EATING UTENSIL ACCESSORIES AND METHODS OF USE

Abstract

Accessories to eating utensils, in particular spoons, are disclosed which are attachable to the bowl of a spoon. An exemplary accessory has a bowl-shaped part with a slot or pocket on the backside. The bowl of a spoon is insertable into the slot or pocket, and the bowl-shaped part of the accessory then takes the place of the spoon's bowl. The handle of the original spoon is used to manipulate the accessory, which is itself handleless. The accessory provides one of a variety of spoon bowl geometries that are tailored to meet the needs of particular users, such as persons with motor disabilities who may have difficulty with self-feeding.

Claims

1. An eating utensil accessory, comprising a bowl-shaped part; one or more lips, wherein each lip extends from the bowl-shaped part behind the bowl-shaped part to form a space between the lip and a backside of the bowl-shaped part.

2. The eating utensil accessory of claim 1, wherein the one or more lips are elastomeric.

3. The eating utensil accessory of claim 1, wherein the bowl-shaped part is handleless.

4. The eating utensil accessory of claim 1, wherein the space is a slot or pocket.

5. The eating utensil accessory of claim 4, wherein a majority of the slot or pocket is behind a first half of the bowl-shaped part, and wherein the slot or pocket opens toward a second half of the bowl-shaped part opposite the first half.

6. The eating utensil accessory of claim 1, wherein the bowl-shaped part comprises a concave side for food collection and a convex side.

7. The eating utensil accessory of claim 6, wherein the eating utensil accessory is attachable to a spoon bowl such that the bowl-shaped part contacts a concave side of the spoon bowl concurrently as the one or more lips contact a convex side of the spoon bowl.

8. The eating utensil accessory of claim 1, wherein the lips comprise one or more of silicone, rubber, and rubberized surfaces.

9. A handleless bowl comprising a concave side for food collection; a convex side; one or more slots or pockets on the convex side configured to receive and grip a spoon bowl.

10. The handleless bowl of claim 9, wherein the handleless bowl is attachable to the spoon bowl such that the handleless bowl contacts both a concave side and a convex side of the spoon bowl.

11. The handleless bowl of claim 9, wherein the one or more slots or pockets comprise at least one elastomeric material.

12. The handleless bowl of claim 9, wherein a majority of the one or more slots or pockets is behind a first half of the bowl-shaped part, and wherein the one or more slots or pockets open toward a second half of the bowl-shaped part opposite the first half.

13. The handless bowl of claim 9, further comprising one or more lips, wherein each lip extends from a rim of the concave side behind the convex side to form the one or more slots or pockets.

14. An apparatus, comprising a food holding portion forming a bowl shape attachable and detachable to a spoon; and a region that folds to be secured onto a rim of the spoon.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the region that folds creates a lip that secures the food holding portion in place on the spoon.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the region that folds forms a space between the lip and a backside of the food holding portion.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the space is a slot or pocket.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein a majority of the slot or pocket is behind a first half of the food holding portion, and wherein the slot or pocket opens toward a second half of the food holding portion opposite the first half.

19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the region that folds is elastomeric.

20. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the apparatus is handleless.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first exemplary eating utensil accessory installed upon a spoon.

[0019] FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the first exemplary eating utensil accessory installed upon a spoon.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a top view of the first exemplary eating utensil accessory installed upon a spoon.

[0021] FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the first exemplary eating utensil accessory installed upon a spoon.

[0022] FIG. 5 is a first side view of the first exemplary eating utensil accessory installed upon a spoon.

[0023] FIG. 6 is a second side view of the first exemplary eating utensil accessory installed upon a spoon.

[0024] FIG. 7 is a top view of the first exemplary eating utensil accessory.

[0025] FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the first exemplary eating utensil accessory.

[0026] FIG. 9 is a rear view of the first exemplary eating utensil accessory.

[0027] FIG. 10 is a front view of the first exemplary eating utensil accessory.

[0028] FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the first exemplary eating utensil accessory.

[0029] FIG. 12 is a first side view of the first exemplary eating utensil accessory.

