US3472435A - Adjustable mannequin - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 14, 1969 B. G. MAzE ADJUSTABLE MANNEQUIN Filed Feb. 13. '1967 2 Sheets-Sh Maz@ INVENTOR i HH 56H5( BY .lw V. .wm l Lul. ...FL .-4 rlram llll nl v u l v I n l l l l l l l U l r l 1 l I I t 1 v l l l v l l u 1 v l l I l n n I v f I L l v I A v y l l l u u l Il iUnited States Patent 3,472,435 ADJUSTABLE MANNEQUIN Betty G. Maze, 11806 A St., Tacoma, Wash. 98444 Filed Feb. 13, 1967, Ser. No. 615,617 Int. Cl. A41h 5/00 U.S. Cl. 223-68 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An adjustable mannequin comprises a at or full bodied piece of foamed plastic contoured in body form and reinforced with ilexible wire mesh, for example chicken wire mesh. The body members are reinforced longitudinally with lengths of flexible pipe which may be rendered selectively more flexible in the areas of the joints. 'Ihe mannequin body may be divided transversely into sections, for example bust, hip, leg and arm sections, for useindividually, or assembled in complete body form. These may be adjusted and mounted in a wide variety of engaging poses.

This invention relates to mannequins having flexible bodies which may be arranged and re-arranged into desired postures.

Although many types of mannequins are known to the prior art, none is available which possesses in substantial measure all of the following desirable attributes:

(l) Adjustable into various action positions.

(2) Dis-assemblable into transverse sections useful per se or in assembled form as a full form mannequin.

(3) Universally mountable on standards, hooks, racks, or free standing.

(4) Possessing joints of selectively increased llexibility.

() Light in weight and life like in appearance.

(6) Inexpensive, easily manufactured and used, light in weight, and of tough, durable construction.

It is the general object of the present invention to provide an adjustable mannequin possessing in substantial measure all of the foregoing features.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view in front elevation of the presently described mannequin in a rst embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragment of the structural material used in the construction of the mannequin, with the surface peeled away to show the interior construction;

FIG. 4 is a -fragmentary view in elevation of flexible pipe which may be employed as a stiffening member for the mannequin;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5--5 in FIG. 4;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are views in front and side elevation respectively of the mannequin of the invention in a sec ond embodiment; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view illustrating details of the construction of the mannequin of FIGS. 6 and 7.

In the FIGS. 1-5 or full-bodied form of the invention, the mannequin is indicated generally at 10. It may be contoured in a suitable form and fabricated, as shown particularly in FIGS. 2 and 3, of a contoured sheet 12 of foamed plastic, such as foamed polyurethane or other suitable structural material.

The foamed plastic sheet is reinforced with wire mesh 14 which preferably comprises chicken wire mesh having a mesh size of about 1 inch. These structural components may be assembled by sandwiching the wire mesh between two layers of foamed sheet plastic and then gluing the laminae together. Preferably, however, they are formed as an integrated unit by molding the plastic around the wire mesh.

3,472,435 Patented Oct. 14, 1969 ICC The mannequin body may be formed with openings 16 arranged longitudinally of the various body members. These are designed to receive flexible stitfening and support elements which serve the function of holding the body erect while at the same time permitting the adjustment of the various body parts into deired postures.

Thus there are provided a pair of spaced, parallel, principal support members 18 extending the length of the torso and into the legs. The bottom segments of these members may be lled with lead 20 or other heavy material to make the mannequin free standing when this is desired.

In addition, there may be a short support 22 located in the neck and head area; support members 24 of smaller diameter extending through the shoulders and arms; and support members 26 of still smaller diameter positioned in the lingers so that the latter may be flexed naturally into gripping engagement with a fence rail, an article of sporting equipment, or other accessory with which the mannequin may be used.

The support members preferably are comprised of lengths of iiexible metal pipe or tubing, Flexpipe This is a commercial material, the construction of which is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. It consists of a plurality of annular segments 28 linked flexibly to each other through overlapped crimped linking extensions 30. Although flexible, the pipe retains its position of flexed adjustment until readjusted to a new position.

Further to augment the adjustability of the flexible pipe, at spaced intervals corresponding to the joints of the mannequin, adjacent annular segments of the pipe may be soldered, welded or fused together, as shown in FIG. 4 to form stiff unions 32. The inherent nature of the Flexpipe is such that if it is twisted slightly beyond its normal limits in the region between unions 32, the linking elements are stretched and separated slightly so that the area between the fused segments is rendered selectively more flexible. This technique may be applied to considerable advantage in the joint areas of the mannequin, for example, in the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrist, knee, ankle and torso joints.

