Doll having adjustable length hair

A toy doll has a doll head having an aperture and a doll body supporting the doll head. A tubular member has a first end extending into the doll head proximate the aperture and a second end extending into the doll body. A plug member is movable within the tubular member either toward the first end or toward the second end. A lock of doll hair is secured to the plug member so that at least a portion of the lock of doll hair extends out of the tubular member and out of the head aperture. An electric motor within the doll body includes an output shaft rotatable in first and second directions. A movement assembly interconnects the plug member and the output shaft of the motor so that when the output shaft rotates in the first direction, the plug member moves toward the first end of the tubular member to move a length of a lock of hair out of the head aperture, and when the output shaft rotates in the second direction, the plug member moves toward the second end of the tubular member to withdraw a length of the lock hair into the head aperture.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to toy dolls and, more particularly, to a toy doll which includes hair, the length of which is adjustable by a user in an automated manner.

Toy dolls having adjustable length hair are well known in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,286 discloses a toy doll including a doll body and head having an aperture through which a lock of hair passes. One end of the doll's hair is captured in a plug or cup which moves inwardly and outwardly through a tubular sleeve under the influence of a biasing spring and mechanical retracting mechanism. Movement of the arms of the doll by a user causes a spool within the doll to rotate in either a clockwise direction pulling the hair back into the head or a counter clockwise direction whereupon the bias of the spring pushes the hair out of the doll head.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,698,134; 3,834,071; 4,170,085; and 5,116,277 each disclose toy dolls having heads on torso portions with an opening in the head portion from which extends a lock of hair. In each of these patents, the lock of hair is adapted to be pulled by a user out of the opening in the doll head to simulate the growth of hair. The interior portion of the lock of hair is secured to a cord or similar member which in turn is wound around a spool or similar member. The spool rotates in a first direction to permit the lock of hair to be pulled outwardly simulating the growth of the doll's hair. Manually rotating the spool in the opposite direction retracts the lock of hair into the doll's head to shorten the length of the doll's hair.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,670,451; 3,694,957; 4,917,647; and 6,139,397 each disclose a toy doll similar to the dolls discussed above in which a lock of hair may be pulled outwardly by a user to simulate the growth of the doll's hair. In the case of these four patents, pulling the hair outwardly results in the tensioning of a spring or other biasing member. When the user actuates a release mechanism, the spring or other biasing member automatically retracts the lock of hair into the head.

The present invention comprises an improvement over the above-described prior art dolls. A toy doll in accordance with the present invention includes an electric motor within the doll body operatively connected to a movement assembly for moving a lock of hair in or out of a head aperture. A switch is provided on the doll head for controlling the operation of the electric motor to either extend or retract the lock of hair. Further details of the structure and operation of the present invention will hereinafter become apparent.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly stated, the present invention comprises a toy doll which includes a doll head having an aperture extending therethrough and a doll body supporting the doll head. The toy doll further includes a tubular member having a first end extending into the doll head proximate the aperture and a second end extending into the doll body. A plug member is provided within the tubular member, the plug member being movable toward the first end or toward the second end of the tubular member. A lock of doll hair is secured to the plug member so that at least a portion of the lock of hair extends out of the first end of the tubular member and out of the head aperture. An electric motor is provided within the doll body. The motor has an output shaft rotatable in first and second directions. A movement assembly interconnects the plug member and the output shaft of the motor so that when the output shaft rotates in a first direction, the plug member moves toward the first end of the tubular member to move a length of the lock of hair out of the head aperture and when the output shaft rotates in the second direction, the plug member moves toward the second end of the tubular member to withdraw a length of the lock of hair into the aperture. In the preferred embodiment, a switch-controlled actuator is provided to permit a user to select whether to extend or retract the lock of hair.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the drawings, wherein the same numerals are used for indicating the same elements throughout the several figures, there is shown inFIGS. 5–7a toy doll10in accordance with the present invention. The toy doll10includes a doll head12and a doll body14. As shown inFIGS. 5–7, the toy doll10further includes arms16, feet18, clothing such as a dress20, and a hat or other headpiece22. The doll head12is adorned with eyes, a nose, a mouth, ears, etc., to simulate the appearance of a person. The doll head12further includes hair24including a lock of hair26extending out of an aperture (not shown onFIGS. 5–7) extending through the doll head12. As can be seen from a comparison ofFIGS. 6 and 7, the lock of hair26is movable between a retracted position (FIG. 6) and an extended position (FIG. 7). The toy doll10as thus far described is typical of virtually any type of toy doll which include a lock of hair26which is extendable or retractable. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention is not limited to a doll having a particular facial appearance, dress, headpiece, hair style, or the like. Accordingly, the doll10, as thus far shown and described, is but one embodiment employed only for the purpose of illustrating the structure and operation of the present invention.

