Oral motor spoon

Abstract

An oral motor spoon for improving oral motor skills includes a handle attached to a bowl section that forms a forwardly-sloped concave bowl that curves sharply upwardly to a vertical plane adjacent the tip. The underside of the bowl section preferably includes a series of linear, textured ridges running transversely in parallel relation thereacross. The tip of the bowl section is preferably formed into a generally flat exterior edge in a vertical plane, and the upper horizontal edge of the tip is preferably elevated above than the remaining perimeter of the bowl.

Claims

1. An oral motor spoon for improving motor skills, comprising: a handle with a first end and a second end, wherein said handle extends in a longitudinal direction; a bowl section having a first end and a second end, said first end of said bowl section extending from said second end of said handle, and said second end of said bowl section forming a tip of said spoon, said tip including a generally horizontal, flat upper surface and terminating in a generally vertical, flat exterior front surface; said bowl section having an upper perimeter and including an interior surface that slopes downwardly from said first end of said bowl section and curves upwardly into a generally vertical plane from a bottom of said interior bowl surface to said perimeter of said bowl section at said tip; wherein said bowl section is wider at said tip than said first end thereof, said bowl section includes a generally horizontal bottom exterior surface; and said generally horizontal, flat upper surface of said tip defines a portion of said perimeter wherein said generally horizontal, flat upper surface is raised above a remaining portion of said perimeter.

2. The oral motor spoon set forth in claim 1, wherein said bowl section further includes a plurality of textured ridges extending in parallel relation along said bottom exterior surface thereof.

3. The oral motor spoon set forth in claim 1, wherein said spoon is made of food grade silicone.

4. The oral motor spoon set forth in claim 1, wherein said interior surface of said bowl section slopes downwardly in a direction from said first end of said bowl section toward said tip at an angle in the range of between 40 degrees and 50 degrees.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

(2) FIG. 1 is a top view of one embodiment of the oral motor spoon, wherein the oral motor spoon has a handle, a bowl section forming a generally concave bowl, and a thick, blunt, rectangular-shaped tip at a distal end thereof;

(3) FIG. 2 is a side view of one embodiment of the oral motor spoon, wherein the oral motor spoon includes bowl section forming a forwardly-sloped concave bowl and textured ridges running transversely along an underside thereof, and wherein the dashed lines indicate the shape of the inner surface of the bowl;

(4) FIG. 3 is a bottom view of one embodiment of the oral motor spoon, wherein the oral motor spoon includes three textured ridges in parallel relation, running transversely along the underside of the bowl;

(5) FIG. 4 is a rear view of one embodiment of the oral motor spoon, wherein an upper surface of the flat tip of the bowl section extends above the remaining upper perimeter the concave bowl; and

(6) FIG. 5 is a perspective front view of one embodiment of the oral motor spoon, wherein the front exterior portion of the tip is a smooth, flat, tip having a generally rectangular cross-section.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(7) The present invention includes, in a first embodiment, an oral motor spoon 10, as shown in FIGS. 1-5, and includes a handle 12 with a first end a second end, a thick, flat, blunt tip 14, and bowl section 16 including forwardly-sloped concave bowl 18. The handle 12 extends longitudinally, and the bowl section 16 extends from the second end of the handle 12, widening as toward the tip 14, which is positioned on the distal end 20 of the bowl 18.

(8) In a preferred embodiment, the tip 14 is formed into a flat, thick, blunt, rectangular-shaped section 22 that is positioned in a generally vertical plane in relation to the generally horizontally oriented handle 12. The upper edge 24 of the tip 14 is preferably flat, and is elevated above the remaining perimeter of the spoon 10, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. The width of the upper edge 24 of the tip 14 in a longitudinal direction, between the front edge 26 of the tip 14 and the distal end 28 of the interior, generally vertical, bowl surface 48 is preferably between 1.0 and 1.25 inches, although other widths may be suitable. When in use, this flat tip 14 pushes the user's tongue back into the user's mouth as the spoon enters the user's mouth. The interior portion 30 of the bowl section 16 is preferably positioned such that it slopes downwardly from the handle 12 towards the tip 14, at roughly a 45 degree angle 32 (preferably between 40-50 degrees), and curves sharply into a vertical plane 4 adjacent the tip 14. This unique slope 32 of the bowl 18 tends to urge food held therein to gravitate toward the tip 14. The bowl shape provides touch to the user's upper lip when the spoon 10 enters the user's mouth and allows the user's upper lip to slide down when clearing the bowl 18 of the spoon 10, which aids the user in learning how his or her upper lip should move when eating off of a spoon. Additionally, the bowl 18 includes a concave shape such that a user can hold liquids and other types of food in the bowl 18 of the spoon 10.

(9) In a preferred embodiment, the bowl section 16 includes three textured ridges 38 extending horizontally and transversely in parallel relation along an underside thereof, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The ridges 38 are preferably narrower than the width of the underside of the bowl section 16, so that they do not extend to each exterior side of the bowl 18, as shown. As the spoon 10 enters the user's mouth, the ridges 38 rub along the user's lower lip, increasing oral awareness, and provide stimulation to the lower lip, training user's to cup the bottom of the bowl 18 of the spoon 10 with his or her lower lip.

(10) In one embodiment, the tip 14 may include a rounded edge on the upper portion of the tip, instead of the generally rectangular-shaped tip discussed previously.

(11) Preferably, the oral motor spoon 10 is made of food grade silicone or other similar materials, but it should be understood that any suitable food grade material may be used.

(12) Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein. All features disclosed in this specification may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.