Patent Publication Number: US-4545775-A

Title: Dancing hula doll

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     This invention relates to hula dolls. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Present hula dolls are not lifelike as they do not move their hips. My invention provides a dancing hula doll that shakes her hips so that she is lifelike. 
     3. Disclosure Statement 
     I am not aware of any hula doll which alternately shakes its hips from left to right to give it a lifelikeness that compares with a real hula dancer. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a hula doll which alternately moves its hips left and right to give a lifelikeness that compares with a real hula dancer. A battery operated motor turns a cam that in turn activates a lever arm that moves the hips of a hula doll left and right alternately, while it slowly rotates and a melody is heard. 
     An object of this invention is to provide a hula doll which alternately moves its hips left and right. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide a hula doll which becomes a hula dancer when power is turned on. 
     A further object of this invention is to provide a hula doll that is more lifelike than present day hula dolls. 
     Still another object of this invention is to provide a hula doll that alternately moves its hips left and right at the same time it is slowly turning and a melody is heard. 
    
    
     Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the dancing hula doll. 
     FIG. 2 is a left elevational view of the dancing hula doll with a partial cutaway view of the upper portion of the body and clothing shown in dotted lines. 
     FIG. 3 is a fragmentary front elevational view of upper portion, lower portion, and base portion, showing the hips moved to the right. 
     FIG. 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view of upper portion, lower portion, and base portion, showing the hips moved to the left. 
     FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the base portion. 
     FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 6--6 of FIG. 5. 
     FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 7--7 of FIG. 5. 
     FIG. 8 is a partial perspective, explosive view of the dancing hula doll. 
     FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 9--9 of FIG. 10. It is a cutaway rear elevational view of motor drive and gear box. 
     FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 10--10 of FIG. 9. It is an enlarged fragmentary view of FIG. 7 with the motor drive and gear cutaway to show the gearing in detail. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Before explaining the present invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. 
     Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference letters and numerals refer to like and corresponding parts throughout the several views, the preferred embodiment of the invention disclosed in FIGS. 1-10 inclusive is a dancing hula doll 1. Dancing hula doll 1, hereinafter called &#34;Doll&#34;, includes an upper portion 2, a lower portion 10, and a base portion 15. Clothes 14 cover doll 1. 
     Upper portion 2 resembles the head through waist of a human. Lower portion 10 resembles the waist through hip portion of a human. The upper portion 2 and lower portion 10 overlap at the waist area and are pivotally connected to each other by a hinge pin 5. Base portion 15 supports the upper portion 2 and lower portion 10 by a support rod 6, one end of which is secured to top 31 of base portion 15 by a screw 7 and the other end is placed in a cavity 9 within the head of upper portion 2. Lower portion 10 is spaced from top 31 a predetermined distance to allow the alternate movements of hips 11 to left and to right. See FIGS. 1-4. 
     Upper portion 2 includes torso 3, pin 4, hinge pin 5, padding 8, and cavity 9. Pin 4 and hinge pin 5 pass through support rod 6 in order to stablize it. 
     Lower portion 10 includes hips 11, bracket 12, and activator pin 13. Bracket 12 is attached to the inner surface of lower portion 10. One end of activator pin 13 is attached to the inner surface of lower portion 10 and the other end is attached to bracket 12. See FIG. 2. 
     Base portion 15 includes support rod 6, screw 7, stationary base 16 with feet 17, opening 18a, and recess 19, screw 18, turning plate 20, bearing supports 21, shaft housing 22, rotating shaft 23, square key 24, screws 25, battery case 26, battery door 27, switch 28, screws 29, housing 30, top 31, slot 32, speaker holes 33, sound panel 35, I.C. Electronic Melody Circuit 36, speaker 37, motor drive and gear box assembly 38, motor drive and gear box 38a, motor 39, drive gear 40, gears 41, 41a, 41b, and 41c, cam 42, gears 42a, 42b, 42c, and 42d, lever arm 43, slot 32, eccentric 45, nuts 46, washer 47, pivot hole 48, slot 49, screw 50, spacer 51, plates 52 and 53, gears 54, 54a, 55, 55a, 56, and 57, shafts 55b and 56a, and shaft housing 58. 
     Screw 18 secures square key 24 to stationary base 16. Screws 25 secure turning plate 20 to housing 30. Screws 29 secure switch 28 to housing 30. Eccentric 45, nuts 46, and washer 47 are used to movingly secure lever arm 43 to cam 42. Screw 50 pivotally connects lever arm 43 through pivot hole 48 to spacer 51. Screw 50 is screwed into plates 52 and 53, which are secured to the sides of motor drive and gear box 38a. 
     Eccentric 45 is a screw which is located off center of cam 42 so that the circular motion of cam 42 may be converted into left-and-right motion of lever arm 43. Screw 50 serves as a pivot for lever arm 43. 
     The gears are arranged so that the motion of motor 39 is transmitted to cam 42 and gear 55 for the purpose of causing lever arm 43 to move alternately left and right and causing turning plate 20 to rotate. 
     Battery within battery case 26 is not shown. Wiring from battery to switch 28 and from battery to I.C. Electric Melody Circuit 36 are not shown for the sake of clarity. 
     Reference letter R denotes rotation and the curved arrows nearby show the direction of rotation. Reference letters HR denote hip right and the arrow below them shows the direction of movement. Reference letter HL denote hip left and the arrow below them shows the direction of movement. Four arrows in FIG. 6 show the direction of rotation of respective gears. Arrows near lever arm 43 in FIGS. 3 and 4 denote the direction of movement of activator pin 13. 
     The operation of my invention is as follows: When power is turned on by switch 28, doll 1 becomes a hula dancer. Motor 39 turns cam 42 that in turn activates lever arm 43 by means of eccentric 45. Lever arm 43 pivots on screw 50 and moves activator pin 13 left and right alternately by means of slot 49. Activator pin 13 alternately moves lower portion 10 to the left and right as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. While hips 11 of doll 1 is alternately moving left and right, doll 1 is slowly moving in a counterclockwise direction and a Hawaiian melody is heard. Upper portion 2 remains stationary while lower portion 10 alternately moves left and right to give doll 1 a lifelikeness that is missing from present day hula dolls. Thus, I have invented a dancing hula doll which alternately shakes its hips from left to right to give it a lifelikeness that compares with a real hula dancer. 
     Although but a single embodiment of the invention has been disclosed and described herein, it is obvious that many changes may be made in the size, shape, arrangements, color and detail of the various elements of the invention without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.