[0030] FIG. 13 is a second side view of the first exemplary eating utensil accessory.

[0031] FIG. 14 is a second sectional view of the first exemplary eating utensil accessory.

[0032] FIG. 15 is a view rotated from the side view of FIG. 13 which shows an extent of a space for receiving a spoon.

[0033] FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a second exemplary eating utensil accessory installed upon a spoon.

[0034] FIG. 17 is a top view of the second exemplary eating utensil accessory installed upon a spoon.

[0035] FIG. 18 is a side view of the second exemplary eating utensil accessory installed upon a spoon. The opposite side view is a mirror image of FIG. 18.

[0036] FIG. 19 is another perspective view of the second exemplary eating utensil accessory installed upon a spoon.

[0037] FIG. 20 is a top view of the second exemplary eating utensil accessory.

[0038] FIG. 21 is a bottom view of the second exemplary eating utensil accessory.

[0039] FIG. 22 is a front view of the second exemplary eating utensil accessory.

[0040] FIG. 23 is a rear view of the second exemplary eating utensil accessory.

[0041] FIG. 24 is a sectional view of the second exemplary eating utensil accessory.

[0042] FIG. 25 is another sectional view of the second exemplary eating utensil accessory.

[0043] FIG. 26 is a first side view of the second exemplary eating utensil accessory.

[0044] FIG. 27 is a second side view of the second exemplary eating utensil accessory.

[0045] FIG. 28 is a further sectional view of the second exemplary eating utensil accessory.

[0046] FIG. 29 is a perspective view of a conventional spoon.

[0047] FIG. 30 is another perspective view of the conventional spoon.

[0048] FIG. 31 is a bottom view of the conventional spoon.

[0049] FIG. 32 is a top view of the conventional spoon.

[0050] FIG. 33 is a side view of the conventional spoon.

[0051] FIG. 34 is a sectional view of the conventional spoon.

[0052] FIG. 35 is a front view of the conventional spoon.

[0053] FIG. 36 is a cross-sectional view of the conventional spoon.

[0054] FIG. 37 is a rear view of the conventional spoon.

[0055] FIG. 38 is a spoon with a built-up grip, bent neck, and conventional bowl.

[0056] FIG. 39 is a spoon with a bent neck, conventional handle, and conventional bowl.

[0057] FIG. 40 is a diagram depicting an exemplary breakdown of rim segments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0058] Exemplary embodiments will now be described which include accessories for eating utensil accessories, especially a device attachable to (and subsequently detachable from) different spoons.

[0059] FIGS. 1-6 show an exemplary eating utensil accessory 100 attached to a spoon 300 from different perspectives. FIGS. 7-15 shows the accessory 100 alone from different perspectives. Exemplary devices such as eating utensil accessory 100 may be described in this disclosure as an accessory, a device, an apparatus, or part of a system.

[0060] An exemplary device 100 comprises a bowl or bowl-shaped part 101 and one or more lips 107. The lip 107 may be a region of the device 100 that folds back to be secured onto a rim of a spoon. That is to say, device 100 may be regarded as a bowl with at least one rim that folds or hooks back under the bowl. Accordingly a “lip” or sections of such a lip may in some instances be interchangeably referred to as a hook (or hooks) in this disclosure.

[0061] Although an exemplary device 100 includes a bowl or bowl-shaped part 101, it is distinguished from conventional “bowls” and even “cups”. Especially, exemplary devices include structural features which play no direct role in food retention (as does a bowl) but which exist for the unique function of physical yet reversible attachment to a spoon's bowl without interfering with desirable usage of the spoon's handle.

