GB2200567A - A toy character - Google Patents

Abstract

A doll or toy character has lit facial features that change in apparent synchronisation with speech emanating from an internal, electrically powered, audio source (24). As shown, the features are eyes and mouth. An open mouth is represented when areas 52 and 54 are illuminated, illumination of area 50 alone representing a closed mouth. The open and closed representations are lit alternately during audio output. An automatic shut off control is provided for the audio source upon sensing the absence of sound. <IMAGE>

Description

A TOY CHARACTER This invention concerns a doll or toy character.

At present, talking dolls and characters which have mechanically moveable mouths are popular playthings. United States Patent Specification no.

4,177,589 discloses mechanisms concealed within a three dimensional head for mechanically manipulating the facial features in synchronization with spoken sounds. United States Patent Specifications nos.

3,662,374 and 4,260,229 disclose computer synchronization of mouth movement with speech sounds. United States Patent Specification no.

4,104,625 discloses changing various filmed facial images in synchronisation with speech.

Tne invention provides a toy character having a head wit a facial feature including: light means mounted internally and behind the facial feature; and means for activating and deactivating the light means.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a doll; Figure 2 is an enlarge scale, sectional view taken generally along line 2-2 of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a sectional view taken generally along -line 3-3 of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a sectional view taken generally along line 4-4 of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a sectional view taken generally along line 5-5 of Figure 2; Figure 6 is a schematic of an audio source control circuit; and Figure 7 is a schematic of a light control circuit.

Referring now to Figures 1 to 5 of the drawings, a doll 10 has a soft material torso 12 which is filled with a soft stuffing 14, and a head 16 which is also made of a soft material with a peripheral layer of stuffing 14. The torso 12 and the head 16 are formed by a continuous piece of fabric 18.

However, thr body and/or the head may be made of a resilient plastics such as vinyl or a hard plastics as long as the material of which the head is made is generally opaque but will become translucent if a light is turned on adjacent to the material.

A flap 20 on the back of the torso 12 is releasably secured by a Velcro fastener 22 or the like to permit access to the interior of the body.

The flap 20 is shown open in phantom line in Figure 2. Housed within the interior of the torso 12 is an audio tape player.24 having an access door 26 for insertion of an audio tape cassette 27. Also contained within the torso 12, with access provided by the flap 20 for replacement, are batteries 28.

The head 16 includes a pair of ears 30 and a nose 32. The ears are integrally formed as part of the head 16 and the nose is similarly formed, or may be a separately attached piece of soft stuffed material. The doll 10 has plastics eye lenses 34 and a moutn~liine 36 that is sewn or drawn on the fabric 18. Within the head 16 is an inner shell 38 which is made of a rigid plastics material, but may be made of fabric.

Behind each of the eyes 34 is a cylindrical piece 40 that extends through the stuffing 14 and the shell 38 into optical communication with the light transmitting eye lens 34. Opposite the eye, there is a cap 42 on the end of the cylindrical piece 40.

Carried on the cap 42, and extending into the cylindrical piece 40, is a small 2.5 volt bulb 44.

Mounted within the head 16, behind the mouth line 36, is a mouth lighting assembly 46.

Immediately behind the fabric 18 is a transparent shied 48 which contains three mouth outline masks 50, 5 and 54, which are red in colour. The outline 50 represents a closed mouth with the lips together while the outlines 52 and 54 represent, respectively, the upper and lower parted lisps of an open mouth.

Extending behind the shield 48, through the stuffing 14 and the shell 38, are three conduits 60, 62 and 64, which are in optical communication, respectiveiy, with the mouth outlines 50, 52 and 54.

Bach of the three conduits is formed of an opaque plastics and shares a common wall with adjacent conduits. All three of the conduits are sealed at their Dack ends by a cap 66. Three small 2.5 volt light bulbs 70, 72 and 74 are mounted in the cap 66.

The bulb 70 extends into the conduit 60, the bulb 72 into the conduit 62 and the bulb 74 into the conduit 64. None of the three conduits are in optical communication with one another.

