Abstract:
A vegetable holder used to retain and secure an item includes a handle, a retaining member, and an elongated member. The handle, which is shaped like a tear, is connected to the retaining member and the elongated member. The elongated member includes a plurality of projecting members spaced part on a base. A method of using the vegetable holder includes piercing a vegetable with one or more of the projecting members that extend from the elongated member; griping the handle with a plurality of fingers; and rotating the base that is connected to the piercing members with a thumb or a finger.

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/641,207, filed Jan. 4, 2005, which is incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Technical Field  
         [0003]     This invention relates to a holding device, and more particularly, to a device that can hold or grasp fruits or vegetables.  
         [0004]     2. Related Art  
         [0005]     Implements such as cutlery and flatware are used to hold, serve, and handle food. These implements can be inserted into or underlie a food item, which enables a user to grasp the food without directly holding it. Some implements provide strong retention. These devices securely support food items while allowing a user to cut, grip, and tear the food apart.  
         [0006]     Corncob holders, for example, securely hold the hard, thick, central core of a piece of corn. The protruding metal prongs of the holders inserted into each end of the core, hold the corn in place while the rows of grain or kernels of corn are chewed away. A typical corncob holder can be made of plastic and metal. Two metal prongs protrude from a plastic cylindrical handle. The handles continuous outer surface may slip when it becomes wet or greasy.  
         [0007]     Other corncob holders feature a flat metal pointer that can be inserted into the cob. While the wooden surfaces of these corncob holders can provide stronger gripping surfaces, such devices are also susceptible to slippage. Moreover, the relatively short length of the wooden handles can create discomfort to a user who must grip the small outer surface of the handle and manually rotate the cob by moving their arms and wrists.  
         [0008]     This invention is directed to an ergonomic holding device that facilitates the holding, serving, and handling of food.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0009]     A vegetable holder is used to hold, serve, or handle food. The vegetable holder includes a handle, a retaining member, and an elongated member. The handle, which may be shaped like a tear, is coupled to the retaining member and the elongated member. The elongated member includes a plurality of projecting members spaced apart on a base.  
         [0010]     A method of using the vegetable holder includes piercing a vegetable with one or more of the projecting members that extend from the elongated member; griping the handle with a plurality of fingers; and rotating the base that is connected to the piercing members with one&#39;s thumb or one&#39;s finger.  
         [0011]     Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the invention will be, or will become, apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the following claims. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, like referenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of a holding device.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a side perspective view of the holding device.  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is an alternate perspective view of the holding device relative to a plurality of coordinate planes.  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is a front perspective view of a base of the holding device.  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  is an alternate side perspective view of the holding device.  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  is a second alternate side perspective view of the holding device. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0019]     Conventional holding devices have stems or handles that are not easy to hold and may slip when they become coated with water or grease. These devices often require a user to conform their fingers to the round circular shapes of their handles and often require a user to move their arms and wrists to rotate the item. Because fingers can be extremely sensitive to pressure, the pressure needed to hold these devices in one&#39;s hands can cause discomfort. If an item needs to be turned such pressure must be released and reapplied.  
         [0020]      FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of a holding device  100 . The holding device  100  includes a teardrop handle  102 , a curved retaining member  104 , and a rotating member comprised of an elongated penetrating member  106 . The teardrop handle  102  extends from a distal end upwardly toward the curved retaining member  104  near its proximal end. As shown, the diameter near the proximal end tapers down to the small diameter of the distal end. At a point intermediate to the proximal and distal ends, strands, such as the metallic strands  108  and  110  shown in  FIG. 1  are joined or coupled together by a fusible alloy such as solder.  
         [0021]     At the proximal end, the convex surfaces of the teardrop handle  102  have a substantially U shape. While the teardrop handle  102  can have many shapes and have many curved or linear surfaces, in  FIG. 1  the first substantially U shaped strand  110  traverses through the interior of the second substantially U shaped strand  108 . The space that separates each strand  108  and  110  and a curve member  122  passing near them can conform to the curled grasp of a user&#39;s fingers. When grasped, the skin of the user&#39;s fingers and/or palm may partially fill these spaces which may strengthen a user&#39;s grip on the holding device  100 . In some embodiments, the curved spaces formed by these metallic strands  108 ,  110 , and  122  conform to the flexibility of a user&#39;s hand.  
         [0022]     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the curved retaining member  104  joins the teardrop handle&#39;s  102  proximal end to the elongated penetrating member  106  of the holding device  100 . The curved retaining member  104  bends and passes between a plurality of cusp like members  112  that extend from the elongated penetrating member  106 . While the curved retaining member  104  is shown bending at an angle less than about one-hundred and eighty degrees (about a forty-five degree angle, Θ=45) from a plane that contains the teardrop handle  102  (as shown by the coordinate planes in  FIG. 3 ), in other embodiments, the bending angle may range from between about zero and one hundred and eighty degrees. To maintain the ergonomic feel of the teardrop handle  102 , the preferred angle may lie between about forty-five and about ninety degrees.  
