TOY POP-UP FIGURE

Abstract: A toy pop-up figure, such as a teddy bear or clown, is disclosed comprising a rotatable cylinder (32), a pivotally mounted L-shaped member (14) supporting a figure (18), and a mechanism coupling the cylinder (32) to the L-shaped member (14) for causing the L-shaped member (14) and figure (18) to pop up upon rotation of the cylinder (32) in either direction.

Description: This invention relates generally to toys, and more particularly to an improved toy pop-up figure. Pop-up clown toys are well known in the art; for example, GB-A-646333 discloses such a toy pop-up figure, comprising a body, cover means movably mounted on the body, the cover means being movable between a normal closed position in which a figure is hidden within the body, and a pop-up position in which the figure is displayed, resilient means for biasing the cover means to its pop-up position, and means for latching the cover means in its closed position, means being provided (pressing on the side walls of the body) which will release the latching means so that the figure can be moved by the resilient means to its pop-up position. It is also known to release the pop-up figure with the aid of a rotatable crank. Although such toys are attractive to many children, very young children lack the strength or co-ordination to operate them satisfactorily and soon become frustrated and need assistance to operate the toy. Another problem with most of the pop-up toys of this type is that they are not reliable and soon malfunction. Both of these problems have been solved by this invention, which provides a mechanism of improved design that can be operated by young children for reliably releasing and moving a figure to a pop-up position. According to one aspect of the present invention, we provide a toy pop-up figure comprising a body, a releasable cover mounted on said body, means biasing said cover into an open position, latch means for holding said cover in a closed position, and a figure that is moved into a position at least partially outside of said body when said cover is released, characterised by a cylinder rotatably supported by the body having a surface portion projecting out of said body and by means coupled to said cylinder for releasing said latch means when said cylinder is rotated. Preferably, the cover means supports the figure and is movable between a normal closed position in which the figure is hidden within the body, and a pop-up position in which the figure is displayed. Preferably also, the means coupling the rotatably supported means to the cover is constructed whereby rotation of the rotatably supported means will intermittently release the latching means causing the cover means and figure rapidly to be moved by the resilient means to its pop-up position. According to a second aspect of the present invention, we provide a toy pop-up figure comprising a body, a releasable cover mounted on said body, means biasing said cover into an open position, latch means for holding said cover in a closed position, and a figure that is moved into a position at least partially outside of said by when said cover is released characterised by means rotatably supported by the body, by means coupled to said rotatably supported means for releasing said latch means when said rotatably supported means is rotated, and in that the releasable cover supports the figure. In this second aspect of the invention, the rotatably supported means preferably comprises a cylinder having a surface portion projecting out of the body. More specifically, the means coupling the rotatably supported means to the cover comprises a pinion gear mounted on and rotatable with the rotatably supported means, a gear driven by the pinion gear, a radially spaced pin on the driven gear, and a pivotally mounted lever having a follower finger on one end thereof and its opposite end being engageable and pivotally movable by the pin. The lever has a pair of laterally outwardly extending arms, the free end portions of which engage fixed abutments under tension for holding the lever in its normal latching position. A preferred embodiment of toy pop-up figure according to the invention is now described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- FIGURE 1 is a side elevation view partially in section and partially broken away; FIGURE 2 is a segmental view taken substantially from line 2-2 of Figure 1, and FIGURE 3 is a front elevation view of the toy pop-up figure with a portion of the cylinder broken away. Detailed Description of the Invention Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the toy pop-up figure 10 of this invention is disclosed comprising a hollow box-like housing or body 12 for pivotally supporting cover means, such as a substantially L-shaped member 14 about spindles 15, only one of which is shown in Fig. 1. The L-shaped member 14 has a lower flat plate member 16 for supporting a toy figure 18, such as a clown or teddy bear or the like, and an upper flat plate 20 which forms a cover for body 12 when the L-shaped member 14 is in a closed position in which figure 18 is hidden within the body. A spring has a coiled mid-section 22 nesting in a slot in the rear wall 24 of housing or body 12. One straight wire end 26 of the spring bears against wall 24, and its opposite wire end 28 is disposed within a slot in lower plate member 16 and bears against the under surface of the plate member for biasing L-shaped member 14 into the pop-up position shown in Fig. 1, in which figure 18 is displayed. The front 30 of body 12 rotatably supports a hollow musical cylinder 32, as best seen in Fig. 3. The cylinder has end caps 34 at opposite ends thereof that have stub shafts 36 that are journaled for rotation within side walls 38 of the body. The music making mechanism within cylinder 32 comprises a striking device 40 having a hook 42 at one end hooked through the eye of an eye hook 44 and a striker 46 at the opposite end. A plurality of chime rods 48 of varying length extend from a circular base 50 secured to the opposite side of cylinder 32. When cylinder 32 is rotated, striker 46 sequentially strikes rods 48 generating a pleasant musical chime. Means for coupling cylinder 32 to L-shaped member 14 and latching the L-shaped member in its closed position will now be described. The coupling means comprises a pinion gear 52 on one of the stub shafts 36 of cylinder 32 for driving a gear 54 rotatably supported by a post 56 on the body side wall. The driven gear 54 has a radially space laterally extending pin 58 which is adapted once for each revolution of gear 54 to strike a V-shaped head end 60 of a lever 62 pivotally mounted on a post 64 on the side