Abstract:
A toy animal having a rigid body with movable legs, head and tail, is operated by internal gear mechanisms powered by a single, reversible, battery-powered motor operated in different directions. A hand controller is attached to the body to actuate the single motor in a selected direction to either move a plurality of legs to cause movement of the body while wagging the animal&#39;s tail, and to then cause the toy animal to urinate, or to move the head and actuate a tongue held in the head to lick a person holding the toy animal, or ingest fluid. The toy animal may also include a speaker and related circuitry that is actuated to cause the toy animal to make sounds, such as a bark, panting, a whimper and/or a tinkling sound at appropriate times.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     This invention generally relates to toys, and more particularly, to an animated toy figure, such as a dog, which includes a battery-powered mechanism operated by a remote to allow the animated toy to perform a number of realistic functions, such as make sounds, walk, move its head, drink from a bowl, wag its tail and urinate.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     Mechanical animals or dolls that include one or more battery-powered motors for moving the animal or doll, or for moving one or more limbs are well known. Examples of such battery-powered animals or dolls are shown in following listed U.S. patents and published application U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,224,759; 4,582,499; 5,112,265; 5,141,464; 5,181,877; 5,324,225; 5,713,780; 6,210,249; 6,273,782; US 2001/0029147; and US2001/0049248.  
         [0005]     Other mechanical animals or dolls are known that contain various means for simulating drinking or eating by a simulated tongue, bottle or item of food. Examples of such mechanical animals or dolls are shown in following listed U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,802,301; 3,858,352; 3,918,199; 4,192,092; and 5,167,561; as well as European published application number 0 630 669 A1.  
         [0006]     Finally, there are a number of mechanical animals or dolls that are known that simulate the ingestion of drink or food and the excretion of milk or waste matter, such as urine. Examples of such mechanical animals or dolls are shown in following listed U.S. patents and published application U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,959,919; 4,151,675; 4,164,092; 4,185,413; US 2001/0029146 A1.  
         [0007]     However, none of the known prior art disclose or show a mechanical toy that is actuated by a remote to walk, make sounds, move its head, drink, wag its tail and urinate by means of a gear arrangement or mechanism selectively driven by a single, reversible, battery-powered motor.  
         [0008]     Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a mechanical toy animal that performs numerous simulated realistic functions by means of a remote controlled battery-powered motor driven gear arrangement, providing more enhanced play value for a child.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved mechanical toy. It is a particular object of the present invention to provide an improved mechanical toy animal that moves and urinates. It is a further particular object of the present invention to provide an improved mechanical toy animal that walks, makes sounds, drinks and urinates. It is a yet a further particular object of the present invention to provide an improved mechanical toy dog operable by a remote control to walk, wag its tail, bark, pant, whimper, drink from a bowl, urinate and make a corresponding tinkle sound. And, it is a still further particular object of the present invention to provide an improved mechanical dog with a plush covering that includes a single, reversible, battery-powered motor that is selectively operated by a remote control to actuate a drive arrangement to move a plurality of limbs, wag its tail and to urinate, or to move the dog&#39;s head to allow the dog to drink by a moveable tongue, all while making a number of sounds.  
