EP0725585B1

EP0725585B1 - Meat fork

Info

Publication number: EP0725585B1
Application number: EP95902341A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gerardus Jan Marie Timmermans
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-11-10
Filing date: 1994-11-09
Publication date: 1999-08-04
Anticipated expiration: 2014-11-09
Also published as: WO1995013005A1; ATE182761T1; AU1124195A; NL9301952A; DE69419933D1; EP0725585A1; DE69419933T2

Abstract

A meat fork (1) comprising a fork shank (2) having at one end thereof a number of prongs (4, 5) and at the other a handgrip (6) with an integrated slide-off mechanism (7, 8, 9) for sliding a piece of meat stuck on the prongs from the prongs, which slide-off mechanism comprises a control member (8) located near the handgrip, a slide-off member (9) located near the prongs and capable of being reciprocated in the longitudinal direction of the prongs, and a push member (7) extending along the fork shank and provided between the control member (8) and the slide-off member (9).

Description

The invention relates to a fork in particular suitable for use as a meat fork comprising a fork shank having one or more prongs at one end thereof and a handgrip at the other, an integrated slide-off mechanism for sliding a piece of food stuck on the prongs from the prongs, said slide-off mechanism comprising a control member located near the handgrip, a slide-off member located near the prongs and capable of being reciprocated in the longitudinal direction of the prongs, and a push member extending along the fork shank and provided between the control member and the slide-off member, wherein the shank of the fork comprises a cavity extending in the longitudinal direction of the shank, in which cavity the push member extends; US-A-2864163 discloses such a fork.

Meat forks are generally known from practice and are used in the kitchen for placing pieces of meat in the pan or, by contrast, taking them out of the pan, for turning the meat in the pan, holding a piece of meat during the cutting of the meat and the like. Of course, such a meat fork can also be used for other types of food. For this reason, hereinbelow, the term "meat fork" is also understood to mean a fork suitable for the manipulation of other food. This also includes, for instance, a barbecue skewer, meat skewer or the like, having only one tip or prong.

Typically, the known meat forks have two pointed prongs, which can be stuck into a piece of meat in order to hold the meat. In practice, the known meat forks involve the problem that a forked piece of meat will either fall from the fork at an undersired moment due to the prongs not having been pushed far enough into the meat, or will not be released from the fork after the desired manipulation has been carried out. In the first case, the piece of meat may for instance fall back into the pan, involving the danger of fat spattering about, or the piece of meat may fall for instance on the ground, which is also highly undesirable. In the second case, the meat should be detached from the fork with an aid. For this purpose, a second fork or a knife or the like can be used, which is troublesome. Also, attempts can be made to retain the meat with the edge of the pan and to pull the prongs out of the meat in that manner. This may again result in fat spattering about.

Consequently, there is a need for a meat fork with which, on the one hand, a piece of meat can be held firmly, while on the other hand, a forked piece of meat can readily be detached from the fork without additional aids.

US-A-1 882 246 discloses a meat fork provided with an integrated slide-off mechanism as described above. The known meat fork however has a push-member which extends along the shank of the fork at a rather large distance thereof and which has an end part extending over the handgrip of the fork. As a result the known fork cannot be manipulated in a convenient way and also is prone to catch behind obstacles. Further the known fork is difficult to assemble.

US-A-2 864 163 too discloses a meat fork provided with an intergated slide-off mechanism. This known fork however is of a rather complicated design, including a tubular shank in which the tines of the fork have been mounted and through which a push rod for the slide-off mechanism extends. Apart from the complicated design the control member is the head of a screw which is inconvenient in use, and also meat juices may accumulate in the tubular shank which is very undesirable. Similar observations are valid for US-A-2 521 032 and CH-A-181 998.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved meat fork having an integrated slide-off mechanism, which is sturdy, easy to produce and convenient in use.

To this end a meat fork of the type disclosed in US-A-2 864 163 is characterized in that the cavity is formed by longitudinal edges of the shank, which viewed in cross-section have been bent downward.

The invention will be further described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings of an example of a meat fork according to the invention. In these drawings:

Fig. 1 schematically shows, in top plan view, an exemplary embodiment of a meat fork according to the invention;

Fig. 2 shows the meat fork of Fig. 1 in side elevation;

Fig. 3 schematically shows a section taken on the line III-III in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 schematically shows a bottom view of the meat fork of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 shows a section taken on the line V-V in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 shows a front view according to the arrow VI in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 7 shows the fork in an operating position.

