CN216494727U

CN216494727U - Fork with embedded support

Info

Publication number: CN216494727U
Application number: CN202122207030.8U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 林乔; 王保罗
Original assignee: Oula Baby Co ltd
Current assignee: Oula Baby Co ltd
Priority date: 2020-09-14
Filing date: 2021-09-13
Publication date: 2022-05-13
Anticipated expiration: 2031-09-13
Also published as: US20220079362A1

Abstract

The utility model provides a fork. The fork comprises a fork handle made of silica gel. The fork also comprises a fork head made of silica gel, and the fork head and the fork handle are integrally formed. The fork also includes an inline support disposed within the fork head and extending into the fork handle. The length of the embedded support is less than about 35% of the full length of the fork. The embedded support is made of a material with strength greater than that of the silica gel. The fork of the present invention may provide greater safety, durability, and functionality than conventional infant forks sold in the market.

Description

Fork with embedded support

The present application claims priority from U.S. non-provisional patent application No. 17/472,657, filed 12.9.2021, and U.S. provisional patent application No. 63/077,847, filed 14.9.2020. All of the above is incorporated by reference into this application.

Technical Field

The present application relates generally to food service items and, more particularly, to a fork with an embedded support.

Background

Safety is always the first priority when the present inventors are developing infant products. Existing plastic or iron infant appliances, particularly infant forks, are either not sufficiently heat resistant or are not soft or bendable to avoid injury. The heads of existing infant forks are typically either plastic or stainless steel to effectively fork food, but they may injure the gums or teeth of the infant when eating. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved fork.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

Consistent with one aspect of the present application, a fork is provided. The fork comprises a fork handle made of silica gel. The fork also comprises a fork head which is also made of silica gel and is integrally formed with the fork handle. The fork also includes an inline support disposed within the fork head and extending to the fork handle. The length of the inset support is less than about 35% of the overall length of the fork. The embedded support is made of a material stronger than the silica gel.

Other aspects of the present application may also be understood by those skilled in the art based on the description, claims, and drawings. The foregoing summary and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the claims.

The technical scheme adopted by the utility model for solving the technical problems is as follows:

a fork, comprising:

a fork handle made of silica gel;

a fork head made of silica gel, wherein the fork head and the fork handle are integrally formed; and

an embedded support provided in the fork head and extending into the fork handle, the length of the embedded support being less than 35% of the overall length of the fork,

wherein the embedded support is made of a material having a greater strength than silicone.

Preferably, the inset support extends into a portion of the fork handle that is less than half of the overall length of the fork handle.

Preferably, the length of the embedded support is 25% -35% of the total length of the fork.

Preferably, the length of the embedded support is one third of the total length of the fork.

Preferably, the material of the embedded support is at least one of plastic, metal, wood, or bamboo.

Preferably, the inline support comprises a plurality of teeth with tip portions corresponding to the fork heads.

Preferably, a plurality of slip resistant threads are provided on at least the outer surface of the fork handle to increase friction for a user to grasp the fork handle.

Compared with the prior art, the fork with the embedded support has the advantages that the fork with the embedded support integrates functionality, durability and safety, and is particularly designed for infants and children.

Drawings

The drawings are provided for illustrative purposes based on various embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a front perspective view of a fork with an embedded support according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates another perspective view from the front of the fork shown in FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view from the rear of the fork of FIG. 1 provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates another perspective view of the fork of FIG. 1 from the front, as provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a side perspective view of the fork of FIG. 1 provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a front elevational view of the fork of FIG. 1 provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a rear elevational view of the fork of FIG. 1 provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a left side elevational view of the fork of FIG. 1 provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates a right side elevational view of the fork of FIG. 1 provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 illustrates a top view of the fork of FIG. 1 provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 illustrates a bottom view of the fork of FIG. 1 provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments in the drawings are meant as examples only for illustrative purposes and not to limit the scope of the utility model. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements. Therefore, the detailed description may be omitted in some places.

The utility model provides a fork. The fork integrates functionality, durability and safety, and is particularly designed for infants and children. In the present invention, the term "infant" is used to generally refer to a relatively young child, such as a child aged 0-4. FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a fork 100 with embedded supports, according to one embodiment of the present invention. The fork 100 may be made of food grade silicone. Food grade silica gel can be safely used for feeding to infants and young children. The fork 100 may include a longitudinal fork handle 105, a base 110, and a fork head 115.

