Doll joint

The invention relates to a joint for fastening movable members to a doll's torus, in particular dolls' arms to an upper section. A rotating insert is put into the movable member, in particular the doll's arm, and both rotating sections are connected to each other to form a joint.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to a joint for fastening movable elements to a doll's 
body, in particular doll's arms to an upper part. 
Dolls of many shapes and design are known. The present case is concerned 
primarily with extremely high quality dolls which are extremely valuable 
not only because of the design but also because of the material used. 
These dolls are intended to be as lifelike as possible, some of them being 
of a size which corresponds to the actual life size. Each type of doll is 
only manufactured in a small number and is generally made of a special, 
body-approximating plastic, such as a vinyl. It is compression-molded in 
special molds. 
To connect the individual, movable elements, such as the head, arms and 
legs, coupling parts are known (EP-A-0 087 567) but these merely permit 
rotation of the movable elements. This does not give a lifelike portrayal. 
DE-A 40 37 962 discloses a further connecting piece which comprises a 
textile material which is filled with filler. Although by this means each 
limb of a doll can be brought into a lifelike position, this position 
cannot be maintained without assistance. 
The object of the present invention is to be able to bring the movable 
elements of the doll permanently into a desired position which is as 
lifelike as possible. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This object is achieved by inserting a rotary part into the doll's body, in 
particular the upper part, and a rotary insert into the movable element, 
in particular the doll's arm, and connecting both rotary parts to one 
another in the manner of a joint. 
This joint according to the invention permits a greatly expanded 
possibility for positioning the movable elements of dolls. Any lifelike 
position can be achieved. 
The joint-like connection of the two rotary parts preferably comprises a 
forked joint, two lugs being provided on one rotary part, which lugs form 
a slot in which a tongue of the insert engages. The lugs and tongues are 
connected to one another via a pin or a sleeve, this sleeve being inserted 
into corresponding holes in the lugs and tongue. The sleeve ends are then 
widened at both ends so that the lugs and the tongues are clamped 
together. This results in friction between the tongue and lugs, with the 
result that this friction has to be overcome to adjust the arms. This 
ensures that arms remain in a desired position. 
The lugs are adjoined by a disk, then a ring, then a rotary cone which is 
then adjoined by an inner disk. All of the elements have a synchronized 
diameter, the diameter of the disk being the largest. The diameter of the 
ring then follows and then the diameter of the inner disk. The rotary cone 
has the smallest diameter since it sits in an insert hole in the doll's 
body in the position of use. In this case, the insert hole is designed 
such that it likewise surrounds; the rotary cone again in a frictionally 
locking manner, with the result that to rotate the cone this friction has 
to be overcome with force. The frictional locking thereby likewise 
contributes to the permanent positioning of the movable elements. 
In the same manner, the tongue is adjoined by a disk, the latter by a cone 
and the latter by an inner disk. The disk has a larger diameter than the 
inner disk since it bears from the outside against the movable element. 
The cone sits in an insert hole in the movable element and is likewise 
held there in a frictionally locking manner as described above. 
The rotary part and rotary insert are preferably in each case produced 
integrally from plastic. For insertion into the doll's body or into the 
movable element, at least that region around the particular insert hole is 
heated, thereby making the plastic soft. 
The joint according to the invention is primarily provided to connect the 
doll's arms to an upper part. However, it can also be used equally well to 
connect legs or leg parts to the doll's body and even, but this would only 
happen in relatively rare cases, for a head so that in this case it would 
not only be possible for the head to rotate but also to nod. 
In a preferred exemplary embodiment the joint is covered in the position of 
use by a textile covering. As described in DE-A 40 37 962, this is 
intended to be fastened by ribbons engaging into corresponding annular 
grooves of the movable element or of the doll's body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
The joint 2 according to FIGS. 2 and 3 comprises two parts. A rotary part 4 
serves for the insertion into an upper-arm stump 5 of the upper part 1, 
while a rotary insert 6 is inserted into an upper arm 7. The rotary part 4 
and rotary insert 6 are connected to one another in the manner of a forked 
joint. In the present exemplary embodiment two lugs 8.1 and 8.2 form a 
slot 9 into which a tongue 10 of the rotary insert 6 engages. The lugs 8.1 
and 8.2 as well as the tongue 10 are connected to one another via a pin 11 
which forms a pivot. The pin 11 is preferably further widened at both ends 
so that it is held in the corresponding holes in the lugs 8.1 and 8.2 and 
also in the tongue 10. Furthermore, the widenings on both sides cause the 
elements of the forked joint to be clamped against one another in such a 
manner that the tongue 10 is held in the slot 9 in a manner such that it 
is difficult to rotate. This ensures that an arm 3.1 and 3.2 cannot 
readily fall out of a desired position. 
Instead of the pin 11 it is also possible for a sleeve to be provided, the 
ends of which sleeve are each widened after the insertion. 
The tongue 10 is adjoined by a disk 12 which is connected to an inner disk 
14 via a cone 13. The disk 12 has a diameter d.sub.1 which is somewhat 
larger than the diameter d.sub.2 of the inner disk. 
The lugs 8.1 and 8.2 are also adjoined by a support 15 which comprises a 
disk 16 and a ring 17. The ring 17 is followed by a rotary cone 18 and 
this is followed in turn by an inner disk 19. A diameter d.sub.5 of the 
disk 16 is larger than a diameter d.sub.4 of the ring 17. The latter is in 
turn larger than a diameter d.sub.3 of the inner disk 19. 
The way in which the present invention functions is as follows: 
The rotary part 4 and rotary insert 6 are preferably produced integrally 
from plastic and are connected to one another in the manner of a forked 
joint via the pin 11 or the above-mentioned metal sleeve. To insert the 
rotary part 4 and rotary insert 6 into the respective upper-arm stump 5 or 
the upper arm 7, the upper-arm stump 5 or upper arm 7 are made soft, 
primarily in the region of an insert hole (not shown in more detail). As a 
result, the particular inner disk 14 or 19 can be inserted more easily 
into the insert hole, with the result that the particular cone 13 or 
rotary cone 18 then sits in this insert hole. A diameter of the insert 
hole is selected in this case such that an edge of the insert hole fits 
tightly against the cone 13 or rotary cone 18 so that the particular 
rotary part 4 or rotary insert 6 sits in the insert hole in a manner such 
that it is difficult to rotate. This also prevents unintentional movement 
of the arms 3.1 and 3.2. 
While an annular groove 20 is molded into the upper arm 7, the upper-arm 
stump 5, the ring 17 and the disk 16 form a further annular groove 21, it 
being possible for a band, as a component of a textile covering (not shown 
in more detail) which covers the joint 2, to be fastened in the annular 
grooves 20 and 21. A covering of this type is described in DE-A 40 37 962, 
reference being expressly made here to this document. Instead of, or in 
addition to, the filler described there, in the present case the joint 2 
is provided.