Referring now toFIGS. 1–4, there is shown in greater detail the interior structure of the toy doll10. As shown, the toy doll10further includes a tubular member30extending from the doll body14for supporting the doll head12. As best shown inFIG. 2, the tubular member30has a first end32extending upwardly into the doll head12and a second end34which extends downwardly into the doll body14. The tubular member30, doll head12and doll body14are preferably made from a generally rigid, preferably polymeric material of a type known to those skilled in the toy doll art. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that other materials, particularly polymeric materials, may alternatively be employed. As best shown inFIGS. 2 and 4, the doll head12includes an opening or aperture36on its upper surface and a passageway38extending generally between the first tubular member end32and the aperture36. As will become apparent, the lock of hair26extends through the passageway38and out of the aperture36within the doll head12.

Referring now toFIGS. 2 and 4, a plug member40is located within the tubular member30. The plug member40is generally cylindrically shaped and has an outside diameter which is slightly less than the inside diameter of the tubular member30. In this manner, the plug member40is movable within the tubular member30toward the first tubular member end32or toward the second tubular member end34in a manner similar to that of a piston. A first end of the lock of hair26is secured to the plug member40with the lock of hair26extending through the passageway38and out of the aperture36in the doll head12. In this manner, movement of the plug member40toward the first tubular member end32results in more of the lock of hair26being moved out of the aperture36to provide for longer hair as shown inFIG. 7. Correspondingly, movement of the plug member40toward the second tubular member end34results in more of the lock of hair26being drawn into the doll head12through the aperture36to shorten the length of the exposed lock of hair26as shown inFIG. 6. Movement of the plug member40in either direction along the tubular member36is controlled by the user in a manner which will hereinafter be described. Preferably, the plug member40is also made of a rigid, preferably polymeric material which is compatible for movement along the interior of the tubular member30.

As previously mentioned, the movement of the lock of hair26into and out of the doll head12is accomplished in an automated manner. Preferably, the doll body14includes a small electric motor50of the sub horsepower type and a suitable power source such as a battery or plurality of batteries (not shown). The electric motor50which is of the reversible type includes an output shaft52which is rotatable in either a first direction or a second direction depending upon the polarity of the power applied. The motor output shaft52is connected to a movement assembly54. In the present embodiment, the movement assembly54includes a suitable transmission56comprised of a plurality of drive gears58, a reel member60, which is a horizontally oriented capstan driven to rotation by the drive gears58, and a flexible line62. In the present embodiment, the drive gears58and reel member60are made from a generally rigid, preferably polymeric material of a type well known to those of ordinary skill in the toy doll art. The flexible line62is preferably comprised of a woven steel cable but could be other cordage or flexible coupler including chain, comprised of any other suitable material, if desired. The frictional coupling between the reel member60and flexible line62is preferred as it effectively provides a clutching action which permits the hair to be withdrawn from the doll head12and continuous running of the motor50at the ends of travel of the plug member without damage and without requiring special reinitialization.

