Abstract: An ornamental figure construction kit of parts comprising a plurality of elongated structures having a plurality of article stop restraints, at least one locking structure, and at least one lock engagement and a plurality of construction article stops mountable adjacent the article stop restraints on the elongated structures. In one version, plastic rods with a plurality of spherical enlargements at intervals along the rod are terminated in a plate having an aperture for passing other rods through it. Plastic discs, when mounted on the rods, can be used to position construction articles such as clay pots or aid in locking two rods together. Typically, the ornamental figures are used in lawns or gardens.

Abstract: An apparatus comprises a body having a torus skin with inner and outer layers, and a drive system configured to propel the apparatus by moving the inner layer relative to the outer layer. The active skin propulsion system allows movement and steering of a device. A drive system includes a plurality of drive segments coupled together so that the skin engaging unit of the drive segment frictionally moves the inner layer of the torus skin relative to the outer layer of the torus skin. As a result of the relative skin motion and contact with the surface by the outer layer of the torus skin, the body is propelled and may be steered.

Abstract: An apparatus comprises a body having a torus skin with inner and outer layers, and a drive system configured to propel the apparatus by moving the inner layer relative to the outer layer. The active skin propulsion system allows movement and steering of a device. A drive system includes a plurality of drive segments coupled together so that the skin engaging unit of the drive segment frictionally moves the inner layer of the torus skin relative to the outer layer of the torus skin. As a result of the relative skin motion and contact with the surface by the outer layer of the torus skin, the body is propelled and may be steered.

Abstract: A toy building set comprising at least one toy building element with a body part provided with coupling for interconnecting with other toy building elements, and a vehicle with a body that is provided with coupling for interconnecting with other toy building elements. The vehicle is provided with at least one wheel that is journalled on a shaft and that extends downwards from the vehicle body for abutment on a drive face. The wheel or wheels have a rolling face with varying distances from the shaft on which it is journalled such that a waving movement of the vehicle is obtained when it travels across a plane drive face.

Abstract: A toy body formed to generally fanciful creature includes a tail portion and a head portion. A cockpit suitable for receiving and retaining a plush toy figure is positioned between the head and tail. A conventional sound circuit is supported within the interior of the head portion while a rotatable string reel is supported within the interior of the tail section. The reel supports a length of flexible string which includes an outer end secured to a toy life saver. A pocket within the body is provided for storing the toy life saver. The four supporting wheels of the push-pull toys body are supported upon respective axels in an offset or eccentric attachment. In addition, the front two wheel each include an offset cam and cam follower which cooperate and pivot an upwardly extending arm. The upwardly extending arm provides pivotal coupling to the forwardly extending arms and imparts pivotal motion thereto.

Abstract: A toy includes a first pivot joint, a second pivot joint, a first shaft held by the first pivot joint such that the first shaft can pivot in any direction, a second shaft held in the second pivot joint such that the second shaft can pivot in any direction, and a coupling between the first shaft and the second shaft configured such that motion applied to one shaft produces a mirrored motion in the other shaft. The toy may be configured to have the appearance of a dinosaur such as triceratops.

Abstract: In its preferred embodiment, the sinuous toy is a mechanical snake with a plurality of body elements. The body elements are each pivoted with respect to each adjacent body element on a vertical axis. Each body element has a large circular opening therethrough. The body elements are configured to be more narrow laterally away from the pivot axis so that the body elements can swing with respect to each other to represent sinuous snake motion. A helical actuator coil extends through the interior opening of the plurality of body elements. The outside swept diameter of the helical coil actuator is slightly larger than the interior openings through the body elements so that the body elements rise and fall in a direction generally parallel to the pivot axes between the body elements. Means is provided to supply tension between the head and tail of the sinuous toy so that the body elements are thrust sideways to have twice as much sideways motion as the interior diameter of the body elements.

Abstract: An articulated spring toy comprising fore and aft body sections connected together by a helical spring. The spring is fastened at opposite ends to the body sections in a manner that conceals the spring ends and provides a permanent connection that resists disconnection in normal usage. Other desirable structural features are also disclosed.

Abstract: An activity toy and walker device for prompting and promoting interactive play, motor skill development and intellectual development of a child. A frame having a first portion and a second portion is deployable between a substantially collapsed orientation and a substantially upright orientation. Both of the first and second portions include a top end region and a bottom end region. When the frame is in its substantially collapsed orientation, the top end region of the second portion will be positioned proximate to the bottom end region of the first portion. When the frame is in its substantially upright orientation, the top end region of both of the first and second portions will be positioned proximate to each other. The device further includes an activity toy releasably attached to either the first or second portion of the frame for enabling use of same with the walker, or, alternatively separate and apart from the walker.

Abstract: An animal-like-toy driving structure, which includes an animal-like skin and a supporting casing to be mounted in the animal-like skin; two displacing plates on both sides of the supporting casing are inserted in the feet of the animal-like toy respectively; the front end of the supporting casing is movably connected with a rotary mechanism casing, of which the front end is mounted around with a ring-shaped belt that has two symmetrical swinging arms to be inserted into the front feet of the animal-like toy respectively; two bias wheels on both sides of the rotary mechanism casing have two cam studs respectively to be aligned on one center line; when a transmission structure inside the rotary mechanism casing is turning, the rotary mechanism casing will turn, and cause the ring-shaped belt to swing and move forward and the whole animal-like toy will wriggle and move forward.

