Abstract:
A two-section chopstick with an improved structure has an upper section, a lower section, and a limiting element. The limiting element is mounted around the sidewall near the bottom end of the upper section. The limiting element has a bent fixing part going through a through hole on the sidewall near the bottom end of the upper section. The fixing part extends into an accommodating space inside the upper section. The fixing part holds a connecting section of the lower section to secure the connection between the upper section and the lower section. Alternatively, a holding section in the lower section can be inserted into the accommodating space, thereby storing the chopstick.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0002]    The invention relates to two-section chopsticks with an improved structure and, in particular, to two-section chopsticks with a simple structure and easy manufacturing method. 
         [0003]    2. Related Art 
         [0004]    Please refer to  FIG. 8  that shows a conventional two-section chopstick  4  disclosed in the U.S. Pat. App. No. 20,080,185,853. A connection component  41  is disposed on a lower section  42  for it to connect with an upper section  43 . The connection component  41  includes a connection body  411  and a fixing set  412 . The fixing set  412  further includes an elastic element  413 , an urging element  414 , and an accommodating cylinder  415 . Alternatively, the lower section  42  can be inserted in reverse into the upper section  43 , and held by a holding part  441  of a cover  44 . The two-section chopstick  4  can thus be put away. 
         [0005]    However, such a two-section chopstick  4  has too many components. Not only is its manufacturing cost higher, it also takes a long time to assemble them. 
         [0006]    Please refer to  FIG. 9 , which shows another conventional two-section chopstick  5  disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 7,341,293. It comprises an upper section  51  and a lower section  52 . A ball  53  on the connecting section  521  of the lower section  52  is disposed in an accommodating space  522  via a spring  54  and a fixing block  55 . The lower section  52  is thus held in the through hole  511  of the upper section  51 . Alternatively, the user can draw the lower section  52  and insert it into the accommodating space  512  on top of the upper section  51 . Thus, the two-section chopstick  5  can be put away. 
         [0007]    There are still quite a few components in such a two-section chopstick  5 . During the manufacturing process, if the ball  53 , the accommodating space  522 , or the through hole  511  has any error, the lower section  52  cannot be held properly by the upper section  51 . There is thus space for improvement. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    An objective of the invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems by providing a two-section chopstick with an improved structure. The bottom end of an upper section is mounted with a limiting element. Using such a simple component, a lower section can be firmly fixed in position. This is one advantage over the prior art. 
         [0009]    Another objective of the invention is to provide a means to achieve a firm connection between the upper and lower sections without high machining precision. Each component in the invention only needs to be processed in a simple way. Therefore, the manufacturing time can be greatly reduced. 
         [0010]    To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the invention discloses a two-section chopstick with an improved structure that comprises: an upper section, a lower section, and a limiting element. 
         [0011]    The upper section has an accommodating space therein. A connecting part is disposed around the outer sidewall near the bottom end of the upper section. The connecting part is formed with at least one through hole in communication with the accommodating space. 
         [0012]    A protruding part is disposed around and near the top end of the lower section. Between the protruding part and the top end is a connecting section. Between the protruding part and the bottom end is a holding section. The connecting section has a first urging part near the protruding part. The holding section has a second urging part near the protruding part. 
         [0013]    The limiting element has an opening end at its upper and lower ends, respectively. It is mounted on the connecting part. The limiting element is formed with at least one elastic fixing part. The fixing part goes through the through hole and enters the accommodating space. 
         [0014]    The connecting section is inserted into the accommodating space, and the fixing part holds the first urging part. Alternatively, the holding section is inserted in the accommodating space, and the fixing part holds the second urging part. 
         [0015]    One of the two ends of the fixing part is connected with the limiting element. 
         [0016]    There is at least one protruding part near the top end of the upper section. The protruding part holds the clicking part of a cover. The top end of the cover has at least one protruding part. 
         [0017]    The thickness of the limiting element is greater than that of the holding part. The width of the upper end of the limiting element is greater than that of its lower end. The lower end is further surrounded with a bending part. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]    The invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below illustration only, and thus is not limitative of the present invention, and wherein: 
           [0019]      FIG. 1  is a three-dimensional exploded view of a first embodiment of the invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a three-dimensional view of the first embodiment; 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the limiting element in the first embodiment; 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view showing how the first embodiment works; 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view showing how the first embodiment is put away; 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the invention; 
           [0025]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of a third embodiment of the invention; 
           [0026]      FIG. 8  is a schematic view showing the structure of a conventional two-section chopstick; and 
           [0027]      FIG. 9  is a schematic view showing the structure of another conventional two-section chopstick. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0028]    The present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same references relate to the same elements. 
         [0029]    Please refer to  FIGS. 1 to 3  for a first embodiment of the disclosed two-section chopstick. 
         [0030]    The chopstick includes an upper section  1 , a lower section  2 , and a limiting element  3 . In this embodiment, the cross sections of the-above three components are all square. Moreover, the dimension of the cross section gradually reduces from top to bottom. 
         [0031]    The upper section  1  has an accommodating space  11  therein for the insertion of the lower section  2 . Besides, a connecting part  13  is formed around the outer sidewall near the bottom end  12  of the upper section  1 . The connecting part  13  has a concave shape and is thinner than the upper section  1 . The two opposite sides of the connecting part  13  are formed with through holes  14  in communication with the accommodating space  11 , respectively. 
