Abstract:
An articulating eating utensil consists of a utensil head, a shaft, and a handle. The utensil head and the handle are formed of a first material, and the shaft is formed of a second material. The utensil head is provided as the bowl of a spoon, the tines of a fork, a spatula, or any other utensil head useful in handling food for consumption. In a first configuration, the shaft is retracted within an interior cavity of the handle and the utensil head is pivoted toward the handle, such that the eating utensil is a small and lightweight instrument. In a second configuration, the utensil head is pivoted away from the handle and the shaft is extended from the interior cavity of the handle, such that the eating utensil functions like a traditional non-articulating eating utensil.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/005,709 filed on Dec. 7, 2007. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to eating utensils, and particularly to eating utensils having an articulating food handling utensil head and an extendable handle. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    It is common to purchase food products ready for consumption in portable containers. Examples include soups, pastas, yogurt, and many others. Most of these products require an eating utensil to simplify consumption; however, they are often sold without a suitable utensil. There are numerous reasons why manufacturers choose not include an accompanying eating utensil along with portable food products. 
         [0004]    First, inclusion of an eating utensil ultimately increases the retail price of the food product. As is well known, manufacturers strive to sell products at the lowest possible retail price at which an acceptable profit can be generated. Thus, by forcing purchasers to supply their own eating utensils, manufactures are able to reduce the cost per unit of each food product, resulting in a lower retail price. Of course, consumers benefit from the lower price; however, some consumers may feel the lower price does not compensate for the inconvenience of having to supply an eating utensil. 
         [0005]    Second, the size of some portable food products makes packaging traditional eating utensils with portable food products difficult for manufacturers. For example, consider a portable soup container or a yogurt product. Often, the containers in which these products are sold do not have a dimension equal to or greater than the length of a traditional plastic eating utensil. Thus, if a manufacturer were to include a traditional eating utensil with these products, the utensil would very likely protrude from the container thereby making packaging and displaying the product prohibitively difficult. 
         [0006]    Third, some manufactures do not include eating utensils with portable food products because currently available disposable eating utensils are of such a low quality that many consumers opt not to use them even when they are provided. For example, some disposable spoons are often too pliable to support a full bowl of hot food product. Likewise, the tines of some disposable forks are too pliable to adequately pierce a food product. Furthermore, some consumers may find currently available disposable eating utensils uncomfortable to use. Specifically, some eating utensils have sharp or irregular edges that might irritate a user&#39;s mouth. Of course, high strength and comfortable eating utensils are available; however, as previously mentioned, the cost and size of these products prohibits manufacturers from including them with the sale of most portable food products. 
         [0007]    In view of the foregoing, it would be advantageous to provide a sturdy and comfortable eating utensil for consuming portable food products. It would also be advantageous to provide a compact eating utensil that can be easily packaged with most portable food products, regardless of the package size. Furthermore, it would be advantageous if the eating utensil was inexpensive and simple to manufacture. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    A new eating utensil includes a utensil head, a shaft, and a handle end. The utensil head is pivotally connected to a first end of the shaft, such that the utensil head articulates between an unfolded and a folded position. The utensil head may include a spoon bowl, fork tines, a spatula, or the like depending on the food product that it accompanies. The handle surrounds a shaft, which is configured to slide between a retracted and an extended position. Therefore, the eating utensil can be arranged in at least two different configurations. 
         [0009]    In an unfolded configuration, the shaft is extended from the handle and the utensil head is pivoted away from the handle and locked in place, such that the eating utensil takes the form of a traditional non-articulating eating utensil. A detent and a tab ensure that the utensil head remains stationary and the shaft does not retract into the handle while the eating utensil is in the unfolded configuration. The unfolded utensil remains rigid when used to consume food products. Alternatively, in a folded configuration, the shaft is retracted into the handle and the utensil head is pivoted to rest upon the handle. In the folded configuration, the eating utensil has a total length approximately thirty-three to sixty percent of the length of the eating utensil in the unfolded configuration. Thus, the folded utensil has a very small size allowing it to be packaged with a wide variety of food products. 
