Patent Publication Number: US-11660730-B2

Title: Grasping tool

Description:
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/316,237, filed May 10, 2021, and entitled “Grasping Tool”, which claims the benefit of the filing date of US Provisional Patent Application No. 63/090,537, filed Oct. 12, 2020, and entitled “Grasping Tool” and of each of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/316,237 and U.S. Provisional Appl. No. 63/090,537 is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to grasping tools, and more particularly to tools for picking up objects with as food products without using one&#39;s fingers. 
     Description of Related Art 
     The prior art teaches a wide range of griping tools and utensils, including a variety of chopsticks, and other similar eating tools. Examples include the following: 
     Park (US 2005/0099031) teaches a pair of training chopsticks that include first and second sticks and a coupling means. The first stick has a thumb-inserting hole for inserting the thumb and a first pad for picking up solids. The thumb-inserting hole is formed on the upper side of the first stick and the first pad is formed on the lower end of the first stick. The second stick has a holding unit for inserting the forefinger and the second finger, an adjusting means for adjusting the fixing position of the holding unit and a second pad for picking up solids. The holding unit has a forefinger-inserting hole for inserting the forefinger and a second finger-inserting hole for inserting the second finger. 
     Inomata et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 7,182,378) teaches an assist tool for chopsticks comprising an adapter which couples upper and lower chopsticks such that distal end portions thereof can be opened and closed about rear end portions thereof serving as fulcrums; and a supporter which is fitted to a vicinity of a base of a user&#39;s forefinger to support the adapter on the base. 
     The prior art teaches tongs/forceps and chopstick trainers. However, the prior art does not teach a grasping tool that engages the fingers such that the device is positioned above the hand, as described herein, to free the fingers for use in other activities, such as using a computer. The present invention enables a user to grasp an object, such as a food product, and operate a computer or engage in other activities, without getting the food products on the computer keyboard, mouse, or other tools. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further advantages as described in the following summary. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below. 
     The present invention provides a grasping tool for enabling a user to grasp a snack without using his or her fingers. The grasping tool comprises a pair of elongate arms, each having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the proximal ends of the pair of elongate arms are attached via a hinge element, and a gripping surface formed at the distal end of each of the elongate arms. The gripping surfaces of the elongate arms are shaped and configured for grasping the snack therebetween. A finger engagement element extends from each of the elongate arms, spaced a distance from the proximal end. Each elongate arm is generally disposed on a first axis, and each finger engagement element is disposed around a second axis, such that the second axis is approximately parallel to and located below the first axis, such that the first and second axes are spaced a distance such that the pair of elongate arms are positioned above the fingers of the user when the user&#39;s fingers are positioned through the finger engagement elements. 
     A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a grasping tool having advantages not taught by the prior art. 
     Another objective is to provide a grasping tool that is positioned on a user&#39;s hand such that he or she can easily grab various items, such as food products or other items, while the user&#39;s fingers remain free for engaging in other tasks. 
     A further objective is to provide a grasping tool which keeps food products from getting on a computer keyboard, mouse, or any other tools a user might be using. 
     A further objective is to provide a grasping tool that enables a chef or other food preparer to manipulate food products without using his or her fingers, and without interrupting the flow of other food preparation work. 
     Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings illustrate the present invention. In such drawings: 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view of a grasping tool according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  2    is a perspective view of the grasping tool with a person&#39;s fingers positioned through finger engagement elements of the grasping tool; 
         FIG.  3    is a top plan view of the grasping tool; 
         FIG.  4    is a side elevational view thereof; 
         FIG.  5    is a sectional view thereof taken along line  5 - 5  in  FIG.  3   ; and 
         FIG.  6    is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the grasping tool wherein the finger engagement elements are in the form of a closed loop. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The above-described drawing figures illustrate the invention, a grasping tool for enabling a user to grasp a food product, such as a snack food or other form of food, without touching the snack with his or her fingers. 
       FIG.  1    is a perspective view of a grasping tool  10  according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG.  1   , in this embodiment, the grasping tool  10  comprises a pair of elongate arms  20  each having a proximal end  22  and a distal end  24 , wherein the proximal ends  22  of the pair of elongate arms  20  are attached via a hinge element  26 , and each distal end  24  includes a gripping surface  28 , the gripping surfaces  28  being shaped and configured for grasping an item  12  (shown in  FIG.  2   ) therebetween. The grasping tool  10  further includes a finger engagement element  30  extending from each of the elongate arms  20  and spaced a distance from the proximal end  22 , also described in greater detail below. 
     As shown in  FIG.  1   , in this embodiment, each elongate arm  20  comprises an inner surface  23  and an outer surface  25 , and further is generally disposed on a first axis A 1  (although there may be some curvature to the arms  20 . The hinge element  26  that joins the pair of elongate arms  20  may be in the form of a living hinge, wherein the elongate arms  20  may be constructed of a suitable plastic, and formed as a single piece, preferable co-molded with silicone or rubber, as discussed above. 
     In other embodiments, the hinge element  26  is a spring hinge or other form of hinge known in the art, so long as a user can squeeze the pair of elongate arms  20  together and the grasping tool  10  will return to the original shape when released. 
     In some embodiments, as shown in  FIG.  1   , a contact pad  27  is formed on the inner surface  23  of each elongate arm  20  adjacent the hinge element  26  for when the grasping tool  10  is squeezed together. The gripping surface  28  at the distal end  24  of each elongate arm  20  may be formed on the inner surface  23  and/or the outer surface  25 , and may further be provided in the form of a special material (e.g., rubber, foam, etc.), pad, textured surface, dip, teeth, etc. However, alternatively, the gripping surfaces  28  may not include additional features, and are continuous with the rest of the elongate arms  20 . 