         [0032]    According to the drawing, the lower section  2  defines a top end  26  and a bottom end  27 . A protruding part  23  is formed around and near the top end  26  of the lower section  2 . Between the protruding part  23  and the top end  26  is a connecting section  21 , and between the protruding part  23  and the bottom end  27  is a holding section  22 . The protruding part  23  can control the depth of the connecting section  21  or the holding section  22  when it is inserted into the accommodating space  11  of the upper section  1 . A first urging part  24  is defined on the connecting section  21  near the protruding part  23 . A second urging part  25  is defined on the holding section  22  near the protruding part  23 . 
         [0033]    The limiting element  3  has an annular shape. Its upper end  311  and lower end  312  are open ends. It is mounted on the connecting part  13  at the bottom end  12  of the upper section  1 . A bending part  316  surrounds the lower end  312  of the limiting element  3  and extends inwards. An elastic fixing part  31  is provided on two opposite sides of the limiting element  3 . Each of the fixing parts  31  goes through the through hole  14  on the upper section  1 , and protrudes in the accommodating space  11  of the upper section  1 . The first urging part  24  or the second urging part  25  of the lower section  2  is thus held by them, thereby being positioned in the lower section  2 . 
         [0034]    The maximum width W 1  of the upper end  311  of the limiting element  3  is greater than the maximum width W 2  of the lower end  312 . The limiting element  3  is connected to the connecting part  13  that has a reducing cross section from top to bottom. Since the connecting part  13  has a concave shape, mounting the limiting element  3  on the connecting part  13  can avoid user&#39;s discomfort. 
         [0035]    Each of the fixing parts  31  of the limiting element  3  has an upper part  313  slanted toward the central position and downwards, a lower part  314  slanted in the opposite direction, and a middle part  315  connecting the upper part  313  and the lower part  314 . In this embodiment, the upper part  313  and the lower part  314  are both connected with the limiting element  3 . 
         [0036]    Moreover, the limiting element  3  in this embodiment is made of stainless steel with malleability. Therefore, after stamp formation, the thickness T 2  of the fixing part  31  of the limiting element  3  (i.e., the thickness of the upper part  313 , the lower part  314 , and the middle part  315 ) is smaller than the thickness T 1  of the limiting element  3 . 
         [0037]    Besides, there is at least one protruding part  15  near the top end of the upper section  1 . The protruding part  15  holds the clicking part  17  of a cover  16 . The top end of the cover  16  has at least one protruding part  18  for the convenience of taking off. 
         [0038]    Please refer to  FIG. 4 . The connecting section  21  of the lower section  2  is inserted into the accommodating space  11  of the upper section  1 . In this case, the protruding part  23  of the lower section  2  blocks the holding section  22  from entering. This completes the first stage of positioning. Afterwards, the first urging part  24  of the connecting section  21  is held by the fixing part  31  protruding from the limiting element  3  to the accommodating space  11 . This completes the second stage of positioning. Up to this point, the upper section  1  and the lower section  2  are firmly connected for use. 
         [0039]    Please refer to  FIG. 5  for putting the chopstick away. First, the connecting section  21  of the lower section  2  is pulled out of the accommodating space  11  of the upper section  1 . Afterwards, the lower section  2  is reversed. The holding section  22  is inserted into the accommodating space  11 . In this case, the protruding part  23  prevents the entire lower section  2  from falling into the accommodating space  11 . Afterwards, the fixing part  31  also holds the second urging part  25  of the holding section  22 . This is the second stage of urging and fixing. This reduces the volume for carrying. 
         [0040]    To clean relevant components, one simply pulls the lower section  2  from the bottom end of the upper section  1 . Afterwards, one can pull the cover  16  away from the top end of the upper section to clean the interior of the upper section  1 . 
         [0041]    Of course, the invention has many other embodiments. Please refer to  FIG. 6  for a second embodiment of the invention. In particular, the limiting element  3  has only a fixing part  31  that bends and goes through the through hole  14 . The single-sided fixing part  31  holds the first urging part  24  for the user to use. Alternatively, the lower section  2  is rotated in reverse so that the fixing part  31  holds the second urging part  25 . The lower section  2  is thus accommodated in the upper section  1 . 
         [0042]    Please refer to  FIG. 7  for a third embodiment of the invention. The lower part  314  is not connected with the limiting element  3 , whereas the upper part  313  is connected with the limiting element  3 . Using such a mechanism, the fixing part  31  holds the first urging part  24  or the second urging part  25 . 
         [0043]    Alternatively, the upper part  313  is not connected with the limiting element  3 , whereas the lower part  314  is connected with the limiting element  3 . Accordingly, the fixing part  31  holds the first urging part  24  or the second urging part  25 . The upper section  1  and the lower section  2  are thus fixed for the user to use or put away. 
         [0044]    In summary, the disclosed two-section chopsticks use such simple components as the limiting element, upper section, and lower section. Under manufacturing conditions with appropriately reduced machining precision, the upper section and the lower section can be firmly connected for use and storage. This helps increasing the production rate. Moreover, the invention has the advantages of small volume, being portable, easy to clean, convenient in use, and quick assembly or disassembly. 
         [0045]    Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will cover all modifications that fall within the true scope of the invention.