WO2003022111A1

WO2003022111A1 - Manually adjustable cutlery for right or left handed children

Info

Publication number: WO2003022111A1
Application number: PCT/EP2001/010559
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ibrahim Bora
Original assignee: Enpros International B.V.
Priority date: 2001-09-11
Filing date: 2001-09-11
Publication date: 2003-03-20

Abstract

The present invention comprises a fork (2) or spoon (9) of a moldable material such as plastic, that has an implanted piece (3) of soft bendable material between the handle portion (1) and the eating portion of the fork or spoon. This piece of bendable material enables the eating portion of the fork or spoon to be bent in a for a child convenient way, to ease eating from a plate or bowl. The eating part of the fork or spoon can be bent in any position relative to the handle part, while it remains in that position until a relative large force is used between the eating part and the handle to bring the eating part into another position relative to the handle. In general only the parents will be able to exert the required force, to adjust the cutlery to the required shape. The bendable portion of the cutlery is covered by a soft flexible resilient material (4) in such a way that the implanted piece of material cannot be seen from the outside and forms a smooth transition between the handle and eating portion of the cutlery. When the child gets more experienced in eating with a fork or spoon, the cutlery can be bent back into a more straight line as is the case with the cutlery for the grown-up person.

Description

MANUALLY ADJUSTABLE CUTLERY FOR RIGHT OR LEFT HANDED CHILDREN

Int. Cl A47J 43/28; B25G 1/00 U.S. Cl 30/150, 30/343, 30/324, 30/326, 30/295

Field of search 30/324, 340, 343, 30/329, 162, 125; D7/141, 150, 137

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED DOCUMENTS

Referenced US Patent documents:

US 5,890,223 4/6/1999 Klemmer 30/150

US 4,563,816 1/14/1986 Jagger 30/343

US 6,134,790 10/24/2000 Watson 30/326

US 5,479,708 1/2/1996 Thomas 30/122

US 5,373,643 12/20/1994 Warren 30/322

Design Patents:

US-Des. 423,887 5/2/2000 Wills D7/663

US-Des. 414,988 10/12/1999 Santini D 414,988

US-Des. 363,651 10/31/1995 Harrison D 363,651

FEELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to cutlery for little children and toddlers at the age of learning to eat with fork and spoon, whereby curved cutlery could be helpful in bringing food from a plate or bowl to their mouth.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

While growing-up from childhood to maturity many things need to be learned, among which handling cutlery for feeding themselves without the aid of their parents. The normal cutlery as used by adults, with a handle and an inline eating part, is for children in this stage of development, difficult to handle, as they have not yet developed the proper control over this peace of eating tool. For these little children it appears to be helpful if the eating part of the cutlery is bent inwardly towards the mouth, relative to the handle when gripped by the left or right hand of the child. The bending angle may differ from child to child or for that matter from age to age. Also for left or right handed children the angle of curvature obviously is different either to the left or to the right, looking in the plane at which the cutlery is used in order to hold food on the eating portion of the cutlery. From literature and earlier patent applications many inventors have already recognized the need for adjusted cutlery for growing-up children each providing a different solution to the described problem and which are discussed in the prior art below.

In US patent description 4,563,816, Jagger discloses cutlery which is pre-bent in various shapes that should enable young children to grasp spoon or fork in a better way to ease eating, requiring less muscular control of the child. Although it is foreseen that the operative portion of the spoon or fork is turned inwardly, no change of the bending angle can be made afterwards by the parents themselves and therefore the cutlery can not be adjusted to the specific needs of the young or disabled child.

Klemmer discloses a solution (US patent 5,890,223) whereby a fixed curved handle or handles can hold various implants for eating. As described, the angle between the handle and operative eating part may be in the range of typically 15° to 50°. Klemmer, however, overcomes the problem of a specific need by providing a set of handles with different angles and which can hold various sets of implants as spoon and fork portions, each to the like of the young or impaired child. Also when the child becomes more profound in using the fork or spoon different handles and/ or implants are available until the child is adequately trained to handle the normal straight cutlery. The disadvantage of this solution is that a number of different handles with angles between 15° and 50° are required.