wall of the body. The lever 62 has a pair of laterally outwardly extending spring arms 66, the free end portions of which engage fixed abutments 68 on the side of the body. The spring arms 66 engage the fixed abutments under tension for holding lever 62 in a normal latching position, in which a laterally extending follower finger 70 on the opposite end thereof extending through a slot 72 blocks a right-angled triangular lug 74 laterally extending from a side of plate 16, as best seen in Figs. 1 and 2. This position is achieved when L-shaped member 14 is manually moved against the bias of spring 28 into its closed position, as shown dotted in Fig. 1. In this position, finger 70 on the end of lever 62 is cammed downwardly out of the path of lug 74, and spring arms 66 return the finger to its normal position blocking the lug and releasably holding L-shaped member 14 in its closed position. Upon movement of cylinder 32 in either direction of rotation, pin 58 will engage the V-shaped head end 60 of lever 62 and pivot it in one or the other direction, withdrawing follower finger 70 out from the path of triangular lug 74, whereupon spring 28 rapidly moves L-shaped member 14 and figure 18 to its pop-up position. While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described with particularity, it will be appreciated that various changes and modifications may suggest themselves to one having ordinary skill in the art upon being apprised of the present invention. For example, the L-shaped pop-up cover can be replaced with a flat cover that is biased into an open position by a spring within figure 18. It is intended to encompass all such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims: A toy pop-up figure comprising a body (12), a releasable cover (14) mounted on said body (12), means (22) biasing said cover (14) into an open position, latch means (70,74) for holding said cover (14) in a closed position, and a figure (18) that is moved into a position at least partially outside of said body (12) when said cover (14) is released, characterised by a cylinder (32) rotatably supported by the body (12) having a surface portion projecting out of said body and by means (52,54,58,60,62) coupled to said cylinder (32) for releasing said latch means (70,74) when said cylinder (32) is rotated. A toy pop-up figure according to claim 1 wherein the releasable cover (14) supports the figure (18) and is movable between a normal closed position in which the figure (18) is hidden within the body (12), and a pop-up position in which the figure (18) is displayed. A toy pop-up figure according to Claim 1 or 2 wherein the means (52,54,58,60,62) coupling the cylinder (32) to the cover (14) is such that rotation of the cylinder (32) will intermittently release the latch means (70,74) causing the cover (14) and figure (18) rapidly to be moved by the biasing means (22) to its pop-up position. A toy pop-up figure comprising a body (12), a releasable cover (14) mounted on said body (12), means (22) biasing said cover (14) into an open position, latch means (70,74) for holding said cover (14) in a closed position, and a figure (18) that is moved into a position at least partially outside of said body (12) when said cover (14) is released, characterised by means (32) rotatably supported by the body (12), by means (52,54,58,60,62) coupled to said rotatably supported means (32) for releasing said latch means (70,74) when said rotatably supported means (32) is rotated and in that the releasable cover (14) supports the figure (18). A toy pop-up figure according to claim 4 wherein the means (52,54,58,60,62) coupling the rotatably supported means (32) to the cover (14) is such that rotation of the rotatably supported means (32) will intermittently release the latch means (70,74) causing the cover (14) and figure (18) rapidly to be moved by the biasing means (22) to its pop-up position. A toy pop-up figure according to claim 4 or 5 wherein said rotatably supported means (32) comprises a cylinder (32) having a surface portion projecting out of said body (12). A toy pop-up figure according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 6 wherein said cylinder (32) is mounted for rotation in two directions and said means (52,54,58,60,62) coupled to said cylinder (32) comprises means for releasing said latch means (70,74) when said cylinder (32) is rotated in either direction. A toy pop-up figure according to any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the latch means (70,74) comprise a lug (74) on the cover means (14) and a follower finger (70) on the coupling means (52,54,58,60,62). A toy pop-up figure according to claim 8 wherein the coupling means (52,54,58,60,62) comprise a pinion gear (52) mounted on and rotatable with the cylinder (32), a gear (54) driven by the pinion gear (52), a laterally extending pin (58) on the driven gear (54), and a pivotally mounted lever (62) having the finger (70) on one end thereof and its opposite end (60) engageable and pivotally movable by the pin (58). A toy pop-up figure according to claim 9 wherein the lever (62) has a pair of laterally outwardly extending spring arms (66), the free end portions of which engage fixed abutments (68) under tension for holding the lever (62) in its normal latching position. A toy pop-up figure according to claim 10 wherein the cover (14) comprises an L-shaped member (20), wherein the lug (74) has a right-angular triangular shape and extends laterally from one side (16) of the L-shaped member, and the lug (74) is adapted when the L-shaped member (20) is moved to its closed position to cam the finger (70) and lever (62) downwardly against the bias of one of the spring arms (66), said one spring arm (66) being adapted, when the lug (74) passes the finger (70) to return the finger (70) and lever (62) to its normal latching position in which the finger (70) blocks the lug (74). A toy pop-up figure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, or claim 6 or claim 7 or claim 8 to 11 when dependent on claim 6, wherein the cylinder (32) comprises a hollow cylinder, and wherein music making means (40,46,48) are mounted within the hollow cylinder (32), the music-making means (40,46,48) being actuated upon rotation of the cylinder. A toy pop-up figure according to claim 12 wherein the music-making means (40,46,48) comprises a striker (46) secured to a hook (40) on one side of the cylinder (32), and spaced-apart chime rods (48) of varying length extending from the other side of the cylinder toward the striker (46).

Inventors: SCHAUB, BERNHARD, TAYLOR, STEVEN
Applicants: FISHER-PRICE, INC.
Application year: 1987
Main classification: A63H13
IPC codes: A63H13