Abstract:
A doll dressing apparatus for dressing a doll to which clothing items can be releasably attached. The apparatus is comprised of a carrier on which one or more clothing items can be manually attached by a user of the apparatus. The apparatus removes the clothing item(s) from the carrier previously attached thereto and subsequently fits the clothing item(s) to the doll.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a doll dressing apparatus, which can dress a toy doll.  
         [0002]     It is known in the art to provide a toy doll which can be dressed with interchangeable clothes. Such clothing is known to take the form of a front piece for fitting onto the front of the doll, and a back piece for fitting onto the back of the doll. The front piece and back piece may be secured to the doll by magnets in order to retain them in place. Such clothing can be placed on the doll by hand. Alternatively, it is known to place the clothing on the doll by a mechanical device.  
         [0003]     A known mechanical device comprises two jaws, urged apart by a spring. The front piece of clothing is placed on the inside of one jaw, and the back piece of clothing is placed on the inside of the other jaw. The doll is then slid between the jaws. The final part of the sliding movement engages the jaws such that the jaws are brought together around the doll. The magnetic attraction of the pieces of clothing to the doll is stronger than the magnetic attraction of the clothing to the jaws. Once the clothing comes into contact with the doll, the clothing securely attaches to the doll and detaches from the jaws.  
         [0004]     As the doll is slid out from between the jaws, the jaws spring apart without the pieces of clothing. The clothed doll can then be played with.  
         [0005]     This known device for dressing a doll has the disadvantage that the pieces of clothing must first be placed directly onto the open jaws of a delivery mechanism. Such jaws are functional, and so are not attractive to a user. The user cannot see clearly the pieces of clothing when they are mounted on the jaws. It may also not obvious to a user which jaw is designed to receive the front piece of clothing, and which jaw is designed to receive the back piece of clothing.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0006]     The present invention provides in a first aspect doll dressing apparatus for dressing a doll to which clothing items can be releasably attached, the apparatus comprising: a carrier on which one or more clothing items can be manually attached by a user of the apparatus; and dressing means which remove from the carrier the clothing item(s) previously attached thereto and subsequently fits the clothing item(s) to the doll.  
         [0007]     The present invention provides in a second aspect a house for a doll comprising doll dressing apparatus fitting at least one clothing item on a doll, the apparatus comprising a doll support for supporting a doll; a carrier on which at least one clothing item can be manually attached by a user; and dressing means for removing the/a clothing item from the carrier at an undressing station and then fitting the removed clothing item to the doll at a dressing station spaced from the undressing station; wherein the clothing item(s) is/are attached to the carrier by attachment means which exert a first attachment force, the clothing item(s) are attached to the dressing means by-attachment means exerting a second attachment force higher than the first attachment force and the clothing item(s) is/are attached to the doll by attachment means which exert a third attachment force higher than the second attachment force.  
         [0008]     The present invention provides in a third aspect a method of dressing a doll comprising: fitting at least-one clothing item on a carrier when the carrier is at a first location; moving the carrier to a dressing station at which the clothing item(s) is/are removed from the carrier by dressing means; moving the dressing means with the clothing item(s) attached from the undressing station to a dressing station; moving a doll to the dressing station; transferring the clothing item(s) from the dressing means to the doll; and moving the doll away from the dressing station to a final location.  
         [0009]     The object of the present invention is to provide a doll dressing device which can easily dress a doll in a pleasing manner. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of doll dressing apparatus according to the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is a cut-away perspective view of the doll dressing apparatus of the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a part of the apparatus of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ;  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of a part of the apparatus of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ;  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  is a front cut-away elevation view of the apparatus of  FIGS. 1 and 2  in a first state;  
         [0015]      FIG. 6  is a front cut-away elevation view of the apparatus of  FIGS. 1 and 2  in a second state. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0016]     In  FIG. 1  there can be seen a doll dressing apparatus  10 , in the form of a doll&#39;s house  100 . The doll&#39;s house  100  has an open lower level  20 , and an open upper level  30 . The doll&#39;s house  100  defines a room on the first floor  20  in which the doll  10  can be positioned, and a room on the second floor  30  in which the doll can alternatively be positioned.  
