Feeding Utensil

Abstract

Utensils including a cover for at least a portion of the working end of the utensil. The cover may be in the form of a “scoop” located at the rearward portion of the working end of a utensil so that a user, such as a child, may lift the utensil vertically and still avoid spilling a significant portion of the food. The utensil may include a handle having a handle portion thicker than a conventional child utensil handle. The handle may be curved for easier handling. The cover may include indicia such as a character appealing to a user, such as a cartoon, animated character, celebrity or the like.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/560,858 filed Nov. 17, 2011, incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to the field of utensils for feeding. More specifically, it relates to feeding spoons and forks, particularly those used for feeding infants, young children, disabled persons etc.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When infants and toddlers are attempting to learn how to use eating utensils it is common for them to wrap their entire hand around the handle of the utensil, scoop the utensil into the food, soup, etc., and lift the utensil vertical, so that it is perpendicular to the eating surface, spilling the food out of the utensil, resulting in frustration for the child and a mess for the parent.

Children and adults with disabilities which adversely affect the ability to manipulate utensils also have difficulty managing feeding from a conventional utensil and would benefit from a modified utensil.

Thus it would be desirable to provide a utensil that retains food even when the utensil is oriented in a manner which would result in the food being spilled from the utensil.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one embodiment a utensil is provided which includes a cover for at least a portion of the working end of the utensil. As defined herein the working end of a utensil is the end which is used to pick up and/or hold food, such as the bowl of a spoon or tines of a fork. The cover may be in the form of a “scoop” located at the rearward portion of the working end of a utensil so that a user, such as a child, may lift the utensil vertically and still avoid spilling a significant portion of the food.

In accordance with another embodiment, a utensil is provided having a cover for at least a portion of the working end of the utensil and a handle having a handle portion thicker than a conventional child utensil handle. The handle may be curved for easier handling.

Utensils in accordance with the disclosed subject matter be a spoon, fork, “spork” etc.

The cover may include indicia such as a character appealing to a user, such as a cartoon, animated character, celebrity or the like. In another embodiment, the working end of the utensil may have further indicia, in the bowl or tine portion for example, which is viewable when no food is on the part but is obstructed when food is on the part. As food is eaten and removed from the part, the indicia is revealed.

Advantages of the disclosed subject matter include building a child's confidence in feeding, lowering frustration levels for a child engaged in the task of eating, creating greater efficiency in feeding, increasing the amount of sustenance a user receives during an eating session, greater nutrition for the user, and less mess to clean. The inclusion of indicia aids in encouragement of a child to eat.

Given above is a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects described herein. This summary is not an extensive overview, and is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that those having ordinary skill in the art will have a better understanding of how to make and use the disclosed systems and methods, reference is made to the accompanying figure wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a utensil according to one embodiment of the disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 1A is a side perspective view of a utensil in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of a utensil in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. 1 taken along line A-A′;

FIG. 2 is a top view of a utensil according to one embodiment of the disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a working end of a fork-type utensil according to one embodiment of the disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a working end of a utensil according to one embodiment of the disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 5 is a top view of a working end of a utensil according to one embodiment of the disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 6 is a top view of a utensil according to one embodiment of the disclosed subject matter; and

FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view of a utensil in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. 6 taken along line B-B′.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following is a detailed description of the invention provided to aid those skilled in the art in practicing the present invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art may make modifications and variations in the embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. All publications, patent applications, patents, figures and other references mentioned herein are expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Now referring to FIG. 1, utensil 10 includes handle 20 a working end 30 and a cover 40. Utensil 10 may be a spoon, fork, spork, etc. Utensil 10 may be any suitable size for a given user. For example for infants and children under age six utensil 10 may be from about 3 to about 6 inches in length, while older children may require a longer utensil, such as one ranging from about 4 to about 7 inches. Adults may require larger sizes, ranging from about 6 to about 9 inches.

Handle 20 may be any suitable shape for gripping by a user. The handle 20 may have a thickness of about 0.5 to about 1 inch for children under age six, for easier gripping by an infant or toddlers, and larger or smaller for older children and adults. The handle may be about 2 to about 7 inches in length. For example for infants and children under age six handle 20 may be from about 2 to about 5 inches in length, while older children may require a longer handle, such as one ranging from about 3 to about 6 inches. Adults may require larger sizes, ranging from about 4 to about 8 inches.

Now further referring to FIGS. 2-4, the working end 30 may be a spoon bowl or fork comprising essentially tines, or a combination thereof, known conventionally as a spork. The bowl of a spoon may be from about 0.0125 to about 0.5 inches in depth.

