FOLDABLE EATING UTENSIL

Abstract

A foldable eating utensil includes a cutlery head, a first rod, and a second rod that are sequentially connected. A neck of the cutlery head connected to the first rod having a second restricting portion corresponding to the neck. When the second rod is folded toward the first rod, the second rod is restricted by the second restricting portion from leaving the first rod. When the cutlery head is folded toward the compacted first and second rods, the first rod is restricted by a first restricting portion for retaining the foldable eating utensil compacted. Since the second rod is restricted by the second restricting portion, during a process of folding the compacted first and second rods toward the cutlery head by an automatic machine, the work of the automatic machine could not be hindered by the second rod leaving the first rod. Therefore, the foldable eating utensil of the present invention is suitable for automated packaging.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to a foldable utensil, and more particularly to a foldable eating utensil.

Description of Related Art

A conventional beverage lid with cutlery is disclosed in Taiwan patent application No. 084211279 “Structure of Lid with Spoon”, wherein an annular wall formed by protruding away from a circumference of a bottom plate of the lid, and positioning pistons, engaging plates, and hooking plates are disposed on and between the bottom plate of the lid and the annular wall. The positioning pistons, the engaging plates, and the hooking plates are adapted to be engaged with the folded spoon. The user could simply take out the folded spoon by poking folded spoon on the lid.

The folded spoon is folded manually. The spoon is manually folded, and then locking the folded spoon by the positioning pistons, engaging plates, and the hooking plates of the lid. The conventional foldable spoon is difficult to be automatically folded by a machine, because during a process of folding each part of the foldable spoon, the folded parts may return back to hinder the operation of the automated folding process, even stuck the operation of the automatic machine. Additionally, during the process of folding the spoon and engaging the folded spoon with the lid manually, the foldable spoon is probably polluted, thereby leading to sanitary problems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above, the primary objective of the present invention is to provide a foldable eating utensil, the restricting portion could retain different parts of the foldable eating utensil in a folded position, so that the foldable eating utensil becomes suitable for being automatically folded by an automated machine instead of manual folding, thereby saving the manpower and avoiding the sanitary issue of packing.

The present inventive subject matter provides a foldable eating utensil, including a cutlery head, a first rod, and a second rod, which are sequentially connected in a first direction, which is defined as a direction from a front end to a rear end of the foldable eating utensil. The cutlery head includes a functional portion and a neck, wherein the neck extends in the first direction from the functional portion, and the neck has a first restricting portion. A front end of the first rod is foldably connected to a rear end of the neck. The first rod has a restricting portion. A front end of the second rod is foldably connected to a rear end of the first rod. When the second rod is folded toward the first rod, the second rod is restricted by the second restricting portion from moving away from the first rod, thereby keeping the first rod and the second rod compacted. When the cutlery head is folded toward the first rod and the second rod that are compacted, the first rod is restricted by the first restricting portion, thereby keeping the foldable eating utensil in a compacted state.

With such design, when the second rod and the first rod are folded, the second rod is restricted by the restricting portion at the folded position. After that, during a process of folding the cutlery head toward the second rod and the first rod that are compacted, the second rod is not going to hinder or stuck the folding process because the second rod is not disengaged from the restricting portion of the first rod. Thus, the foldable eating utensil is suitable for automatically folding and mounting into the lid. Compared to the traditional foldable spoon that needs for folding manually, the foldable eating utensil of the present invention could avoid sanitary issues due to manual folding.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of some illustrative embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the foldable eating utensil of a first embodiment according to the present invention:

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial view of a marked region 2 in FIG. 1:

FIG. 3 is a top view of the foldable eating utensil of the first embodiment according to the present invention:

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the 4-4 line in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the foldable eating utensil of the first embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a right side view of the foldable eating utensil of the first embodiment according to the present invention:

FIG. 7A is a schematic view, showing the second rod of the foldable eating utensil of the first embodiment is going to be folded:

FIG. 7B is a schematic view, showing the second rod of the foldable eating utensil of the first embodiment is folded to be aligned with the first rod;

FIG. 7C is a schematic view, showing the foldable eating utensil of the first embodiment is completely folded:

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the foldable eating utensil of a second embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the foldable eating utensil of a third embodiment according to the present invention:

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the foldable eating utensil of a fourth embodiment according to the present invention:

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the foldable eating utensil of a fifth embodiment according to the present invention:

