIGS. 10A and 10B  show front views of an animated greeting card assembly having visual elements representing a circus type scene, with various gears and action components driving pivotable movement of the visual elements; and 
           [0020]      FIGS. 11A and 11B  show front views of another animated greeting card assembly having visual elements representing a rodeo type scene, with various gears and action components driving linear, translational movement of the visual elements. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0021]    Various embodiments of the modular design greeting card motion device are shown throughout the figures. As explained more fully herein, the motion device employs a module drive mechanism, or “module”, to generate animation of certain visual elements in response to user initiated input. The module may be integrated into a modified version of a traditional greeting card or similar structure. The visual elements being animated, along with other indicia positioned on the packaging forming the greeting card, provide a theme for the amusement of the user. Additionally, certain motion components of the module are configured for interchangeability and repositioning within the module by the greeting card designer, enabling new animation patterns to be readily generated. The compact nature of the module facilitates the integration of the module into other amusement devices besides greeting cards, such as books and other items. 
         [0022]    Referring now to the drawings in more detail and initially to  FIGS. 1-5 , reference numeral  10  designates one embodiment of a module drive mechanism for a greeting card assembly. The module  10  includes, in built-up layers, a base tray  12 , a set of gears  14  for generating motion responsive to use input, a mid-level cap  16 , a set of action components  18  coupled with the gears  14  to generate a specific movement output based on the gear motion, and a top cap  20  encasing the gears  14 , the mid-level cap  16  and the action components  18  between the base tray  12  and the top cap  20 . The gears  14  and action components  18  are also generically referred to herein as “motion components”. The structural elements forming the module  10  may be formed out of molded plastics and other composites, for ease of mass production. 
         [0023]    The base tray  12  includes a bottom floor  22 , a perimeter upturned flange wall  24  and a plurality of posts  26  extending upwardly from the floor  22 . The posts  26  serve as locations for the axial mounting of the set of gears  14  and pivot hubs  28  that also perform the function of “motion components”. The bottom floor  22  is also formed with a plurality of recesses  30  that serve as bearing regions for operatively supporting the gears  14  and pivot hubs  28  during rotation on the posts  26 , as best seen in  FIG. 2 . The set of gears  14  include a drive gear  34 , one or more transfer gears  36 , and one or more output gears  38  coupled with the action components  18 . In this embodiment, the base tray bottom floor  22  includes a circular through opening  40  sized to receive an axially-aligned, downwardly oriented cylindrical extension  42  of the drive gear  34 , such that a lower surface  44  of the cylindrical extension  42  is accessible from a rear side  46  of the module  10 , as explained in further detain herein with respect to  FIG. 6 . 
         [0024]    Throughout the various embodiments of the module  10  described herein, the term “drive gear” refers to a gear receiving either a direct force input from a user, or a force from another input object with which the user interacts to provide input. The transfer gear  36  is configured to transmit by rotational gear engagement a force from a drive gear  34  to an output gear  38 , either directly or through rotational interaction with other transfer gears  36 . Each of the gears  14  may have upwardly extending posts  48  spaced from and parallel to the axis of the respective gear. Such posts  48  are particularly utilized by the output gears  38  to engage with the action components  18  and drive the movement of such components  18 . Additionally, as can be understood, gears  14  and pivot hubs  28  are not necessarily located on each open post  26  and recess  30 . The particular gears  14  and pivot hubs  28  selected are a matter of design choice based on the need to create a specific movement pattern for the visual elements being animated by either the action components  18  or directly by the output gears  38 , as explained in further detail herein. It is preferable to form the base tray  12  with a number of posts  26  and recesses  30  sufficient for a module designer to generate many possible combinations of movements depending on the particular motion components implemented in the module  10 . Furthermore, a particular gear  14 , such as drive gear  34 , may also perform the function of another type of gear, such as transfer gear  36  or output gear  38 , depending on the particular configuration of the gears  14  selected to produce a desired output motion. 
