Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Roy A. Ekstrand
  • Patent number: 6132285
    Abstract: A doll includes a torso supporting a pivotally attached arm and a string winding spool. A slide is moveably supported within the torso and is coupled to a button extending outwardly from the rear of the doll torso. A pivotable arm is secured to the torso and is operated through a predetermined pivot angle in response to the vertical movement of the button. A spring urges the button to its upper most position. A string passes through an aperture formed in a dolls arm and is wound partially upon the interior string winding mechanism. The outer end of the string supports a simulated yoyo object. As the button is pressed downwardly against the return spring by the user the arm pivots upwardly and the string winds upon the winding spool raising the yoyo. As the button is released the return spring raises the button allowing the arm to pivot downwardly and unwinding a quantity of the supporting string from the spool causing the simulated yoyo to descend.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2000
    Assignee: Mattel, Inc.
    Inventor: Joseph Feldman
  • Patent number: 6123598
    Abstract: A hand held doll includes a pivotally supported nose and upper jaw upon a head which is supported by a torso. A mechanism within the torso utilizes a pullstring drive to rotate a drum. The drum defines an angled slot which receives one end of a pivotable lever. A link couples a pivotable lever to an arm which pivotally supports the nose and upper jaw of the doll.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2000
    Assignee: Mattel, Inc.
    Inventor: Robynn M. Cook
  • Patent number: 6118058
    Abstract: An instrument pick and finger attachment includes a finger ring for wearing upon a user's finger together with a generally planar pick for strumming a stringed instrument. The pick is joined to the finger ring by a flexible chain via a pair of separable couplers at each end. The separable couplers facilitate the replacement or substitution of different components within the combination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2000
    Inventor: Peter Rowley
  • Patent number: 6116906
    Abstract: A computer is operatively coupled to a printer and a monitor and includes input devices such as a keyboard and mouse. A CD-ROM disk is loaded into the computer which bears game play software cooperating with desktop publishing type operating software housed within the processor unit of the computer. The game play provided by the game software allows the user to select various design elements for printing upon peel and stick type sticker sheets using the printer. The game play further provides a preview display in which the selected object such as a toy vehicle is displayed having the selected design placed thereon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2000
    Assignee: Mattel, Inc.
    Inventor: Andrew Rifkin
  • Patent number: 6111847
    Abstract: A picker device for engaging the topmost one of a stacked plurality of media having center apertures formed therein includes a resilient spring slidably supported within a support base at its upper edges. A spreader mechanism is supported between the resilient spring to selectively broaden or narrow the spring. The picker is operative by inserting the spring downwardly into the center apertures of the stacked disk media in its narrowed configuration and thereafter expanding the spreader device to force the legs of the V-shaped spring against the interior edge of the topmost disk element of the stacked array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2000
    Inventor: Hamid R. Assadian
  • Patent number: 6109580
    Abstract: A tray body preferably fabricated of a molded plastic material defines a generally rectangular recess having at least one support member extending downwardly therefrom. The tray body further defines a center cup receptacle having a receptacle wall extending downwardly beyond the tray body. A pair of side cup receptacles are formed on opposed sides of the center cup receptacle. In one embodiment, additional support members extend downwardly from the side cup receptacles. In an alternate embodiment, a pair of spaced apart support members are formed in the recess in place of the cup receptacle supports.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2000
    Inventors: Jon L. Stern, Keith A. Hippely
  • Patent number: 6106356
    Abstract: A toy locomotive is configurable to provide a push toy resembling a locomotive and is alternatively configurable to provide a toy figure launching device. A cylindrical portion of the locomotive is pivotable to an upwardly inclined position above the supporting chassis of the toy locomotive. The cylindrical portion defines a cylindrical bore within which a piston is moveable. A spring loaded plunger and knob cooperated with the piston to facilitate drawing the piston into the cylindrical bore against a spring and thereafter releasing the plunger to transfer energy from the spring to the piston. A toy figure is receivable within the cylinder bore of the cylindrical portion so as to be projected or launched when the piston is released.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2000
    Assignee: Mattel, Inc.
    Inventor: Mark Trageser
  • Patent number: 6106359
    Abstract: A toy figure resembling an insect such as an ant includes an upper torso pivotally coupled to a lower torso. A pair of legs support the lower torso and a pivotally moveable shell portion is attached to the lower torso. A drive button is slidingly supported within the lower torso and is raised against the shell portion by an internal return spring operative upon the button. A pair of arms are secured to the upper torso and are pivotable at their respective elbow joints. The arms support hands which in turn receive the handle grips of a simulated weapon each weapon comprising a pivotal arm and an outer ball and weight. A gear and rack mechanism is driven by the slidable button and is coupled to the upper torso by a flexible shaft such that pressing and releasing the shell portion moves the button and gear rack correspondingly to produce pivotal movement back-and-forth of the upper torso which in turn moves the simulated weapons.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2000
    Assignee: Mattel, Inc.
