Shape Memory Safety Utensil
A method for preventing holding of one or more of a hot liquid or hot food in a utensil. The method including: configuring a utensil portion for holding one or more of a liquid or food to have a first orientation relative to a handle portion when a temperature of a shape memory alloy neck portion connecting the utensil portion to the handle portion is below a transition temperature and changing the orientation of the utensil portion relative to the handle portion to a second orientation when the temperature of the shape memory alloy neck portion is greater than the transition temperature so as to not hold the liquid or food.
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This application is related to U.S. Pat. No. 8,087,174 issued on Jan. 3, 2012, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by its reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to utensils, and more particularly, to a spoon having a concave portion for holding a liquid or food when the temperature of the liquid is less than a predetermined threshold (transition) temperature and where the head changes its orientation relative to a handle portion of the spoon making the concave portion unable to hold the liquid or food when the temperature of a shape memory alloy neck portion connecting the concave portion to the handle portion is greater than the predetermined threshold (transition) temperature.
2. Prior Art
Many people, especially children and the elderly burn their mouths after eating food that it too hot. For instance, eating soup that is too hot from a soup container often leads to serious burns on the inside of a person's mouth. In order to prevent such occurrences, a person would have to insert a thermometer into the soup to determine its temperature. Additionally, it is known in the art to use a utensil, such as a spoon, which has a built in temperature sensing device, and a means for indicating that the temperature of the food is too hot, such as a caution symbol. However, children and elderly people often cannot or do not recognize such indications.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a simple passive method and device for preventing people, particularly children and the elderly, from eating food that is too hot and can cause burning of the mouth.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONTherefore it is an object of the present invention to provide a utensil, such as a spoon having a passive means for preventing people from eating food that is likely to cause burning of the mouth.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such utensil in a simple and inexpensive configuration.
Accordingly, a spoon is provided. The spoon comprising: a handle portion; and a head portion connected to the handle portion, wherein the head portion comprises: a concave portion for holding one or more of a fluid or food; and a shape memory alloy neck portion having one end connected to the concave portion and an other end connected to the handle portion in a first orientation when the shape memory alloy neck portion is at a temperature less than a transition temperature and in a second orientation when the shape memory alloy neck portion is at a temperature greater than the transition temperature, the first orientation being different from the second orientation.
The second orientation can be offset 90 degrees relative to the first orientation. The shape memory alloy neck portion can be connected to the concave portion at an end of the concave portion.
The shape memory alloy neck portion can be connected to the concave portion at a point between ends of the concave portion.
The shape memory alloy neck portion can be a flat strip.
The shape memory alloy neck portion can be one or more wires, each having the one end connected to the concave portion and the other end connected to the handle portion.
The concave portion can be formed of a heat conductive material. The heat conductive material is a metal.
The handle portion can be formed of a heat insulating material. The heat insulating material can be a plastic.
Also provided is a utensil comprising: a handle portion; and a head portion connected to the handle portion, wherein the head portion comprises: a utensil portion for holding one or more of a fluid or food; and a shape memory alloy neck portion having one end connected to the utensil portion and an other end connected to the handle portion in a first orientation when the shape memory alloy neck portion is at a temperature less than a transition temperature and in a second orientation when the shape memory alloy neck portion is at a temperature greater than the transition temperature, the first orientation being different from the second orientation.
The utensil portion can be a concave spoon portion.
The second orientation can be offset 90 degrees relative to the first orientation.
The shape memory alloy neck portion can be connected to the utensil portion at an end of the utensil portion.
The shape memory alloy neck portion can be connected to the utensil portion at a point between ends of the concave portion.
The shape memory alloy neck portion can be a flat strip.
The shape memory alloy neck portion can be one or more wires, each having the one end connected to the utensil portion and the other end connected to the handle portion.
The utensil portion can be formed of a heat conductive material. The heat conductive material can be a metal.
The handle portion can be formed of a heat insulating material. The heat insulating material can be a plastic.
Still further provided is a method for preventing holding of one or more of a hot liquid or hot food in a utensil. The method comprising: configuring a utensil portion for holding one or more of a liquid or food to have a first orientation relative to a handle portion when a temperature of a shape memory alloy neck portion connecting the utensil portion to the handle portion is below a transition temperature; and changing the orientation of the utensil portion relative to the handle portion to a second orientation when the temperature of the shape memory alloy neck portion is greater than the transition temperature so as to not hold the liquid or food.