         [0025]    The mid-level cap  16  functions to retain the gears  14  and pivot hubs  28  on the respective posts  26  and within the respective recesses  30  of the bottom floor  22  of the base tray  12 . The cap  16  has a number of through holes  49  aligned with the recesses  30 . The through holes  49  allow the gears  14  and pivot hubs  28  to at least partially extend through the cap  16 , aiding in retention of the gears and hubs while also exposing the posts  48  for engagement with the action components. While a standard cap  16  would be used, the cap  16  could be customized regarding the number and location of through holes  49  depending on the number and location of gears  14  and pivot hubs  28  used in a specific embodiment. Preferably, the mid-level cap  16  has a thickness necessary for a top surface  50  of the cap  16  to be flush with upwardly oriented cylindrical extensions  52  and  54  of the gears  14  and pivot hubs  28 , respectively, as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0026]    The action components  18  may then be coupled with the output gears  38  and pivot hubs  28 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . For instance, motions such as spinning (e.g., point spinning in a zero turn radius), swiveling (e.g., reciprocating pivot motion), swinging (e.g., reciprocating pivot motion with a linear extension) and sliding (e.g., in a looped configuration or a non-looped, translation motion) are enabled by the action components  18  moving in response to the force input applied from the output gears  38 . In the exemplary arrangement shown in  FIG. 4 , the action components  18  include a swivel bar  56 , a slide block  58 , and a cylindrical spin block  60 . The swivel bar  56  is formed by a hub  62  mating with a recess  64  of the pivot hub  28  and a slotted finger  66  extending radially from the hub  62  for receiving one of the gear posts  48  therein. The slide block  58  likewise includes a slotted base  68  (for receiving another gear post  48 ), as well as an upper member  70 . The cylindrical spin block  60  is sized to be seated within an axial recess  72  in the cylindrical extension  52  of the drive gear  34 . 
         [0027]    Once the desired action components  18  are in place, the top cap  20  is secured over the mid-level cap  16  and the action components  18 . The flange wall  24  of the base tray  12  includes corner retainers  74  for securing the top cap  20  on the remaining build-up layers of the module  10 . The top cap  20  may be secured with the base tray corner retainers  74  by a variety of methods, such as by sizing the perimeter of the cap  20  to friction fit with the inside walls  76  of the corner retainers  74  or by utilizing an adhesive to secure the cap  20  perimeter to the corner retainers  74 . The particular top cap  20  selected should have a number of through holes  78  positioned for alignment with the respective action components  18 , enabling the desired visual elements for the greeting card design to be coupled therewith and set in motion by user input on the drive gear  34 . 
         [0028]    The module  10  is depicted in  FIG. 6  as being integrated into a greeting card product  200  with a cover panel  82  and bottom panel  84 . In the particular configuration of the greeting card product  200  depicted in  FIG. 6 , the drive gear cylindrical extension  42  extends through a central opening in the bottom panel  84  to enable a user to provide input on the drive gear  34 . The cover panel  82  and the bottom panel  84  may be formed from a single piece of card stock folded to cover the front side (i.e., top cap  20 ) and the rear side  46  of the module  10 , as well as a common perimeter  86  created by the built-up thickness of the module  10 . In such an arrangement, the cover panel  82  and bottom panel  84  combine to form a pocket within which the module  10  is disposed. The cover panel  82  is adhered to the top cap  20 , the bottom panel  84  is adhered to the underside of the base tray  12 , and the common perimeter  86  is adhered to an outwardly facing portion of the base tray flange wall  24 . Alternatively, the cover panel  82  may be a separate element covering the top cap  20 , and the bottom panel  84  may be an optional element for covering the module rear side  46 . Additionally, in another embodiment, a rear panel (not shown) could be provided. The rear panel could be joined with the bottom panel  84  along a common edge to provide a user viewable and accessible interior of the greeting card product  200  where text is provided, similar to a standard greeting card without motion elements. In this embodiment, the side of the bottom panel  84  that is viewable in  FIG. 6  would be an interior left side of the greeting card. Particular exemplary visual elements  300  coupled with certain motion components of an exemplary greeting card product are shown in  FIGS. 10A-11B , including a trapeze with swinging movements, and a horse rider with linear, sliding movements, as explained in more detail herein. 
