Eating and oral hygiene aid

A ball-shaped device for use in supporting an eating utensil, such as a knife, fork or spoon, or a toothbrush, so that the device operates as an eating or oral hygiene aid for persons having arthritis or other crippling diseases or injuries of the hands. The device has a first passage through it for receiving a handle of an instrument to be held, such as an eating utensil or toothbrush. A second passage transverse to and intersecting the first passage is used to threadably receive a screw which can enter the first passage and bear against the handle of the instrument. In this way, the instrument is releasably secured to the device and the instrument can then be used in a normal fashion, such as for eating or brushing the teeth. The screw has a flat head on its outer end for easy turning of the screw even with only one finger. The device is formed from a pair of substantially hemispherical members which mate to form the spherical body of the device. Each of the members has a tubular segment and a number of webs which, when the members are in mating relationship, cooperate with each other to form the first and second passages.

This invention relates to improvements in devices for the manual holding of 
instruments with handles, such as eating utensils and toothbrushes, and 
more particularly, to such a device for use by persons suffering from 
arthritis and other crippling diseases of the hands. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Persons suffering from arthritis of the hands and fingers have great 
difficulty in performing the most simpliest of human tasks, such as eating 
food with a fork or spoon or brushing the teeth. Arthritics often cannot 
manipulate their fingers so that they can grasp the handles of the 
instrument needed to perform these tasks. The fingers can sometimes only 
be moved to form a partially closed fist and even then with great 
difficulty. 
Attempts have been made in the past to provide some type of aid for holding 
instruments by a person suffering from diseases of the hands. For 
instance, U.S. Pat. No. 2,497,418 discloses a device having a rolling 
support for a writing instrument. In this patent, balls or rolling 
elements are provided on a flat bottom surface of a dome-shaped member for 
rolling over a surface, such as a table during a writing exercise. This 
structure is cumbersome to use and a disabled person using the device has 
difficulty in securing a writing instrument in place on the device because 
of the overall design. 
Other references in this field include U.S. Pat. No. 1,438,114 relating to 
a device for permanently securing a pen to a ball to teach writing to 
children, and British Pat. No. 5783 relating to a pen holder which 
operates to prevent writers' cramp. 
None of the foregoing devices are suitable for use by arthritics and others 
suffering from diseases or injuries of the hand. For this reason, a need 
has arisen for an improved eating and oral hygiene aid for use by such 
persons. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention satisfies the aforesaid need by providing an eating 
and oral hygiene aid of improved construction which comprises a 
ball-shaped body having a first passage for receiving the handle of an 
instrument to be secured to the body. A second passage extends into the 
body and intersects the first passage. The second passage has threads to 
threadably mount a screw whose inner end is adapted to bear against the 
handle of the instrument extending into the first passage. Thus, the screw 
holds the instrument in place on the body. 
The screw projects outwardly from the body and has a flat head which can be 
easily turned even with a single finger. The spherical shape of the body 
throughout a substantial portion thereof allows the body to be fit 
comfortably in the palm of the hand of arthritics and others who cannot 
bend the fingers sufficiently to grasp the handle of the instrument yet 
who can manipulate their fingers to form a ball-shaped or cup-shaped 
configuration of the palm. 
The body of the device is preferably formed by a pair of members which are 
hollow to reduce the overall weight of the body. The members define a pair 
of hemispherical shells which mate with each other to form the ball-shaped 
body. Each shell has a tubular segment forming part of the first passage 
and a pair of webs with serrated, beveled faces forming parts of the 
second passage. The serrated faces define the threads for the second 
passage. The shells are typically adhesively bonded together but only 
along about one-half the outer periphery of the shells. This allows the 
unbonded peripheral portion of the body to be unattached so as to permit 
the screw to snap rearwardly in the event that the screw is tightened too 
tightly onto the handle of the instrument in the first passage. The shells 
open slightly to allow for this snap-back of the screw. This provides a 
safety feature for the device and prevents undue pressures exerted on the 
handles of the instruments in this first passage. 
The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved 
eating and oral hygiene device which can comfortably be fitted into the 
palm of the hand yet can easily be used by arthritics and others suffering 
diseases of the hand to thereby permit the user to be substantially 
self-sufficient in performing even the simpliest of human tasks, yet the 
device is simple and rugged in construction, is inexpensive to produce, 
and requires no maintenance. 
Other objects of this invention will become apparent as the following 
specification progresses reference being had to the accompanying drawings 
for an illustration of the invention.