     In this embodiment, the grasping tool  10  may be in a general “V” shape. However, in other embodiments, the elongate arms  20  may be in different configurations, e.g., parallel arms, irregular/asymmetrical arms, round arms, etc. In this embodiment, the finger engagement elements  30  are each generally “C” shaped, comprising an upper end  32  and a lower end  34 , but in alternative implementations, the finger engagement elements  30  may comprise only the upper end  32 , or other cross-section shapes may be used, one example being shown in  FIG.  6    and discussed in greater detail below. 
     As shown in  FIG.  1   , the finger engagement elements  30  may be formed by co-molding the generally rigid material  31   b  (e.g., plastic, vinyl, etc.) of the grasping tool  10  with a resilient material  31   a  (e.g., silicone, rubber, etc.) to form at least part of the finger engagement elements  30 . The finger engagement elements  30  may be provided in a variety of finger sizes, or they may be sufficiently flexible to fit different finger sizes, or they may be adjustable. For example, the flexible material may be initially set for average-sized fingers but be capable of expanding for larger-sized fingers. 
       FIG.  2    is a perspective view of the grasping tool with a person&#39;s fingers positioned through finger engagement elements of the grasping tool, wherein the grasping tool  10  is further shown grasping the item  12 . While the item  12  in this embodiment is a food product, such as a snack, it might be any other item that might be desired to be grasped without using the user&#39;s fingers. 
     As shown in  FIG.  2   , in use, the c-shaped finger engagement elements  30  receive the user&#39;s fingers, wherein the upper ends  32  sit on top of the fingers. In this position, the grasping tool  10  is biased in the general “V” shape, and the user&#39;s hand is free to perform most activities normally. The user may then reach for any suitably sized food item and squeeze the elongate arms  20  of the grasping tool  10  together to grip the food item with the gripping surfaces  28 . In this manner, the user may deliver food to his or her mouth without having to touch the food item with bare hands, which may result in needing to clean the hands prior to returning to an activity. The grasping tool  10  may be used with any desired food item, but may be especially useful for foods which leave crumbs/seasoning/residue when eaten with bare hands (e.g., popcorn, cheese puffs, chips, nuts, etc.). 
     As shown in  FIG.  2   , the finger engagement elements  30  are positioned to receive the user&#39;s index and middle fingers, respectively, at the proximal phalanx part of the finger. The upper end  32  of the c-shaped finger engagement elements  30  rests on top of the finger, and the lower end  34  curves around the bottom of the finger, such that the elongate arms  20  are positioned above and generally parallel to each of the fingers. Alternatively, the finger engagement elements  30  may be positioned to receive different phalanges or fingers of the hand. 
       FIG.  3    is a top plan view of the grasping tool, and  FIG.  4    is a side elevational view thereof.  FIG.  5    is a sectional view of the grasping tool taken along line  5 - 5  in  FIG.  3   . As mentioned above, and as shown in  FIGS.  3 - 5   , each elongate arm  20  is generally disposed on a first axis A 1  (generally speaking, and allowing for any potential curvature of the arms). As shown in  FIGS.  3 - 5   , each finger engagement element  30  is an annular shape that is disposed around a second axis A 2 . 
     In this embodiment, the second axis A 2  that extends through the center of the finger engaging element  30  is approximately parallel to and located below the first axis A 1  of the respective elongate arm  30 , so that movement of the user&#39;s fingers enable manipulation of the elongate arm in concert therewith. Furthermore, the first and second axes A 1  and A 2  are spaced a lateral distance D 1  from each other, and a vertical distance D 2 , so that the elongate arm  30  is positioned above the user&#39;s fingers while in use. As shown in  FIGS.  2   , D 1  and D 2  are sized such that the pair of elongate arms  20  are positioned above the fingers of the user when the user&#39;s fingers are positioned through the finger engagement elements  30 . In this embodiment, the distances D 1  and D 2  are each 0.2-1.0 inches, preferably about 0.5 inches, although this can obviously vary depending upon the size of the user&#39;s hands, and the preferences of the product designer. 
     As shown in  FIG.  4   , the finger engagement elements  30  are spaced a distance D 3  from the hinge  26  at the proximal end  22 . The distance D 3  may be 5-25%, preferably 8-12%, of the length of the e elongate arms  20 . In this case, it is about 0.5 inches, while the total length of the elongate arms  20  is about 12 inches. 
       FIG.  6    is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the grasping tool  40  wherein finger engagement elements  42  are each in a fully annular, closed shape, which each fully encircle a finger of the user. In this embodiment, the grasping tool  40  may be fully or partially constructed of a food-grade stainless steel material, or other material suitable for handling foods. Other materials may be used, as deemed suitable for the consumer, for example, stainless steel material (or similar) may be desirable for use in cooking, plating food, etc. Alternatively, a softer or lighter material may be used, such as silicone, plastic, aluminum, etc., for general snacking or for disposable manufacturing. Furthermore, any suitable material may be used, in any desired context, provided the grasping tool  40  functions according to the claims of the present invention. 
     As used in this application, the words “a,” “an,” and “one” are defined to include one or more of the referenced item unless specifically stated otherwise. The terms “approximately” and “about” are defined to mean +/−10% (distance), or 25 degrees (in orientation), unless otherwise stated. Also, the terms “have,” “include,” “contain,” and similar terms are defined to mean “comprising” unless specifically stated otherwise. Furthermore, the terminology used in the specification provided above is hereby defined to include similar and/or equivalent terms, and/or alternative embodiments that would be considered obvious to one skilled in the art given the teachings of the present patent application. While the invention has been described with reference to at least one particular embodiment, it is to be clearly understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments, but rather the scope of the invention is defined by claims made to the invention.