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the foldable eating utensil of a sixth embodiment according to the present invention:

FIG. 13 is an enlarged partial view of a marked region 12 in FIG. 13:

FIG. 14 is a top view of the foldable eating utensil of the sixth embodiment according to the present invention:

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along the 15-15 line in FIG. 14:

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the foldable eating utensil of a seventh embodiment according to the present invention:

FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along the 17-17 line in FIG. 16:

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the foldable eating utensil of an eighth embodiment according to the present invention:

FIG. 19 is a top view of the foldable eating utensil of the eighth embodiment according to the present invention; and

FIG. 20 is a sectional view taken along the 20A-20A line in FIG. 19.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 7C, a foldable eating utensil 100 of a first embodiment according to the present invention is a cutlery that has a front end, a rear end, a right side, and a left side, wherein the cutlery is defined to have two directions, including a first direction D1 and a second direction D2. The first direction is defined to extend from the front end to the rear end, and the second direction D2 is defined to extend from the left side to the right side. The foldable eating utensil 100 includes a cutlery head 10, a first rod 20, and a second rod 30 sequentially connected in the first direction D1.

The cutlery head 10 includes a functional portion 12 and a neck 14 extending in the first direction D1 from the functional portion 12. The neck 14 has a first restricting portion X. In the first embodiment, the functional portion 12 is a spoon head, and a top side of the functional portion 12 forms a bowl 16. The bowl 16 extends in the first direction D1 to an inner side of the neck 14 to form a groove 161 in the inner side of the neck 14. The first restricting portion X is a protruding block 18. More specifically, the protruding block 18 of the first restricting portion X is located on a bottom of the groove 161, and at least a portion of the protruding block 18 protrudes out of the groove 161.

The first rod 20 is a straight rod that extends in the first direction D1, wherein a front end of the first rod 20 is foldably connected to a rear end of the neck 14 by means of hinge. A first hinge joint 21 is located between the front end of the first rod 20 and the neck 14, wherein a bottom side of the neck 14 and the front end of the first rod 20 jointly form a first buckle assembly 22. The first buckle assembly 22 includes an inserting tab 221 formed at the bottom side of the neck 14 and an engaged loop 222 formed at the front end of the first rod 20. A portion of the first rod 20 corresponding to the protruding block 18 has a slot 23, wherein the slot 23 could be engaged with the protruding block 18, namely the protruding block 18 is inserted into the slot 23. A portion of the first rod 20, where the first rod 20 corresponds to the second rod 30 when the second rod 30 is folded toward the first rod 20, has a second restricting portion 24. The second restricting portion 24 could be engaged with the second rod to fix the second rod 30. As illustrated in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7A, when the first rod 20 and the cutlery head 10 are extended (unfolded), the inserting tab 221 is engaged with the engaged loop 222 to position the cutlery head 10, namely retaining the cutlery head 10 to be extended. By simply applying force to either the first rod 20 or the cutlery head 10, the first buckle assembly 22 could be unlocked to allow the inserting tab 221 to be disengaged from the engaged loop 222, so that the first rod 20 could be folded to rotate about the first hinge joint 21.

The second rod 30 is a straight rod that extends in the first direction D1, wherein a front end of the second rod 30 is foldably connected to a rear end of the first rod 20 by means of hinge. A second hinge joint 31 is located between the rear end of the first rod 20 and the front end of the second rod 30, wherein a bottom side of the rear end of the first rod 20 and the front end of the second rod 30 jointly form a second buckle assembly 32. The second buckle assembly 32 includes an engaged recess 321 formed at the bottom side of the rear end of the first rod 20 and the engaging block 322 formed at the front end of the second rod 30. As illustrated in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7A, when the second rod 30 and the first rod 20 are extended (unfolded), the engaging block 322 is engaged with the engaged recess 321 to position the second rod 30, namely retaining the first rod 20 and the second rod 30 in a line. By simply applying force to either the first rod 20 or the second rod 30, the second buckle assembly 32 could be unlocked to allow the engaging block 322 to be disengaged from the engaged recess 321, so that the second rod 30 could be folded toward the first rod 20.

