Abstract:
A design for a new form of tongs that are designed to be used by children. The tongs have ornamental features and snap together in a manner that makes them fun to play with. The tong assembly is arranged so that it can be operated with a single finger by pulling and pushing the tongs in and out of an enclosure that can easily be snapped together. The tongs are also curved to create tension against closing and to assist in their opening.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention is in the technical field of eating utensils. More particularly, the present invention pertains to tongs. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Humans have long used tongs, which are simply large chopsticks joined at one end. A smaller version of tongs, called tweezers, has also been used since the dawn of history. Many variations of tongs and tweezers have been made; however, none have been made specifically for children with a single pull of a single finger between the two prongs within an enclosure which also easily breakdown into dishwasher safe components. The present disclosure illustrates a new form of tongs that are fun to use and are suited to the needs of children. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    The scope of the present invention is defined solely by the appended claims and detailed description of a preferred embodiment, and is not affected to any degree by the statements within this summary. Generally, the present description details the use and design of a new form of tongs that are primarily designed to be used by children. The tongs have ornamental features and a housing that snaps together in a manner that makes them fun to play with. The tong assembly is arranged so that it can be operated with a single finger by pulling and pushing the tongs in and out of an enclosure that can easily be snapped or slid together. The arms of the tongs are also curved in a manner to prevent them from leaving the enclosure, to create tension against closing, and to assist in their opening. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    Various embodiments are described herein with reference to the following Drawings. Certain aspects of the Drawings are depicted in a simplified way for reason of clarity. Not all alternatives and options are shown in the Drawings and, therefore, the Claims are not limited in scope to the content of the Drawings. 
         Figures 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective exploded view of a tong assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  illustrates a front view of a cross-section of a tong assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  illustrates a front view of a tong assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  illustrates a front view of retracted tong assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  illustrates a side exploded view of a tong assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  illustrates a side exploded view of a tong assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  illustrates a side view of a tong assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
       [0014]    Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several figures of the Drawings. Elements in the several figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be emphasized relative to other elements for facilitating understanding of the various presently disclosed embodiments. Also, common, but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in commercially feasible embodiments are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present disclosure. 
       REFERENCES 
       [0000]    
       
           20  Tongs 
           22  Grasping Distal Ends 
           24  Serrated Distal Ends 
           26  Widened Distal Portion 
           28  Curved Arms 
           30  Narrower Proximal Portion 
           32  Wider Proximal Portion 
           34  Finger Pull Opening 
           36  Inner Restraining Enclosure 
           38  Outer Restraining Enclosure 
           40  Handle 
           42  Inner Restraining Enclosure Connection 
           44  Tapered Proximal End 
           46  Top Inner Restraining Enclosure 
           48  Bottom Inner Restraining Enclosure 
           50  Tong Extension Opening 
           52  Inner Restraining Enclosure Tong Extension Restraint Snaps 
           54  Inner Restraining Enclosure Finger Pull Opening 
           56  Outer Restraining Enclosure Finger Pull Opening 
           58  Finger Pull Slot 
           60  Tong Assembly 
       
     
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0036]    The following description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of describing the general principles of exemplary embodiments, many additional embodiments of this invention are possible. It is understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. The scope of the disclosure should be determined with reference to the Claims. Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic that is described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment. 
         [0037]    Further, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the present disclosure may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the Detailed Description, numerous specific details are provided for a thorough understanding of embodiments of the disclosure. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the embodiments of the present disclosure can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the present disclosure. Any alterations and further modifications in the illustrated devices, and such further application of the principles of the invention as illustrated herein are contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. 
         [0038]    Unless otherwise indicated, the drawings are intended to be read (e.g., arrangement of parts, proportion, degree, etc.) together with the specification, and are to be considered a portion of the entire written description of this invention. As used in the following description, the terms “wider”, “narrower”, “left”, “right”, “up” and “down”, as well as adjectival and adverbial derivatives thereof (e.g., “narrowed”, “widened”, “upwardly”, etc.), simply refer to the orientation of the illustrated structure as the particular drawing figure faces the reader. Similarly, the terms “inwardly” and “outwardly” generally refer to the orientation of a surface relative to its axis of elongation, or axis of rotation, as appropriate. Also, as used herein, terms such as “proximal” or “distal” mean positioned close to the user of the tong assembly or farther away. 
         [0039]    The phrases “at least one,” “one or more,” and “and/or” are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C”, “at least one of A, B, or C”, “one or more of A, B, and C”, “one or more of A, B, or C” and “A, B, and/or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together. The terms “a” or “an” entity refers to one or more of that entity. As such, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more” and “at least one” can be used interchangeably herein. It is also to be noted that the terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” can be used interchangeably. 
         [0040]    For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the present invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. 
         [0041]      FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective exploded view of a tong assembly  60 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this particular embodiment, the tong assembly  60  includes three parts: tongs  20 , an inner restraining enclosure  36 , and an outer restraining enclosure  38 . The inner and outer restraining enclosures form a handle  40 . In another embodiment, there is no outer restraining enclosure  38  and the handle  40  is simply the inner restraining enclosure  36 . In a preferred embodiment, the tong assembly is made of plastic; however, each piece of the assembly could alternatively be made of any material suitable to its purpose, such as: wood, bamboo, metal, rubber, etc. 
