DOLL HAVING MULTIPLE REMOVABLE LIMBS AND HEADS

Abstract

Certain disclosed embodiments use utilize a doll having a body to which multiple heads and limbs may be removably attached and rearranged. Certain disclosed embodiments include clothing that may also be removably attached and rearranged. Certain disclosed embodiments include two heads and four limbs that may be used to create dual characters with a single doll, thereby encouraging children to be creative, mix characters using one doll, and provide a name for the doll that is a combination of the names of the two individual characters.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to toys and, more particularly, to a doll having multiple removable limbs and heads.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

A doll is a representation of a human being and they have been used for various purposes since before recorded human history. Dolls have traditionally been provided as children's play toys, and have historically been associated with girls, although there is a popular genre of so-called “action figure” dolls that have historically been popular with boys.

Dolls have also been used for various teaching purposes, instead of or in addition to their use in play. For example, dolls may be used to position a figure for use as a reference by an artist, used in the training of various health procedures, used to develop interests in dress and cosmetology, and many other educational uses.

Dolls may also be used for education in the field of historical characters and historical dress. Dolls may be made that represent specific or generic historical figures, illustrating the dress of the times and perhaps well-known associations with the specific character represented by the doll. Toy soldiers are one form of doll representing historical figures that have traditionally been favored by boys. However, prior art dolls have significant limitations. Because they are limited to an individual character that is being depicted, they require additional dolls to be purchased in order to represent additional characters. Additionally, such dolls do not create much sense of creativity (and related interest) on the part of children playing with them.

Therefore, there is a need for improved designs for dolls. The present disclosure is directed toward meeting this need.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Certain disclosed embodiments use utilize a doll having a body to which multiple heads and limbs may be removably attached and rearranged. Certain disclosed embodiments include clothing that may also be removably attached and rearranged. Certain disclosed embodiments include two heads and four limbs that may be used to create dual characters with a single doll, thereby encouraging children to be creative, mix characters using one doll, and provide a name for the doll that is a combination of the names of the two individual characters.

In one embodiment, a doll is disclosed, comprising a body having at least one fastener half of a first sex; at least two heads, each of the at least two heads having a fastener half of a second sex operative to mate with one of said at least one fastener half of a first sex; at least two arms, each of the at least two arms having a fastener half of a second sex operative to mate with one of said at least one fastener half of a first sex; and at least two legs, each of the at least two legs having a fastener half of a second sex operative to mate with one of said at least one fastener half of a first sex.

In another embodiment, a doll is disclosed, comprising a body; and at least two heads, each of the at least two heads being releasably attached to said body.

Other embodiments are also disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a first disclosed embodiment in a disassembled form.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the first embodiment in a first assembled form.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the first embodiment in a first assembled form and with clothing mounted thereto.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of the first embodiment in a second assembled form.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of the first embodiment in a third assembled form.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of a second embodiment in a first assembled form and with clothing mounted thereto.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended, and alterations and modifications in the illustrated systems, and further applications of the principles of the disclosure as illustrated therein are herein contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure relates.

In certain embodiments, the present disclosure is directed to a doll having multiple removable heads and limbs, which may be used to stimulate creativity and to teach historical or other roll playing lessons.

A first embodiment doll is schematically illustrated in FIG. 1 and indicated generally at 10. The doll 10 comprises a body 12. The body 12, like the remaining components of the doll 10, may be made from any desired material, such as fabric filled with a polyester or other suitable stuffing, plastic (rigid or pliable), plaster, wood, metal, or any other desired material, as the material from which the doll 10 is constructed is not critical to the present invention.

The doll 10 additionally comprises two arms 14 and two legs 16. Other embodiments may have fewer or greater number of arms and legs, as is discussed hereinbelow. Each arm 14 and leg 16 has a periphery that includes a first fastener half 18 that may be releasably engaged with second fastener half 20 mounted to the periphery of body 12. First and second fastener halves 18, 20 may be any type of releasable fastener, such as hook and loop tape, hook and eyelet fasteners, buttons, snap fit fasteners, magnetic fasteners, screw-on fasteners, or any other desired type of fastener, as the type of fastener used is not critical to the present invention. Additionally, first and second fastener halves 18, 20 may be a plurality of discrete fasteners instead of fasteners that extend all the way around the periphery of the arm/leg/body.