The fork head 115 may include a plurality (e.g., 4) of teeth 120 and a palm portion 130, all made of silicone. The longest tooth length may be L1 and the longitudinal length of palm 130 may be L2. Unlike the prior art fork, where L1 is typically much larger than L2, in the fork 100 of the present invention, L1 and L2 are similar in size. The entire fork head 115 resembles a hand of a person, such as an infant. The middle portion of palm 130 may sink. That is, the front surface of the palm portion 130 shown in fig. 1 may have a concave shape. Food may also be held in palm 130. Thus, the fork 100 has both fork and spoon functions. The fork head 115 and fork handle 105 may be integrally formed as one piece with silicone.

The interior of the body of the fork 100 may be provided with an embedded support 135. The embedded support 135 may have a shape that matches the shape of the prong head 115. That is, the embedded stay 135 may have a plurality of tip portions 120 'inside the respective teeth 120 made of silicone rubber, and a piece of plate 130' inside the palm portion 130 made of silicone rubber. The inset support 135 is used to provide support to the tines 120 and palm 130 because the silicone material used to make the tines 120 and palm 130 may not be sufficiently stiff to provide the function of a fork. The material used to make the embedded support 135 can be any suitable material, provided that the material is harder than the silicone used to make the rest of the fork. In some embodiments, the size of the inset support 135 may be slightly smaller than the prong head 115. For example, the size of each tip 120' may be slightly smaller than the size of each tooth 120. The plate 130' may be slightly smaller in size than the palm portion 130. In some embodiments, the inline support 135 may extend into the fork handle 105. For example, the inset support 135 may extend 1/4, 1/3, or 1/2 lengths into the fork handle 105. In some embodiments, the overall length of the embedded support 135 may be approximately 25% -35% of the overall length of the fork 100. In some embodiments, the overall length of the embedded support 135 may comprise approximately 10% -15%, 15% -20%, 20% -25%, 25% -30%, 30% -35%, 35% -40%, 40% -45%, 45% -50%, 50% -55%, 55% -60%, 60% -65%, or 65% -70% of the overall length of the fork 100. In some embodiments, the overall length of the embedded brace 135 may comprise approximately 70% -75%, 75% -80%, 80% -85%, 85% -90%, 90% -95%, or 95% -100% of the overall length of the fork 100. In some embodiments, the overall length of the embedded support 135 may be less than approximately 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, or 100% of the overall length of the fork 100. In some embodiments, the overall length of the embedded brace 135 may be less than about 1/5, 2/5, 3/5, or 4/5 of the overall length of the fork 100. In some embodiments, the overall length of the inline support 135 may be less than about 1/4, 1/2, or 3/4 of the overall length of the fork 100. In some embodiments, the overall length of the inline support 135 may be less than about 1/3 or 2/3 of the overall length of the fork 100. In some embodiments, the overall length of the inline support 135 may be about 1/3 of the overall length of the fork 100. In some embodiments, the embedded support 135 may not extend the entire length of the fork 100. That is, the entire length of the embedded support 135 may not be as substantial as the entire length of the fork 100. The percentage of the length of the embedded brace 135 relative to the overall length of the fork 100 may be any suitable percentage, and need only be long enough so that the embedded brace 135 is able to provide sufficient support from within to the fork head 115 to provide the fork and/or spoon function. The remaining portion of the fork 100 to which the embedded support 135 does not extend maintains a relatively high degree of flexibility and bendability. In some embodiments, although not shown in the figures, the embedded support 135 may also extend approximately the full length of the fork.

The embedded support 135 may be any suitable rigid material having a greater stiffness or strength than silicone, such as plastic, metal (e.g., aluminum, stainless steel), wood, bamboo, etc., or a combination thereof. For example, the embedded support 135 may be made of polybutylene terephthalate ("PBT"), which is resistant to heat up to 150 degrees celsius. The high thermal resistance allows it to be molded and bonded tightly together with the silicone gel during the manufacturing process.

As shown in fig. 1, the silicone gel surrounding the embedded support 135 may follow the same (or slightly different) shape as the embedded support 135. The tip 120' of each embedded support 135 may be completely encapsulated by silicone to form the corresponding tooth 120. For example, fig. 1 shows that the embedded strut 135 has 4 tips 120' that are wrapped with silicone to form 4 corresponding teeth 120. Each tip 120' is completely encased by silicone within each tooth 120. Thus, the tip 120 'of the embedded support 135 is completely encased by a layer of soft, durable silicone such that the encased tip 120' (i.e., teeth 120) appears smooth and soft on the outside due to the characteristics of the silicone material, but is sufficiently stiff or strong on the inside to provide the fork function. Due to the softness of the silicone material, the fork 100 disclosed herein avoids injury to the infant's teeth and gums. The tip portion 120 'of the embedded support 135 is designed to be thin so that the entire tooth 120 can provide a good fork function even if the tip portion 120' is wrapped with silicone to form the tooth 120. The manufacturing process may be specifically designed so that the teeth 120 of the fork 100 have a certain thickness and function as a fork. Furthermore, teeth 120 having a soft outer surface do not cause accidental injury to a child when teeth 120 are squeezed against any body part of a child.