         [0010]     These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by providing a simulated toy animal having a rigid body with movable legs, head and tail, operated by an internal gear mechanism powered by a single, reversible, battery-powered motor. A hand controller is attached to the body to actuate the single motor to selectively move a plurality of legs to cause movement of the body while wagging the animal&#39;s tail, and to then cause the toy animal to urinate, or to move the head and actuate a tongue held in the head to lick or ingest water. The toy animal may also include a speaker and related circuitry that is actuated to cause the toy animal to make sounds, such as a bark, panting, a whimper and/or a tinkling sound.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]     The objects and features of the present invention, which are believed to be novel, are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a side perspective view of a preferred embodiment of remotely controlled toy animal of the present invention, shown walking and wagging its tail;  
         [0013]      FIG. 1A  is an enlarged rear perspective view, partially broken away, showing the rigid body of the toy animal with its plush covering and an external rigid portion of the head removed;  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a side elevational view of the toy animal of the present invention in a stopped position with its head down and tongue extended while drinking from a bowl;  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a still further side elevational view of the toy animal of the present invention in a second stopped position with the animal over a simulated newspaper or the like while urinating;  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged schematic view, partially in cross section, of a tongue and water storage/elimination system of the toy animal of the present invention, showing movement of the tongue and how it allows liquid to be drawn into a reservoir in the animal&#39;s body;  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  is a further enlarged schematic view, partially in cross section, of the water storage/elimination system of  FIG. 4 , showing operation of control valves to allow liquid to be emptied from the reservoir in the animal&#39;s body, to simulate urination;  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged partial view of a portion of the motor driven internal drive mechanism for operating the walking and urination functions of the toy animal of the present invention;  
         [0019]      FIGS. 6A-6C  are enlarged partial sectional views of a portion of the gear drive mechanism of  FIG. 6 , showing a pair of gears separable by a cam portion to perform different functions;  
         [0020]      FIG. 6D  is a cross sectional view, partially broken away, taken along lines  6 D- 6 D of  FIG. 6A ;  
         [0021]      FIG. 7  is a further enlarged partial view of a portion of the internal drive mechanism showing the pair of gears separated by the cam to allow operation of the urination function of the toy animal of the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIGS. 8 and 10 C show enlarged partial views of the motor driven internal drive mechanism, in various configurations, of the toy animal of the present invention; and  
         [0023]      FIG. 9  is a rear elevational view of one of the gears for movement of the head. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0024]     The following description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention and sets forth the best modes contemplated by the inventors of carrying out their invention. Various modifications, however, will remain readily apparent to those skilled in the art, since the generic principles of the present invention have been defined herein specifically to provide for an improved mechanical toy animal, operated by a single battery-powered motor by means of remote, generally indicated at  20 .  
         [0025]     The toy animal  20  is shown in the shape of a dog for purposes of explanation only and not by way of limitation. The toy  20  has a main body portion or housing  22 . A head  24  having a mouth  25 , a tail  26  and a plurality of legs  27 ,  28 ,  29 ,  30  are movably mounted to the body  22 . The body, head, tail and legs of the toy animal  20  are preferably formed from one or more rigid materials, such as a metal or a plastic, covered with a soft material, such as a plush fabric to more closely simulate a dog or other animal.  FIG. 1A  shows a currently preferred structure of the body  22  with the outer plush fabric cover, as well as an outer shell of the head  24  removed.  
         [0026]     A remote controller  32  is connected to the toy animal  20  as by means of a cord, leash or tether  34  secured to the toy animal at a collar or neck portion  36 , between the body  22  and head  24 . The head  24  may be manually rotated around the neck portion  36 , while the remote controller  32  is operatively connected through the neck portion to one or more control chips (not shown), electrical circuitry and a power source, such as a plurality of batteries (not shown). The control chips, electrical circuitry and/or the power source could also be partially or completely held in the controller  32 .  
         [0027]     The body  22  also preferably includes a speaker  33  (see  FIG. 4 ), held  10  therein and operatively connected to a sound chip or the like and the power source so that the toy animal  20  may emit selected sounds when turned on or off and/or while walking, drinking and/or prior to or during urination. The speaker  33  and the power source may also be controlled by a further on-off button or switch (not shown) in the body  22 , for example, in a removable plate or housing also holding batteries at the bottom of the body.  