The doll 10 additionally includes at least two heads 22 and 24 with associated first fastener halves 18 that may be releasably fastened to any portion of the second fastener half 20. In some embodiments, the heads 22, 24 are formed to resemble historical or famous figures. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, head 22 represents Cleopatra, while head 24 represents Napoleon. As shown in FIG. 2, the doll 10 may be assembled in a first assembled form where the body has two arms 14 and two legs 16 at conventional locations, but two heads 22, 24 on top of the body. As discussed hereinbelow, other arrangements are also contemplated by the present disclosure.

The characters of the doll 10 may also have corresponding clothing, as illustrated in FIG. 3. Consequently, clothing 26 in a style appropriate to the Napoleon character 24 may be mounted to one half of the doll 10 body 12, while clothing 28 in a style appropriate to the Cleopatra character 22 may be mounted to the other half of the doll 10 body 12. In one embodiment, the clothes 26, 28 are separately formed and may be joined by individually fastening them to the body 12 in a side-by-side configuration. For example, the clothes 26, 28 may include a first fastener half (not shown) that may be mated to a second fastener half 21 (see FIG. 1) extending across the body 12. First and second clothing fastener halves may be any type of releasable fastener, such as hook and loop tape, hook and eyelet fasteners, buttons, snap fit fasteners, magnetic fasteners, or any other desired type of fastener, as the type of fastener used is not critical to the present invention. In some embodiments, the clothes 26, 28 are pulled onto the doll 10 body 12 and fastened by securing a belt 30 therearound. Once assembled, the doll 10 has a first complete figure on one side and a second complete figure on the other side.

In other embodiments, the clothes 26, 28 are pre-made to be used together, such that the two halves are attached together prior to mounting them to the doll 10 body 12. Such attachment may be by any convenient mechanism, such as by sewing, hook and loop tape, gluing, or any other desired type of attachment, as the type of attachment used is not critical to the present invention. Alternatively, the two clothing halves may be individually mounted to the doll 10 body 12 and then coupled to one another and/or to the body 12 once in place. In other embodiments, the doll 10 body 12 may be separated into two halves, with the clothes 26, 28 being applied to a respective one of the halves of body 12, whereupon the two halves of body 12 may be attached by any convenient means in order to form the doll 10 as illustrated in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the doll 10 may be configured in additional manners. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the two characters extend in opposite orientations, which the head 22 on one end of body 12 and the head 24 on the other end of body 12, with the arms 14 and legs 16 mounted in consistent arrangement therewith. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the heads 22, 24 are mounted at the same end of the body 12, but two legs 16 are provided for each character at the opposite end of the body 12.

The detachability of the various pieces of the doll 10 allows for infinite variation in the configurations in which doll 10 may be assembled. As shown in FIG. 6, a head 32 resembling Marie Antoinette, with associated clothing 34, is paired with the head 22 and clothing 28 of Cleopatra to make another combination character.

It will be appreciated from the above description that the doll 10 having multiple removable heads and limbs may be used to stimulate creativity and to teach historical or other roll playing lessons. Because the doll of the presently disclosed embodiments has a body to which multiple heads and limbs may be removably attached and rearranged, as well as clothing that may also be removably attached and rearranged, the doll 10 may be used to create dual characters with a single doll, thereby encouraging children to be creative, mix characters using one doll, and provide a name for the doll that is a combination of the names of the two individual characters. For example, the doll of FIGS. 1-5 that includes the characters of Napoleon and Cleopatra could be named Napoleatra, the doll of FIG. 6 that includes the characters of Cleopatra and Marie Antionette could be named Cleotoinette, a doll combining the characters of Darwin and Mozart could be Darmoz, a doll combining the characters of Newton and Darwin could be Newdar, etc.

It will also be appreciated that the characters portrayed by the dolls are not limited to historical characters. Such characters may include, but are not limited to, fictional persons including fairy tale characters, film and television stars, cartoon characters, sports players, political personalities, archetypes, professions, fashion types, races, genders, and animals (in which case the “arms” may be additional legs, wings or fins), just to name a few non-limiting examples.

While the disclosure has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only certain embodiments have been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the disclosure are desired to be protected.