As illustrated in FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C, when the second rod 30 and the first rod 20 of the foldable eating utensil 100 are folded, the second rod 30 is restricted by the second restricting portion 24, so that the second restricting portion 24 is retained in a folded position, namely the second rod 20 does not move away the first rod 20. After the first rod 20 and the second rod 30 are folded, the cutlery head 10 could be folded toward the first rod 20 and the second rod 30 to allow the protruding block 18 on the cutlery head 10 to engage with the slot 23, thereby fixing the cutlery head 10 in a folded position. After the cutlery head 10 is folded to align with the first rod 20 and the second rod 30, the first rod 20 is restricted by the first restricting portion X of the cutlery head 10, thereby retaining the first rod 20 in the folded position. When the cutlery head 10, the first rod 20, and the second rod 30 are compacted, the bowl 16 of the cutlery head 10 covers and receives the second rod 30. a length of the slot 23 in the first direction D1 is equal to a length of the protruding block in the first direction D1.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 6, the foldable eating utensil 100 of the first embodiment is described more specifically below. Since the foldable eating utensil 100 is manufactured by plastic injection molding, the cutlery head 10, the first rod 20, and the second rod 30 are flexible to a certain degree. When the second rod 30 is folded toward the first rod 20, a section of the second rod 30 that contacts the second restricting portion 24 is defined as an engaging section A. When the cutlery head 10 is folded toward the first rod 20, a section of the first rod 20 which is covered by the neck 14 of the cutlery head 10 is defined as a slot section B. In the first embodiment, the slot 23 is an extended slot in a first direction D1 and is disposed on a top surface of the first rod 20. A front portion of the slot 23 is located in the slot section B, so that the protruding block 18 as the first restricting portion X is engaged into the front portion of the slot 23 to fix the cutlery head 10 to the first rod 20. The second restricting portion 24 is located at a position where is closer to the rear end of the first rod 20 than the slot section B.

A right side and a left side of the slot 23 are parallel. The protruding block 18 has two side surfaces 181 at the right and the left sides and a guiding surface 182 at a top side. The guiding surface 182 is curved, wherein a middle portion of the guiding surface 182 is the highest, and a height of the guiding surface 182 is gradually reduced from the middle portion to two ends of the guiding surface 182 in the first direction D1. The guiding surface 182 of the protruding block 18 could guide the protruding block 18 to engage with the slot 23. A width d1 between the side surfaces 181 of the protruding block 18 is greater than a width d2 between the left side and the left side of the slot 23. A left side and a right side of a top portion of the protruding block 18 where abuts against the slot 23 have two chamfers, so that the protruding block 18 could slightly extend the slot 23 to allow the protruding block 18 to be engaged with the slot 23.

The top surface of the first rod 20 and a top surface of the second rod 30 are rectangular flat surfaces, wherein a longitudinal direction of the rectangular surface is parallel to the first direction D1. The top surface of the first rod 20 has two first edges 26 at the right and left sides. The top surface of the second rod 30 has two second edges 36 at the right and left sides. In the first embodiment, the second restricting portion 24 includes two second lateral hooks 241, wherein each of two second lateral hooks 241 is symmetrically disposed on one of the two first edges 26 of the first rod 20 along the first direction D1. Each of the second lateral hooks 241 are elastic bodies that could be bent. An interior side of a top portion of each of the second lateral hooks 241 has a second protrusion 242. At least a portion of each of the second protrusions 242 extends medially to exceed one of the first edges 26.

Each of the second protrusions 242 is located at a position where each of the second protrusions 242 of the restricting portion 24 could be pushed by one of the second edges 36 of the second rod 30 during a process of folding the second rod 30 toward the first rod 20. With such design, the restricting portion 24 could hook the engaging section A of the second rod 30 that is folded to align with the first rod 20, thereby keeping the second rod 30 in the folded position. In other embodiments, the second restricting portion 24 includes two second lateral hooks 241, and a width of the engaging section A in the second direction D2 is greater than a width between the interior sides of the two second lateral hooks 241. When the second rod 30 is folded toward the first rod 20, the engaging section A of the second rod 30 could urge the two second lateral hooks 241 to slightly expand the two second lateral hooks 241, thereby allowing the second rod 30 could be locked and retained within the space between the two second lateral hooks 241 after the second rod 30 passes through the two second lateral hooks 241. Thus, the second rod 30 is restricted from leaving the second restricting portion 24 of the first rod 20.

