Light activated doll

An automotive doll that is activated by light. The doll has at least two moving parts, preferably the head, arms and torso of a girl like figure. Within the torso of the doll is a motor that is connected to a plurality of gears and cams that are attached to the moving parts. The motor is preferably powered by batteries that are connected to a light sensor attached to the doll. The sensor switches on the motor when light is directed toward the sensor. When the motor is activated, the torso, arms and head all move relative to each other. The parts move through predetermined cycles, such that the head, arms and torso rotate back and forth between two positions. The drive mechanism is constructed and arranged so that each moving part rotates through a different cycle. Such an arrangement creates a doll that can move into an almost infinite variety of positions, greatly reducing the mechanical appearance of the toy.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The invention relates to automotive toys, particularly a self propelled 
doll that can be remotely activated with a beam of light. 
2. Description of Related Art 
In an effort to make toys appear more life-like many products have been 
developed and marketed that allow a child to remotely control the movement 
of the toy. 
One such doll included a toy sold by Mattel, Inc. under the tradename 
FASHION PHOTO BARBIE. This toy consisted of a Barbie doll that could be 
mounted on a pedestal, such that a child could twist and move the doll 
with a remote tethered wound spring cord, typically referred to as a 
Bowden cable. The doll was moved so that the child could take pictures of 
"Barbie" in different poses. Although the child could remotely move the 
doll, the motion of the doll was mechanical in appearance and limited to a 
few positions. The remoteness of the operator was limited by the length of 
the cord which had to be operated so that the movement of the doll had to 
be performed separately from the taking of the pictures. 
Wonderama Enterprises, Inc. marketed a doll under the tradename POSIN 
PICTURE PERFECT which included a doll that is attached to the stand of a 
revolving pedestal. Within the pedestal is a light sensor connected to a 
motor, that would rotate the stand and doll when light was directed toward 
the sensor. The pedestal also had a power supply that would supply current 
to bimetallic springs located within the body of the doll. The springs are 
subsequently heated and cooled in accordance with the pattern of a Mylar 
disc that is inserted into the pedestal. The springs cause the arms and 
head of the doll to move as the doll is rotating around the pedestal. The 
pedestal is quite large and bulky, making the toy impractical to carry 
around as children so often do. To vary the movement of the doll, a new 
Mylar disc would have to be inserted into the pedestal. The replacement of 
the Mylar disc required a partial disassembly of the pedestal, which is 
time consuming and typically beyond the sophistication of many children. 
Additionally, the doll would have to be attached to the stand, which 
created a stiff mechanical like doll movement and appearance. 
Mattel, Inc. sold another toy under the tradename BRAVE STARR. This toy had 
a spring-loaded arm, leg or accessory that would be released from the 
character by a spring when the figure, also attached to a base, received a 
light beam signal. Mattel, Inc. also marketed a line of small cars under 
the tradename LIGHT SPEEDERS, which raced around a track while the child 
shined a light beam on them. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,733 issued to Yokoi discloses as a robot that moves in 
accordance with the intensity of light, that is projected by a screen 
controlled by an operator through a joystick. The movement of the robot 
requires operation by the user, wherein any positioning of the toy must be 
induced by the operator. 
U.S Pat. No. 3,274,729 issued to C. Refabert; U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,491 
issued to Koike; U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,602 issued to Rose; and U.S. Pat. 
Nos. 4,659,919 and 4,675,519 issued to Price all disclose a doll that 
emits sound when a beam of light is directed toward the doll. 
What is desired is an automotive doll that can be activated by a beam of 
light so that various parts of the doll move relative to each other. It is 
also desirable to have such a doll that can move without the attachment or 
operation of another device by the user, and to have motion that is random 
and human like in appearance. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is an automotive doll that is activated by light. The 
doll has at least two moving parts, preferably the head, arms and torso of 
a girl like figure. Within the torso of the doll is a motor that is 
connected to a plurality of gears and cams that are attached to the moving 
parts. The motor is preferably powered by batteries that are connected to 
a light sensor attached to the body of the doll. The sensor switches on 
the motor when light is directed toward the sensor. What is thus disclosed 
is an automotive doll that moves when activated by a remote source of 
light. 
The various parts of the doll move through predetermined cycles, such that 
the head, arms and torso rotate back and forth between two positions. The 
drive mechanism is constructed and arranged so that each moving part 
rotates through a different cycle. Such an arrangement creates a doll that 
can move into an almost infinite variety of positions, greatly reducing 
the mechanical appearance of the toy. 