Claims

1. A doll, comprising:

a body having at least one fastener half of a first sex;

at least two heads, each of the at least two heads having a fastener half of a second sex operative to mate with one of said at least one fastener half of a first sex;

at least two arms, each of the at least two arms having a fastener half of a second sex operative to mate with one of said at least one fastener half of a first sex; and

at least two legs, each of the at least two legs having a fastener half of a second sex operative to mate with one of said at least one fastener half of a first sex.

2. The doll of claim 1, wherein said body is constructed from a material selected from the group consisting of: fabric filled with stuffing, pliable plastic, rigid plastic, plaster, wood, and metal.

3. The doll of claim 1, wherein said fastener half of a first sex and said fastener half of a second sex are selected from the group consisting of: hook and loop tape, hook and eyelet fasteners, buttons, snap fit fasteners, magnetic fasteners, and screw-in fasteners.

4. The doll of claim 1, further comprising:

a first clothing half in a first clothing style; and

a second clothing half in a second clothing style;

wherein said first and second clothing halves are mounted to said body in a side-by-side configuration.

5. The doll of claim 4, wherein:

said first clothing half includes a fastener half of a third sex;

said second clothing half includes a fastener half of a fourth sex; and

said fastener half of a third sex is coupled to said fastener half of a fourth sex.

6. The doll of claim 5, wherein said fastener half of a third sex and said fastener half of a fourth sex are selected from the group consisting of: hook and loop tape, hook and eyelet fasteners, buttons, snap fit fasteners, and magnetic fasteners.

7. The doll of claim 4, wherein said first and second clothing halves are coupled together by a method selected from the group consisting of: sewing and gluing.

8. The doll of claim 4, further comprising:

a belt;

wherein said first and second clothing halves are surrounded by said belt.

9. The doll of claim 4, wherein:

said first head and said first clothing half represent a first character; and

said second head and said second clothing half represent a second character.

10. The doll of claim 9, wherein each of said first and second characters are selected from the group consisting of historical characters, fairy tale characters, film stars, television stars, cartoon characters; sports players, political personalities, archetypes, professions, fashion types, races, genders, and animals.

11. A doll, comprising:

a body; and

at least two heads, each of the at least two heads being releasably attached to said body.

12. The doll of claim 11, further comprising:

at least one fastener half of a first sex coupled to said body;

at least two arms, each of the at least two arms having a fastener half of a second sex operative to mate with one of said at least one fastener half of a first sex; and

at least two legs, each of the at least two legs having a fastener half of a second sex operative to mate with one of said at least one fastener half of a first sex.

13. The doll of claim 11, wherein said body is constructed from a material selected from the group consisting of: fabric filled with stuffing, pliable plastic, rigid plastic, plaster, wood, and metal.

14. The doll of claim 12, wherein said fastener half of a first sex and said fastener half of a second sex are selected from the group consisting of: hook and loop tape, hook and eyelet fasteners, buttons, snap fit fasteners, magnetic fasteners, and screw-in fasteners.

15. The doll of claim 11, further comprising:

a first clothing half in a first clothing style;

a second clothing half in a second clothing style;

wherein said first and second clothing halves are mounted to said body in a side-by-side configuration.

16. The doll of claim 15, wherein:

said first clothing half includes a fastener half of a third sex;

said second clothing half includes a fastener half of a fourth sex; and

said fastener half of a third sex is coupled to said fastener half of a fourth sex.

17. The doll of claim 16, wherein said fastener half of a third sex and said fastener half of a fourth sex are selected from the group consisting of: hook and loop tape, hook and eyelet fasteners, buttons, snap fit fasteners, and magnetic fasteners.

18. The doll of claim 15, wherein said first and second clothing halves are coupled together by a method selected from the group consisting of: sewing and gluing.

19. The doll of claim 15, further comprising:

a belt;

wherein said first and second clothing halves are surrounded by said belt.

20. The doll of claim 15, wherein:

said first head and said first clothing half represent a first character; and

said second head and said second clothing half represent a second character.

21. The doll of claim 20, wherein each of said first and second characters are selected from the group consisting of historical characters, fairy tale characters, film stars, television stars, cartoon characters; sports players, political personalities, archetypes, professions, fashion types, races, genders, and animals.