         [0028]     To operate the toy animal  20 , the controller  32  is grasped in the hand of a user, such as a child, and a multi-position thumb operated button or switch  38  is activated. When the button or switch  38  is moved from an off or neutral position to a first position, a reversible, battery-powered motor will be activated in a first direction to operate a drive gear arrangement so that the legs  27 - 30  of the toy animal  20  will be moved to cause the toy animal to simulate walking (see  FIG. 1 ). The legs  27 - 30  preferably move back and forth, in the direction of the arrows  40 . The legs  27 - 30  may also be moved up and down by eccentrically mounting the legs to the body  22 . During movement of the legs  27 - 30 , the motor driven gear arrangement will also move or wag the tail  26  in the direction of the arrow  42 . The drive mechanism for operating the legs  27 - 30  and tail  26  is shown in  FIGS. 1, 6 ,  6 A and  10 A and explained more fully below. During walking, the toy animal  20  may bark and/or pant, or one or more similar sounds may be heard through the speaker  33 , to simulate a happy and/or thirsty animal.  
         [0029]     While walking, upon actuation of the button  38 , or after a predetermined period of time, for example, when near a vessel  44 , such as bowl having water or another liquid  43  therein, the toy animal  20  may emit a sound and stop or be stopped with its head  24  over the bowl. Or, the bowl  44  may be filled with liquid and moved into place under the head  24  when the animal is stopped. The button or switch  38  is then moved to a second position to activate the reversible, battery-powered motor in a second direction to operate the drive mechanism in the body  22 , as shown in  FIGS. 4, 8 ,  10 B and  10 C, and as explained more fully below. The head  24  is first moved, downwardly, in the direction of arrow  45 , and then moves a tongue  46  into and out of the mouth  25 , in the direction of the arrow  48 . With the head  24  in the lowered position shown in  FIG. 2 , the drive mechanism is timed to allow the tongue  46  to stay in the water for sufficient lengths of time during its in and out movement to allow a tube  50  in a lower portion of the tongue  46  (see  FIGS. 1A, 4  and  8 ) to suck water  43  into a reservoir  52  held in the body  22  for storage, as explained more fully below. Upon filling of the reservoir  52 , or after a further predetermined period of time, the drive mechanism will stop, the animal  20  will stop drinking and the head  24  will be returned to the normal or raised position, in the direction of arrow  45 , as by means of spring  53  (see  FIG. 10C ).  
         [0030]     Turning now to FIGS.  6 ,  6 A- 6 D,  7  and  10 A, the operation of the drive mechanism in the first direction for movement of the legs  27 - 30 , tail  26 , head  24  and urination by the toy animal  20  will be described. The operation of the legs  27 - 30  only, by means of an electrical motor and drive mechanism, is similar to that described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,210,249 and 6,273,782, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by this reference thereto. However, it is to be understood that the present invention also utilizes the single electrical motor to wag or move the tail  26 , to move the head  24 , and to operate the tongue  46  and to fill and empty the reservoir  52 .  
         [0031]     In one aspect of the invention, as shown in  FIGS. 1A, 6 ,  6 A- 6 D and  10 A the legs  27 - 30  and tail  26  are moved by a drive gear arrangement by means of a reversible battery-powered motor  54 , when the reversible battery-powered motor is activated in a first or forward direction by the button  38 . The motor  54  is coupled to a driving gear or pulley system connected to a clutch, such as a swing gear clutch (see  103  in  FIGS. 10A-10C ), to operate a plurality of gears, such as  56 - 65  to rotate front leg connectors  66 ,  67  and the front legs  27 ,  28  (see  FIGS. 1-3 ), attached to the front leg connectors. As shown in  FIG. 6 , when front legs  27 ,  29  are operated through the gears  56 - 65  and connectors  66 ,  67  they also move a pair of links  68 ,  69  to rotate rear leg connectors  70 ,  71  to move rear legs  29 ,  30 , attached to the rear leg connectors. Additionally, as best shown in  FIG. 1A , the link  69  is connected to an arm  77 , having a slot  79  formed therein. The slot  79  holds an L-shaped element  87 , connected to the base of the tail  26  so as to move the tail in the direction of the arrow  42  ( FIGS. 1 and 1 A) when the link  69  is moved.  