Also contained in the head 16 is an electronic module 80 that is in electrical communication through wiring (not shown) with bhe audio tape player 24, the batteries 28, both of the eye light bulbs 44 and the mouth light bulbs 70, 72 and 74. As the doll 10 is intended to be able to carry on a simulated conversation with a child, there must necessarily be pauses in the play of an audio tape containing the doll's side of the conversation. Circuitry within the electronic module 80 provides for shutting off the tape player 24 at intervals dictated by the content of the tape as well as for lighting of both the eye light bulbs 44 plus the mouth light bulbs 70, 72 and 74 in response to audio signals from the tape.

The tape player contra1 circuit schematically shown in Figure 6 includes a switch 82 for turning the audio tape player 24 on and off. The switch 82 is connected to the DC battery power supply 28 and to earth through a 480 ohm resistor 84 to hold a low level on an inout 86 of a set-reset latch comprising two connected NOR gates 88. A 0.1 microfarad capacitor 90 and a 480 ohm resistor 92 are used to preset the latch. When the switch 82 is closed, a pulse is provided on the other input 94 of the latch to put a high at a diode 96. This then establishes a bias current across a 4.7K ohm resistor 97 for a standard NPN transistor 98 which turns on a reed relay 100 that is connected to a remote input 102 of the player 24. There is a diode 104 across the relay 100 to absorb the energy stored in the coil 106 of the relay 100.

Once the switch 82 is closed, the reed relay 100 is energized and the remote tape player input is controlled. The audio tape player has then been started and is searching for words or phrases on the tape. A 4.7K ohm resistor 108 is connected to the positive side of a speaker 110 of the tape player.

The audio output generated through the speaker by the tape player establishes a current through the resistor 108 which controls a 2N5306 Darlington transistor 112. Another 4.7K ohm resistor 113 is between the collector of the Darlington transistor 112 and the power supply 28.

The Darlington transistor 112 controls a 74123 dual retriggerable one-shot 114. A resistor 116 and a capacitor 118 establish the pulse output duration from the one-shot. When the output from the one-shot 114 goes high, signals are fed through steering diodes 120 and 122, which places a high nn the input to the transistor 98 to sustain the reed relay 100.

The high output from the one-shot 114 will also provide a high on the input 94 of the set-reset latch to reset the latch so that the one-shot has control over the transistor 98. As long as an audio output is sustained across the resistor 108, the retriggerable one-shot will continue to hold in the reed relay 100. After the audio signal has ceased, the reed relay will be kept in for some predetermined period of time related to the values of the resistor 116 and the capacitor 118 but will then shut off the tape player until the switch 82 is again turned on.

The eye light bulbs 44 as well as the mouth light bulbs 70, 72 and 74 are controlled in response to the audio output from the tape player 24 by the circuit.shown schematically in Figure 7. The tape player speaker 110 inputs across a 4.7K ohm resistor 126 to drive a 2N5306 Darlington transistor 128.

Another 4.7K ohm resistor 130 is connected between the collector of the transistor 128 and the power supply 28. A signal is taken off the resistor 130 to a 74123 dual retriggerable one-shot 132. As the audio signal is detected by the transistor 128, it retriggers one-snot 132.

When the dual one-shot is triggered, a high output from one half drives a 2N2222 transistor 134 through a 4.7K ohm resistor 136. The mouth open light bulbs 72 and 74 are then turned on for a specific time duration set by a resistor 138 and a capacitor 140. dowever, if the one-shot 132 is not triggered by the transistor 128, the one-shot 132 drives a 2N2222 transistor 142 on, through a 4.7K ohm resistor 144, to turn on the mouth closed light bulb 70. However, a normally open set of contacts 146 prevent the bulb 70 from turning on. At the same time, the other half of the triggered one-shot 132 turns on a 2N2222 transistor 148 via a 4.7K ohm resistor 150. Tne transistor 148 then turns on a reed relay 152 which closes the normally open contacts 146 allowing the light bulb 70 to go on.

Accordingly, when the light bulbs 72 and 74 go on, the light bulb 70 is off and, when the light bulbs 72 and 74 go off, the light bulb 70 goes on in response to modulating signals emanating from the speaker 110. The mouth open light bulbs 72 and 74 and mouth closed light bulb 70 thus alternately go on and off creating the appearance of the mouth opening and closing in synchronisation with the audio input from the tape player.