As illustrated in FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C, after the foldable eating utensil 100 is manufactured by plastic injection molding, the cutlery head 10, the first rod 20, and the second rod 30 are approximately presented in a U-shaped after the foldable eating utensil 100 is removed from a mold of plastic injection. After that, the cutlery head 10 is clamped by an automatic machine (e.g. jig), and then the second rod 30 is pushed by the robotic arm of the automatic machine to be folded to align with the first rod 20. As illustrated in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4, during a process of folding, the two second edges 36 of the second rod 30 abuts against the two second protrusions 242 to push the two second lateral hooks 241 moving laterally. The two second lateral hooks 241 return back to the original position after the second rod 30 passing through the two second protrusions 242 of the two second lateral hooks 241. At this time, the two second lateral hooks 241 restrict the second rod 30 by the two second protrusions 242 from leaving away from the first rod 20. Next, another robotic arm of the automatic machine pushes the first rod 20 and the second rod 30 that are compacted to move toward the cutlery head 10. When the protruding block 18 of the cutlery head 10 (namely, the first restricting portion X of the cutlery head 10) is inserted into the slot 23 of the first rod 20, the cutlery head 10 will be locked to retain in the folded position, thereby retaining the cutlery head 10 in the folded position and preventing the cutlery head 10 from leaving away from the first rod 20.

In the first embodiment, the second rod 30 and the cutlery head 10 are folded sequentially, and the second rod 30 and the slot 23 of the first rod 20 are restricted by the second restricting portion 24 and the first restricting portion X (i.e. protruding block 18 on the cutlery head 10). Thus, the second rod 30 could not leave from the first rod 20 due to the restriction of the restricting portion 24, and the cutlery head 10 could not leave from the first rod 20 and the second rod 30, thereby keeping the foldable eating utensil 100 in the compacted state. As a result, after the second rod 30 is folded toward the first rod 20, the second rod 30 is restricted by the restricting portion 24 from returning, so that the second rod 30 will not affect or hinder a process of folding the first rod 20 and the cutlery head 10 by the automatic machine. Thus, the automatic machine could work smoothly. With such design, the foldable eating utensil 100 of the present invention is suitable for automatically producing and packaging, which could save manpower and avoid the sanitary problem of manual folding processing.

In the first embodiment, the functional portion 12 is a spoon head. In other embodiments, the functional portion 12 could be fork head. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the foldable eating utensil 100 of the second embodiment includes the cutlery head 10, the first rod 20, and the second rod 30 that are sequentially connected to each other in the first direction D1. The cutlery head 10 includes the functional portion 12 and the neck 14 extending in the first direction D1 from the functional portion 12. In the second embodiment, the functional portion 12 is a fork head, and a top side of the functional portion 12 forms a bowl 16. The bowl 16 extends in the first direction D1 to an inner side of the neck 14 to form the groove 161 in the inner side of the neck 14. The protruding block 18 (i.e. the first restricting portion X) is located at a bottom side of the groove 161, and at least a portion of the protruding block 18 extends out of the groove 161.

The first rod 20 is a straight rod that extends in the first direction D1, wherein the front end of the first rod 20 is foldably connected to the rear end of the neck 14 by means of hinge. The first hinge joint 21 is located between the front end of the first rod 20 and the neck 14, wherein the bottom side of the neck 14 is interlockably connected to the front end of the first rod 20. A portion of the first rod 20 corresponding to the protruding block 18 has a slot 23, wherein the slot 23 could be engaged with the protruding block 18. A portion of the first rod 20 corresponding to the second rod 30 has a second restricting portion 24, wherein the second restricting portion 24 could fix the second rod 30. The slot 23 and the second restricting portion 24 of the second embodiment is the same as those of the first embodiment.

