Patent Publication Number: US-6709310-B1

Title: Soft-bodied drink and wet doll

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/352,801, filed Jan. 29, 2002. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention. 
     This invention is directed to a doll construction allowing for a soft-bodied doll to have drink-and-wet features, and to a method for manufacting such dolls. 
     2. State of the Art. 
     Childrens&#39; dolls have existed for millenia. Typically, the designer&#39;s intent is to provide a doll that is as life-like as possible, balanced against the costs of manufacturing and distributing the doll. One of the most “life-like” qualities a doll can display is the ability to be “fed” a liquid and to “evacuate” the liquid, a so-called drink-and-wet doll. Such dolls are typically constructed with a hard or plastic body, having a head section with a hole where the mouth is located, and a hole in the crotch area, and some sort of plumbing connecting the two holes. When a toy baby bottle is filled with liquid (water, typically) and used to feed the doll, the liquid from the bottle enters the hole in the mouth, flows through the plumbing, and exits in the crotch area. 
     Hunter et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,441, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a “multiple function doll” (e.g., including a mechanism for hand-clapping, speaking, etc.) that includes the basic structure of a hard body head with a hole in the mouth section, a hard body housing the multiple function generators, and a hard body crotch area having a hole, with a tube joining the two holes. The doll also includes a pinch valve so that the doll will not wet until it is placed on a simulated chamber-pot. This patent does disclose that such a doll can be constructed of a material including soft cloth, but provides no other details about the specific construction of such a doll. 
     ElIman et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,901, describes a hard-bodied doll having a liquid reservoir therein, filled from the doll&#39;s mouth, and a valving mechanism allowing the doll to wet when the mechanism is activated. 
     In another prior art doll, a soft-bodied doll having a typical hard plastic head was provided with a tube from the mouth to a cloth (soft-bodied) crotch area. The tube was secured to a hole in the crotch area with a grommet attached to the cloth. 
     Soft-bodied dolls are generally more popular than hard-bodied dolls, especially for a doll simulating an infant or child. However, providing a drink-and-wet function for a soft-bodied doll creates the problem of the doll getting wet at least in the butt and/or crotch area: the soft material of the body absorbs the water (or other liquid) the child feeds to the doll, which can lead to mold or mildew problems. Another problem is that the connection between the tube and the butt or crotch region must be attached directly to the fabric without compromising the fluid conduit from the mouth; and attachment of a tube or grommet directly to fabric can result in weak points and stresses in the fabric at the point of attachment. 
     SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     In light of the following, one object of this invention is to provide a soft-bodied doll that exhibits a drink and wet function without the problem of the soft body portion becoming wet or absorbing the liquid evacuated by the doll. Another object is to provide a soft-bodied drink and wet doll with better “plumbing” connections between the mouth and the crotch areas, thereby reducing stress in the soft body fabric in the butt or crotch region. Thus, a related object is providing a soft-bodied drink-and-wet doll where the fluid connection at the butt or crotch area is sturdier than prior art techniques. 
     As such, in summary this invention provides a doll comprising a hard head having a mouth portion with a hole leading to a coupling, a hard butt portion having a crotch portion with a hole leading to a coupling, a soft body connecting the head and crotch portions, and a tube (or other liquid conduit) connecting the two couplings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the doll of this invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS 
     The invention can be understood with reference to FIG. 1, which is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of this doll of this invention. The doll comprises a head  101  having a mouth section including an opening  103 . Inside the head, the opening continues through to a nipple or coupling  105  on the inside of the doll. The main body of the doll is constructed of a soft, fabric material  107 . The soft fabric is joined to the head preferably by means of a channel  109  in the neck portion of the head, enabling a securing device (not shown) to secure the top portion of the fabric in the channel by a tie (such as a plastic tie, rubber band, or thread/twine) that fits in the channel; of course, the soft body could also be connected to the head by sewing. 
     The doll is also provided with a hard butt area  111  having a crotch portion with a hole continuing through the butt section to a second nipple or coupling  115  on the inside of the doll. 
     The soft body is connected to the butt area preferably by sewing  117  though both the fabric and the butt. 
     The interior of the body has batting or wadding  119  providing substance to the soft section. 
     Connecting the couplings  105  and  115  is a tube  121  or other conduit for liquids. As shown, the tube OD (outer diameter) is sized effectively to frictionally fit within the ID (inner diameter) of each of the couplings; most preferably, a permanent, waterproof adhesive is used to secure each end of the tube to a respective coupling. Of course, the tube could be sized such that its ID allows it to frictionally engage the OD of the coupling, and optionally secured also with a permanent adhesive. Although not as preferred, a clamp can be used to secure the tube (or other conduit) to the coupling, or a threaded engagement could be used (but is typically too expensive for these types of goods). Also, the doll could include a pinch valve as in the above-described Hunter patent. 
     The doll is manufactured generally by sewing the butt to the soft body covering, attaching one end of the conduit to the coupling at the butt, placing the stuffing in the doll, attaching the other end of the conduit to the coupling in the head, and attaching the head to the body. The arms/hand and/or legs/feet may also be of plastic, and if so are attached in a conventional manner. 
     As used herein, a “hard” material is actually a soft, plasticized polymeric material as is conventionally used for dolls and various portions thereof. The soft material is preferably a fabric, but could also be a polymeric film material; a film, typically having a thickness of 1-20 mils, would be considered soft in contrast with the hard polymeric material, typically having a thickness of about ⅛ th inch. Thus, the “hard” material can hold its shape (or can be deformed and will naturally reassume its shape), whereas the “soft” material requires some support (such as stuffing) to maintain (or regain) its shape. 
     Thus, this invention provides the marketing advantages of a soft-bodied doll, which is the largest category of dolls, with a drink and wet feature while keeping the soft portion of the doll dry. 
     The foregoing description is meant to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes, modifications, and additions may become apparent to the skilled artisan upon a perusal of this specification, and such are meant to be within the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the claims.