Patent ID: 6467175
Filing Date: 2002-10-22
Classification: A47G

Abstract:
A spoon for receiving and for delivering a liquid of soft food to a person, said spoon allowing the person to discharge the liquid or soft food from the spoon with his or her tongue and to bring his or her tongue into sufficiently close proximity to his or her plate to trigger a swallowing reflex so that he or she can swallow the liquid or soft food without withdrawing the spoon from his or her mouth, said spoon comprising in combination:a handle and an adjoining through-shaped concave mouthpiece, which mouthpiece is comprised of a soft, flexible material, with the material thickness of the mouthpiece decreasing in a direction from said handle toward the tip of said mouthpiece; said mouthpiece being converted from its concave shape to a convex shape by the pressure of the tongue, so that said mouthpiece conforms to the person's palate sufficiently that the pressure of the tongue against the mouthpiece triggers the swallowing reflex.