The doll may also have a plurality of clutch mechanisms that allow a child 
to move the limbs and body of the doll without damaging the gears and 
motor mechanism. The motor, gears, cams and batteries are all contained by 
the shell of the doll, so that a child may pick up the toy and play with 
the same without operating the drive mechanism. 
Therefore it is an object of this invention to provide a light activated 
automotive doll that houses the power supply, light sensor and drive 
mechanism within the body of the doll. 
It is also an object of this invention to provide a doll with moving parts 
that rotate relative to each other in a seemingly random manner so that 
the doll has a more human like motion. 
It is also an object of this invention to provide a light activated 
automotive doll that can be picked up and played with without utilizing 
the drive mechanism of the doll.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring to the drawings more particularly by reference numbers, FIG. 1 is 
a doll 10 of the present invention. In the preferred embodiment the doll 
10 has a shell 12 shaped in the image of a young girl. The doll 10 has a 
pair of legs 14 that are preferably stationary and spread apart so that 
the toy 10 can be easily balanced in an upright position. The doll 10 
further has a torso 16 pivotally attached to the legs 14 to swivel about 
the same. Pivotally attached to the torso 16 are the head 18 and arms 20 
of the doll 10, that move in a manner approximating human motion. Housed 
within a heart shaped pendent is a light sensor 22 that is sensitive to 
light. The light sensor 22 is connected to a drive mechanism within the 
doll 10, that moves the torso 16, arms 20 and head 18 when light is 
directed toward the sensor 22. 
The toy 10 may have a camera shaped plastic housing 24 that contains a 
light bulb 26 and a switch 28. As shown in FIG. 2, when the switch 28 is 
pressed down light 30 is emitted by the light bulb 26. The camera 24 is 
preferably being constructed to have batteries (not shown) that power the 
light bulb 26. The user of the toy 10 may direct the light 30 of the 
camera 24 toward the light sensor 22, wherein the light beam 30 activates 
the doll 10 to move in the directions indicated by the arrows in FIG. 2. 
The light sensor 22 deactivates when light 30 is not directed toward it. 
The light sensor 22 preferably has a slit 32 that only allows collimated 
light to activate the doll 10. In this manner the doll 10 only moves when 
a light beam 30 is shown directly on the sensor 22, so that the doll 10 
does not move when exposed to ordinary room light. 
FIG. 3 shows a preferred embodiment of the various parts of the shell 12. 
The doll has two mating lower sections 34 that combine to define the 
abdomen 36 of the girl. Attached to the abdomen 36 are a pair of legs 38 
that have bearing sections 40 which fit within holes formed in the lower 
sections 34. Located above the abdomen 36 are two upper sections 44 that 
combine to define the girl's torso 16. The torso 16 has a detachable plate 
46 that provides access to a battery compartment 48, which allows the 
insertion of batteries into the doll 10. Attached to the torso 16 is a 
pair of arms 20. Each arm 20 has a forearm section 50 which is connected 
to mating upper arm sections 52 as shown in FIG. 3. The legs 38, abdomen 
36, torso 16 and arms 20 are preferably molded from a hard plastic such as 
a high impact polystyrene, to increase the rigidity of the doll 10. As an 
alternative, the limbs may be molded from a vinyl plastisol for a more 
life like feel. Also attached to the torso is a head 54. The head 54 is 
preferably molded from a soft plastic or rubber, so that it is not damaged 
if the doll 10 is dropped by the user. The eyes 56 may have embedded 
crystalline stones that reflect light, such that the doll 10 creates a 
"twinkle" in her eye when the camera 24 emits a beam of light toward the 
doll 10. 
FIG. 4 shows a preferred embodiment of the drive mechanism 58 of the 
present invention. The drive mechanism 58 is completely contained by the 
torso 16 of the girl, so that a child may pick up the doll 10 and play 
with it, without having to unplug or disconnect the toy from another 
device. Within the torso 16 is a frame 60 preferably molded from hard 
plastic. Attached to the frame 60 is an electric motor 62 that is wired to 
batteries 64 inserted into the battery compartment 48 of the doll 10, as 
more clearly shown in FIG. 5. Between the motor 62 and batteries 64 is a 
mechanical switch 65 that allows the user to deactivate the drive 
mechanism 58. The batteries 64 and motor 62 are in series with the light 
sensor 22 which acts as another switch. When light 30 is detected by the 
sensor 22, the sensor 22 closes the circuit between the motor 62 and 
batteries 64, allowing current to flow to the motor 62 and activating the 
same. The motor 62 has an output shaft 66 attached to a first pulley 70. 