    Inventor: Martin Arriola
  • Patent number: 6105653
    Abstract: A header is received within an interior of a vehicle and secured against the roof portion thereof to extend transversely with respect to the front to back directions of the vehicle. The header supports a roller which in turn supports a flexible transparent or clear curtain which may be drawn downwardly to provide a portion of the vehicle air barrier to divide one portion of a vehicle interior from the other. A pair of side curtains are provided along each edge of the center curtain and are extendable outwardly to provide a further barrier to air circulation or air flow past the barrier. In one embodiment, the side curtains are formed of a flexible material and are hingedly secured to the vertical edges of the center curtain. In an alternate embodiment, a pair of side rollers are pivotally secured to the header and support respective side curtains which may be extended downwardly and drawn outwardly to complete the air barrier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2000
    Inventor: Michael R. Armstrong
  • Patent number: 6102771
    Abstract: A toy vehicle includes a body supported by a plurality of rolling wheels and a front windshield. A trunk lid is pivotally supported at the rear of the vehicle body and is spring biased toward a closed position. A convertible top is pivotally supported by the vehicle and defines a curved upper surface and a rear window surface. A sector gear is joined to the convertible top and is pivotable therewith. A power drive unit includes a motor and plurality of coupling gears which couple motor power to the sector gear. A battery power source and a plurality of on/off switches are operatively coupled to the motor and battery power source to induce energizing of the motor. The convertible top may be either raised or lowered by energizing the drive motor in an action in which the outer surface of the convertible top provides a cam-like member forcing the trunk lid open to facilitate lowering the convertible top into the body or raising it from the body interior.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2000
    Assignee: Mattel, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey B Poznick, Manuel Goy
  • Patent number: 6098939
    Abstract: A bracket includes a generally planar vertical member having an upper end supporting a pair of spacer arms and a spacer plate for positioning the vertical member between wall surfaces. The bracket further includes a junction box support portion having a plurality of spacers each having end portions for further maintaining the position of the bracket within the wall. The lower portion of the bracket includes a pair of support arms having inverted V-shaped clips together with an attachment plate defining an inverted V-channel, each adapted to be received upon the upwardly extending lips of a conventional toe plate stud. A conventional electrical junction box is secured to the bracket using conventional fasteners and a plurality of apertures formed in the bracket. The various spacers and support members of the bracket cooperate to maintain the desired position of the bracket within the wall for supporting the junction box.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2000
    Inventor: Ping He
  • Patent number: 6093078
    Abstract: A doll includes a torso supporting a pair of legs each having a simulated skate supported of the lower end thereof. The torso further supports a head which is coupled to a neck portion of the doll by a freely pivoting coupler. A housing within the doll torso supports a pivoting yoke coupled to a gear and rack drive mechanism. The gear rack is coupled to a depressible push button which the user actuates by squeezing the doll torso. A pair of arms are pivotally supported upon the torso and coupled to a gear drive mechanism responsive to the push button to move the arms back-and-forth in opposite pivotal directions as the push button repetitively squeezed and released.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2000
    Assignee: Mattel, Inc.
    Inventor: Robynn M. Cook
  • Patent number: 6089951
    Abstract: A toy includes a toy vehicle and a closed loop trackset for guiding the toy vehicle about the track loop. The trackset further includes a booster having one or more rotating disks positioned to grip the toy vehicle and accelerate the vehicle. The toy vehicle supports a momentum sensitive switch and a microprocessor counter and liquid crystal display for responding to each disturbance of the momentum switch to increment the display lap count upon the liquid crystal display. The momentum switch is positioned and configured to respond to the momentum changes imparted to the toy vehicle as the booster accelerates the toy vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2000
    Assignee: Mattel, Inc.
