HAND GRASPING DOLL

1316230 Dolls MATTEL Inc 23 Dec 1971 [18 June 1971] 59862/71 Heading A6S A doll's hand has its fingers held by spring biass either in a hand open or a hand shut position, the fingers being shaped manually from one position to the other. A fleshcoloured flexible plastics shell 24, in the shape of a hand having a thumb 32 and four united fingers 30 connected by a palm portion 28 to a wrist 26, contains an over-centre spring lever mechanism. A frame 36 has a central leaf spring 44 biassed to engage the end 58 of a link 50 connected by prongs 60, 61 to a lever 40 having holes, &c 46, 62 engaged by the prongs and pivoted on a pin 42 to the frame. The lever 40, as shown, extends into the fingers 30 of the shell 24. As the fingers 30 are bent from the hand open position of Fig. 7 to the hand closed position, Fig. 8 (not shown), the spring 44 is deflected and then returns to the illustrated position, to hold the fingers in the closed position. Simultaneously, the link 50 is slidden forwardly by pivoting of the lever 40. A contact 56 at the rear end of the link 50 is accordingly momentarily engaged with, a contact 54 mounted in a plug 34 in the wrist, to complete a circuit to a lamp bulb (20), Fig. 2 (not shown), within the doll's head. The doll's eyes are thus lit up as the hand is closed. In a modified form, Figs. 11-14 (not shown), the link 50 and contacts 54, 56, &c are replaced by spring-biassed contacts (90, 92, &c) closed by squeezing the palm of the hand to illuminate the eyes.