         [0010]    The new eating utensil may be inexpensively formed with a two-shot sequential injection molding process. The process utilizes at least two different polymers to form the eating utensil comprised of at least two different materials. The first polymer is used to form the shaft, and the second polymer is used to form the handle and the utensil head. The two polymers are selected such that they are chemically incompatible and do not bond together during or after the molding process. Therefore, the handle material can be injected as a molten polymer around a portion of the shaft without the handle material bonding to the shaft, thus allowing the handle to slide about the shaft after the molding process when the utensil has sufficiently cooled. Similarly, the utensil head can be injected as a molten polymer around a portion of the shaft and still articulate about the shaft after the utensil has sufficiently cooled. 
         [0011]    The above described features and advantages, as well as others, will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. While it would be desirable to provide an eating utensil that provides one or more of these or other advantageous features as may be apparent to those reviewing this disclosure, the teachings disclosed herein extend to those embodiments, which fall within the scope of the appended claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the above-mentioned advantages or include all of the above-mentioned features. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  depicts a perspective view of the eating utensil in the unfolded configuration as disclosed herein. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  depicts a perspective view of the eating utensil of  FIG. 1  in the folded configuration. 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  depicts a top view of the junction between the utensil head and the first shaft of the eating utensil of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  depicts a side view of the utensil head and the first shaft of the eating utensil illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  depicts a perspective view of the first shaft and the handle of the eating utensil of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  depicts a bottom view of the eating utensil of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  depicts a flowchart illustrative of a process for forming the eating utensil of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  depicts an orthographic view of the first stage of the molding process for molding the eating utensil of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 9  depicts an orthographic view of the second stage of the molding process for molding the eating utensil of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 10  depicts an orthographic view of the third stage of the molding process for molding the eating utensil of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0022]    As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the eating utensil  100  includes a first shaft  104  made of a first material, a second shaft provided as an handle end portion  108  made of a second material, and a utensil head  112  also made of the second material, the utensil head configured for food handling. The first shaft  104  and the second shaft  108  together form a complete handle for the eating utensil. The utensil head  112  is pivotally connected to the first end of the shaft  104 . The opposite end of the shaft  104  is connected to the handle end  108 , such that the shaft  104  may be extended and retracted into the handle end  108 . The eating utensil  100 , as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , is in a configuration suitable for handling food, herein termed the unfolded configuration. Whereas, the eating utensil  100 , illustrated in  FIG. 2 , is in a compact configuration suitable for packaging with a food product, herein termed the folded configuration. In the folded configuration the utensil  100  is only thirty-three to sixty percent of the length of the utensil  100  in the unfolded configuration, thereby making the utensil  100  easy to package with food products. Below, each element of the utensil  100  and a process for manufacturing  700  are described in detail. 
         [0023]    Illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the shaft  104  is connected to the utensil head  112  and the handle end  108 . The shaft  104  includes a pivot rod  116 , one or more utensil head detents  120 , a sloped depression  124 , an elongated groove  128 , and a handle detent  132  ( FIG. 6 ). The pivot rod  116  is located at the end of the shaft  104  proximal the utensil head  112 , and extends across the width of the shaft  104 . The rod  116  has a generally circular shape, except for the utensil head detents  120 , which protrude from the rod  116  approximately one to two millimeters. The utensil head detents  120  are explained below in further detail with reference to the utensil head  112 . Likewise, the sloped depression  124 , elongated groove  128 , and handle detent  132  are described in further detail with reference to the handle end  108 . 
         [0024]    The utensil head  112 , as best illustrated in the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , is suitable for handling food for consumption. The utensil head  112  is shown as the bowl of a spoon in the disclosed embodiments; however, other types of utensil heads  112  may also be provided including forks, knives, spatulas, and the like. Furthermore, other types of spoon bowls having various sizes may be provided including bowls with perforations or slots. The utensil head  112  is formed with a process  700  described below that ensures the edges of the utensil head  112  are free from abrasions and other irregularities that might irritating the user&#39;s mouth as food is drawn from the utensil head  112 . 
         [0025]    The utensil head  112  includes a connecting member  136  joining the utensil head  112  to the pivot rod  116 , as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . In the disclosed embodiment, the connecting member  136  does not have an opening or slot used to attach the utensil head  112  to the pivot rod  116 . Instead, the connecting member  136  completely surrounds the pivot rod  116  and the utensil head detents  120 , as can be accomplished through a two-shot injection molding process, as explained in further detail below. Specifically, the connecting member  136  is formed by injecting molten polymer around the pivot rod  116  and the utensil head detents  120 . Therefore, the connecting member  136  cannot be removed from the shaft  104  without destroying the functionality of the utensil  100 . 