The second rod 30 is a straight rod that extends in the first direction D1, wherein the front end of the second rod 30 is foldably connected to the rear end of the first rod 20 by means of hinge. The second hinge joint 31 is located between the rear end of the first rod 20 and the front end of the second rod 30, wherein the bottom side of the rear end of the first rod 20 is interlockably connected to the front end of the second rod 30. When the second rod 30 is folded to the first rod 20, the second rod 30 is restricted by the second restricting portion 24 from leaving away from the first rod 20. After that, when the cutlery head 10 is folded toward the first rod 20 and the second rod 30 that are folded, the protruding block 18 (first restricting portion X) of the cutlery head 10 is inserted into the slot 23 on the first rod 20, thereby restricting the cutlery head 10 from returning back. When the cutlery head 10 is folded toward the first rod 20 and the second rod 30 that are compacted, the bowl 16 covers and receives the second rod 30.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, a foldable eating utensil 100 of a third embodiment is almost the same as the foldable eating utensil of the first embodiment, except that the slot 23 on the first rod 20 of the third embodiment is completely located in the slot section B. In the third embodiment, an extending length of the slot 23 in the first direction D1 is shorter than a length of the slot section B in the first direction D1. A length of the second rod 30 in the first direction D1 is greater than a length between the second hinge joint 31 and the second restricting portion 24 in the first direction D1. The length of the second rod 30 in the first direction D1 is smaller than or equal to a distance between the second hinge joint 31 and the slot 23.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the foldable eating utensil 100 of a fourth embodiment is almost the same as the foldable eating utensil 100 of the first embodiment, except the restricting portion 24 of the fourth embodiment includes merely one second lateral hook 241, wherein the second lateral hook 241 is disposed on one of the two first edges 26, and the second lateral hook 241 extends upward from the first edge 26. A top portion of an interior side of the second lateral hook 241 has a second protrusion 242

In the fourth embodiment, the second protrusion 242 is located at a position where the second protrusion 242 could be pushed by one of the second edges 36 of the second rod 30 during a process that the second rod 30 is folded toward the first rod 20. When the second edge 36 of the second rod 30 abuts against the second protrusion 242 of one of the second lateral hook 241, the second lateral hook 244 is pushed to move laterally. After each of the second lateral hook 241 returns back to the original position, each of the second protrusions 242 restricts the second rod 30 from moving away from the first rod 20. In the fourth embodiment, the protruding block 18 (i.e. first restricting portion X) of the cutlery head 10 could also be engaged with the slot 23 of the first rod 20, and the shape of the slot 23 is the same as that in the first embodiment. The functional portion 12 of the cutlery head 10 of the fourth embodiment could be a spoon head or a fork head.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, a foldable eating utensil 100 of a fifth embodiment is almost the same as the the foldable eating utensil 100 of the first embodiment, except a position of the second lateral hooks 241 of the second restricting portion 24 in the fourth embodiment are arranged in a staggered manner. Each of the two second lateral hooks 241 is disposed on one of the two first edges 26 in a staggered manner, wherein one position of the two second lateral hooks 241 is closer to the cutlery head 10 than the other one. A staggered distance between the two second lateral hooks 241 is shorter than a length of the engaging section A in the first direction D1. Each of the second lateral hooks 241 extends upward from one of the first edges 26. The interior side of the top portion of each of the second lateral hooks 241 has a second protrusion 242.

In the fifth embodiment, each of the second protrusion 242 is located at a position where each of the second protrusions 242 is pushed by one of the second edges 36 of the second rod 30 during a process that the second rod 30 is folded toward the first rod 20. When each of the second edges 36 of the second rod 30 abuts against one of the second protrusions 242 of one of the second lateral hooks 241, the second lateral hooks 241 are pushed to move laterally. After each of the second lateral hooks 241 returns back to the original position, each of the second protrusions 242 restricts the second rod 30 from moving away from the first rod 20. Additionally, the protruding block 18 (first restricting portion X) of the cutlery head 10 could be engaged with the slot 23 of the first rod 20. The functions of protruding block 18 and the slot 23 are as same as that in the first embodiment. The functional portion 12 of the cutlery head 10 could be a spoon or fork head.

In the current embodiment, the first restricting portion X of the cutlôery head 10 is mainly for keeping the first rod 20 and the cutlery head 10 in a folded position, so that the first restricting portion X is not limited to the protruding block 18, the first restricting portion X could be a hook or any structure that could keep the first rod 20 and the cutlery head 10 in a folded position after the cutlery head 10 is folded toward the first rod 20.

As illustrated in FIG. 12 to FIG. 15, a foldable eating utensil 100 of a sixth embodiment is almost the same as the foldable eating utensil 100 of the first embodiment, except that the first restricting portion X includes two first lateral hooks 19, wherein each of the two first lateral hooks 19 is located on one of two neck peripheries 141 of the neck 14 of the cutlery head 10. The neck peripheries 141 are located at the right and left sides of a top edge of the groove 161 of the neck 14. The first lateral hooks 19 of the first restricting portion X extend upwards and are symmetrically disposed on the two neck peripheries 141. Each of the first lateral hooks 19 is bendable and flexible, wherein an interior side of a top portion of the first lateral hooks 19 has a first protrusion 191. A portion of each of the first protrusions 191 extends medially to exceed one of the neck peripheries 141. Each of the first protrusions 191 is located at a position where each of the first protrusions 191 is pushed by one of the first edges 26 of the first rod 20 during a process that the cutlery head 10 is folded toward the first rod 20.