As best shown inFIGS. 2 and 4, the flexible line62is comprised of a generally endless loop which at least partially surrounds and engages the reel member60, extends upwardly along the interior and exterior of the tubular member30and is secured to the plug member40. The portion of the flexible line62which extends outside of the tubular member30engages a plurality of guide rollers64. In this manner, when power is supplied to the electric motor50such that the output shaft52rotates in a first direction, the drive gears58of the transmission56cause the reel member60to rotate in a first direction causing the endless loop flexible line62to similarly rotate in a first direction to thereby move the attached plug member40upwardly along the tubular member30toward the first end32. As the plug member40is moved toward the first tubular member end32, the lock of hair26moves through the passageway38and out of the aperture36in the doll head12to thereby lengthen the exposed portion of the lock of hair26as shown inFIG. 7. Similarly, when power is applied to the electric motor50to cause the output shaft52to rotate in the second direction, the drive gears58of the transmission56in turn cause the reel member60to rotate in the second direction to thereby rotate the endless loop flexible line62in the second direction to move the attached plug member40downwardly along the tubular member30toward the second end34. Movement of the plug member40toward the second tubular member end34causes the lock of hair26to be drawn inwardly through the doll head aperture36to thereby shorten the exposed portion of the lock of hair26as shown inFIG. 6. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that other components or techniques may be employed for moving the plug member40up and down along the tubular member30to extend or retract the exposed portion of the lock of hair26. For example, instead of employing a reel member60and endless flexible line62, a telescoping member and/or a more resilient flexible line fed from and rewound on a reel similar to those described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,253,799, 4,323,902 and 4,665,406 incorporated by reference herein, that are employed in connection with and extending or retracting radio antenna on a vehicle may alternatively be employed. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that connecting the plug member40to a telescoping antenna-like member will result in movement of the plug member40upwardly or downwardly along the tubular member30to extend or retract the lock of hair26. Further, the movement assembly54could include a rack and pinion or other such component for converting the rotational motion of the motor output shaft52into translational motion from moving the plug member40along the tubular member30. Other movement assemblies will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. It should therefore be clearly understood that the present invention is not limited to the particular movement assembly54as shown and described.

The toy doll10further includes an actuator70for controlling the operation of the electric motor50to cause the output shaft52to rotate in either the first direction or the second direction. The actuator70, in the present embodiment, comprises first and second switches72,74which are preferably located behind the two decorative members76,78located on the headpiece22of doll head14. In the present embodiment, the first switch72is in engagement with the second decorative member78and is of the momentary push-button type. The first switch72is employed for controlling the polarity of the power supplied to the electric motor50to thereby control the direction of movement of the output shaft52. Thus, a user depressing the second decorative member78actuates the first switch72to change the direction of rotation of the motor output shaft52which, as described above, determines whether the exposed portion of the lock of hair26is lengthened or shortened. In the present embodiment, the second switch74is located proximate to the first decorative member76and is of the magnetic reed type. Preferably, the toy doll10includes an accessory, such as a comb, hair brush, “magic wand”, etc. (none shown), which contains a magnet therein. Thus, whenever the accessory is placed near the first decorative member76, the magnetic reed switch74is actuated to supply power to the electric motor50. The electric motor50then functions to cause the output shaft52to rotate in whichever direction has been established by actuation of the first switch72. The electric motor output shaft52continues to rotate to either extend or retract the exposed portion of the lock of hair26as long as the magnet in the accessory is maintained in the portion of the first decorative member76to keep the magnetic reed switch74closed. Removing the accessory opens the magnetic reed switch74to stop further lengthening or shortening of the exposed portion of the lock of hair26. Alternatively, the second switch74could comprise a momentary contact or other such switch such that when the decorative member76is depressed by a user, power is supplied to the electric motor50. Further, the actuator could function using a single switch such that as long as the switch is activated the motor output shaft52rotates in a first direction to extend or retract the lock of hair26until a predetermined limit is reached whereupon the direction of rotation of the motor output shaft52is automatically reversed to move the lock of hair26in the opposite direction until a second predetermined limit is reached whereupon the direction of rotation of the motor output shaft52is again automatically reversed. Other types of proximity switches including but not limited to photocells, can be used.