Watson discloses in US-patent description 6,134,790 a utensil kit for children that has a flexible handle with interchangeable mouth pieces for eating, tooth brushing, hair brushing or the like. The flexible portion, however, is not further described other than that it is meant for not harming the small child while using the utensil. Thomas discloses in his patent description US 5,479,708 a utensil holder for infants and toddlers, with a loop shaped handle that can be gripped in many positions, which is comfortable for the eating child, thereby providing a set of inserts, that fit within the handle to make it universal in its application. Although this utensil makes eating easier for the group of children at this stage of development, no adjustment is foreseen of having an angle between the operative eating part and the handle, in the vertical direction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a utensil that enables children to eat with fork and spoon in a more convenient way than a straight utensil as used by grown-ups, by adjusting the eating part of the utensil manually to a shape that fits the stage of development in which the child at that moment is. In general the utensil consists of three major parts being a handle and eating portion, each part normally cast or molded in plastic and an interconnection piece between the two made of a soft bendable material, such as a piece of metal. This interconnection is either cast in the handle and eating part during the molding process or brought together at a later stage of producing the utensil, eg by screwing or pressing the soft metal piece into a bore of the handle and eating part. Between the handle and eating part there is enough distance to allow the soft metal part to be bent over an angle between 0° an 90° in the horizontal plane wherein the food remains on the eating part, but at the same time, could also be bent in a vertical plane, in such away that the child finds it comfortable to eat with this utensil from a plate or bowl.-In order to enable this adjustment of the utensil to the required position, a force is exerted between the eating part and the handle, that will bent the piece of metal into the required position. This bending force can only be exerted by the parents or caretaker of the child, whereby the shape of the utensil remains, until again forcefully changed. Apart from using the utensil as a fork or spoon, the invention is also applicable to a toothbrush, a comb, hair brush and the like. For esthetic reasons, the soft bendable piece of material between handle and eating part is covered with a flexible resilient material smoothly shaped between the handle and eating portion of the utensil and forms therewith an integral part in such a way that the soft bendable piece of material remains completely covered. Depending on the applied manufacturing technique used to produce the utensil, this resilient cover part may be cast in a mold during a second stage of production or when an assembly technique is used by screwing the pieces together, a tube like construction is applied, that can be pushed over the soft bendable material part between the handle and the eating portion of the utensil. The thus described utensil, enables parents or caretakers to bent the cutlery into the required shape, that fits the specific requirements of the child at that stage of development. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the invention is to provide a utensil for young or disabled children, that ease the use of it in learning to use utensils themselves without the aid of their parents or caretakers in bringing their food from a plate or bowl to their mouth in a controlled manner. The utensil is normally manufactured in a straight shape, whereby the handle and eating portion is in a straight line, but allows to be bent into any position, that is convenient for the youngster or disabled child. The utensil can be produced as a fork, spoon, toothbrush, comb and the like as separate units, but also as implants with one handle and various eating or application parts together with a soft material part, covered with a soft flexible resilient material, that can be screwed together to form the required piece of utensil that is needed at a specific time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of the present invention in the shape of a fork, whereby initially the handle and eating portion is in a straight line with an interconnection (dashed) piece of material that is hidden by a soft flexible resilient cover piece

FIG. 2 is a top view of the present invention showing an extreme curvature of a fork whereby the eating part is bent over an angle of 90° relative to the centerline of the handle in the horizontal plane

FIG. 3 is a top view of a spoon, similar to FIG. 1 for the fork FIG. 4 is a top view of a spoon in its extreme position of curvature, similar to FIG. 2 of the fork

FIG. 5 is a general cross-section taken along the line A-A in FIG. 1

FIG. 6 is a cross-section taken along the line B-B in FIG. 1

FIG. 7 is a cross-section taken along the line C-C in FIG. 1

FIG. 8 is a cross-section taken along the line D-D in FIG. 3 FIG. 9 is a circular Cross-section of the metal insert relative to FIG. 6, whereby a rectangular shaped insert 3 is used.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERED EMBODYMENT OF THE INVENTION

FIG 1 and 2 shows the embodiment of a fork having a straight handle 1 and an operative eating part 2, which are interconnected by a straight piece of soft material 3, which material could be a piece of metal such as aluminum or copper with a rectangular or circular cross-section as shown in FIG 6 or 9 respectively, or any other shape.