The second orientation can be offset 90 degrees relative to the first orientation.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the apparatus and methods of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
Referring now to
When the spoon comes into contact with hot food, the concave portion 201, which can be made out of a material with high heat conductivity, such as aluminum, plated steel, stainless steel, copper or the like, becomes hot and transmits the heat to the shape memory alloy neck portion 203 connecting it to the handle 201, thereby causing the shape memory alloy neck portion 203 to heat up above the transition temperature and to deform the same to its preformed configuration 204, as shown in
The handle 202 can be constructed with relatively non-conductive material so that it stays relatively cool and also minimally conducts heat from the shape memory alloy section 204 to allow its temperature to rise rapidly. For example, the handle may be a plastic polymer that is molded over an end 205 of the shape memory alloy neck portion, as shown in
A top view of a first variation of the embodiment 200 of
Alternatively, as shown in the top view of
The shape memory alloy wires (of round, square or other shaped cross section) and relatively thin strips are relatively inexpensive and readily available. In the embodiments of
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that if the safety spoon embodiment 200 of
In an alternative embodiment 220 shown in
While there has been shown and described what is considered to be preferred embodiments of the invention, it will, of course, be understood that various modifications and changes in form or detail could readily be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is therefore intended that the invention be not limited to the exact forms described and illustrated, but should be constructed to cover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. A spoon comprising:
- a handle portion; and
- a head portion connected to the handle portion, wherein the head portion comprises:
- a concave portion for holding one or more of a fluid or food; and
- a shape memory alloy neck portion having one end connected to the concave portion and an other end connected to the handle portion in a first orientation when the shape memory alloy neck portion is at a temperature less than a transition temperature and in a second orientation when the shape memory alloy neck portion is at a temperature greater than the transition temperature, the first orientation being different from the second orientation.
2. The spoon of claim 1, wherein the second orientation is offset 90 degrees relative to the first orientation.
3. The spoon of claim 1, wherein the shape memory alloy neck portion is connected to the concave portion at an end of the concave portion.
4. The spoon of claim 1, wherein the shape memory alloy neck portion is connected to the concave portion at a point between ends of the concave portion.
5. The spoon of claim 1, wherein the shape memory alloy neck portion is a flat strip.
6. The spoon of claim 1, wherein the shape memory alloy neck portion is one or more wires, each having the one end connected to the concave portion and the other end connected to the handle portion.
7. The spoon of claim 1, wherein the concave portion is formed of a heat conductive material.
8. The spoon of claim 7, wherein the heat conductive material is a metal.
9. The spoon of claim 1, wherein the handle portion is formed of a heat insulating material.
10. The spoon of claim 9, wherein the heat insulating material is a plastic.
11. A utensil comprising:
- a handle portion; and
- a head portion connected to the handle portion, wherein the head portion comprises:
- a utensil portion for holding one or more of a fluid or food; and
- a shape memory alloy neck portion having one end connected to the utensil portion and an other end connected to the handle portion in a first orientation when the shape memory alloy neck portion is at a temperature less than a transition temperature and in a second orientation when the shape memory alloy neck portion is at a temperature greater than the transition temperature, the first orientation being different from the second orientation.
12. The utensil of claim 11, wherein the utensil portion is a concave spoon portion.
13. The utensil of claim 11, wherein the second orientation is offset 90 degrees relative to the first orientation.
14. The utensil of claim 11, wherein the shape memory alloy neck portion is connected to the utensil portion at an end of the utensil portion.
15. The utensil of claim 11, wherein the shape memory alloy neck portion is connected to the utensil portion at a point between ends of the concave portion.
16. The utensil of claim 11, wherein the shape memory alloy neck portion is a flat strip.
17. The utensil of claim 11, wherein the shape memory alloy neck portion is one or more wires, each having the one end connected to the utensil portion and the other end connected to the handle portion.
18. The utensil of claim 11, wherein the utensil portion is formed of a heat conductive material.
19. The utensil of claim 18, wherein the heat conductive material is a metal.
20. The utensil of claim 11, wherein the handle portion is formed of a heat insulating material.
21. The utensil of claim 20, wherein the heat insulating material is a plastic.
22. A method for preventing holding of one or more of a hot liquid or hot food in a utensil, the method comprising:
- configuring a utensil portion for holding one or more of a liquid or food to have a first orientation relative to a handle portion when a temperature of a shape memory alloy neck portion connecting the utensil portion to the handle portion is below a transition temperature; and
- changing the orientation of the utensil portion relative to the handle portion to a second orientation when the temperature of the shape memory alloy neck portion is greater than the transition temperature so as to not hold the liquid or food.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein the second orientation is offset 90 degrees relative to the first orientation.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 6, 2014
Publication Date: Apr 7, 2016
Applicant: OMNITEK PARTNERS LLC (Ronkonkoma, NY)
Inventors: Jahangir S. Rastegar (Stony Brook, NY), Thomas Spinelli (Northport, NY)
Application Number: 14/507,772