         [0029]    In use, a person (e.g., the greeting card product recipient) engages a set of dimples  80  on the lower surface  44  of the drive gear cylindrical extension  42  to effect rotation of the drive gear  34 . With continued reference to  FIGS. 1-5 , the exemplary gear arrangement for the module  10  shown provides for the drive gear  34  directly mating with the particular output gear  38  coupled with the swivel bar  56 , and indirectly engaging with the output gear  38  coupled with the slide block  58  through the transfer gear  36 . In this way, the drive gear  34  rotation drives the swiveling motion of the swivel bar hub  62  via the slotted finger  66  oscillating on the gear post  48  orbiting around the axis of the respective output gear  38  in a circular travel path. The drive gear  34  rotation also drives the linear back-and-forth motion of the slide block upper member  70  via the slide block slotted base  68  oscillating on the respective output gear post  48  orbiting around the axis of the respective output gear  38 . The elongate configuration of the particular top cap through hole  78  through which the slide block upper member  70  extends guides the upper member  70  along linear movement. Still further, the rotation of the drive gear  34  rotates the cylindrical spin block  60  in place to induce a spinning motion. The movements of the action components  18  and corresponding animation of the visual elements may be either coordinated with one another for visual appeal, or alternatively may lack coordination, but in any case movement of all components  18  occurs simultaneously. 
         [0030]    As an alternative to the arrangement shown where a user physically drives the motion of the module  10  through drive gear  34 , a small electric or spring wound motor (not shown) may be coupled with one of the gears  14  or pivot hubs  28  to drive the movement of the “motion components”. A battery or other power supply (not shown) may be stored within a compartment  88  formed in the base tray  12 . 
         [0031]    Turning to  FIGS. 7-11B , another embodiment of a module drive mechanism  100  for a greeting card assembly is depicted. The module  100  employs many of the features of the embodiment of the module  10  shown in  FIGS. 1-5 , including the utilization of motion components sandwiched between a base tray and a top cap to effect animation of visual elements coupled therewith. However, instead of implementing a drive gear design that relies on a person providing a direct force input on the drive gear portion exposed through a greeting card panel, a user input mechanism  102  is mechanically coupled with a drive gear  104 . Although not limited to any particular location on the overall module  100 , in one practical embodiment shown in  FIGS. 7-9 , the user input mechanism  102  is located near a perimeter  106  of the module  100  to reduce the interference with the movements of the motion components (as well as the animation of the visual elements  300  shown in  FIGS. 10A-11B ). 
         [0032]    The module  100  is formed by a built-up configuration similar to module  10  of  FIGS. 1-5 , and preferably includes a base tray  108 , a set of gears  110 , a set of action components  112 , and a top cap  114  . Additionally, a bottom plate  116  may be provided as a support structure beneath the base tray  108  and also serve as a mounting structure for the user input mechanism  102 . The top cap  114  may likewise serve as a structure to which the user input mechanism  102  is mounted. 
         [0033]    Similar to the base tray  12  of module  10 , the base tray  108  includes a bottom floor  118 , a plurality of recesses  120  formed into the bottom floor  118  to serve as bearing regions operatively supporting particular gears  110  and pivot hubs  122  in rotation, and a plurality of posts  124  extending upwardly from the bottom floor  118  in the bearing regions and with which the gears  110  and hubs  122  may be axially mounted. The gears  110  include the drive gear  104 , which receives a rotation inducing force from the user input mechanism  102 , one or more transfer gears  126  and one or more output gears  128  coupled with the action components  112 . Selected gears  110  (i.e., gears that are likely to be utilized in the module  100  as output gears  128 , depending on the configuration selected by the module designer) have upwardly extending posts  130  spaced from and parallel to the axis of the respective gear. 