Cover 40 is positioned adjacent the handle 20 and covers a portion of the working end 30 of the utensil. Cover 40 is operable to permit food being picked up by the working end 30. Many foods consumed by users of the utensil 10 are soft, such as strained vegetables, applesauce, etc., and/or small, such as carrots, peas, etc. Some portion of these foods when placed on the working end 30 will be retained by the cover 40 during manipulations of the utensil by the user, so that the food will still be on the utensil when it reaches the user's mouth.

Now referring to FIGS. 1-5, cover 40 has a leading edge 42 which extends from a working end edge 32. Leading edge 42 may have a top-view profile which curves inward toward the handle 20 (as shown in FIGS. 1-1B and 3), outward from the handle 20 (as shown in FIG. 2), or other (see FIGS. 4 and 5). The cover 40 may have a length of about 0.5 to about 1 inch measured from the center of the leading edge 32 to the base of the working end 30 proximal to the handle 20. The uncovered portion of the working end 30 may be about 0.5 to about 1 inch in length measured from the center of the leading edge 32 to the tip of the working end 30 distal from the handle 20.

Now referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, cover 40 may include one or more vents 50 which permit easier flow of food into the area of the utensil covered by the cover 40. Vents 50 also facilitate easy cleaning of the utensil 10.

Now referring to FIG. 5, cover 40 and/or working end 30 may further include indicia 60 designed to encourage eating. Indicia 60 may include characters, designs, etc. For example, indicia 60 may be a character likeness which may have a portion thereof located on the cover 40 and the remaining portion on the working end 30. The indicia 60 may be viewable on the working end 30 when no food is on the working end 30 but obstructed when food is on the working end 30. As food is eaten and removed from the working end 30, the indicia 60, in this example the remaining portion of the character likeness, is revealed so that the entire character likeness is viewable. In this way eating is a made into a fun activity.

With further reference to FIGS. 6 and 6A, the leading edge 42 may have a lip 44 extending therefrom and downward toward the bowl 30 to prevent spillage of food.

While the depicted embodiments show a cover 30 which is integral with the utensil 10, one skilled in the art will recognize a separate cover element 30 could be employed, such as by a snap-fit over a conventional utensil. Such an embodiment would include elements for engaging the edges of a working end of a utensil, such as one or more resilient tabs disposed along the edges of the cover element.

Non-limiting examples of dimensions of utensils in accordance with the present disclosure may include a whole spoon length of 6 inches, including the handle; a handle 4.5 inches in length; a length of 0.75 inches from the bowl end proximal the handle to the cover 40; a length of 0.75 inches for the cover 40 measured from the end of the handle 20 proximal the bowl 30 to the leading edge 42 of the cover; width of handle 0.75 inches at maximum width; width of handle 0.25 inches at portion of handle proximal the bowl 30; thickness (top to bottom) of the handle 0.75 inches at location of maximum thickness; thickness of handle (top to bottom) 0.25-0.5 inches at portion of handle proximal the bowl 30, and thickness gradually increases to maximum thickness along the length of the handle toward the end distal the bowl 30; length of bowl 1.5 inches; width of bowl 1.25 inches; maximum depth of bowl 0.75 inches.

Although the devices of the present disclosure have been described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, the present disclosure is not limited thereby. Indeed, the exemplary embodiments are implementations of the disclosed systems and methods are provided for illustrative and non-limitative purposes. Changes, modifications, enhancements and/or refinements to the disclosed systems and methods may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, such changes, modifications, enhancements and/or refinements are encompassed within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A utensil comprising a handle and a working end extending therefrom, and a cover disposed adjacent the handle and over a portion of the working end proximal the handle.

2. The utensil according to claim 1 wherein the utensil comprises a spoon and the working end comprises a bowl.

3. The utensil according to claim 1 wherein the utensil comprises a spork and the working end comprises a bowl and tines extending therefrom in a direction opposite the handle.

4. The utensil according to claim 1 wherein the cover includes at least one opening formed therein.

5. The utensil according to claim 2 wherein the cover includes at least one opening formed therein.

6. The utensil according to claim 3 wherein the cover includes at least one opening formed therein.

7. The utensil according to claim 1 wherein the working end comprises indicia on at least one surface thereof.

8. The utensil according to claim 1 wherein the cover comprises a side facing the working end and a side facing away from the working end, and comprises indicia formed on the side facing away from the working end.

9. The utensil according to claim 7 wherein the cover comprises a side facing the working end and a side facing away from the working end, and comprises indicia formed on the side facing away from the working end.

10. The utensil according to claim 1 wherein the cover comprises a leading edge and a lip extending from the leading edge toward a surface of the working end.

11. The utensil according to claim 1 comprising a curved handle.