         [0026]    As briefly mentioned above, the shaft  104  includes one or more utensil head detents  120  that stabilize the rotational position of the utensil head  112  about the pivot rod  116 , as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . In the unfolded configuration the utensil head detents  120  and the pivot rod  116  are completely surrounded by the connecting member  136 , as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . Thus, the utensil head detents  120  function to maintain the position of the utensil head  112  when the utensil head  112  is in the unfolded configuration. However, when the utensil head  112  is articulated to the folded position the utensil head detents  120  deform the connection member  136 , thereby introducing a gap between portions of the connecting member  136  and the pivot rod  116 . Therefore, the utensil head  112  and connecting member  136  should be formed of a material that can withstand the forces exerted by the utensil head detents  120  when the utensil head  112  is in the folded configuration. Suitable materials are described below in reference to the process  700  utilized to mold the utensil  100 . 
         [0027]    With continued reference to  FIG. 4 , the connecting member  136  includes a flat portion  140 , which abuts a receiving surface  144  on the shaft  104 . The receiving surface  144  is sized to form a continuous interface with the flat surface  140  when the utensil head  112  is in the unfolded configuration. The continuous surface forms a strong junction between the connecting member  136  and the shaft  104  that prevents the utensil head  112  from hyper extending beyond the degree of rotation illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0028]    The handle end  108  is coupled to the end of the shaft  104  opposite the utensil head  112 , such that the shaft  104  can slide within the handle end  108  from an extended position, illustrated in  FIG. 1 , to a retracted position, illustrated in  FIG. 2 . The handle end  108  is formed from the same material as the utensil head  112 ; therefore, the handle end  108  is sufficiently rigid, but also flexible and elastic. The handle end  108  includes an interior cavity  148  (outlined in  FIG. 6 ), a slot  156  ( FIG. 6 ), and a tab  160  each of which are explained below. 
         [0029]    The interior cavity  148 , illustrated in  FIG. 6 , has virtually the same dimensions as the exterior dimensions of the shaft  104 , due to the method of manufacture. Specifically, the handle end  108  is formed by injecting molten polymer around the exterior of the shaft  104 . Thus, the shaft  104  is slideably positioned in the interior cavity  148  of the handle end  108 , as explained in further detail below with reference to the process  700  for manufacturing the utensil  100 . The interior cavity  148  permits the shaft  104  to extend from and retract into the handle end  108 . When extended, the handle end  108  increases the total length of the eating utensil  100  such that the dimensions of the utensil  100  in the unfolded configuration are very similar to the dimensions of a traditional stainless steel spoon, thereby making the eating utensil  100  comfortable to hold. When retracted, the handle end  108  encompasses most of the shaft  104 , thereby decreasing the total length of the utensil  100  and making the utensil  100  easier to package. 
         [0030]    The slot  156  is formed in the bottom of the handle end  108 , as illustrated in  FIG. 6 . The slot  156  is sized to have a width approximately equal to the handle detent  132 , which is a projection from the bottom of the shaft  104  that prevents the shaft  104  from being completely withdrawn and removed from the handle end  108 . The length of the slot  156  determines the distance the shaft  104  extends from the handle end  108 . Note that the position of the handle detent  132  ensures that a considerable portion of the shaft  104  remains within the handle end  108  even when the shaft  104  is in the unfolded position to give the utensil  100  stability. Specifically, when the utensil  100  is in the unfolded configuration, the handle end  108  and the shaft  104  form a rigid member that does not bend or flex as the utensil  100  is used to pick up food. 
         [0031]    The handle end  108  also includes a tab  160  that in conjunction with the elongated groove  128  of the shaft  104  prevents the shaft  104  from being retracted into the handle end  108  after the shaft  104  has been extended from the handle end  108 . The tab  160  is sized such that when the utensil  100  is in the folded the configuration the tab  160  fills the sloped depression  124 , which is an indentation in the top surface of the shaft  104  approximately the same size as the tab  160 . As the shaft  104  is drawn from the handle end  108 , the tab  160  slides out of the sloped depression  124 , slightly deforming the upper surface of the handle end  108  in the process. The tab  160  then slides across the upper surface of the shaft  104  until it reaches the elongated groove  128 . The elongated groove  128  is a channel having a depth slightly greater than the distance the tab  160  protrudes from the handle end  108 , as best illustrated in  FIG. 3 . When the tab  160  reaches the elongated groove  128 , the elasticity of the handle end  108  snaps the tab  160  into the groove  128  and the handle end  108  returns to its original shape. In embodiment illustrated, once the tab  160  is seated in the groove  128  the shaft  104  cannot be retracted into the handle end  108 . Of course, a tab  160  retraction member (not illustrated) could be included to lift the tab  160  out of the groove  128  so that the shaft  104  can be retracted into the handle end  108 . 