         [0034]    As with the configuration of the module  10  shown in  FIGS. 1-5 , the base tray  108  of module  100  is preferably formed with a sufficient number of recesses  120  and posts  124  for a module designer to generate many possible combinations of movements depending on the particular motion components implemented in the module  100 . Additionally, to afford the module designer greater flexibility in positioning a user input mechanism  102 , the base tray  108  preferably has a recess  120  and corresponding post  124  at each outside perimeter corner  132  thereof. This enables the portion of the module  100  build-up above the bottom plate  116  to be rotated to a variety of different orientations with respect to the overlying or surrounding greeting card packaging structure, such as cover panel  134 , while maintaining a simple mechanical coupling arrangement between the input mechanism  102  and one of the drive gears  124 . Differing orientations of the base tray  108  in particular enable the output gears  128  and the corresponding action components  112  to present animations of the visual elements  300  to the user in different ways. 
         [0035]    One example of a user input mechanism  102  is a pulley system. The pulley system  102  includes a driving pulley wheel  136 , a crank arm  138  rigidly connected to the axis of the pulley wheel  136  for imparting rotation thereof, and a flexible band  140  for transferring the motion of the pulley wheel  136  to an extension  142  of the drive gear  104 . The pulley wheel  136  may be rotatably mounted to a mounting bracket  144  on an underside of the wheel  136 , and to the top cap  114  on an upper side of the wheel  136 , via an axial pin (not shown) to stabilize the wheel  104  during rotation. The drive gear extension  142  is generally an axially-aligned, upwardly oriented cylinder with a circumferential groove  146  for receiving and frictionally engaging with the band  140 . Likewise, the pulley wheel  136  has a circumferential groove  148  frictionally engaging the band  140 . The flexible band  140  may be formed of rubber or other suitable materials. It should be also understood that other alternative user input mechanisms may be substituted for the pulley system  102  of the module  100 , such as additional gears, linkage arrangements, levers, and other mechanical structures. 
         [0036]    Upon the desired gears  110  and pivot hubs  122  being placed on the appropriate posts  124 , the action components  112  are then set in place to create the desired movements to be translated into animation by the attached visual elements  300 . With the exemplary arrangement shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the action components include a swivel bar  150  and a pair of slide blocks  152 , which may possess the same configuration as the swivel bar  56  and slide block  58  of the module  10  depicted in  FIGS. 1-5 . The top cap  114  is then secured over the action components  112  and the remainder of the motion components mounted on the base tray  108 . The top cap  114  has a series of through holes  154  aligned with the respective action components  112 , to allow the visual elements  300  to connect to the action components  112  through the top cap  114 . Additionally, in a preferred arrangement, the top cap  114  has another through hole  154  at the axis of the pulley wheel  136 . This enables the pulley system  102  (minus the crank arm  138 ) to first be installed on the module  100 , then the top cap  114  secured in place, and then the crank arm  138  secured to the pulley wheel  136  (e.g., by a fastener) through the through hole  154 . The top cap  114  may be secured to any of the underlying layers of the module  100  (e.g., the base tray  108  or bottom plate  116 ) by a variety of techniques, such as by applying adhesives to the underside of the cap  114 . The important parameter is to ensure that the top cap  114  does not interfere with the movement of the motion components utilized in the module  100 . Still further, the top cap  114  may be formed of transparent or translucent materials, as shown in  FIG. 9 . It should be understood that, as with the module  10  of  FIGS. 1-5 , the structural elements forming the module  100  may be formed out of molded plastics and other composites. 
         [0037]    In use, a person applies an input force on the crank arm  138  to induce movement of the action components  112  and ultimately animation of the visual elements  300 . The tension on the band  140  extending around the drive gear extension  142  and the pulley wheel  136  enables the rotation of the wheel  136  via the crank arm  138  to induce rotation of the drive gear  104  and corresponding movement of the motion components (i.e., gears  110 , action components  112  and pivot hubs  122 ). The drive gear  104  transfers the rotational motion to the remaining gears  110 , and the output gears  128  transfer the rotational motion via the posts  130  to swivel bar  150  and slide blocks  152 . In particular, each swivel bar  150  has a hub  156  mating with an upwardly cylindrical extension  158  of the pivot hub  122  and a slotted finger  160  extending radially from hub  156  and configured to receive the post  130  of the respective output gear  128 . The hub  156  undergoes a reciprocating pivot motion, or swivel, as the slotted finger  160  undergoes an oscillating action set in motion via the circular travel path of the output gear post  130 . Likewise, each slide block  152  has a slotted base  164  configured to receive the post  130  of the respective output gear  128  and an upper member  166  extending from the base  164 . The upper member  166   
         [0038]    undergoes a linear back-and-forth motion due to both the circular travel of the post  130  received in the slotted base  164  causing oscillation of the slotted base  164 , as well as the elongate configuration of the respective top cap through hole  154  through which the upper member  166  extends establishing a linear travel path. 