         [0017]     There is a middle level comprising a closed dressing area  21  situated between the lower level  20  and the upper level  30 . The dressing area  21  is of a height substantially equal to or larger than the doll  10 , and is not visible to a user. The dressing area  21  further does not have a floor on which the doll  10  can be placed. A rear wall  22  forms the back of the doll&#39;s house  100 , and defines the back of the first floor  20 , second floor  30  and dressing area  21 .  
         [0018]     The doll  10  is securable in a standing position on a doll support stand  1 . The doll support stand  1  engages the doll  10  by means of boots  2 , the feet of the doll  10  securely fitting in the boots  2 . The doll support stand  1  comprises an arm  3  for controlling movement of the doll support stand  1  by a user. The arm  3  comprises a narrow portion  4  of smaller width than the remainder of the arm  3 . The doll support stand  1  further comprises a trigger arm  56  extending in an arc, and spaced from the boots  2 .  
         [0019]     A slot  5  extends vertically up the side of the doll&#39;s house  100 , extending between the first floor  20  and second floor  30 . The slot  5  further has a horizontal portion  6  on the first floor  20  and a horizontal portion  7  on the second floor  30 . The slot  5  has a tongue  8  integrally formed on substantially the length of the slot  5  on inner sides of the slot  5 , the tongue not present on the ends of horizontal portion  6  and horizontal portion  7  distal from the slot  5 .  
         [0020]     The arm  3  passes through a slot  5  in the house  100 , the narrow portion  4  locatable in the slot  3 . The tongue  8  engages with the narrow portion  4  of the arm  3 , such that a translational movement of the arm through the slot is only possible at the distal ends of the slot  5 , in the horizontal portions  6  and  7 .  
         [0021]     The device for dressing a doll comprises a carrier in the form of a carrier  11  supported by a carrier support  12 . A carrier slot  13  is formed in the rear wall  22 , spaced from the slot  5 . The carrier support  12  is slidable in the carrier slot  13 . Movement of the carrier  11  is actuated by a wheel  25 . The carrier slot  13  extends from the second floor  30  to the dressing area  21 .  
         [0022]     With reference to  FIG. 2 , the doll dressing apparatus further comprises dressing means having a carriage  26  with two dressing jaws  27 . The carriage  26  are jaws  27  located within the dressing area  21 . The carriage  26  is slidable horizontally along substantially the length of the dressing area  21 , between the carrier slot  13  and the slot  5 . The movement of the carriage  26  is actuated by turning of the wheel  25 . The carriage  26  slides in a carriage guide slot  34 .  
         [0023]     With reference to  FIG. 3 , one dressing jaw  27  has a protrusion  33  extending downwardly. The protrusion  33  is engagable in a groove (not shown) in the dressing area  21 . The groove is substantially straight with a curved portion  30  adjacent the carrier slot  13 . The curved portion  30  forces a jaw  27  inwardly towards the alternative jaw  27  when the jaw  27  enters the curved portion.  
         [0024]     The jaws  27  are each provided with a lever  32 . The levers  32  are pivotally attached to each other, such that movement of one jaw  27  actuates movement of the other jaw  27  in the opposite sense. The dressing jaws  27  are biased apart by a spring  31 . The spring  31  acts to urge the jaws  31  into a position sufficiently spaced apart to receive the doll  10 .  
         [0025]     With reference to  FIG. 4 , releasable attachment means used by the present invention is now described. The carrier  11  comprises a relatively weak magnet {not shown). Each piece of clothing  50 ,  51  comprises two magnets  54 . Each magnet  54  has a north pole and a south pole, and the magnets  54  are orientated such that the north pole of one magnet faces inwardly, and the north face of the other magnet faces outwardly. The front piece of clothing  50  has a similar configuration, however the orientations of the magnets are reversed. Thus, the front piece of clothing  50  experiences a magnetic attraction to the carrier  11  only when it is in contact with the front of the carrier  11 . If the front piece of clothing is placed adjacent to the rear of the carrier, the magnet in the carrier  11  and the relevant magnet in the front piece of clothing  50  will repel, ensuring that the clothing can only be placed on the carrier in its correct position. Similarly, the rear piece of clothing  51  is attracted to the rear of the carrier  11  and repelled by the front of the carrier  11 .  