'I'he mannequin thus described may be manufactured easily in a two-piece mold, in the cavity of which is placed wire mesh 14.The flexible pipe reinforcing elements or, in the alternative, wooden blanks to be removed later and replaced with the exible pipe reinforcing elements, may be placed in position, in the form. The foamy plastic in liquid, uncured condition then may be poured into the mold and permitted to set. Thereafter the mannequin may be removed from the mold in finished form.

The FIGS. 6-8 form of the invention comprises a planar mannequin which is divisible laterally into segmens useful per se or in totally assembled condition.

Thus the mannequin in its entirety, illustrated generally by the numeral 40, may be composed of bust segment 42, arm segments 44, hip segment 46 and leg segments 48. These are comprised of suitably contoured sheets of foamed plastic similar in their construction to the sheets employed in the previously described embodiment and comprising foamed plastic 50 centrally reinforced by chicken wire or other wire mesh 52, these components being laminated and glued together or, preferably, cast into a unitary sheet product.

Means are provided for releasably interengaging the parts of the mannequin.

In the illustrated form of the invention, such means comprise tongue and groove friction joints the construction of which is particularly apparent in FIG. 8.

To accommodate the joints, the meeting ends of adjajent body segments are provided with extensions 54 which may be placed in lapped relation. Adherently united to these extensions are reversely formed pieces 56 of plastic or other stiff structural material. These are shaped and adjusted so that by sliding one longitudinally relative to the other, they may be placed in frictional engagement with each other, in a double tongue and groove joint arrangement. A stop, not illustrated, may be provided at the end of one or both of the connectors to assist in aligning the body parts accurately.

The mannequin of FIGS. 6-8 may be disassembled and the various parts used separately, for example, as a blouse board, a skirt board, a combined blouse and skirt board, a slack board, a combined skirt and slack board, etc. However, when desired, the component parts may be reassembled to form the full mannequin. In addition, the mannequin of FIGS. 6-8, as well as that of FIGS. 1-5, may be exed and re-flexed into desired position, and variously mounted, to rneet the requirements of various displays.

It accordingly will be seen that there is provided an apparatus which the several objects of this invention are achieved and which is well adapted for the conditions of practical use.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An adjustable mannequin comprising a flexible piece of foamed plastic contoured in body form and reinforced internally with tlexible wire mesh, the mesh being substantially coextensive in area `with the area of the foamed plastic piece, the body being divided transversely into sections and including releasable interengaging means for releasably interengaging the sections to each other, the releasable interengaging means comprising tongue and groove friction joints comprising pairs of reversely formed pieces of structural material secured to the foamed plastic and dimensioned to interengage each other in friction-joint forming relation.

2. An adjustable mannequin comprising a flexible piece of foamed plastic contoured in body form and reinforced internally with exible wire mesh, the mesh being substantially coextensive in area with the area of the foamed plastic piece, and flexible pipe embedded in the foamed plastic and extending longitudinally of selected body parts which include joint areas, the flexible pipe comprising 'a plurality of annular segments linked flexibly to each other through overlapped and bent linking extensions, spaced pairs of adjacent links being fused together, with unfused links interposed between them and defining a body joint section of the pipe, the unfused links between the spaced pairs of fused links being selectively more flexible than the balance of the pipe to provide a body joint.

3. The adjustable mannequin of claim 2 wherein exible pipe extends upwardly through each leg into the chest area of the body form, with body joint sections of the pipe being located at corresponding body joint areas of the body form, and flexible pipe extends through each arm into the shoulder area of the body form, with body joint sections of the pipe being located at corresponding body joint areas of the body form.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 593,592 11/1897 Lyons 223-68 1,147,427 7/1915 Penny 223-68 1,441,926 1/ 1923 Harris 223-68 2,059,338 11/1936 Goodsill 223-68 2,458,917 1/1949 Prisco 223-68 2,533,906 12/1950 Akers 223-68 2,331,410 10/1943 Matthews et al. 161-53 X 3,298,884 1/1967 Willy 156-79 3,310,300 3/1967 Lawson 267-111 3,357,610 12/1967 Quinby 223-68 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner U.S. C1. X.R. 161-95, 114

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