When the cutlery head 10 is folded toward the second rod 30 and the first rod 20 that are folded, the first protrusion 191 of the first lateral hooks 19 could be pushed by the two first edges 26 of the first rod 20. After the first rod 20 enters a space between the two first lateral hooks 19, the two first lateral hooks 19 are returned back. At the time, the first protrusions 191 of the two first lateral hooks 19 prevent the first rod 20 from leaving the cutlery head 10, so that the first rod 20 is restricted by the first restricting portion X from leaving away from the cutlery head 10. Similarly, when the second rod 30 and the first rod 20 are folded, the second rod 30 is restricted by the second restricting portion 24 from disengaging, thereby maintaining in the folded state. The arrangement of the second restricting portion 24 of the sixth embodiment could be as same as one of the first embodiment to the fifth embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, a foldable eating utensil 100 of the seventh embodiment is almost the same as the foldable eating utensil 100 of the sixth embodiment, except that the first restricting portion X of the cutlery head 10 includes two tilted lateral hooks 19A tilted medially, wherein the two tilted lateral hooks 19A are disposed symmetrically on two neck peripheries 141 and extend upward. Each of the tilted lateral hooks 19A is bendable and flexible and has a curved portion 191A at the top of the tilted lateral hooks 19A. More specifically, a tilted angle between each of the tilted lateral hooks 19A and an imaginary line B, which is defined to be perpendicular to the top surface of the first rod 20, is smaller than and equal to 3 degrees. Each of the curved portions 191A is adapted to lock the first edges 26 of the first rod 20.

Each of the curved portions 191A is located at a position where the curved portion 191A of each of the tilted lateral hooks 19A could be pushed by one of the first edges 26 of the first rod 20 during a process of folding the cutlery head 10 toward the first rod 20. When each of the first edges 26 of the s first rod 20 abuts against the curved portion 191A of one of the tilted lateral hooks 19A, the tilted lateral hooks 19A is pushed to move laterally. After the first rod 20 enters into a space between the two tilted lateral hooks 19A (namely passing through the two curved portions 191A, the two tilted lateral hooks 19A return back to the original position. At the time, each of the curved portion 191A restricts the first rod 20 from moving away from the cutlery head 10. Additionally, the arrangement of the second restricting portion 24 of the seventh embodiment could be as same as one of the first embodiment to the fifth embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 18 to FIG. 20, a foldable eating utensil 100 of the seventh embodiment is almost the same as the foldable eating utensil 100 of the sixth embodiment, except that each of the first lateral hooks 19 has a curved surface 192 on the top. A width d3 between the two first edges 26 in the second direction D2 is greater than a width d4 between the two interior side surfaces of the first lateral hooks 19. Thus, when the first rod 20 is folded toward the cutlery head 10, the two first edges 26 could slide along the two curved surfaces 192 to enter into a space between the two first lateral hooks 19, so that the first rod 20 could be clamped by the two first lateral hooks 19 of the first restricting portion X, thereby retaining the first rod 20 in a folded position. Additionally, the arrangement of the second restricting portion 24 of the eighth embodiment could be as same as one of the first embodiment to the fifth embodiment.

It must be pointed out that the embodiment described above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. All equivalent structures and methods which employ the concepts disclosed in this specification and the appended claims should fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A foldable eating utensil, comprising a cutlery head, a first rod, and a second rod, which are sequentially connected in a first direction, which is defined as a direction from a front end to a rear end of the foldable eating utensil, wherein:

the cutlery head comprising a functional portion and a neck, wherein the neck extends in the first direction from the functional portion, and the neck has a first restricting portion:

the first rod, wherein a front end of the first rod is foldably connected to a rear end of the neck: the first rod has a restricting portion:

the second rod, wherein a front end of the second rod is foldably connected to a rear end of the first rod: when the second rod is folded toward the first rod, the second rod is restricted by the second restricting portion from moving away from the first rod, thereby keeping the first rod and the second rod compacted: when the cutlery head is folded toward the first rod and the second rod that are compacted, the first rod is restricted by the first restricting portion, thereby keeping the foldable eating utensil in a compacted state.