         [0023]     Preferably, the contours of the cusps  112  are formed by two curves that meet, end, and are tangent to one another. The concave surfaces of the cusps  112  may provide additional support to the elongated penetrating member  106  when it is supporting an unbalanced item. In some holding devices, the outer surfaces of some of the cusps  112  may be biased by the outer surface of the curved retaining member  104 . Alternatively, an interface  114  between the elongated penetrating member  106  and the curved retaining member  104  may prevent contact and/or serve to balance the item.  
         [0024]     In  FIGS. 1 and 2  the cusps  112  extend toward the proximal end of the teardrop handle  102  and away from the elongated penetrating member  106 . While the lengths of the cusps  112  may vary and may not be uniform in some holding devices, preferably the cusps  112  terminate at a point intermediate of the interface  116  and proximal end of the teardrop handle  102 .  
         [0025]     The base  116  of the elongated penetrating member  106  may have a substantially cross-like shape framed by a plurality of parabolic members  118  as shown in  FIG. 4 . From the front view, the parabolic members  118  may include concave and convex portions that are separated by linear sectors. Although the parabolic members  118  may be symmetrical about one or more planes (one plane is shown in cross section in  FIG. 4 ), in other embodiments other shapes, symmetries, or lack of symmetries can also be used.  
         [0026]     In  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the interface  114  comprises a circular coupling that allows the base  116  of the holding device  100  to rotate about an axis at or near a center of the base  116 . An orifice formed at or near the center of the base  116  may receive one end of the curved retaining member  104 . The interface  114  may include a catch, lever, or detent that may lock the movement of the base  116  relative to the teardrop handle  102 . In some holding devices, the locking force of the catch, lever, or detent can be overcome by a biting or biasing pressure that transfers a forward or reverse moment onto the item. In some holding devices, the locking force may be manually adjusted by a finger pressure.  
         [0027]     One, two or more rounded projections  120  extend away from the base  116  of the holding device  100 . Although the rounded projections  120  or prongs are symmetrically positioned about a plane and are adjacent to a vertex of at least one parabolic member  118 , the projections  120  may be positioned anywhere about the base  116 . The length of the projections  120  may be uniform or may vary as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The rounded projections  120  may comprise lance-like rods, may have a sword-like shape, or may comprise any shape that can grasp and/or pierce an item. The rounded projections  120  are rigid and are made of the same material as the curved retaining member  104  and teardrop handle  102 . Alternatively, the projections  120  may comprise a flexible clamping arm that may retain items of relatively small or considerable weight and may be made of many different materials.  
         [0028]     To use one exemplary embodiment, a user pierces the item with the rounded projections  120 . A user may then grip the teardrop handle  102  by curling their fingers around the metallic strands  108  and  110 . If additional stability is necessary, two or more holding devices  100  may pierce other portions of the item.  
         [0029]     Although the claims are not limited to specific dimensions,  FIG. 5  illustrates the dimensions of one holding device  100 . L 1  is the length of the teardrop handle  102 . W 1  is the width of the largest circular segment of the teardrop handle  102 . L 2  is the length of the curved retaining member  104 . L 3  and L 4  are the lengths of the rounded projections  120 . In an exemplary configuration, L 1  equals about 5 inches, L 2  equals about 1.5 inches, L 3  equals about 1.5 inches, L 4  equals about 1 inch, and W 1  equals about 1 inch.  
         [0030]     The above described holding device  100  can be modified into many alternative embodiments and may be used to hold, serve, and handle food. For example, the ergonomic holding device  100  device may give corn on the cob users a more comfortable and stable grip on the cob while allowing the users to rotate the cob without moving their arms or wrists.  
         [0031]     The teardrop handle  102  may be shaped like a three-dimensional teardrop, more elongated and thin rather than short and fat. A wire  122  may run through the axis of the teardrop handle  102  before terminating at the base  106 . At a predetermined distance from the teardrop handle  102 , such as at about one inch, the wire  122  may bend at about a forty five degree angle and terminate at the rotating member  106 . When portions of the rotating member  106  is pictured as a regular pyramid in  FIG. 6 , the wire  122  that partially forms the teardrop handle  102  passes through about the center of the base  116  through the pyramid&#39;s apex. The pyramid may rotate about the wire  122  as the teardrop handle  102  and wire  122  are held in place. When a fruit or a vegetable is held by one or a pair of prongs, the user may hold the teardrop handle  102  with their middle, ring, and pinky fingers while rotating the pyramid with their thumb and index finger.  
         [0032]     The holding device  100  may be used to retain food or other materials and may be made from many materials. These materials may include solid silver, silver electroplating onto alloys such as nickel and copper, plating of nickel on to brass, and/or any other metals or alloys.  
         [0033]     While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible that are within the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.