The meat fork 1 schematically shown in the figures comprises a shank 2, having at one end thereof a forked portion 3 forming two

prongs

4,5, and at the other end a handgrip 6. Extending along the shank from the handgrip to the forked portion is an elongated push strip 7, near the handgrip connected with a control member 8 and having at its other end a slide-off member 9. The control member is adapted to be reciprocated along the shank 2 of the fork by the thumb of the hand with which the handgrip is held during use. The control member may have any suitable shape, but preferably, as shown in the figures, it is shaped such that in the rest position, the control member blends in shape with the shape of the handgrip and as it were forms one whole with the handgrip. The control member is provided with a recess 10 in which the user's thumb can be placed. In the example shown, the recess 10 is located on the upper side of the fork. On its lower side, the handgrip may be provided with a number of recesses 11 for the fingers. Further, in this example, the handgrip is provided with a suspension eye in the form of an opening 12 formed in the handgrip.

The control member is connected with the strip 7 in one of the manners suiting that purpose, for instance through glueing, cementing, riveting, snapping, welding or the like. In the example shown, a screw 13 is used (Fig. 3) extending through the strip and through a slot 14 in the fork shank into the control member located on the upper side of the fork shank.

In the example shown, the fork shank, viewed in cross section, comprises longitudinal edges 15 bent obliquely downward. The strip 7 lies in the thus obtained longitudinal cavity of the fork shank, as is shown in Fig. 5.

The forked portion forms one whole with the fork shank and may for instance, like the fork shank, be made of stainless steel or any other suitable metal.

At the forked portion, the strip 7 is connected with a slide-off member 9, in this example extending transversely to the strip. In this example, the slide-off member has a recess 16 on two sides (Fig. 6), by which the slide-off member fits around the prongs. Accordingly, the prongs can function as guide members for the slide-off member if the slide-off member is moved between the rest position and a more advanced position, i.e. located near the free ends of the prongs, as shown in Fig. 7.

The slide-off member 9 can be a separate member, which may or may not be detachably mounted on the strip 7, but it can also be formed on the strip through bending, forging, etc. The handgrip can be manufactured from any material suiting that purpose, for instance a heat-insulating plastic. The handgrip can be hollow or, as is shown, solid and can be mounted on the fork shank in any of the manners that are known for that purpose, for instance through casting on.

In the example shown, the prongs comprise laterally protruding projections 17, increasing the grip on a piece of meat to be forked. In this example, the projections have a somewhat sharp shape, but they may also be rounded. Further, it is also possible to construct the prongs without projections.

The operation of the above-described meat fork with integrated slide-off mechanism is as follows. The fork is stuck with its prongs into a piece of meat or the like to be manipulated, while the slide-off member is in the rest position (Figs 1-4). The piece of meat is then moved to the desired location, whereupon the slide-off member 9 is moved forward by means of the control member and the push strip. Thus, the piece of meat is slid from the prongs in a controlled manner.

It is observed that after the foregoing, various modifications will readily occur to a skilled person. For instance, instead of a strip, a differently shaped elongated member can be used which could possibly consist of several parts. Further, depending on the applied sectional form of the elongated member, the end face thereof may serve directly as slide-off member. Also, the fork may have a different number of prongs than two prongs. The slide-off member may be located between two prongs, as described, but may also be located on the outside of the prongs or both between and outside the prongs. In particular if very short prongs are involved, as in the case of some barbecue forks, the slide-off member may be located outside the prongs. These and similar modifications are understood to fall within the scope of the invention.

Claims

A fork (1) comprising a fork shank (2) having one or more prongs (4,5) at one end thereof and a handgrip (6) at the other, an integrated slide-off mechanism (7,8,9) for sliding a piece of food stuck on the prongs (17) from the prongs, said slide-off mechanism (7,8,9) comprising a control member (8) located near the handgrip (6), a slide-off member (9) located near the prongs (4,5) and capable of being reciprocated in the longitudinal direction of the prongs, and a push member (7) extending along the fork shank (2) and provided between the control member (8) and the slide-off member (9), wherein the shank (2) of the fork (1) comprises a cavity extending in the longitudinal direction of the shank (2), in which cavity the push member (7) extends, characterized in that said cavity is formed by longitudinal edges (15) of the shank (2), which viewed in cross-section have been bent downward.
A fork according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control member (8) is formed by a member which, in rest, fits in a recess at the front side of the handgrip (6) and blends in shape with the handgrip (6), capable of being moved back in the direction of the prongs (4,5) relative to the handgrip (6).
A fork according to claim 2, characterized in that the control member (8) is provided with a recess (10) in which the user's thumb can be placed.
A fork according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by guide means (13,14) for the control member (8) said guide means permitting a sliding movement of the control member along the fork shank (2) but preventing a movement transverse to the fork shank (2).
A fork according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the push member (7) is coupled to the control member (8) by means of a fixing screw (13) extending through a slot (14) in the fork shank (2).
A fork according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the prongs (4,5) comprise projections (17) extending in transverse direction.