Abstract: An animated wind up toy, that is safe, durable, lightweight, compact and includes a wind up motor that drives a cam actuated mechanism that causes the toy to move. The wind up toy has an outward contour and coloring that resembles a food item, such as a milk shake, fries or hamburger.

Abstract: A doll (10) that dances by reciprocating a hip portion (20) and that simultaneously moves along a surface (S) in a generally curving path. The doll has a base (40) with a drive wheel assembly (70) and a crank (55) that reciprocates the hip portion (20). Preferably, the doll (10) also has sound emitting means (110).

Abstract: A hula dancing doll which alternately moves its hips left and right while making a forward or turning motion on a performance stage and a Hawaiian melody is heard to give a lifelikeness that compares with a real hula dancer. The doll includes a body portion, a hip portion, and a base portion. The body portion resembles the head through waist of a human; the hip portion resembles the hip portion of a human. The body portion includes a conical housing with a base, a switch, a battery, a motor, a melody I. C., a speaker, a drive gear, a cam, a push rod, a rack gear, a hip gear, a drive wheel gear, two front wheels connected to an axle, two rear wheels connected to an axle, a shaft is connected at one end to the drive wheel gear and at the other end to a turning drive wheel. When the switch is turned on, the drive gear will turn the cam and drive wheel gear. The cam will move upward the push rod and the rack gear to turn the hip gear.

Abstract: An ambulatory animal toy has a skeleton which includes a substantially horizontal torso. The torso has forward and rear ends defining forward and rear directions. Mutually spaced apart front and hind legs are attached to the torso. Feet are attached to the legs, and the feet have friction pads or rubber soles. The torso is caused to bend substantially horizontally while it is prevented from bending substantially vertically when the skeleton is pulled. The torso is inherently resilient in the horizontal direction and inherently inflexible in the vertical direction. At least the hind legs are pivotally attached to the torso and are allowed to rotate about a substantially horizontal axis.

Abstract: An amusement device consisting of a base frame having a first and second end. A pair of ratchet wheel assemblies mounted to an supporting the second end of the base frame. A motor is mounted within the base frame. A cam is rotatably driven by the motor. A yoke assembly having a first and second end in which the second end of the yoke assembly is oscillatorially activated by the cam to cause the first end of the yoke assembly to oscillate relative to the first end of the base frame. A pair of ratchet wheel assemblies are mounted at the first end of the yoke assembly such that when the first end of the yoke assembly oscillates, the ratchet wheels rotate.

Abstract: A fish shaped amusement device that is substantially hollow, includes within the hollow area a sound activated switch, a motor with a self-contained power source and a slightly bent shaft rotatably connected to the motor. A plurality of disc-shaped plates are eccentrically mounted upon the shaft. The shaft and the eccentrically mounted discs, which project into the cavity of the fish along its longitudinal axis and terminate within the portion of the cavity defined by the fish's tail section, engage the inner wall defining the hollow area to impart lifelike movement to the fish.

Abstract: A toy is constructed to include two unique linkages with the first linkage including a series of links located in a sequential array with each link pivotally connected to its next immediate adjacent neighbor and every other link operatively connected such that each link can pivot with respect to its neighbor and motion of a link pivotally connected to one side of a link is communicated to the link pivotally connected to the other side of that same link. This allows the linkage to propagate motion along the totality of the sequence in response to movement of any one link. The second linkage includes a first member which is pivotally connected to a rotating crank pin and connected at its upper end to a second lever which is pivotally connected to a body on which the crank pin rotates.

Abstract: A running toy includes a rotatable drum, a drive shaft rotatable through a reverse mechanism by a driver assembly housed in the rotatable drum and having an end projecting out of the rotatable drum and supporting a drive gear on the projecting end, a support by which the axially opposite ends of the rotatable drum are rotatably supported and substantially covering the axially opposite ends of the drum, a guide gear fixed to the support and held in mesh with the drive gear for guiding the drive gear to revolve around the guide gear to rotate the rotatable drum in response to rotation of the drive gear, a shell assembly openably covering the cylindrical body of the rotatable drum and having one end pivotally attached to the support and an opposite end movable toward and away from the support, and a mechanism for moving the shell assembly in response to rotation of the rotatable drum.

Abstract: A battery motor driven toy has articulated front and rear sections that are extended and contracted about a horizontal pivot in a scissor-like action. Each of the sections carries a surface engaging wheel mounted for rotation only in the forward direction. A biasing force pulls the sections together while the motor drives the sections apart against the biasing force through a gear train that includes gear segments on each section. When the front section is driven, the rear section remains stationary but is pulled forward by the biasing force at the end of the drive cycle while the front remains stationary. Placement of the motor and other weight over the rear wheels results in the vehicle doing a "wheelie" when forward movement of the rear wheels is obstructed so that the front section rises up above the play surface while continuing to extend and retract in a snapping-like action. A counterweighted sound device is mounted under the rear section so that it is activated when the vehicle does a "wheelie".

Abstract: 3-Nitro-2-substituted aminopyrroles are histamine H.sub.2 -receptor antagonists. The 2-position substituent is a fully-unsaturated heterocyclyl alkyl group preferably with with alkyl group interrupted by sulfur or oxygen. The 4- and 5-positions of the pyrrole ring can also be substituted.