[0062] The bowl-shaped part 101 comprises a concave inner surface 105. The inner surface may be interchangeably referred to as an inside surface or topside of the bowl-shaped part. The inner surface is surrounded by and ends at a circumferential rim 103. The rim 103 is continuous about an entire 360° of a loop, but the shape of the full rim is not circular. For purposes of this disclosure, a bowl or bowl-shaped part 101 (or 201 discussed below) is sometimes referred to as having a “rim” in the singular, as is conventional in American English. For purposes of this disclosure, however, such a single “rim” may also be referred to as “rims” in the plural, to allow for separate description of individual segments which collectively form the full “rim” which completes a closed circumferential path about the inner surface 105 (or 205, below) of the bowl. Accordingly, “rim” and “rims” may be viewed as essentially interchangeable in this disclosure. In particular, plural “rims” may be used when distinguishing between front, rear/back, left, and right sides of one rim or when discussing bowl surfaces nearest such a segment of rim. The rims of a bowl or bow-shaped part of a device may consist of a front rim at a tip of the bowl-shaped part, a rear rim longitudinally opposite the front rim, a first side rim connecting the rear rim and front rim, and a second side rim connecting the rear rim and front side rim. The first and second side rims are opposite one another. The side rims may be referred to as a left rim and right rim, but the qualifiers of left and right may be interchangeable depending on the orientation of the device, e.g., whether it's attached to a spoon being held in a user's right hand or left hand.

[0063] FIGS. 3 and 7 are convenient perspectives for viewing rims of the exemplary device 100. The full rim 103 consists of a front rim 1031, a first side rim 1032, a rear rim 1033, and a second side rim 1034. The rear rim 1033 is the rim nearest the neck 302 of the spoon 300 to which the device 100 is shown attached in FIGS. 1-6. The front rim 103 is the rim furthest from the neck 302 and nearest the tip of the spoon 300.

[0064] The bowl-shaped part 101 is asymmetrically shaped such that the contour of the inner surface 105 does not mirror across a sagittal plane. This asymmetry is especially apparent from the perspectives of FIGS. 5 and 9-12. With the device 100 set level relative to Earth's gravity, side rim 1034 is significantly higher than side rim 1032. Indeed, side rim 1032 may be the lowest rim of all, as apparent from FIGS. 10 and 11. Either of the long side rims, that is to say either rim 1032 or 1034, may be the lowest rim of all, to accommodate the handedness of the user. Said a different way, of the four rims—a front 1031, rear 1033, first side 1032, second side 1034—the left side rim may be lowest of the four firms. Alternatively, the right side rim may be the lowest of the four rims. In yet another alternative, the front side rim may be the lowest of the four rims (see e.g. device 200 discussed below). The lowest rim generally corresponds with the rim which is the intended first and potentially only rim that contacts the lips and mouth of the person eating. By maintaining one low side rim on one side of the bowl-shaped part, scooping is not obstructed during use. Once the individual scoops food onto the food collection area of the spoon, the deeper and extended food collection area in part provided by the higher opposing side rim eliminates the need to keep the spoon bowl level or very close to level. The bowl-shaped part is able to maintain the food in the deep pocket of the inner surface 105 even when the individual fails to keep the spoon 300 in a proper plane while moving the spoon to the mouth.

[0065] In some embodiments, a front or tip of the bowl-shaped part may be defined as beginning at a frontmost end and ending at or before a longitudinal position where bowl depth in a transverse cross-sectional plane at the longitudinal position is at least half the maximum bowl depth of the bowl-shaped part. A front rim and side rim meet at such longitudinal position. In some embodiments, a rear or back of the bowl-shaped part may be defined as beginning at a rearmost end of the bowl-shaped part and ending at or before a longitudinal position where bowl depth in a transverse cross-sectional plane at the longitudinal position is at least half the maximum bowl depth of the bowl-shaped part. A rear rim and side rim meet at such a longitudinal position.

[0066] The bowl-shaped part 101 comprises a curved wall of non-zero thickness, one side of which is the inner surface 105 of the bowl-shaped part 101. The opposite side of the wall is the backside 106 of the bowl-shaped part. One or more lips 107 extend from the bowl-shaped part 101. Device 100 comprises a lip 107 that extends from the rim 103 of the bow-shaped part 101. More specifically, as apparent from FIGS. 9-12, the lip 107 extends predominantly from the side rim 1032 and to some extent from the front rim 1031 and rear rim 1033. The lip 107 folds behind the bowl-shaped part 101 to form a space 104 between the lip 107 and the backside 106 of the bowl-shaped part 101. The space 104 may be shaped as a slot and/or pocket. As visible from FIG. 8, a majority of the lip 107 and the slot or pocket it helps form are behind a first half of the bowl-shaped part 101. The slot or pocket opens toward the second half (opposite the first half) of the bowl-shaped part 101. The slot or pocket opens toward the side of the device opposite the side from which the lip extends. A lip which begins on the left side rim creates a space 104 that opens toward a right side of the device. A lip which begins on the right side rim creates a space 104 that opens toward a left side of the device.