2. The foldable eating utensil as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first restricting portion is a protruding block, and the first rod has a slot, the slot is adapted to be engaged with the protruding block: when the cutlery head is folded toward the first rod and the second rod that are compacted, the protruding block of the cutlery head is inserted into the slot.

3. The foldable eating utensil as claimed in claim 2, wherein when the cutlery head is folded toward the first rod, a section of the first rod where is covered by the neck of the cutlery head is defined as a slot section: the slot is disposed on a top surface of the first rod, and at least a portion of the slot is located in the slot section for being engaged with the protruding block: the second restricting portion is located at a position where is closer to the rear end of the first rod than the slot section.

4. The foldable eating utensil as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first hinge joint is located between the front end of the first rod and the neck, and the second hinge joint is located between the rear end of the first rod and the front end of the second rod: a length of the slot in the first direction is equal to a leng of the protruding block in the first direction: a length of the second rod in the first direction is greater than a length between the second hinge joint and the second restricting portion in the first direction: the length of the second rod in the first direction is smaller than or equal to a distance between the second hinge joint and the slot.

5. The foldable eating utensil as claimed in claim 2, wherein a width between the side surfaces of the protruding block in the second direction is greater than a width between a left side and a left side of the slot: the protruding block is flexible, so that the protruding block is able to be inserted into the slot.

6. The foldable eating utensil as claimed in claim 5, wherein the protruding block has two side surfaces at the right and the left sides and a guiding surface at a top side: the guiding surface is curved, wherein a middle portion of the guiding surface is the highest, and a height of the guiding surface is gradually reduced from the middle portion to two ends of the guiding surface in the first direction.

7. The foldable eating utensil as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first rod has two first edges at a right side and a left side, the second restricting portion comprises at least one lateral hook that is connected to at least one of the two first edges: each of the at least one lateral hook is flexible, and an interior side of a top portion of each of the at least one lateral hook has a protrusion, wherein the protrusion is adapted to lock the second rod.

8. The foldable eating utensil as claimed in claim 7, wherein the second restricting portion comprises two lateral hooks, and each of the two lateral hooks is disposed on one of the two first edges: each of the two lateral hooks is symmetrically disposed on one of the two first edges of the first rod along the first direction.

9. The foldable eating utensil as claimed in claim 7, wherein the second restricting portion comprises two lateral hooks, wherein each of two lateral hooks is disposed on one of the two first edges of the first rod in a staggered manner.

10. The foldable eating utensil as claimed in claim 2, wherein the functional portion is either spoon head or fork head.

11. The foldable eating utensil as claimed in claim 10, wherein the functional portion forms a bowl, and the bowl extends in the first direction to an inner side of the neck to form the groove in the inner side of the neck; the protruding block is located at a bottom side of the groove, and at least a portion of the protruding block extends out of the groove.

12. The foldable eating utensil as claimed in claim 1, wherein the neck has two neck peripheries at the right and left sides of a top edge of the groove of the neck: the first restricting portion comprises two lateral hooks that extend upward and are respectively located on two neck peripheries of the neck: an interior side of each of the lateral hooks has a protrusion: when the cutlery head is folded toward the first rod and the second rod that are folded, the two lateral hooks, the protrusions of the two lateral hooks prevent the first rod from leaving the cutlery head.

13. The foldable eating utensil as claimed in claim 1, wherein the neck has two neck peripheries at the right and left sides of a top edge of the groove of the neck: the first restricting portion comprises two tilted lateral hooks that extend upward and are tilted medially: a top portion of each of the tilted lateral hooks has a curved portion: when the cutlery head is folded toward the first rod and the second rod that are folded, the two tilted lateral hooks, the curved portions of the two tilted lateral hooks prevent the first rod from leaving the cutlery head.

14. The foldable eating utensil as claimed in claim 1, wherein the neck has two neck peripheries at the right and left sides of a top edge of the neck; the first restricting portion comprises two lateral hooks that extend upward and are respectively located on two neck peripheries of the neck; a top edge of each of the lateral hooks has a curved surface; the left and the right side of the first rod has two first edges; a width between the two first edges of the first rod in the second direction is greater than a width between the two interior side surface of the lateral hooks; when the cutlery head is folded toward the first rod and the second rod that are folded, the first rod is inserted between the two lateral hooks.