         [0032]     The leg connectors  66 ,  67 ,  70  and  71  may be eccentrically mounted on the body  22 , while the number of clutches and gears used and their exact alignment, arrangement and size will depend on the size of the toy animal  20 , the motor  54  and the speed at which it is desired to operate the various elements of the toy animal  20 . The major constraints will be the size of the body  22  and the strength of the motor  54 . All of the gears  56 - 65  are mounted on a plurality of shafts held in the body  22  and extending between internal rigid walls  72 ,  74 , or internal portions secured to the walls.  
         [0033]     As shown in  FIGS. 6A-6D ,  7 ,  10 A and  10 C, after the reservoir  52  is filed and the toy animal  20  operated in the first or forward direction by the remote  32  so that it has moved or walked for a predetermined amount of time by the legs  27 - 30 , the speaker  33  will emit a sound such as a bark or whimper to advise the user that the toy animal wishes to stop and urinate. This allows the user time to place a simulated newspaper or the like  73  under the rear of the stopped toy animal  20  (see  FIG. 3 ). Although the legs  27 - 30  of animal will have stopped moving, the motor  54  will continue operating in the first direction. A cam  75  held in an upper surface of gear  60  and extending through an opening formed in the companion or coupled gear  61  is slowly moved to separate the gears  60  and  61 , in the direction of arrow  76 , against the bias of a spring  78  acting against gear  62 , preferably integrally formed with or connected to gear  61 . The gears  60  and  61  are preferably of different diameter, and/or have a different number of teeth to allow them to spin at different rates whereby they are together for a predetermined time before they are cammed apart by the displacement of the cam  75 . Movement of the gear  61  in the direction of the arrow  76  will move gear  62  out of engagement with gear  63  (driving the legs) and into engagement with a gear  80  to open valve means to simulate urination.  
         [0034]     Gear  80  is connected to gear  81  which drives gears  82  and  83  so as to rotate gear  84 . Therefore, the continued rotation of separated gears  60  and  61 , and attached gear  62 , will rotate gears  80 - 84 . The rotation of gear  84  causes a partial cam element  85 , secured to the base of gear  84 , to operate one or more valve means  86 , such as slide valves, in the base of the reservoir  52  to allow the reservoir to be emptied through an opening  88  (see arrow  89  in  FIG. 5 ). Depending on how many slide valves  86  are used, and how they are arranged, the partial cam element  85  either presses against or relieves pressure against raised ends  90  of slidable arms or links  91 . For example, see  FIGS. 4 and 5  for one such arrangement. The arms  91  will be moved by or against springs  92  mounted in housings  93  and acting against lower portions or walls  94  of the arms  91  to move the arms, for example, in the direction of arrow  95  (see  FIGS. 5 and 7 ), to move control portions  96  of the slide valves  86 , having openings formed therein, to open or close the valves, for example open a port  98  in the reservoir  52 , to allow fluid in the reservoir to flow, thus simulating the act of urination ( FIGS. 3-5 ). At the same time a second slide portion  96  may close an exhaust or vent opening  100 .  
         [0035]     The rotating cam element  85  may be in contact with an arm  101  of a limit switch  102  to control the time of emptying of the reservoir  52 . During emptying of the reservoir  52  the toy animal  20  will remain in place over the newspaper  73  and may emit a sound, such as whimpering. After a predetermined or random period of time, the gears  60  and  61  will again be turned to move cam  75  so as to allow the gears  60  and  61  to be brought together again, by the spring  78 , thus moving the gear  62  back into engagement with gear  63 . The toy animal  20  will, therefore, commence walking until a predetermined time passes or the controller  32  is actuated to stop motion and/or refill the reservoir  52 .  
