SPILL GUARD FOR DISHWARE
A spill guard which is attached to standard dishware at mealtime. This spill guard has a crescent shape and includes a crescent shaped support flange designed to house the rim of standard dishware, such as plates or bowls, of a variety of widths and circumferences. This spill guard is capable of preventing food from falling off the edge of said dishware. This spill guard is capable to deflecting food that is pushed upon it and then guiding the food onto the user's utensil. This spill guard can be detached from standard dishware for the purpose of cleaning and storage.
This invention relates to a spill guard or spill barrier and to a spill guard or spill barrier that can attach to standard dishware for the dual purpose of assisting a person in loading food onto a utensil and to prevent food from spilling off of dishware.
B. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThere is a significant part of the population that has a problem feeding themselves. Specifically these individuals have great difficulty loading, also referred to as scooping, food onto a utensil. In many instances, the food is pushed with a utensil and then spills off the edge of the dish. This inability to load food onto a utensil successfully without spilling can be frustrating, embarrassing and humiliating to those affected. A person who is unable to consistently load a utensil and feed himself or herself without spillage or waste may require a caregiver to assist with the daily eating process, thereby losing the feeling of independence. In some extreme cases, especially in the elderly, the inability to load or scoop food successfully can contribute to malnutrition.
A significant percentage of individuals affected are adults and elderly adults who have physical, cognitive, neurological or medical conditions that inhibit their ability to successfully scoop food onto a utensil without spilling. These conditions may include a decrease or loss of vision, loss of use to one upper extremity, decreased muscle strength, generalized weakness, decreased coordination, and bed confinement.
Other groups of individuals who are unable to successfully load food onto a utensil without spilling may include children, adolescents, and adults with compromised motor and or cognitive conditions. Specific disorders affecting all age groups may include strokes, blindness, arthritis, Parkinson's Disease, Autism, Downs Syndrome, and Multiple Sclerosis. Toddlers represent another large group whose early motor and coordination development make it difficult for them to scoop food onto a utensil without spilling. Perfectly healthy children, adolescents, and adults may also spill simply because they are messy eaters.
Thus, a particular need exists for those requiring a functional and convenient device to help a segment of the population to successfully load food onto a utensil, eliminate spillage, and maintain independence. This invention provides toddlers, children, adults and the elderly with an invention that solves these unmet needs.
C. PRIOR ARTThe problem of spilling or loading food onto a utensil is not new, and various approaches have been proposed in the past. For example several inventions have been designed solely to address the problem of spilling food from a dish. Several disclose the use of securing dishware directly onto a solid surface with the use of hardware and/or clamps. See U.S. Pat. No. 2,850,079 to Prushnok et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,908,066 to Therese A. Taylor, George Spector, U.S. Pat. No. 2,430,783 to George Rodinger, U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,800 to Kelvin N. Triplett and U.S. Pat. No. 2,550,989 to French et al. Although these examples of prior art prevent a dish from tipping and therefore spilling food content, they do not address the problem of loading food onto a utensil or spilling due to a utensil pushing food over the edge of a dish. These examples of prior art also must be used in conjunction with specific dishware sizes, and are not interchangeable with standard dishware found in retail stores.
The following examples propose the use of unsecured dishware to prevent spilling. U.S. Pat. No. 6,581,210 to John Kaloustian (2003) proposes a bib and dish combination that directs food spilled during hand to mouth movement to be redirected back to a dish. U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,824 to Mark E. Barrow (2000) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,103 to Alexia Abernathy, Keith D. Patterson (1994) both describe a bowl used to prevent liquid from spilling when the said bowl is bumped or displaced. U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,375 to Giselle F. Nagy (2003) proposes a low profile dish using a bottom adhesive to prevent tipping and spillage. Again none of these references specifically address the problem of loading food onto a utensil or spilling due to a utensil pushing food over the edge of a dish. In all of these examples the dishware must be used to prevent spilling. These references do not use a device that is attachable to or used in conjunction with standard dishware found in retail stores.
Several patented devices have been proposed to solely address the problem of loading food onto a utensil. U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,868 to Patrick Stapleton, Hubbard P. Browne, Dallas D. Weatherholt, U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,213 to William H. Morewood, U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,857 to Frank D. Layman, Sr., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,592,315 to William Joseph Osborne, Jr. (2003) all propose complicated feeding apparatus for invalids involving devices to load food onto a utensil. These examples are targeted towards invalids who have no use of both upper extremities. U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,744 to Alex H. Weinstein describes a self-leveling utensil to assist a toddler or disabled person to hold said utensil but it does not address assisting in loading food.
ADVANTAGES OF EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTIONFrom the description below, a number of advantages of this embodiment of the invention become evident:
(a) The crescent shape of the preferred embodiment compliments the annular shape of standard dishware.
(b) The unique concave design of the crescent support wall deflects and guides food onto a utensil.