Attached to the first pulley 70 is a belt 72 that couples the first pulley 
70 to a second pulley 74. Connected to the second pulley 74 is gear 76 
that meshes with a first gear face 78 of gear 68. Gear 68 also has a 
second gear face 80 that drives gear 82 that is connected to a first shaft 
84. Gear 82 has a larger diameter than the second gear face 80, so that 
the first shaft 84 rotates slower than the output shaft 66 of the motor. 
This gear reduction allows the use of high speed commercially available 
electric motors 62. 
Also attached to the first shaft are gears 86, 88, 90 and 92. Gears 86 and 
92 are coupled to and drive gears 94 and 96, respectively. Gears 98 and 
100 are connected to gears 94 and 96 by pins 102, that extend through 
slots 104 in the frame 60 and travel within grooves 106 located in the 
gear housings as more clearly shown in FIG. 6. The grooves 106 follow 
elliptical cams 108 formed within gears 94 and 96. Rotation of the gears 
94 and 96 move the pins 102 between the two outer edges of the slots 104 
in an oscillating manner, rotating the gears 98 and 100 back and forth. 
Gears 98 and 100 are coupled to gears 110 and 112, which are attached to 
the first 20a and second arms 20b of the doll 10, respectively. The 
oscillating movement of the gears 98 and 100 cause the arms 20 to move 
between two points, typically in an up and down fashion. 
Gear 96 has a larger diameter than gear 94 such that the first arm 20a 
moves faster than the second arm 20b. The different gear ratios cause the 
first arm 20a to go through a complete cycle of motion in less time than 
the second arm 20b, so that the rotation, of arms is out of phase. This 
nonsynchroneous arm rotation creates random arm movement that produces a 
doll 10 with more human like motion. Gears 98 and 100 also have slip 
clutches 114 that allow the user to move the arms independently from the 
drive mechanism 58. The clutches 114 each have a first 116 and second 
plate 118 attached to the pins 102 and gears (98 and 100), respectively, 
as more clearly shown in FIG. 7. The plates have intermeshing teeth that 
lock the pins 102 and gears 98 and 100 together, such that movement of the 
pins 102 rotates the arms 20 accordingly. When the motor 62 is 
inoperative, the pins 102 and first plates 116 are fixed, wherein the arm 
20 can be turned such that the teeth of the second plate 118 move relative 
to the teeth of the first plate 116, all.RTM.wing the second plate 118 and 
gears 98 and 100 to rotate relative to gears 94 and 96. The clutches 114 
allow the arms 20 to be manually moved without moving the rest of the 
drive mechanism 58, which could damage the attached gears and motor. 
Conversely the clutches 114 also allow operation of the motor 62 and 
rotation of gears 94 and 96, when the arm or arms are fixed in a 
stationary position. Such an event could occur if a child is holding the 
arms 20 when the sensor 22 is activated. 
Gear 88 is coupled to gear 120 which is attached to a drum cam 122. The 
drum cam 122 has a slot 124 that extends around the circumference of the 
drum. As more clearly shown in FIG. 8, a second shaft 126 is coupled to 
the drum cam 122 through a first lever 128 that has a pin 130 which 
follows the slot 124 of the cam. The second shaft 126 is attached to 
member 132 that has a pair of wedges 134 which fit within slots (not 
shown) located in the shell 12 of the torso 16. When the drum cam 122 is 
rotated the slot 124 moves the pin 130 in the direction indicated by the 
arrow in FIG. 4. The pin 130 movement rotates the first lever 128 and 
second shaft 126, which in turn rotates the torso 16 back and forth 
between two positions. The diameter of gear 120 is larger than the 
diameters of gears 94 and 96, so that the drum cam 122 rotates slower than 
the elliptical cams 108. This causes the torso 16 to travel through a 
moving cycle in a greater amount of time than either of the arms 20 a or 
20b. In this manner the torso 16 and each arm 20 all move in a 
nonrepeatable fashion, wherein the arms 20 are rotating through a second 
motion cycle while the torso 16 is still moving through its first motion 
cycle. The end of the second shaft 126 fits within a groove 136 in the 
second lever 134, see FIG. 4. As more clearly shown in FIG. 9, the end of 
the shaft 126 is constructed to slide in and out of the groove 136, so 
that the second lever 134 and attached torso 16 can be moved independently 
of the second shaft 126 and drum cam 122. This arrangement allows a child 
to move the torso 16 of the doll 10 without damaging the drive mechanism 
58. Conversely the motor 62 may rotate the drum cam 122 and second shaft 
126 when the torso 16 is held in a fixed position. 
