Patent ID: 7484299

Claim:
An adjustable food serving utensil for use with solid and liquid foods, said food serving utensil comprising: a single and unitary body including a handle located at a proximal end of said body and a food retaining section located at a distal end of said body respectively, said body having a hollow chamber extending from said proximal end to said distal end of said body and axially seated therein, wherein said body is provided with a linear opening located adjacent to said proximal end thereof, said hollow chamber spanning along a major longitudinal length of said body; a manually-operable actuator switch housed within said linear opening and linearly displaced parallel to a longitudinal length of said body, said switch having a flange portion protruding outwardly from a top surface of said handle such that a user may bias said switch between engaged and disengaged positions while holding said body in one hand; a shaft housed within said hollow chamber and extending along a major longitudinal length thereof such that said shaft extends from said distal end of said body to said proximal end of said body, said shaft having a first end monolithically formed with said switch and further having a second end adjustably intercalated within said food retaining section; and means for stabilizing said shaft such that said shaft is prohibited from laterally oscillating away from the longitudinal axis of said hollow chamber during operating conditions, said stabilizing means being spaced from said food retaining section, wherein said stabilizing means is directly engaged with said shaft and said body; wherein said stabilizing means comprises a plurality of bearings adjoining an outer surface of said shaft and being rotatably intercalated within said hollow chamber, said bearings being located at a point substantially equidistant between said first and second ends of said shaft such that first and second ends of said shaft are equally balanced within said hollow chamber; wherein said food retaining section includes a concave top surface having a plurality of slots formed therein and penetrating a thickness of said food retaining section, said slots being coextensively shaped and traveling parallel to said actuator switch and said shaft respectively wherein said actuator switch is displaced along a linear path equal to a longitudinal length of said slots respectively, each of said slots having axially opposed closed ends disposed inwardly from an outer perimeter of said top surface, said outer perimeter of said food retaining section having a curvilinear distal-most tip spaced distally from distal most tips of said slots respectively.