         [0042]    As seen in  FIG. 1 , the most important piece of the tong assembly  60  are the tongs  20  themselves. The tongs have several unique features that allow the tong assembly to work properly. The tongs  20  are one continuous piece of material and are not connect by any pivot or pin structure. As a single piece of material, the tensile strength and inelasticity of the tongs allow the two arms  28  to flexibly engage each other and return to their open resting positions. The grasping distal ends  22  of the tongs  20  may be shaped to facilitate easier manipulation of food; in this embodiment they are serrated  24  and widened  26  to create a more surface contact with the object they will grasp (presumably food). 
         [0043]    Referring now to  FIG. 2 , which illustrates a front view of a cross-section of a tong assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; the tongs  20  may have a specific curvature that allows them to work within the tong assembly  60 . At the proximal end of the tongs there may be a finger pull opening  34 , this opening may be inside of one or more of an inner restraining enclosure finger pull opening  54 , and a outer restraining enclosure finger pull opening  56  which form a finger pull slot  58 —which can be seen more clearly in  FIG. 3 , a front view of a tong assembly. Looking back to  FIG. 2 , the proximal side of the tongs  20  may encircle a finger pull opening  34 , coming to a wider portion  32 , before returning to a narrower portion on each side  30 . Ideally this proximal portion of the tongs is curved for finger comfort, but it need not be. The difference in widths at the proximal end of the tongs serve to keep the tongs  20  enclosed in the handle  40  when the tongs are in their resting position (which is the natural position when the tongs are extended). From the proximal narrower point of the tongs  30 , both arms curve away from each other beyond the width of the proximal narrower point  32  and then back toward each other. Looking now at  FIG. 4 , when the distal ends of the tongs  22  are pulled into the handle  40  they are drawn together by the narrower tong extension opening  50  and the narrowing of the distal ends of the tongs from the wider distal portions of the tongs cause them to pinch together and grasp objects. The tongs  20  could also be straight and drawn together by interiorly slanted tong extension opening  50 , possibly with a bar or nub to keep the tongs from releasing from the enclosure but they would not work as well as they would not provide their own tension to assist in extension from the handle. 
         [0044]    Returning to  FIG. 1 , the tong extension opening  50  is an opening at the distal end of the handle. In this specific embodiment the handle  40  has two pieces. The first piece is the inner restraining enclosure  36 . In this embodiment, the inner restraining enclosure  36  has a clamshell design with a top inner restraining enclosure  46  and a bottom inner restraining enclosure  48  connected by an inner restraining enclosure connection  42 . The proximate end of the inner restraining enclosure  36  may be tapered  44 , so that it may easily slide into an outer restraining enclosure connection  38 . When closed over the tongs  20 , the distal end of the inner restraining enclosure  36  creates a tong extension opening  50 . The distal end of the inner restraining enclosure  36  may attach to itself: in the present embodiment it attaches to itself with pressure fit snaps; however, it may attach to itself with any type of connection know in the arts. In another embodiment the inner restraining enclosure  36  is the only enclosure. In yet another embodiment, the inner restraining enclosure  36  is one continuous piece of material and the tongs  20  are fit inside the inner restraining enclosure  36  by squeezing them through the tong extension opening  50 . This is a simpler design, but it puts more stress on the tongs, it harder to clean, and it is less fun to put together. 
         [0045]    The optional second piece of the handle  40  may be an outer restraining enclosure  38 . An outer restraining enclosure&#39;s  38  purpose is to secure the closure of the inner restraining enclosure  36 . If the inner restraining enclosure  36  has a clamshell design to facilitate cleaning, then a snap closure will not be durable enough for repeated long-term use as it will wear away and fail to snap closed. In this embodiment, the outer restraining enclosure  38  may be formed with two channels on the interior of either side of its finger pull opening  56  that correspond with the tapered proximal end of the inner restraining enclosure  44  such that the outer restraining enclosure  38  can slide over the inner restraining enclosure  36  securing it in a closed position. 
         [0046]      FIGS. 5 through 7  illustrate how one embodiment of the tong assembly may be put together. Referring to  FIG. 5 , the inner restraining enclosure  36  snaps over the tongs  20 . Referring now to  FIG. 6 , the distal end of outer restraining enclosure  38  then slides over and around the proximal end of the inner restraining enclosure  36 .  FIG. 7  illustrates the completed tong assembly  60 . 
         [0047]    In conclusion, the tong assembly is easy to put together, easy to take apart, easy to clean, and easy to operate; all of which are primary concerns when making fun utensils for children to eat with. 
         [0048]    The scope of the present disclosure fully encompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilled in the art, and is to be limited, accordingly, by nothing other than the appended claims, wherein any reference to an element being made in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the above-described preferred embodiment and additional embodiments as regarded by those of ordinary skill in the art are hereby expressly incorporated by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the present claims.