The handle has in general an oval cross section of FIG. 5 at a arbitrarily location A-A that tapers down to a round cross-section of FIG. 6 at location B-B, in such away that the fork can be easily and firmly held in the hands of a small child. The operative portion has the general shape of a fork as in FIG. 1 or a spoon as in FIG. 3, that can hold food, and whereby the tines of the fork are blunt, in order not to impair the child while it is learning to eat. The soft metal insert 3 is either placed into the mold, when the handle and eating portion of the fork is molded in a plastic molding process or screwed into a bore of the handle and eating portion afterwards when the handle and eating portion is molded in an earlier stage of the molding process. In any case the metal insert shall be of adequate length to assure that both the handle and the eating portion is securely fixed together either by casting or screwing. The fixing of the two part of the fork shall be such that when a manual force is applied to the eating part and the handle, only the metal insert 3 will be bent but will remain securely fixed within the handle and eating part of the utensil. The cross-section of the metal insert is therefore substantially smaller than the cross section of the molded handle and eating part at the location of the joint, as shown in FIG 6, 7 and 9. On the other hand the metal insert should be strong enough to remain in the bent position when no further bending force is applied. In general only the parents or caretakers of the child, should be able to exert the required bending force while a small child does not have the power nor the control of bending the fork in the desired position. By doing so the parent should be able to bring the eating part relative to the handle in a position that makes a child, having less muscular control than the grown ups, be able to bring food from a plate or bowl to their mouth, without the aid of the parent or caretaker. The maximum amount of bending angle 5 between the center line 7 of the handle and 8 of the operative eating portion, in the horizontal plane could be as much as 90° as shown in FIG. 2 and 4, but could at the same time be bent in the vertical plane, not shown in the drawings.

For esthetic reasons, the insert 3 is covered with a flexible resilient material 4 of FIG. 1, that is either molded around the metal insert 3 in a second molding process or a piece of flexible tube that is assembled later on, by screwing the handle 1 and eating part 2 onto the insert 3, thereby forming an integral part with the handle 1 and the operative eating part 2. The construction allows the bending operation as described above to shape 6, providing a smooth integral surface between the two joining parts 1 and 2. By the thus described utensil in the shape of a fork, can be adjusted to any shape that is comfortable for the eating child. Other type of utensils are foreseen being a spoon as shown in FIG.3 and 4 or other useful tools such as a toothbrush, comb and the like, not shown in the drawings. In the latter cases the operative portion of the eating part 2 of the fork is replaced by a bowl 9 having a general cross-section of FIG. 8 at location D-D of FIG. 3 for forming a spoon or any other implants forming other type of utensils.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A manually adjustable utensil comprising: a) A handle, having a length with a variable cross-section over its length of the handle with dimensions that fits easily within a children's hand to enable them to hold firmly 5 b) A eating part, which may have the shape of a fork with tines, or a spoon with a bowl shape to hold liquid food c) An interconnecting piece of soft bendable material between the handle and the eating part, that enables altering the shape of the cutlery by manual force d) A cover piece for esthetic reasons that hide the interconnecting piece of item c) above, l o which is of a flexible resilient material which utensil can be bent in a shape that makes it easier for small children, toddlers, disabled or impaired children to eat from a plate or bowl by themselves without the aid of their parents or caretakers, whereby the eating part is bent inwardly towards the mouth when the handle is properly held in their hands, in such away that the food on the eating part 15 remains thereon when moving the food from the plate or bowl to their mouth.

2. The said handle a) and eating part b) of claim 1 made of a moldable material, such as plastic, hard rubber, formable metal etc.

3. The said interconnecting piece c) of claim 1 made of a material substantially softer and bendable than said handle and said eating part material

20 4. The said interconnecting piece c) of claim 1 having a round, rectangular or other shaped cross-section that is substantially smaller the cross-section of the handle or eating part at the location where these pieces join.

5. Said interconnecting piece of claim 1 being integrally cast with said handle and eating part, or mounted together whereby the interconnecting part holds a screw thread on both ends,

25 preferably on one end a left and on the other end a right turning screw thread, in such away that they can be threaded into their respective parts of the handle and eating part at the same time, or which interconnecting parts fits tightly into a bore within the respective ends of the handle and eating part.

6. Said utensil of claim 1 that can be used for other applications as well, such as a toothbrush, 30 comb or hair brash, whereby the eating part of said utensil is a t toothbrush, comb or hairbrush

7. Said cover d) of claim 1 is of a flexible resilient bendable material such as rubber or a soft plastic, that is cast around said interconnecting piece forming therewith and with said handle and said eating part an integral part, in such away that the utensil has an esthetic appearance, hiding said interconnecting piece of soft metal or other applied bendable material.

8. The utensil of claim 1 can be bent in such a way that it is suitable for left and right handed children, and in a shape that it fits the required need of the child