         [0032]    The utensil  100  may be produced using a multi-shot sequential injection molding (“SIM”) process  700  as illustrated in the flowchart of  FIG. 7 . Sequential injection molding enables manufacturers to inject at least two types of molten polymers or resins into a die, a mold, or a mold having multiple sections referred to as mold details. The injected polymers may have similar characteristics or may be quite different. For example, depending on the characteristics of the polymers, the molten polymers may bond together during the injection process. Alternatively, the polymers may remain separate both during and after the molding process. 
         [0033]    In the present invention, two polymers are utilized to form the eating utensil  100 . The first polymer is used to mold the shaft  104 , and the second polymer is used to mold the handle end  108  and the utensil head  112 . The polymers are chosen such that they are chemically incompatible and do not bond together during or after the molding process. Furthermore, injection of the second polymer does not impact the shape of the component or components formed by the first polymer. Suitable first polymers for molding the shaft  104  include, but are not limited to polystyrene, polyester, styrene acrylonitrile, or a suitable bioresin. Likewise, suitable second polymers for molding the handle end  108  and the utensil head  112  include, but are not limited to polypropylene, high density polyethylene, or a suitable bioresin. The specific molding process  700  utilized to form the eating utensil  100  is explained below. 
         [0034]    The molding process  700  begins at a first molding station having a mold with three mold details labeled A 1 , B, and C 1 , as illustrated in  FIG. 8 . To begin the process  700 , the mold details of station  1  are closed (block  704 ) and molten polymer of the first type is injected into the mold details A 1 , B, C 1 , thereby forming the shaft  104  as illustrated in  FIG. 8  (block  708 ). Once the polymer is no longer molten, the mold details of station  1  are opened (block  712 ). Using mold detail B of station  1 , the rigid shaft  104  may be automatically transported to a second molding station, which includes mold details A 2 , B, and C 2  (block  716 ). Specifically, an automated system lifts mold detail B and transports the mold detail to the second station. As illustrated in  FIG. 9 , mold detail B supports the shaft  104  during transport. The system then lowers mold detail B into the mold details of the second molding station. Thus, the process  700  may use the same mold detail B at both molding stations. 
         [0035]    After the shaft  104  is transported to the second molding station, the mold details A 2 , B, and C 2  are closed around the rigid shaft  104  (block  720 ). Next, the injection molding machine injects molten polymer of the second type around the outer surface of the shaft  104 , as permitted by the mold details, thereby forming the utensil head  112  and handle end  108 , as illustrated in  FIG. 10  (block  724 ). As mentioned above, the polymers are chosen such that when the second polymer is injected into mold details A 2 , B, and C 2  the first and second polymers do not bond together. After the second polymer is no longer molten, mold details A 2 , B, C 2  can be opened and the eating utensil  100  can be ejected from the injection molding machine (block  724 ). 
         [0036]    The eating utensil  100  is ejected from the mold details A 2 , B, C 2  with the shaft  104  retracted into the handle end  108 , and the utensil head  112  pivoted away from the handle end  108 . Thus, before the eating utensil  100  may be packaged in the folded configuration, the utensil head  112  should be folded toward the handle end  108 . 
         [0037]    In another embodiment (not illustrated), the eating utensil  100  may be transported to the second molding station manually. Specifically, the shaft  104  may be molded in a first mold and then allowed to cool and become rigid. Next, the shaft  104  may be removed from the first mold and hand loaded into a second mold, which forms the handle end  108  and utensil head  112  as described above. 
         [0038]    Although an eating utensil  100  has been described with respect to certain preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that other utensil implementations and adaptations are possible. Moreover, there are advantages to individual advancements described herein that may be obtained without incorporating other aspects described above. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments contained herein, and the claims, as originally presented and as they may be amended, encompass variations, alternatives, modifications, improvements, equivalents, and substantial equivalents of the embodiments and teachings disclosed herein, including those that are presently unforeseen or unappreciated, and that, for example, may arise from applicants, patentees, and others.