         [0026]     Each jaw  27  is provided with two magnets  55 . One magnet  55  has its north pole facing inwardly towards the other jaw, and one magnet  55  has its north pole facing outwardly. The position of the magnets  55  corresponds with the position of the magnets  53 . The position of the magnets  55  corresponds with the position of the magnets  53 , such that the jaws  27  are magnetically attracted to the pieces of clothing  50 ,  51 . The orientation of the magnets  54 ,  55  ensures that the front and rear pieces of clothing  50 ,  51  are only attracted to the correct jaw  27 . The magnetic attraction between the pieces of clothing  50 ,  51  and the jaws  27  is greater than the magnetic attraction between the pieces of clothing  50 ,  51  and the carrier  11 .  
         [0027]     The doll  10  also comprises two magnets (not shown). The north pole of one magnet faces forwardly, and the north pole of the other magnet faces rearwardly. The magnets are arranged such that the front piece of the clothing  50  is attracted to the front of the doll  10 . The rear piece of clothing  51  is only attracted to the rear of the doll  10 . The magnetic attraction between the pieces of clothing  50 ,  51  and the doll  10  is greater than the magnetic attraction between the pieces of clothing  50 ,  51  and the jaws  27 .  
         [0028]     The mechanism by which the carriage  26  and carrier  11  are moved is now described with reference to  FIG. 5 . The wheel  25  is connected by a shaft (not shown) to a toothed drive gear  35 . The drive gear  35  meshes with a larger toothed gear, carriage gear  36 . The drive gear  35  and carriage gear  36  both rotate in the same plane about a horizontal axis.  
         [0029]     The carriage gear  36  is provided with an elongate member, carriage arm  37 , which extends generally downwardly. The carriage arm  37  is rigidly fastened to the carriage gear.  36 . The carriage arm  37  comprises a carriage arm slot  38  extending through a lower part thereof. The carriage arm slot  38  corresponds in position to the carriage guide slot  34 , such that over the range of movement of the carriage arm  37 , part of the carriage arm slot  38  is aligned with the carriage guide slot  34 . The carriage  26  has a protrusion (not shown) which engages in the carriage arm slot  38 . Thus, rotation of the carriage gear  36  causes rotation of the carriage arm  37 , which effects a horizontal movement of the carriage  26  along the carriage guide slot  34 .  
         [0030]     A further gear, carrier gear  39 , meshes with the carriage gear  36 . The carrier gear  39  also rotates about a horizontal axis. A carrier arm  40  is rotatable about the same axis as the carrier gear  39 , however the carrier arm  40  and carrier gear  39  are not rigidly secured to one another. The carrier gear  39  is provided with a carrier gear pin  43  extending parallel to the axis of rotation of the carrier gear  39 . The carrier gear pin  43  engages with a part of the carrier arm  40 , a carrier arm bearing surface  45 . Rotation of the carrier gear  39  in an anti-clockwise direction causes rotation of the carrier arm  40  as the pin  43  engages against the bearing surface  45 .  
         [0031]     The carrier arm  40  comprises a carrier arm slot  41 . A part of the carrier arm slot  41  is aligned with the carrier guide slot  13  over the whole length of the carrier guide slot  13 . The carrier support  12  passes through the carrier arm  40 , and is engaged in the carrier guide slot  13 . Rotation of the carrier gear  39  in an anti-clockwise direction thus effects a movement of the carrier support  12  and the carrier  11  along the length of the carrier guide slot  13 .  
         [0032]     A carrier spring  42  is secured to the carrier arm  40  and the back of the dolls house  100 . The carrier spring  42  acts to urge the carrier arm  40  in a clockwise direction.  
         [0033]     The carrier arm  14  is provided with a projection, carrier arm projection  44 . The carrier arm projection  44  has an angled end surface, and extends in the same plane as the carrier arm  40 .  
         [0034]     The mechanism for dressing a doll further comprises a release lever  46 . The release lever  46  is rotatable in a horizontal axis about release lever pivot  49 . The release lever  46  is urged upwardly by release spring  53 . The release lever  46  comprises a release lever projection  48  extending in the same plane as the release lever  46 . The release lever projection  48  is engagable with the carrier arm projection  44 . Rotation of the carrier arm projection  44  against the release lever projection  48  causes the release lever  46  to be urged downwardly against the bias of the release spring  50 . Once the carrier arm projection  44  has passed the release lever projection  48 , the spring  50  acts to return the release lever  46  into its original upper position. This configuration is shown in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0035]     The release lever  46  is provided with a release lever foot  47 . The release lever foot  47  extends horizontally out of the plane of the release lever  46 .  