The signal taken off of the resistor 130 is also fed to another 74123 dual retriggerable one-shot 154. A high output from the one-shot 154 is set by a resistor 156 and a capacitor 158 to turn on the eye light bulbs 44 for at least two seconds. Triggering of the one-shot 154 drives a 2N2222 transistor 160 through a resistor 162 to activate a reed relay 164 closing normally open contacts 166. Closing of the contacts 166 then drives a 2N5306 Darlington transistor 168 on through a 4.7K ohm resistor 170 and a resistor 172.

For sustaining the transistor 168 on after all of the audio has stopped, a constant time delay is provided by a resistor 172 and a capacitor 174. This delay is used in conjunction with tile relay 152 to fade out the light bulbs 44 and 70 when the audio signals stop. Since no signal is present to turn on the transistor 148 and hence the relay 152, the normally open contacts 146 are open and the normally closed contacts 176 are closed. Accordingly, the eye light bulbs 44 and the closed mouth light bulb 70 are tied together in the on condition under the control of the transistor 168. After four or five seconds, the light bulbs 44 and 70 are dimmed by the exponential discharge of the capacitor 174 across the base of the transistor 168. When the audio signals again start across the resistor 126, the light activating and deactivating sequence starts all over again.

Claims (14)

CLAIMS:

1. A toy character having a head with a facial feature including: Light means mounted internally and behind the facial feature; and means for activating and deactivating the light means.

2. A toy character as claimed in Claim 1 and including a generally opaque covering over the light means which covering becomes translucent upon activation of the light means.

3. A toy character as claimed in either preceding claim, and including means causing the light means to gradually fade from on to off upon the activating and deactivating means ceasing to.activate the light means.

4. A toy character as claimed in any preceding claim, in which: the facial feature is a mouth; and the activating and deactivating means simulate animation of the mouth.

5. A toy character as claimed in Claim 4 including: audio means for producing sound; and the activating and deactivating means co-operates with with audio means for the simulated animation of the mouth in synchronisation with the sound.

6. A toy character as claimed in Claim 5, in which: the audio means is able to produce sound in segments of varying length spaced by sections without sound; and including shut off means for stopping the audio means upon the shut off means- sensing the absence of sound from the audio means; and start up means for restarting the audio means.

7. A toy character as claimed in Claim 4, 5 or 6, in which: the light means includes a first, second and third light; the first light being mounted within a first conduit that is substantially opaque except for a light transmitting mask simulating a closed mouth at one end of the conduit; the second light being mounted within a second conduit that is substantially opaque except for a light transmitting mask simulating an upper parted iip of an open mouth at one end of the second conduit; and the third light being mounted within a third conduit that is substantially opaque except for a light transmitting mask simulating a lower parted lip of an open mouth at one end of the third conduit.

8. A toy character as claimed in Claim 7, in which the activating and deactivating means activates the firs-t light while deactivating the second and third lights and then deactivates the first light while activating the second and third lights.

9. A toy character as claimed in Claim 8 and including: audio means for producing sound; and the activating and deactivating means further co-operates with the audio means to activate the first light while deactivating the second and third lights and then deactivates the first light while activating the second and third lights inresponse to modulating signals from the audio means.

10. A toy character as claimed in Claim 7, 8 or 9, including: a pair of light transmitting eye lenses and fourth and fifth lights positioned behind and in optical communication with respective ones of the eye lenses.

11. A tov character as claimed in Claim 10 and including: audio means for producing sound; the activating and deactivating means co-operates with the audio means to activate the fourth and fifth lights for a predetermined period of time in response to an initial signal from the audio means; and the activating and deactivating means further co-operates with the audio means to activate the first light while deactivating the second and third lights and then deactivates the first light while activating the second and third lights in response to modulating signals from the audio means.

12. A toy character as claimed in claim 11, in which the activating and deactivating means, upon signals from the audio means stopping, will maintain the first, fourth and fifth lights on for a fixed period of time.

13. A toy character as claimed in Claim 4 and including light means behind and in optical communication with light transmitting eye lenses.

14. A toy character substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.