[0067] FIGS. 16-19 show a second exemplary eating utensil accessory 200 attached to a spoon 300 from different perspectives. FIGS. 20-28 shows the accessory 200 alone from different perspectives. Eating utensil accessory 200 may be described in this disclosure as an accessory, a device, an apparatus, or part of a system. However, an exemplary device such as accessory 100 or 200 is not a “spoon,” a term which according to both this disclosure and its conventional usage implies an eating utensil which includes both a bowl and a handle. An exemplary device is also not a “spork” (an eating utensil which has features qualifying it as both a spoon and a fork) or a “splayd” (an eating utensil which has features qualifying it as a spoon, knife, and fork at the same time) or any other hybrid tableware or silverware which includes a spoon. An exemplary device is also not a “fork” nor a “knife” according to the conventional meaning of these terms.

[0068] The exemplary device 200 comprises a bowl or bowl-shaped part 201 and one or more lips 207. The bowl-shaped part 201 comprises a curved wall of non-zero thickness, one side of which is the inner surface 205 of the bowl-shaped part 201. The opposite side of the wall is the backside 206 of the bowl-shaped part. The lip 207 extends from the bowl-shaped part 201 behind the bowl-shaped part 201 to form a space 204. The space 204 may be shaped as a slot and/or pocket. As visible from FIG. 21, a majority of the lip 207 and the slot or pocket it helps form are behind a first half of the bowl-shaped part 201. The slot or pocket opens toward the second half (opposite the first half) of the bowl-shaped part 201. The slot or pocket opens toward the side of the device opposite the side from which the lip extends. The lip 207 begins at a front end of the device 200 and opens toward a rear end of the device 200. The device 200 is symmetrical/mirrored across the longitudinal plane at which section 28-28 is taken in FIG. 20.

[0069] The full rim 203 consists of a front rim 2031, a first side rim 2032, a rear rim 2033, and a second side rim 2034. The rear rim 2033 is the rim nearest the neck 302 of the spoon 300 to which the device 200 is shown attached in FIGS. 16-19. The front rim 203 is the rim furthest from the neck 302 and nearest the tip of the spoon 300. The half of the device 200 with rim 2032 mirrors the opposing half of the device with rim 2034. However, the device 200 is not symmetrical front to back. The front rim 2031 is of substantially lower height than any of the remainder of rim 203. That is to say, front rim 2031 is substantially lower in height than rims 2032, 2033, and 2034. Sections 2035 and 2036 of the rim 203 are tapered in height, gradually changing in rim height between the especially small/short height of front rim 2031 and substantially large/tall height of side rims 2032 and 2034.

[0070] The inner surface 205 of the bowl-shaped part 201 rises sharply and steeply to meet rims 2032, 2033, and 2036. By contrast, the inner surface 205 has only a slight and gradual rise from its lowest point to the rim 2031. The device 200 is tailored to eating from the rim 2031.

