HK1214745A1 - Spoon - Google Patents

Abstract

A spoon is provided that has a handle, a neck, a head, and a spoon or food receiving recess that has a front edge and a rear edge. The rear edge is raised such that a straight line joining the front edge and the rear edge extends in the same general direction as a straight line extending in the general direction of the length of the handle of the spoon. Preferably, the neck is spaced from the spoon or food receiving recess by a distance of the same order as the dimension of the recess itself. The cross-sectional size of the spoon increases from the neck to a position corresponding to the rear edge of the recess with the outer surface being smoothly contoured to provide a smooth contact surface for the lips of a person using same to encircle the spoon between the neck and recess.

Description

Spoon

Technical Field

The invention relates to a spoon.

A variant of the invention relates to an infant feeding spoon which is particularly suitable for use as a so-called first feeding spoon for use during weaning when an infant first starts to ingest solid food. Typically such infants are about 4 to 12 months old, but such feeding spoons may be used in any other individual where appropriate.

Another variation of the present invention relates to a scoop that, at least in some instances, is advantageously used to feed a medication or foodstuff to a physically impaired person who has difficulty in effectively removing the contents of a conventional scoop.

Background

For the purpose of feeding solid food to an infant and training the infant to eat solid food, a number of different infant feeding spoons have been proposed and manufactured. However, the main improvements that have been presented in the past few years have focused on heat sensitive spoons where the material changes color and soft resilient spoons that utilize both configurations.

However, to the best of the applicant's knowledge, there is little innovative activity around the oral engineering for infants. Both of the apparently most popular infant feeding scoops available on the market have two material construction methods to make a soft rubber contact surface, and both are small versions of the standard larger scoop geometry. None of these infant feeding scoops appear to enable the ergonomics of the first spoon or training scoop from the perspective of an infant who is not intended at all for taking anything other than milk in one form or another.

The applicant has felt the need for an infant feeding spoon which may be more ergonomically suitable for use as a first spoon.

To assist in understanding the invention and this patent specification, a ladle will be considered to have a handle, a neck where the cross-sectional dimension of the handle is at a minimum and where the handle is connected to a head of the ladle which increases in size from the neck, and a food or medicament receiving recess.

Thus, with reference to fig. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a typical prior art infant feeding spoon has a handle (a), a neck (B), a head (C) and a food or drug receiving recess (D). The food or drug receiving recess is generally elongate and oval or slightly egg-shaped in plan view, with its length extending in the direction of the handle. The depth of the food or drug receiving recess is typically about 4 to 5 mm, its length is about 35 to 40 mm and its width is about 20 mm. A line (E) connecting the front edge (F) and rear edge (G) of the food or drug receiving recess is generally horizontal in the operative position and intersects a line (H) extending in a general direction along the length of the ladle handle portion at a short distance rearwardly of the neck portion.

In another application of the spoon, it is often difficult for a physically impaired person using the conventional spoon to eat a medicine or food and may result in an improper removal of the spoon with the medicine or food contained therein.

Disclosure of Invention

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a ladle having a handle, a neck, a head and a spoon or food receiving recess having a front edge and a rear edge, wherein the rear edge is raised such that a line joining the front and rear edges extends in substantially the same direction as a line extending in a substantially direction along the length of the ladle handle.

Other features of this aspect of the invention provide: the neck is spaced from the spoon or food-receiving recess by a distance of the same order of magnitude as the size of the spoon or food-receiving recess, and preferably by a distance of between 15 and 25 millimetres, and more preferably by a distance of about 20 millimetres; as for the cross-sectional size of the scoop, which increases from the neck to a position corresponding to the rear edge of the spoon-like portion or food receiving recess, the rear surface profile is smooth to provide a smooth contact surface for the lips of a person using the scoop, thereby enclosing the scoop between the neck and the spoon-like portion or food receiving recess; the cross-sectional shape of the neck is generally elliptical, the major axis of the ellipse preferably measuring about 12 to 16 mm and more preferably about 14 mm, the cross-sectional shape of the scoop at the rear edge of the spoon or food receiving recess is larger and generally elliptical, the upper side of the ellipse being convex upwards, the major axis of the ellipse preferably measuring 18 to 22 mm and more preferably about 20 mm.

Still other features of the invention provide: the spoon or food-receiving recess has a shape, in plan view, that is very nearly circular, with a width of between 18 and 25 mm and preferably 20mm, and a length of between 20 and 30 mm, preferably about 25 mm, the spoon or food-receiving recess being shallow with respect to a line connecting the top edges of two opposite sides of the spoon or food-receiving recess, such a depth preferably being about 1.5 to 2 mm; and the spoon or food receiving recess sides are slightly recessed between the front and rear edges thereof for the purpose of clearing food from the recess surface by the lips of a person, thereby providing a smooth surface to the recess.