    Inventor: Eric Ostendorff
  • Patent number: 6086446
    Abstract: A toy figure resembles a fanciful insect and includes a body supporting a head and a pair of arm-like appendages each supporting a hand. A pair of legs are secured to the body and coupled to feet which in turn support the body in a vertical stance. The body further supports a pair of pivotally coupled wing shells which in turn support a pair of pivotally coupled wings. With the wings and wing shells folded to the closed position, the appearance of an insect shell is provided. With the wing shells and wings pivoted to their respective outward positions, a wing spread approximately twice the normal wing spread is presented. Within the wing shells, a pair of projectile launchers are supported.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2000
    Assignee: Mattel, Inc
    Inventor: Martin F. Arriola
  • Patent number: 6086447
    Abstract: A doll includes a body having an integrally formed upwardly extending attachment post. The attachment post defines a spherical surface joined to a ball end to define a narrow portion at the junction thereof. A doll head is formed of a flexible resilient material having an interior cavity and bottom surface. A recess and surrounding wall is formed in the bottom surface of the doll head and includes a tapered aperture and an inwardly extending edge. The doll head is assembled to the attachment post by forcing the ball end through the recess and tapered aperture such that the inwardly extending edge is received within the narrow portion of the attachment post.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2000
    Assignee: Mattel, Inc.
    Inventor: James I. Tucker
  • Patent number: 6074265
    Abstract: A glider body preferably formed of a light weight material such as foam plastic defines a sufficiently aerodynamic shape to glide through the air. A launcher assembly is secured to the under side to the glider body and includes a stretched elastic member supported upon a launcher frame defining a channel therethrough. The elastic member is retained so as to span the frontal portion of the channel. A launcher handle includes an upper portion having a notch and a forwardly extending tine configured to be received within the channel and to engage the spanning portion of elastic member. The launcher handle and glider are drawn apart to store energy in the elastic member which upon release of the glider launches the glider into flight carrying the launcher assembly therewith.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2000
    Assignee: Mattel, Inc.
    Inventor: Mark J. Barthold
  • Patent number: 6071169
    Abstract: A doll includes a sound and movement unit within the torso thereof operative to simultaneously raise and lower the doll's head to mimic a hiccupping motion. A sound circuit within the sound and movement unit is operative to provide accompanying hiccup sounds. The movement and sound unit includes an inertia switch and a mouth switch both of which cooperate to allow the user to attempt appropriate action to terminate the doll's hiccupping.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2000
    Assignee: Mattel, Inc.
    Inventor: Robynn M. Cook
  • Patent number: 6065969
    Abstract: A computer game for designing and printing nail coverings includes a set of stored software instructions receivable within the processor unit of the computer to control operation of a color printer and a series of displayed images upon the monitor display screen. The user is able to call up an image of a hand which may be personalized to a skin tone matching the user's skin tone or may be colored dramatically different. The user is able to select from various icons displayed on the monitor display screen which may then be applied to each nail of the hand image. In addition, a series of photos provided by a digital camera input to the processor unit may be selected and sized to fit within a reference photo frame for use in printing the photo image upon selected nails. Once the color printer has processed the blank laminated sheet, a plurality of nail covers which are formed of the peel and stick self-adhesive structure of the blank sheet are printed upon each nail cover.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2000
    Assignee: Mattel, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew Rifkin, Jesyca C. Durchan, Chaun Ralls
  • Patent number: 6062941
    Abstract: A hand held doll includes a body supported by a pair of legs and having a pair of arms and a head. One of the arms is pivotally supported upon the torso portion of the body and holds a simulated whip formed of a flexible cord and end weight. The drive mechanism within the body interior includes a movable panel which is pressed inwardly when the body is squeezed and a return spring which restores the panel position when the torso is released. A gear drive mechanism operatively couples the pivotally moving panel and an arm gear such that panel movement during successive squeezes and releases of the doll torso causes the whip holding arm to be rapidly raised and lowered to "crack" the whip. A flexible reed within the doll interior is caused to make clicking sounds as the panels moves in and out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2000
    Assignee: Mattel, Inc.
    Inventor: Robynn M. Cook
  • Patent number: 6056623
    Abstract: A toy playset is fabricated of a tent like fabric cover to represent a fanciful depiction of an anthill. The tent-like cover is formed about a frontal opening which facilitates viewing of the enclosure interior. A base secured to the tent-like enclosure further supports a vertically extending trunk which in turn supports the upper portion of the tent-like structure together with a platform. The platform further supports a table in a manner facilitating raising or lowering the table. A plurality of projectile launchers are supported by the table. A spring loaded catapult launcher is positioned upon the outer portion of the base and a ball guiding member extends downwardly from an aperture formed in the table to provide a ball rolling path which deposits a ball into the catapult causing a launch of the ball. Additional projectile launchers are provided on the supporting base. The fabric utilized on the tent-like structure is preferably translucent or otherwise light transmissive in character.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2000
    Assignee: Mettel, Inc.
    Inventor: Martin F. Arriola