         [0036]     Turning now to  FIGS. 4, 5 ,  8  and  10 A- 10 C, the operation of the head  24  and reservoir filling system and its cooperation with the emptying or urination system of the present invention will now be explained. When the toy animal  20  is stopped with its head  24  over the bowl  44  having the liquid  43  therein, the button or switch  38  on the remote  32  is moved in a second or reverse direction to operate the motor  54  in the reverse direction. The motor  54  will then operate a further set of gears in the gear drive or train. As shown in  FIGS. 10A and 10C , and explained above, when swing clutch or gear  103  is in a lowered or first position and the motor  54  is operating in the first direction the legs  27 - 30 , the tail  26  and eventually one or more slide valves  86  will be operated. However, when the motor  54  is reversed it operates gear  103  to drive a further set of gears or gear train, as shown in  FIGS. 8 and 10 B. That is, gear  103  operates gears  105  and  106  to turn a gear  107 , which rotates a crown gear  108  so as to turn a worm gear  109  to drive a gear  110  and rotate a housing  111 , in the direction of arrow  45  in  FIG. 8 , or arrow  112  in  FIG. 10B . The reverse side of gear  110  is shown in  FIG. 9  as having a pin  110   a  and a slot  110   b  formed thereon, to both limit the downward rotation of the gear  110  and, therefore, the housing  111 , as well as move a link  99  secured at one end to pin  110   a.  The rotation of the housing  111  rotates the head  24  downwardly, in the direction of the arrow  45  shown in  FIGS. 2 and 8 , while the movement of the pin  110   a  and link  99  moves or rotates a U-shaped element  97  to move the gear  103 , in the direction of the arrow  104  shown in  FIG. 10C , to the position shown in  FIG. 10B .  
         [0037]     When the head  24  reaches its lowered position and the U-shaped element  97  rotates  103 , the gear drive will be switched to operate the tongue  46 . As best shown in  FIGS. 10A and 10B , the motor  54 , still being driven in the reverse or second direction, will operate the gear train to move the tongue  46  in and out of the mouth  25 . That is, after the  24  head is in the lowered position show in the drawings and the swing gear  103  moved in the direction of arrow  104  to the position shown in  FIG. 10B , the swing gear  103  drives a series of gears  113 ,  114 ,  115 ,  116 ,  117 ,  118  and  119 . This series of gears thereby drives a gear or pulley rotatably mounted on a shaft held in the housing  111  so as to move an endless belt  120 . The series of gears  113 - 119  also drive a crank  132  secured to the shaft on the other side of the housing  111  to operate a pump, as described below. The endless belt  120  drives a gear or pulley secured in the upper end of the housing  111  to drive a series of gears  121 ,  122 ,  123 ,  124  in the head to move a rack  125  so as to move the tongue  46  in and out, in the direction of arrow  48  (see  FIGS. 2 and 4 ).  
         [0038]     As is best shown in  FIGS. 4 and 8  the tongue  46  has two tubes  50  and  126  formed in a lower portion thereof. When the tongue is immersed in a liquid  43 , such as water, the tube  50  will suck or pump water from the bowl  44  to the reservoir  52 . The tube  50  is attached to a further tube  127  that is attached to the inlet of a pump  128 , such as bellows. The pump  128  has a one-way check valve at the inlet end and a one-way valve at the outlet end to control the flow of fluid through the pump. The outlet end of the pump  128  is connected to a further tube  129  connected to an inlet  130  in the reservoir  52 . An outlet tube  131  is connected between the top of the reservoir  52  and tube  126 .  
         [0039]     The pump  128  is driven by the crank  132  when the gear train  113 - 119  is operating, by means of an arm or lever  133  secured to the pump and which operates the bellows in the direction of the arrow  134  to pull water from the bowl  44  and push it into the reservoir  52 . Once the pump stops operating for any reason, for example, if the motor  54  is stopped, the head  24  will be returned to its upright position by the spring  53  and the swing gear  103 , link  99  and U-shaped element  97  will return to their rest position shown in  FIGS. 8, 10A  and  10 C. The toy  20  may then be operated in the first or forward direction to walk, etc.  
         [0040]     There has thus been described a novel and unique animated toy, in the form of a dog, which is driven by a single reversible motor to simulate drinking, walking, wagging of a tail and urinatation by the action of a remote control tether easily manipulated by a child during play. The animated toy preferably includes a speaker that emits sounds coordinated to the simulated actions of the toy animal, such as barking, whimpering and tinkling.  
         [0041]     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just-described preferred embodiments may be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.