         [0039]    As referenced above, the module  100  is preferably integrated into a greeting card product  400 , or packaging structure, having the cover panel  134  and a bottom panel  168  disposed beneath the bottom plate  116 . The greeting card product  400  may optionally have a rear panel (not shown) that cooperates with the bottom panel  168  to provide an interior of the card where a greeting may be placed. The packaging structure  400  may be formed from card stock in a similar configuration to the cover panel  82  and bottom panel  84  of module  10 . 
         [0040]    With particular reference to  FIGS. 10A-11B , the positioning of certain exemplary visual elements  300  undergoing animation are shown with respect to the driving motion components. It should be understood that portions of the gears  110  shown in  FIGS. 10A-11B  (such as a number of circumscribing gear teeth) have been omitted for clarity of presentation. The swinging trapeze scene depicted in  FIGS. 10A and 10B  utilizes motion components of the module  100  along with a pair of swing-type visual elements  300   a  and  300   b  to create the desired animation. Various illustrations  302  or other indicia are also formed on the cover panel  134  of the greeting card product  400  in keeping with the circus theme. As the user turns the crank arm  138  of the pulley system  102 , a pair of swivel bars  150  set in motion by the gears  110  cause the coordinated animation of the visual elements, such that the persons  304  formed on the visual elements appear to be preparing to move from one of the elements  300   a  to the other element  300   b.    
         [0041]    In a similar fashion, the horse riding scene depicted in  FIGS. 11A and 11B  utilizes module motion components along with a horse/rider combination visual element  300   c  and a rider hat visual element  300   d  for generating a particular animation pattern. The horse riding or rodeo theme is accentuated with various illustrations  306  formed on the cover panel  134 . With the engagement of the pulley system  102  by the user, a pair of slide blocks  152  set in motion by gears  110  cause the coordinated linear up-and-down motion of the horse/rider element  300   c  and the hat element  300   d,  so that these elements move closer to and then away from one another. In this way, the rider appears to lose their hat as they move closer to the ground, only to return upwardly into the air to be in proximity to the hat. Alternately, rocking motion could be applied to the horse/rider element  300   c  to give the appearance the horse is bucking. 
         [0042]    As can be appreciated, the various embodiments of the module drive mechanism and other elements forming a greeting card assembly can provide virtually endless combinations of movement for visual elements present on the front of the greeting card product. Other embodiments of and modifications to the invention are beneficial as well and are within the scope of the present invention. For example, the movement of the components can be used to produce mechanical sounds. This sound can be caused, for instance, by a protrusion on one of the motion components contacting a flexible arm. When the arm is released, it strikes a surface and causes a sound. Sound can also be created by having loose items enclosed in a moving component, such as small metal or plastic balls. When the component turns, the balls strike each other, creating sound. Sound can also be produced by clicking, ringing, stirring, and crinkle plastic. 
         [0043]    The modular design of the greeting card assembly allows for interchangeability of moving parts, while maintaining a thin profile mechanism desired for greeting cards and the like. The manual user input also means that the user has control over the motion input, and thus, the motion output. The user can start and stop the motion, can reverse motion direction, and can change the speed of the motion. Still further, it should be understood that various other motion components may be implemented into the module drive mechanism to generate a vast array of animation possibilities. Examples of such motion components include worm and helical gears, multi-linkage assemblies, rack and pinion arrangements, and other known components. 
         [0044]    From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with the other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure. It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the invention. 
         [0045]    Since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative of applications of the principles of this invention, and not in a limiting sense.