[0071] FIGS. 29-37 depict a generic and conventional spoon 300 representative of one spoon shape (but by no means the only spoon shape) to which exemplary devices such as accessories 100 and 200 discussed above may be attached. A spoon 300 traditionally includes a spoon bowl 331 and a handle 332. The handle 332 includes a neck 302 where the handle 332 meets and connects with the bowl 331. The bowl 331 has a rim 303 comprising or consisting of side rim 3032, side rim 3034, and front rim 3031. Some spoons may have a rear rim, but other spoons have no clearly identifiable rear rim. In the case of spoon 300, where the neck 302 meets the bowl 331 there is no “rim” in the traditional sense of the word. Accordingly rim 303 does not form a complete closed polygon traceable a full 360° around. The inner surface 305 of the bowl 331 of spoon 300 is the default food collection area of the eating utensil. An entirety of the inner surface 305 ceases to be a food collection area, however, once the spoon 300 has an accessory such as devices 100 or 200 attached. The inner surfaces 105 or 205 of such devices completely replaces the inner surface 305, thereby offering users different spoon bowl geometries while continuing to permit the use of handle 332 to control the system (spoon 300 and mounted accessory 100 or 200 together). Slots or pockets of exemplary eating utensil accessories are configured to receive part or an entirety of bowl 331 and grip its edges and surfaces. The lips which contribute to the formation of a slot or pocket space may wrap around one or more (including all of) the rims 3031, 3032, and 3034 of the spoon bowl 331.

[0072] The devices 100 and 200 may each be described as a handleless bowl with a concave side for food collection, a convex side, and one or more slots or pockets on the convex side which are configured to receive and grip a spoon bowl. As clear from FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, for example, in the case of device 100 the walls/sides of the pocket which form the boundaries of space 104 wrap/grip an entirety of the side rim 3032 of the bowl 331 of spoon 300. However, the opposite side rim 3034 is not wrapped/gripped by any part of the device 100. The front rim 3031 of the spoon 300 is partially but not completely enveloped, as clear in FIG. 4. In the case of device 200, by contrast, walls/sides of the pocket which form the boundaries of space 204 wrap/grip both side rims 3032 and 3034 of the bowl 331 of spoon 300. FIGS. 18 and 19 show this arrangement. The side rims 3032 and 3034 are fully enveloped near to the front rim 3031, which is fully enveloped by the pocket, too. However, parts of side rims 3032 and 3034 are exposed and not gripped near to the rear of the bowl 331.

[0073] The slot or pocket of devices 100 and 200 are sized such that a backside 106/206 of the bowl-shaped part 101/201 and a side of a lip 107/207 forming the slot or pocket are capable of simultaneously contacting a bowl 331 of a spoon inserted into the slot or pocket. The devices 100 and 200 are attachable to the spoon bowl such that the handleless bowl simultaneously contacts both a concave side and a convex side of the spoon bowl. Convexity of the backside 106/206 of the bowl 101/201 promotes a maximum amount of area of the backside 106/206 to be in contact with the concave inner surface 305 of the spoon 300. Friction forces between the backside 106/206 of the bowl 101/201 and the inner surface 305 of the spoon 300 contribute to a strong collective holding force that keeps the device 100/200 on the spoon 300 during eating and until a user deliberately and forcibly pulls the device 100/200 and spoon 300 apart. The side of the space 104/204 which contacts the backside 306 of the spoon may be naturally curved and/or deformable into a curved contour to conform to the backside 306, maximizing surface contact and resulting friction between the side of the space 104/204 and the backside 306 of the spoon.

[0074] Exemplary devices are attachable to most any available spoon including relatively customized spoons such as but not limited to spoons with thicker handles, a curved neck, or other features that make it different from a traditional commercial spoon such as spoon 300. FIGS. 38 and 39 give non-limiting examples of further spoons 400 and 500, respectively, to which exemplary eating utensil accessories according to this disclosure may be attached. FIG. 38 is a spoon 400 consisting of a built-up (enlarged) grip/handle 442, a bent neck 402, and a bowl 441. FIG. 39 is a spoon 500 with a bent neck 502, a conventional handle 552, and a bowl 551. Exemplary eating utensil accessories such as devices 100 or 200 discussed above may be attachable and detachable to either of the bowls 441 and 551, permitting a user to use either handle 442 or 552 for self-feeding while not being obligated to use the geometries of bowls 441 or 551.