The entire scoop may be of solid construction, in which case the scoop may conveniently be made of a suitable plastics material which may be moulded as a single moulded piece, or alternatively different materials may be utilised in different steps to provide a satisfactorily rigid structure having a soft rubbery outer surface. Of course, the scoop can be injection molded with other materials, such as a plastic foam filler material. Solid or hollow scoops may also be made of a suitable plastic material or metal, whereas solid scoops are typically made of wood, wood-based panels (wood) or metal. There are many different possibilities regarding the manufacture of the scoop and those identified above are not intended to be exhaustive in any way.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a scoop according to the present invention, wherein an inner plastics element is moulded first, then one half of an outer cover is moulded over the inner plastics element to cover a first major surface thereof, and then a second half of the outer cover is moulded over the inner plastics element to cover a second major surface thereof.

The above defined method has the following advantages: for the purpose of positioning the inner plastic element in the second moulded part, the registration formations formed on the inner plastic element may be overmoulded in a third moulding step so that they are completely covered by the second half of the outer cover layer.

In order that the above and other features of the invention may be more fully understood an expanded description of a particular geometric embodiment based on the invention is now provided with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a typical prior art infant feeding spoon;

FIG. 2 is a side view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of one embodiment of a scoop according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a conceptual side view thereof;

FIG. 5 is an inverted plan view thereof;

FIG. 6 is a side view thereof;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view thereof;

FIG. 8 is an end view of the scoop from the forward end thereof;

FIG. 9 is an end view from the rear end thereof;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional side view of the scoop taken along line X-X of FIG. 3;

FIG. 11 is a cross-section taken through the neck of the scoop along line XI-XI in FIG. 3 and showing the peripheral shape along line XI-XI;

FIG. 12 is a cross-section taken along line XII-XII of FIG. 3, i.e. at the rear of the spoon or food-receiving recess, and showing the peripheral shape along line XII-XII;

FIG. 13 is a cross-section taken along line XIII-XIII in FIG. 3, i.e. through the center of the spoon or food-receiving recess, and showing the peripheral shape along line XII-XII;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional side view of a ladle made in accordance with a preferred manufacturing process of the present invention; and

fig. 15 is an exploded view showing the different layers constituting the scoop shown in fig. 14.

Detailed Description

In the embodiment shown in figures 1 to 13 of the drawings, the scoop 1 has a handle 2, a neck 3, a head 4 and a spoon or food receiving recess 5. The spoon or food receiving recess has a front edge 6 and a rear edge 7.

The cross-sectional dimension of the scoop is smallest at its neck and increases from the neck to a position corresponding to the rear edge of the spoon or food receiving recess. The neck is located significantly rearwardly of the rear edge of the spoon or food-receiving recess such that there is a distance of about 20mm between the rear edge of the spoon or food-receiving recess and the neck.

The rear surface of the scoop is smoothly contoured to provide a smooth contact surface to the lips of, for example, an infant using the scoop, so as to enclose the scoop between the neck and the spoon-like portion or food receiving recess. The cross-sectional shape of the outer periphery of the neck and thus of the neck is generally elliptical, as shown in fig. 11, with the major axis measuring from 12 to 16 mm, preferably about 14 mm. The outer circumference and thus the cross-sectional shape of the scoop at the rear edge of the spoon-like portion or food receiving recess is enlarged and is also substantially elliptical, the upper side 11 of which is convex upwards, as shown in fig. 12, the major axis of the ellipse measuring from 18 to 22 mm, preferably about 20 mm.

The spoon or food receiving recess has a reasonably close to circular shape in plan view, with a width of about 20mm and a length of about 25 mm. The spoon or food receiving recess is shallow relative to the line joining the top edges 12 of the two opposite sides of the spoon or food receiving recess, as shown in fig. 13, such that the depth is preferably about 1.5 to 2 mm. Furthermore, as clearly shown in fig. 13, the thickness of the scoop in the area of the spoon-like portion or food-receiving recess is considerable and can be measured from 4 to 5 mm. This provides that the lips of the person can slide over them while the food will be removed from the recess. The sides of the spoon or food receiving recess may be slightly recessed between their front and rear edges to provide a smooth surface to the recess for the purpose of the lips clearing food from the surface of the recess. This is clearly shown in figure 6 and is indicated by reference numeral 13. The concavity may be, to some extent, about 3 or 4 millimeters.

This arrangement causes the rear edge of the spoon or food receiving recess to be raised significantly such that a line 15 connecting the front edge of the spoon or food receiving recess and its rear edge extends in the same general direction as line 16, the line (16) extending in the general direction of the length of the spoon handle, as shown in figure 4.

One consequence of this arrangement is that the bottom profile of the scoop follows a shallower feeding plane and the applicant believes that the ergonomics is improved.

In the illustrations comprising fig. 1-13, the illustrated embodiment of the scoop is shown as being made of a single plastic with hatching of the plastic used relative to the simply illustrated portions. However, there are many different methods in which the scoop may be manufactured by some of the methods already mentioned above. The scoop may even be made hollow if it is made of a suitable material by a suitable method. It is important that the peripheral shape of the scoop is such as to be substantially as shown in figures 11 to 13, that the lips of the person slide so smoothly and uninterruptedly over the outer surface of the scoop.

