AU721138B3

AU721138B3 - Eating implement

Info

Publication number: AU721138B3
Application number: AU63048/99A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Dominic Choy
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-12-03
Filing date: 1999-12-03
Publication date: 2000-06-22
Anticipated expiration: 2005-12-03

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION PETTY PATENT Invention Title: EATING IMPLEMENT Name of Applicant: DOMINIC CHOY The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 2 EATING IMPLEMENT The present invention relates to eating implements.

Traditional western food is consumed using a suitable combination of knife, fork and or spoon and some Asian food is traditionally consumed using a type of soup spoon and a fork or alternatively chopsticks for noodle based dishes.

Furthermore a product known under the trade mark SPLADE has been available for many years, that product being aimed at being a combination of a knife and fork with a portion remote from the tip which functions as a slight bowl. This product is aimed at facilitating informal eating particularly when standing up and can be used for a wide variety of food items typically found on a buffet.

However, particularly for noodle type Asian dishes there is a problem with the lack of a convenient and economically manufactured eating implement which can be used just with one hand despite the fluid present and the slippery nature of noodles or similar products. With the growing popularity of takeaway foods, especially of the Asian variety, there has been a longstanding need for a convenient, effective and readily reproduced design which lands itself to volume production e.g. plastics materials for single use or limited use purposes.

According to the present invention there is provided an eating implement adapted to be manufactured in plastics material for single use for noodle dishes, the implement comprising: (a)an elongate handle for gripping, (b)a bowl shape head connected to the handle for handling noodle food dishes, (c)the bowl shape head having a generally concave form viewed in cross-section both transversely and longitudinally and having a leading end portion J-%SpccO 3993O 349U3192.doc 2112199 3 which in plan view is of convex arcuate form, and a multiplicity of V-shaped teeth being formed in the leading end portion of the bowl, the tips of the teeth being at the arcuate convex edge with wedging V-shape slots for noodle engagement between adjacent teeth, the laterally outermost teeth having an outer edge profile smoothly blended with a curved edge of the bowl shaped head and the curved edge having smooth edges to facilitate use in the manner of a spoon but the edges being sufficiently thin to facilitate cutting of noodles and similar products, and each tooth having a length in the range of 10 to 15 mm with tips spaced apart by approximately 3 mm and the laterally outermost teeth being shorter in length than the centrally disposed teeth.

Preferably there are five teeth.

Preferably the bowl in transverse cross-section is substantially part elliptical and the length of the bowl in plan view is approximately 1.5 times the width of the bowl in plan view.

The handle, in a preferred embodiment, has a generally concave form concave on the side of the handle which is on the same side as the concave bowl of the head and the edge of the handle and the edge of the bowl blend into a smooth profile, whereby the eating implement has a smooth profile and is of rigid form.

For illustrative purposes only an embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:- Figure 1 is a front aspective view from above of an embodiment of the invention; 399\300 349\33192.doc 28/04/00 4 Figure 2 is a plan view of the embodiment; Figure 3 is a side view of the embodiment; Figure 4 is an inverted plan view of the embodiment; Figure 5 is an in view of the embodiment veered from the left of Figure 3; Figure 6 is an in view from the right hand end of the embodiment as shown in Figure 3; Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view along the line VII-7 of Figure 3; Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view on the section line VIII-8 of Figure 3; Figure 9 is a sectional view taken along the line IX-9 of Figure 3.

The illustrated embodiment is adapted to be moulded at low cost and at high volume in plastics material and is adapted for single use on an economic basis. The implement comprises a handle 10, a bowl portion 11 and a forked tip portion 12. The handle is provided with comfort and rigidity by the generally curved shape as seen in Figure 3 and by virtue of the concave styling in the upper face.

The bowl portion 11 in plan view is elliptical and concave at the upper face and, as best seen in Figure 2, the leading edge has a series of v-shaped teeth with tips placed on a curved imaginary line around the leading edge of the implement. The teeth are of a sharp v-shape form and it has been found this combination of features is especially beneficial noodle type dishes. The noodles wedge into the fork area and can readily be gripped, scooped up and consumed.

JSpcc 39W3O 349W33192.doe 2112199

Claims

1. An eating implement adapted to be manufactured in plastics material for single use for noodle dishes, the implement comprising: an elongate handle for gripping, a bowl shape head connected to the handle for handling noodle food dishes, the bowl shape head having a generally concave form viewed in cross-section both transversely and longitudinally and having a leading end portion which in plan view is of convex arcuate form, and a multiplicity of V-shaped teeth being formed in the leading end portion of the bowl, the tips of the teeth being at the arcuate convex edge with wedging V-shape slots for noodle engagement between adjacent teeth, the laterally outermost teeth having an outer edge profile smoothly blended with a curved edge of the bowl shaped head and the curved edge having smooth edges to facilitate use in the manner of a spoon but the edges being sufficiently thin to facilitate cutting of noodles and similar products, and each tooth having a length in the range of 10 to 15 mm with tips spaced apart by approximately 3 mm and the laterally outermost teeth being shorter in length than the centrally disposed teeth.

2. An eating implement as claimed in claim 1 and having five teeth.

3. An eating element as claimed in claim 1 and wherein the bowl in transverse cross-section is substantially part elliptical and the length of the bowl in plan view is approximately 1.5 times the width of the bowl in plan view, and the handle is a generally concave form concave on the side of the handle which is on the same side as J 00RAL,9 2 J:\Speci\300 399\300 349\33192.doc 28/04/00 -4o D RN 6 the concave bowl of the head and the edge of the handle and the edge of the bowl blend into a smooth profile, whereby the eating implement has a smooth profile and is of rigid form. JJSp= MW- 399M3O- 349%33191doc V12199