The eating and oral hygiene device of the present invention is broadly 
denoted by the numeral 10 and includes a generally ball-shaped body 12 
formed of a pair of hemispherical shell members 14 and 16 which are joined 
together along a common line 18; thus, members 14 and 16 define halves for 
body 12. 
Body 12 has a transversely circular passage 20 therethrough, the passage 
being generally perpendicular to the plane of line 18 and open at both 
ends. Passage 20 extends through body 12 and terminates near a flat face 
22 on member 16. The purpose of face 22 is to prevent rolling of body 12 
when the body is placed on a table top or other surface. 
Body 12 also has an internally threaded passage 26 which extends into the 
body from line 18. Passage 26 is open at both ends and is adapted to 
threadably receive a screw 28 having a flat head 30 on the outer end 
thereof. Head 30 is rectangular in shape and large enough it to be moved 
against objects or by a single finger to cause rotation of the screw 
relative to body 12. 
Passage 26 is perpendicular to passage 20 and communicates with the latter 
so that screw 28 can enter passage 20 and engage the handle 32 of an 
eating or oral hygiene instrument. For purposes of illustration, FIG. 2 
shows a toothbrush whose handle 32 is inserted in passage 20 with the 
bristles 36 of the toothbrush being in a position relative to body to 
permit the user of the body to brush his or her teeth while holding body 
12 and moving the ball back and forth. 
Instead of a toothbrush, an eating utensil, such as a knife, fork or spoon 
can be coupled with body 12 quickly and easily by inserting the handle of 
the utensil in passage 20 and tightening screw 28 against the handle of 
the utensil in the manner shown in FIG. 2. 
In use, device 10 is held in the hand with the palm of the hand engaging 
the spherical outer surface of body 12. In this way, fingers of the hand 
do not need to be closed around the handle of the instrument secured to 
body and the instrument, such as a toothbrush or a fork, can be used in 
the normal fashion so long as body 12 is grasped by the hand. For persons 
suffering from arthritis and other crippling diseases, normal 
toothbrushing and eating habits can be retained yet the user need not 
strain body muscles because of the ease and simplicity in grasping and 
holding body 12. Also, the user can quickly and easily insert the handle 
of a toothbrush or eating utensil in passage 20 and rotate screw 28 until 
the handle is secured to body 12. If the user has difficulty in manually 
rotating the screw 28, head 30 can be moved into engagement with a fixed 
surface and then member 12 can be rotated relative to the fixed surface to 
cause rotation of screw 28 relative to member 12. In this way, screw 28 
can be rotated against the handle of the instrument in passage 20 without 
having the user apply finger pressure to head 30 of the screw. 
When the member 34 is to be removed from body 12, it is a simple matter to 
reverse the rotation of screw 28 to release handle 32 and allow it to be 
removed from passage 20. In the alternative, the user may have a number of 
devices 10 for use, such as for brushing the teeth, eating, writing and 
the like. In such cases, members 34 can remain secured to respective 
bodies 12 over long periods of time. This feature also permits eating 
utensils, when so applied to respective bodies 12 to be periodically 
washed because body 12 can be formed from a suitable plastic materials and 
can be self-washed any number of times without damage to body 12. 
Members 14 and 16 are shown in their preferred forms FIGS. 3-6. Member 14 
(FIGS. 3 and 4) includes a hollow plastic shell 40 having a generally 
cylindrical segment 42 integral therewith and reinforced by three integral 
webs 44, 46, and 48. A projection 50 extends outwardly from segment 42, 
and a pair of spaced, parallel webs 52 and 54 are integral with shell 40 
and segment 42, webs 52 and 54 having beveled, serrated faces 56 and 58 
which define portions of threads for threadably engaging the threads of 
screw 28. Webs 44, 46 and 48 have recesses 60 for a purpose to be 
described. 
Member 16 is substantially the same as member 14 in construction except for 
several differences. Member 16 has a shell 40, webs 44, 46, 48, 52 and 54. 
However, webs 44, 46, and 48 have projections 62 which mate with and are 
inserted into recesses 60 of member 14 when members 14 and 16 mate to form 
body 12. Also, central, cylindrical segment 42 of member 16 has a circular 
recess 64 for receiving projection 50. An annular rib 66 is provided on 
the outer periphery of member 16 and engages the flat face 68 of member 14 
when the members are mated. 
Members 14 and 16 and screw 28 can be of any suitable construction. 
Preferably, they are molded from a suitable abrasion resistant plastic, 
such as ABS. Such material also allows the device to be dropped without 
breaking. It also provides a smooth outer surface for members 14 and 16 
and allows screw 28 to be easily rotated in passage 28. However, members 
14 and 16 and screw 28 can be formed of other materials, if desired. 
Body 12 typically is of a diameter of 3" for use by adults and 21/4" for 
use by children. A typical diameter of passage 20 is 3/4" and the diameter 
of screw 28 is typically 5/8". 
When members 14 and 16 are mated, a suitable adhesive secures projections 
62 and recesses 60 so that members 14 and 16 are permanently 
interconnected. Also, a portion of the outer peripheral faces 66 and 68 
can be adhesively bonded together. It is preferred that the portion of the 
peripheral faces of members 14 and 16 adjacent to the outer ends of webs 
52 and 54 will be left free of adhesive. The reason for this is that this 
allows members 14 and 16 near the outer end of passage 26 to move slightly 
apart in the event that screw 28 is turned too tightly against handle 32 
in passage 20. In such a case, the screw is caused to snap rearwardly 
instead of continuing forwardly against the handle 32 to prevent any 
damage to device 10. This feature is therefore a safety factor for device 
10 and assures that screw can never be turned too tightly against handle 
32.