As shown in fig. 1, the inset support 135 may extend from the fork head 115 to a portion of the fork handle 105 when the inset support 135 occupies approximately the entire length 1/3 of the fork 100. The remaining major portion of the fork handle 105 away from the fork head 115 is made entirely of silicone and has no embedded hard structure. Thus, the main portion of the fork handle 105 is flexible and bendable. The entire outer contact surface of the fork 100, including the surfaces that contact the infant's hands, mouth, teeth, gums, etc., is 100% made of food grade silicone without any hard materials, such as plastics, that could harm the infant. Because all of the outer surfaces and major portions of the fork 100 are made of silicone, the fork 100 is bendable and flexible. Due to the natural properties of silica gel, the fork 100 has a high heat resistance so that it can be sterilized, poached, or dishwasher washed.

As shown in fig. 1, the base 110 includes a recessed inner surface. Thus, when the fork 100 is pressed vertically against a surface, such as a table top, the base 110 may deform such that the inner surface is flattened to provide a suction force that allows the fork 100 to stand stably on the surface.

As shown in FIG. 1 and others, at least some of the thin cleats 188 may be disposed on the outer surface of the fork handle 105. In some embodiments, the cleats 188 may not be present on the outer surface of the fork handle 105. The outer surface of the handle 105 may be a smooth surface. In some embodiments, the cleats 188 may be distributed over a portion of the outer surface of the fork handle 105, or may be distributed over substantially the entire outer surface of the fork handle 105. The non-slip threads 188 may extend longitudinally along the body of the fork 100. In some embodiments, the cleat 188 also extends onto the rear surface of the fork head 115. The slip stop 188 may be integrally formed with the outer surface of the fork handle 105 and/or the rear surface of the fork head 115 during manufacture. The anti-slip thread 188 may provide additional frictional force when a user (e.g., a child) grasps the fork 100 in his or her hand to eat food. The thickness or diameter of the cleats 188 may be less than 1 mm, less than 0.5 mm, or less than 0.3 mm. Although not shown in the figures, in some embodiments, the cleats 188 may extend circumferentially rather than longitudinally of the outer surface of the fork handle 105.

In some embodiments, the cleats 188 may be replaced by one or more cleats integrally formed with the outer surface of the fork handle 105. The anti-slip tabs may be a plurality of separate tabs distributed on the outer surface of the fork handle 105.

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the fork 100 from the front, without showing the embedded support 135 inside the fork 100. As shown in fig. 2, the base 110 has a recessed inner surface.

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the fork 100 from behind. As shown in FIG. 3, the rear surface of the fork head 115 has a curved shape, like a human hand.

Fig. 4 shows another perspective view of the fork 100 from the front.

Fig. 5 shows another perspective view of the fork 100.

Fig. 6 is a front view of the fork 100.

Fig. 7 is a rear view of the fork 100.

Fig. 8 is a left side view of the fork 100.

Fig. 9 is a right side view of the fork 100.

Fig. 10 is a top view of the fork 100.

Fig. 11 is a bottom view of the fork 100.

The fork of the present invention may provide greater safety, durability, and functionality than conventional infant forks sold in the market. The scope of the utility model is defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A fork, comprising:

a fork handle made of silica gel;

a fork head made of silica gel, wherein the fork head and the fork handle are integrally formed; the method is characterized in that: also comprises

2. The fork of claim 1, wherein the inset support extends into a portion of the fork handle that is less than half of the overall length of the fork handle.

3. The fork of claim 1, wherein the length of the inset support is between 25% and 35% of the overall length of the fork.

4. The fork of claim 1, wherein the length of the inline support is one-third of the overall length of the fork.

5. The fork of claim 1, wherein the material of the embedded support is one of plastic, metal, wood, or bamboo.

6. The fork of claim 1, wherein the inline support includes a plurality of tines with a tip corresponding to the plurality of tines of the fork head.

7. The fork of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of slip resistant lines provided on at least an outer surface of the fork handle to increase friction when a user grasps the fork handle.