(c) The groove provides a secure housing cavity that accommodates a variety of standard dishware in a range of thicknesses and diameters.
(d) The tapered arms provide an unobstructed area for the user to view his or her food as well as allow ample room for the users hand and utensil.
(e) The invention can be attached to a variety of standard dishware.
(f) The invention is easily detachable for cleansing or storage.
(g) The invention is dishwasher safe at high temperatures and is microwave safe as well.
(h) The invention is light and easily portable.
(i) The invention is robust, and holds up under stretching and vigorous manipulation.
Accordingly, the invention described herein can be of great benefit to those with feeding impairments. The proposed invention is versatile, and can accommodate a variety of standard dishware whether the user is at home, in a restaurant, or residing in an institution. The proposed invention will preferably be made of durable material to withstand multiple daily uses as well as tolerate chemicals and hot water temperatures necessary to ensure proper sanitation. Most important, this invention will provide a functional tool to prevent food from spilling, and assist the user in successfully scooping food independently during meals.
Although the description below contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein. For example, the spill guard can have other shapes, such as annular, oblong, etc.; the invention can be made in different sizes to accommodate a wider range of plate circumferences; can be made of a variety of materials such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate, synthetic plastic combinations, metal compositions, etc. The support flange may take a variety of shapes, such as perpendicular, textured, untapered, etc. The securing mechanism may be designed with an angular groove having different dimensions or shapes, a groove with textures or striations, securing mechanism comprised of clips or clamps, or comprise more than one interlocking parts which come together to engage the dish, etc.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the abstract below is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt has been recognized that it would be advantageous to develop a device that can attach to a variety of standard dishware for the dual purpose of providing a spill guard or spill barrier that prevents food from falling and also assists a person in loading food onto a utensil.
In accordance with one embodiment, the subject invention provides a novel and versatile device that can attach to the perimeter of a variety of standard dishes and effectively act as a spill guard or spill barrier to prevent solid and semi-solid food from falling.
Accordingly, it is an object of the subject invention in accordance with one embodiment to act as a spill guard or spill barrier to deflect solid and semi-solid food that is pushed against said invention and then guide the food onto a utensil.
It is an object of the subject invention in accordance with one embodiment to provide a spill guard or spill barrier that can attach onto a variety of standard eating dishware, meaning plate or bowl.
It is another object of the subject invention in accordance with one embodiment to provide a guard or barrier that can be detached from standard eating dishware, meaning plate or bowl, for cleaning and storage purposes.
It is another object of the subject invention in accordance with one embodiment to comprise an improved fastening means for attaching the subject invention onto a range of dishware having varying degrees of thickness and circumferences.
Yet another object of the subject invention in accordance with one embodiment is the device is aesthetically pleasing in design, functionally contoured, and rugged in construction.
It is another object of the invention in accordance with one embodiment to provide a device susceptible to mass production, as by an injection molding process from a cost effective, synthetic plastic material.
It is another object of the invention in accordance with one embodiment to provide a material that is microwave safe.
It is another object of the invention in accordance with one embodiment to use a material that tolerates and complies with hot water temperatures used in sinks and dishwashers in the home, restaurant and institutionalized settings.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION Preferred EmbodimentReference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and additional applications of the principles of the inventions as illustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the invention.
The present invention, which is to be described in detail using the accompanying drawings, refers to a spill guard that can be attached to a variety of standard dishware, such as plates and bowls. This spill guard in discussion is used to prevent food from falling off the edge of dishware during eating. Furthermore, food that is pushed against the spill guard with a utensil, such as a fork or spoon, can be deflected back onto the utensil to assist in loading or scooping food. The spill guard in the present invention is intended to be constructed of a synthetic plastic material, polypropylene. However, the food guard of this invention could also be constructed of any other synthetic plastic material, a variety of metal compositions, or wood.
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Claims
1. A generally crescent shaped dishware accessory comprising:
- a. an interior side, wherein at least a portion of the interior side has a generally concave shape;
- b. an exterior side;
- c. a top edge and a bottom edge; and
- d. a groove located along at least a portion of the length of the interior side.
2. The dishware accessory of claim 1, wherein the groove is located nearer the bottom edge than the top edge.
3. The dishware accessory of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the interior and exterior sides are tapered.
4. The dishware accessory of claim 1, wherein the groove is of a size and shape capable of securing a standard size plate.
5. The dishware accessory of claim 1, wherein the dishware accessory is made of a flexible material.
6. The dishware accessory of claim 5, wherein the flexible material is plastic.
7. The dishware accessory of claim 5, wherein the flexible material is rubber.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 10, 2008
Publication Date: Jul 16, 2009
Inventors: Michele G. Wong (Danville, CA), Paige J. Akabane (Danville, CA)
Application Number: 11/972,471
International Classification: B65D 25/00 (20060101);