Mark Hardin of Austin recently received U.S. Patent 8,133,090 for “Dolls and Doll Stands.”

Texas Business Patent of the Day:  An Austin resident has developed a new type of doll and doll display.

Mark Hardin of Austin recently received U.S. Patent 8,133,090 for “Dolls and Doll Stands.”

Hardin applied for the patent more than two years ago on April 21, 2009.  

The patent assignee is Mattel Inc. of El Segundo, California.

Hardin’s invention is generally to interactive doll stands and, more particularly, to display devices to which dolls may be mounted, where the dolls and/or the display devices include one or more associated movable components that may be selectively actuated so as to substantially enclose the doll within the display device.

  
Hardin’s designed a toy product including a doll and a display device that may be used with the doll or other similarly configured character or persona. The doll may have one or more movable features and may further include wings detachably coupled to the doll. An actuating assembly of the display device may communicate through one or more selectively actuable components with one or more movable features of the doll. 

The actuating assembly may be operatively connected to a folding assembly that may alternately enclose and reveal the doll releasably mounted to the display device. The folding assembly may include one or more enclosure pieces that, in some embodiments, may be in the form of flower petals and may fold over the doll so as to form an enclosure and, thereby, substantially surround the doll.

Each enclosure piece may have a sleeved portion configured to matingly receive a corresponding flexible member adapted to bend between an extended and retracted position in response to the operation of the actuating assembly. The bending of the flexible members may be facilitated by linkage elements operatively connecting the actuating assembly with each flexible member. 

The actuating assembly may include an actuator and a locking member configured to releasably retain the folding assembly in the retracted position. The actuator may be partially or substantially housed within the display device and may be configured for transmitting a motion of the actuator to a reverse-blooming motion of the folding assembly. 

In some embodiments, the actuating assembly may be actuated by manually pushing the actuator in the direction of actuation. The actuator may operatively engage and simultaneously pull the linkage elements so the flexible members and associated enclosure pieces move from the extended toward the retracted position. In the embodiments in which the enclosure pieces resemble flower petals, such movement of the pieces may have the effect of a flower closing up to surround the doll. 

The flexible members and associated enclosure pieces may be releasably retained in the retracted position by way of a locking member, such as by releasably locking the actuator when the enclosure pieces are in the retracted position. The actuating assembly may further include a push-button that may be configured to release the actuator and return the flexible members and associated enclosure pieces to the extended position.

As a result, the folding assembly may unfold, thus, revealing the doll mounted to the display device. In the embodiments in which the enclosure pieces resemble flower petals, such unfolding may have the effect of a flower bloom opening up. 

The actuating assembly may further include a lifting member that may partially or substantially support one or more movable features of the doll. The lifting member may be operatively connected to the actuating assembly and may be configured so as to concomitantly lift or, otherwise, move one or more features of the doll as the enclosure pieces surround the doll. Thus, the lifting member may further facilitate enclosure of the doll within the display device.