         [0036]     The method of dressing the doll  10  using the above described apparatus is now described. The doll  10  is positioned on the stand  1 , on the second floor  30 , and a front piece of clothing  50  is placed on the front of the carrier  11  and a back piece of clothing  51  is placed on the back of the carrier  11 . The wheel  25  is then turned anti-clockwise. This rotation causes carriage gear  36  to rotate clockwise, and the carriage arm  37  moves to the left. The carriage  26  is engaged in the carriage arm slot  38 , and so also moves to the left. Simultaneously, the rotation of the carriage gear  36  causes an anti-clockwise rotation of the carrier gear  39 . The carrier gear pin  43  engages with the carrier arm bearing surface  45  to cause anti-clockwise rotation of the carrier arm  40 . The movement of the carrier arm causes the carrier support  12  and hence the carrier  11  to move along the carrier guide slot  13 . The carrier  11  thus moves to the left and downwardly.  
         [0037]     As the carrier  11  reaches its final position, a jaw  27  reaches the curved portion of the groove, and is forced inwardly towards the other jaw  27 . The other jaw also is urged by the same amount due to levers  32 , so that the jaws  27  are urged together. Since the groove coincides with the final position of the carrier  11 , the jaws  27  close around the carrier  11 .  
         [0038]     The front and back pieces of clothing  50 ,  51  have a greater magnetic affinity for the jaws  27  than for the carrier  11 . The pieces of clothing  50 , 51  therefore magnetically attach to the jaws  27 , and detach from the carrier  11 .  
         [0039]     The wheel  25  is then rotated clockwise. This causes the drive gear  35  to turn clockwise, and the carriage gear  36  to rotate in an anti-clockwise direction. The carriage arm  37  therefore moves to the right, and thus pushes carriage  26  to the right. Simultaneously, the jaws  27  move apart as the protrusion  33  slides along the curved portion. The carriage  26  moves horizontally to the right along slot  34 .  
         [0040]     The rotation of the carriage gear  36  in an anti-clockwise direction effects a clockwise rotation of the carrier gear  39 . However, the carrier gear pin  43  moves away from the carrier arm bearing surface  45 , so that the carrier arm  40  is not substantially moved by the rotation of the carrier gear  39 . The carrier arm  40  is however urged to rotate in a clockwise direction by the carrier spring  42 . The rotation is limited by the carrier gear  39 , since the carrier gear pin  43  is in contact with the carrier arm bearing surface  45 . When the carrier arm projection  44  engages with the release lever projection  48 , the release lever projection  48  prevents further rotation of the carrier arm  40 . The carrier  11  is therefore held in a intermediate position, approximately halfway along the carrier guide slot  13 .  
         [0041]     The carrier arm projection  44  engages with the release lever projection  48 , forcing the release lever  46  downwardly. The carrier arm projection  44  then rotates past the release lever projection  48 , such that the release lever  46  returns to its original upper position under the action of release spring  50 .  
         [0042]     The wheel  25  is turned clockwise until the carriage  26  reaches its initial position adjacent to slot  5 . The jaws  27  are spaced wide apart at this initial position, and are carrying the pieces of clothing  50 ,  51  by means of magnets  54 ,  55 .  
         [0043]     The doll support stand  1  carrying the doll  10  is then moved vertically down the slot  5 , so that the doll  10  descends from the second floor  30  to the dressing area  21 , When the doll  10  reaches the dressing area  21 , it passes between the jaws  27 . As the doll  10  is positioned between the jaws  27 , the jaws  27  are actuated by trigger arm  56  to move together around the doll  10 . The magnetic affinity of the clothing  50 ,  51  is stronger for the doll  10  than for the jaws  27 . The clothing  50 , 51  therefore detaches from the jaws  27  and attaches to the doll  10 .  
         [0044]     The doll  10  is then slid further down the slot  5  into the first floor. As the arm  3  is moved into the horizontal portion  6 , the trigger arm  56  of the stand  1  presses the release lever foot  47  downwardly, causing downward movement of the release lever  46  and the release lever projection  48 . The carrier arm projection  44  is no longer restrained by the release lever projection  48 , and so the carrier arm  40  rotates in a clockwise direction under the action of carrier spring  42 . The carrier  11  therefore returns to its original starting position.  
         [0045]     The fully dressed doll  10  can now be removed from the boots  2 , and played with.