At present, however, the applicant prefers to use the method of manufacturing the ladle according to the present invention as shown in fig. 14 and 15. In this case, the relatively rigid inner plastic unit 21 is moulded first, the registration formations 22 serving to ensure that the pre-formed plastic elements are in registration with the mould in which the moulding process subsequently takes place. In the half of the subsequent moulding process, in this case the upper half 23 of the very soft rubber outer cover is moulded over the inner plastic element so as to cover its first main surface.

A third moulding process is then utilised to apply the second half 24 of the softer outer cover layer onto the inner plastics element to cover its second major surface and the registration formations. The registration feature may thus be completely covered by the outer cover layer.

Whatever process is used to make a scoop according to the present invention, the resulting scoop is viewed as having various regions of alternating geometry to impart unique characteristics thereto.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the scoop of the present invention is particularly suitable for use as an infant feeding scoop. The planar shape and size of the spoon-like portion or food receiving recess of the scoop reduces the amount of food that can be placed on the scoop recess. The raised rear edge of the scoop recess forms a raised ridge which forms a support for the food and triggers the upper lip so that the child contains the scoop and swallows all of the food. Raising the rear edge obviously causes the child to bite down, suck the food away and clear the scoop of any food.

As a result of the invention, a feeding plane that is inclined forwardly towards the baby's mouth appears to improve the baby's ability to ingest and swallow food on the scoop. The shortened food-holding recess alleviates the overbite required by the infant to clear food from the scoop. This also allows the child to bite into the food and close their lips on the food and not let the lips into the food, thereby reducing the food rubbing on the face.

Although primarily directed to baby feeding spoons, the spoon made in accordance with the present invention also has a beneficial effect in feeding or taking medicine to physically impaired persons who cannot effectively use conventional cutlery to feed themselves or take medicine. In fact, it is envisaged that a health care professional may advantageously use the scoop according to the present invention in order to feed or administer the medication to a physically impaired person.

Many variations may be made to the embodiments of the invention described above without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (14)

1. A scoop having a handle, a neck, a head, and a spoon or food receiving recess having a front edge and a rear edge, wherein the rear edge is raised such that a line connecting the front edge and the rear edge extends in the same general direction as a line extending in the general direction of the length of the handle of the scoop.

2. A ladle according to claim 1, wherein the neck is spaced from the spoon or food receiving recess by a distance of the same order of magnitude as the size of the spoon or food receiving recess.

3. A ladle according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the ladle increases in cross-sectional dimension from the neck to a position corresponding to the rear edge of the spoon or food receiving recess, the external surface being smoothly contoured to provide a smooth contact surface for the lips of a person using the ladle to enclose the ladle between the neck and the spoon or food receiving recess.

4. A ladle according to any preceding claim, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the neck is substantially oval, the cross-sectional shape of the ladle at the rear edge of the spoon-like portion or food-receiving recess being larger and substantially oval, the upper side of the oval being convex upwardly.

5. A ladle according to any preceding claim, wherein the spoon or food receiving recess has a shape in plan view that closely approximates a circle, having a width of between 18 and 25 millimetres and a length of between 20 and 30 millimetres.

6. A ladle according to claim 5, wherein the spoon or food receiving recess is approximately 20mm wide and approximately 25 mm long.

7. A ladle according to any preceding claim, wherein the spoon or food receiving recess is shallow relative to a line joining the top edges of two opposing sides of the spoon or food receiving recess.

8. The scoop of claim 7, wherein the spoon or food receiving recess has a depth from 1.5 mm to 2 mm relative to a line joining the top edges of two opposing sides of the spoon or food receiving recess.

9. A spoon as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the sides of the spoon or food receiving recess are slightly concave between the front and rear edges thereof for the purpose of a person's lips clearing food from the surface of the recess, thereby providing a smooth surface to the recess.

10. The scoop of claim 9, wherein the depression has a depth of about 3 to 4 millimeters to some extent.

11. A ladle according to any preceding claim, wherein the neck is positioned at a distance of 15 mm and 25 mm rearwardly of the rear edge of the spoon or food-receiving recess.

12. A ladle according to any preceding claim wherein the entire ladle is of solid construction consisting of a relatively rigid inner plastics element and a soft rubbery outer surface.

13. A method of manufacturing a scoop according to claim 12 wherein a relatively rigid inner plastics element is moulded first, a second moulding step immediately following which moulds approximately half of the outer cover layer over the inner plastics element to cover its first major surface, and a third moulding step is then carried out to mould the second half of the outer cover layer over the inner plastics element to cover its second major surface.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein a registration formation is formed on the inner plastic element for the purpose of molding the half of the outer cover layer onto the inner plastic element in a second molding step, and the registration formation is used to position the inner plastic element in a second molded piece.