Referring to FIG. 4, gear 90 is coupled to gear 138 to drive and rotate the 
same. As more clearly shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, gear 138 is connected an 
overcenter cam 140 that is attached to a crankshaft 142 which is pinned to 
a third lever 144. Rotation of the gear 138 causes the crankshaft 142 to 
move in a linear fashion in much the same manner that a crankshaft is 
moved within an automobile engine. The linear motion of the crankshaft 142 
rotates the third lever 144 about a pin as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 
11. The third lever 144 is coupled to a fourth lever 146, such that the 
fourth lever 146 rotates with the third lever 144. Attached to the fourth 
lever 146 is another shaft 148 that is attached to the head 18 of the 
doll. Rotation of the third 144 and fourth 146 levers by the crankshaft 
142 causes the head 18 to pivot back and forth between two positions. The 
diameter of gear 138 is different from the diameter of gears 94, 96 and 
120, so that gear 138 rotates at a different RPM than said gears. This 
causes the head 18 to move through a motion cycle in a different amount of 
time than the moving cycles of the torso 16 and both arms 20. The third 
144 and fourth 146 levers are constructed so that pin 152 can slide out of 
groove 154 as more clearly shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B. This arrangement 
allows the head 18 to be moved independently of the drive mechanism 58. 
What has thus been described is an automotive doll 10, that moves its torso 
16, arms 20 and head 18 when a light beam 30 is directed toward the light 
sensor 22 of the toy. The drive mechanism 58 of the doll 10 is such that 
the moving parts each rotate through motion cycles that are different in 
length from each other, wherein the doll moves in a more random and human 
like motion. In one preferred use, the simulated camera 24 is pointed at 
the doll 10 and the switch 28 is pressed down so that the child believes 
that she is taking a picture of the doll 10. The light 30 from the light 
bulb 26 activates the drive mechanism 58 to move the head 18, arms 20 and 
torso 16 of the doll 10. The nonsynchroneous movement of the moving parts 
cause the doll 10 to "pose" in an infinite variety of positions. Because 
the beam of light 30 produced by the camera 24 is instantaneous, a timer 
154 can be incorporated into the doll 10 to continue the movement of the 
moving parts for a predetermined amount of time (typically 1-2 seconds) 
after the light beam 30 has been terminated. The timer 154 can be 
constructed onto a circuit board 156 located within the torso 16 and 
connected to both the batteries 64 and motor 62. The incorporation of the 
drive mechanism 58 entirely within the torso 16 allows the child to pick 
up the toy and play with it, so that the doll is useful in the event the 
drive mechanism 58 becomes inoperative, or the child no longer wants to 
utilized the automotive function of the toy. The clutch mechanisms 112, 
126 and 136, 152 and 154, allow the head 18, arms 20 and torso 16 to be 
moved when the drive mechanism is not working or not desired. 
Although a girl like doll with moving arms, head and torso have been 
described, it is to be understood that the drive mechanism 58 can be used 
on other toys where it is desired to have moving parts that move through 
different cycles to create random movement. For example, the doll could be 
a plush covered animal that moves when activated by a beam of light. It is 
to be also understood that a light activated doll, animal, etc., may be 
constructed to have moving members that do not move through different 
motion cycles as described above. As another embodiment, the present 
invention can be incorporated into a different shaped human figurine, such 
as the male model 158 shown in FIG. 13. As shown in FIG. 14, the male 
model 158 may have a lever 160 in his arm 162 that rotates upward and 
stretches the skin 164, which is soft and flexible so that the arm 162 can 
stretch. The lever 160 is attached to gear 94, which oscillates the lever 
160 between an extended and retracted position such that the male model 
158 appears to be flexing his muscles. When the camera 24 is pointed 
toward the model and the light beam 30 is directed toward the light sensor 
22, the male model 158 assumes an infinite amount of positions, simulating 
the movement of a body builder. 
While certain exemplary embodiments have been described in detail and shown 
in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments 
are merely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, and 
that this invention not be limited to the specific arrangements and 
constructions shown and described, since various other modifications may 
occur to those ordinarily skilled in the art.