[0075] FIG. 40 is a diagram of a bowl or bowl-shaped part 601 viewed from a top plan view. It is representative of other bowl-shaped parts discussed herein, for instance elements 101 and 201. Exemplary bowl-shaped parts of embodiments have a generally oblong, elliptical, and/or oval profile when viewed from the top. In such cases the maximum length is generally greater than the maximum width. However, in some embodiments the dimensions may be otherwise, e.g., the length and width may be equal. In each case a full rim may be closed, forming a loop of some closed geometry.

[0076] FIG. 40 illustrates one exemplary approach for defining where different sections of the full rim end and adjacent sections begin. For some embodiments, the physical contours of the full rim may be sufficient for one of ordinary skill in the art to readily identify where, for instance, a front rim ends and side rim begins. For other embodiments, the precise point on a rim where a front or rear rim ends and a side rims begins may not be of particular consequence. However, in the event specificity is required, FIG. 40 provides one means of delineating the sections. The means involves defining rim sections according to particular subparts of a full 360°. A circle 691 is inscribed within the top view contour of the bow-shaped part 601 to assist with marking of the angles. The reference line (0°) is chosen to be the line emanating from a center of the bowl 601 toward its front. Generally, rim falling within the arc between −120° and −60° will be side rim. Likewise, rim falling within the arc between 60° and 120° will be side rim. Rim falling within the arc between −165° and 165° is rear rim. Rim falling within the arc between −15° and 15° is front rim. The remaining segments are those between −165° to −120°, −60° to −15°, 15° to 60°, and 120° to 165°. Where precisely within these ranges a transition from rear rim to side rim, or front rim to side rim, may vary depending on the embodiment. As one non-limiting example, however, FIG. 40 is marked to illustrate a front rim 6031 between −30° and 30°, a first side rim 6032 between 30° and 150°, a rear rim 6033 between 150° and −150°, and a second side rim 6034 between −150° and −30°. This is but one non-limiting illustration for a breakdown of rim sections.

[0077] For some exemplary embodiments, one or both of the first and second side rims have a height (measured from the bottommost point of the concave inner surface) which permits a rotation of a predetermined number of degrees (e.g., at least 30 degrees, at least 45 degrees, at least 90 degrees) of the bowl-shaped part about a longitudinal axis of the bowl-shaped part before the lowest/shortest point of the first or second side rim is level with the bottommost point of the bowl-shaped part. A bottommost point of a concave inner surface may defined as a point for which, when the eating utensil is oriented with respect to gravity to retain a maximum quantity of liquid, there is no point on the inner surface which is lower (closer to Earth) than the bottommost point. There may be points which are as low as the bottommost point, however.

[0078] When optimally positioned with respect to gravity to hold and retain the largest possible volume of liquid, the bowl-shaped part of an exemplary device such as device 100 or 200 may be sized so such largest possible volume is at least one teaspoon, or at least one tablespoon, or at least two tablespoons, or at least three tablespoons. Generally, many exemplary embodiments will have a largest possible retention volume of no more than four cups, no more than three cups, no more than two cups, or no more than one cup. The particular size of any given embodiment may be selected at the time of manufacture to correspond exactly or nearly to standard and widespread sizes of silverware, e.g., a teaspoon-sized spoon or a tablespoon-sized spoon.

[0079] Where a range of values is provided in this disclosure, it is understood that each intervening value, to the tenth of the unit of the lower limit unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, between the upper and lower limit of that range and any other stated or intervening value in that stated range, is encompassed within the invention. The upper and lower limits of these smaller ranges may independently be included in the smaller ranges and are also encompassed within the invention, subject to any specifically excluded limit in the stated range. Where the stated range includes one or both of the limits, ranges excluding either or both of those included limits are also included in the invention.

[0080] As used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It is further noted that the claims may be drafted to exclude any optional element. As such, this statement is intended to serve as antecedent basis for use of such exclusive terminology as “solely”, “only”, and the like in connection with the recitation of claim elements, or use of a “negative” limitation.

[0081] As will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading this disclosure, each of the individual embodiments described and illustrated herein has discrete components and features which may be separated from or combined with the features of any of the other several embodiments without departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention. Any recited method can be carried out in the order of events recited or in any other order which is logically possible.

[0082] While exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed herein, one skilled in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.