Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47G—HOUSEHOLD OR TABLE EQUIPMENT
  • A47G21/00—Table-ware
  • A47G21/10—Sugar tongs; Asparagus tongs; Other food tongs

Definitions

• Eating device for holding pieces of food as well as a combination of a dispenser and eating devices held in it
• the invention relates to a eating device for receiving pieces of food and a combination of a dispenser and eating devices to be stored therein.
• eating devices designed as two-pronged forks are generally provided, with the help of which the food is impaled and brought to the mouth of the be ⁇ meeting the person.
• These forks have the disadvantage that the food component in question slips off and is therefore lost. There is also the risk of dirtying clothing and floors.
• the primary object of the invention is to design a eating device of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that its lumpy food constituents can be taken up more safely. Another part of the task is to design the eating device so that it can be provided in a simple manner and by self-service.
• the first part of the object is achieved in that the eating device is designed as gripping tongs with gripping arms which can be moved from an open position against a restoring force into a gripping position.
• food components should therefore no longer be impaled, but rather be gripped with the aid of the gripping arms. This creates a much better hold of the relevant food component on the eating device, with the result that it can hardly be lost and the risk of dirtying clothes and floors is reduced to a minimum.
• the eating device according to the invention is characterized by a simple design, because it is sufficient to connect two gripping arms to one another via a connecting piece. This allows the gripper to be made as a disposable product for single use from inexpensive materials, such as plastic or the like.
• the gripping tongs according to the invention are therefore particularly suitable for use in the fast food sector.
• the connecting piece is designed like a flexure. This is understood to mean any type of connection that allows the gripper arms to move together against the action of a restoring force.
• the connecting piece can be designed as a simple connecting bend.
• the gripping pliers are designed such that several of them can be stacked one inside the other in the open position.
• the gripping pliers it is advisable to design the gripping pliers in such a way that the gripping arms are V-shaped, preferably at an angle of approximately 60 °.
• the gripping pliers as a whole can be formed from a strip of the same width and thickness.
• the gripping arms preferably have recessed grips on the outside, by means of which the gripping arms can be moved together by inserting the thumb and index finger.
• the Handle recesses should expediently be arranged in the region of half the length of the gripping arms.
• latching means are provided on the outside in the region of the free ends of the gripping arms.
• Such locking means are particularly recommended when the gripping tongs according to the invention are to be kept in dispensers and are to be kept there by means of complementary locking means so that on the one hand they do not fall out of the dispenser, but on the other hand they are removed by slightly pressing the gripping arms together is possible.
• the locking means can for example be designed as locking grooves.
• the second part of the task is solved according to the invention by a combination of a dispenser and eating devices to be stored therein, which is characterized according to the invention in that the dispenser has a dispenser shaft which is preferably open on the underside for receiving a plurality of stacked gripping tongs and dispenser shaft and gripping tongs such as one another are adapted that the gripping tongs - due to their own weight or by applying an additional force, for. B. a weight - can slide downwards, with stop elements being expediently provided in the region of the lower end of the dispenser shaft, which interact with the lowest gripping pliers in each case such that pulling out of these gripping pliers is possible on the one hand, and on the other hand an automatic falling out this gripper is prevented.
• a plurality of gripping tongs stacked one on top of the other can be provided for self-service, the lowest gripping tongs held in each case by stop elements being able to be removed. Slip after removal the gripping tongs still present in the dispenser shaft until the lowest gripping tongs come back into the area of the stop elements and are stopped. It goes without saying that such a dispenser can also have several such dispenser shafts, in which a plurality of gripping tongs are then filled and stacked one above the other.
• the stop elements are expediently designed as matching locking means on the dispenser shaft and gripping tongs, which engage in one another in a position in which the gripping tongs partially protrude from the dispenser shaft.
• the latching means can each consist of a projecting latching web and a latching groove matching this. It is expedient if the locking webs project in the dispenser shaft and the locking grooves are molded into the outer sides of the gripping arms. In this case, the pliers-side stop elements should be arranged in the area of the free ends of the gripping arms.
• the dispenser shaft is advantageously rectangular in its basic shape and has opposite broad sides and opposite narrow sides.
• the stop elements should be arranged on the narrow sides.
• the gripping arms prefferably bear against the opposite inner sides of the dispenser shaft under a certain pretension.
• the dispenser shaft should have opposite guide grooves into which the free ends of the gripping arms surround.
• Figure 1 is a gripper according to the invention in the
• FIG. 2 shows a combination of dispenser and pelt grippers according to Figure 1;
• FIG. 3 shows a cross section through the dispenser according to FIG. 2 and
• FIG. 4 shows a vertical section through the dispenser with the lowest gripping pliers according to FIG. 2.
• the gripping pliers 1 shown in Figure 1 consists essentially of two V-shaped gripping arms 2, 3 and an articulated arch 4 connecting them.
• the articulated arch 4 forms a kind of bending joint and holds the gripping arms 2, 3 in the position shown when they are not with be subjected to an external force.
• the articulated bow 4 allows the gripping arms 2, 3 to be moved apart and together in each case against the action of a resilient restoring force which tends to move the gripping arms 2, 3 back into the open position shown.
• the gripping pliers 1 are formed from a plastic strip of the same width and thickness.
• the cross-section and stability of this plastic strip is such that, on the one hand, gripping lumpy food components between the gripping arms 2, 3 is possible, and on the other hand there is such elasticity that the gripping arms 2, 3 can be moved together from the open position shown into a gripping position .
• the gripping arms 2, 3 have approximately in the middle of their length - each seen from the outside - concave recesses 5, 6, which are each provided with corrugations 7, 8 and for the insertion of thumb and index fingers for the purpose Squeezing the gripper arms 2, 3 are determined.
• the gripping arms 2, 3 In the direction of the free ends, the gripping arms 2, 3 each have latching grooves 9, 10, which extend over the entire width and are each open to the outer sides.
• the locking grooves 9, 10 are followed by gripping blades 11, 12, which primarily serve to hold the food component and their free ends 13, 14, respectively are bent inwards.
• FIGS. 2 and 3 show a dispenser 15. It has an essentially rectangular housing 16 with a bulge 17 on the rear, trapezoidal in cross section, which extends over the entire height of the housing 16. On the inside, the housing 16 passes through a dispenser shaft 18, the cross section of which can be seen in particular in FIG. 2 and which is closed on the top by a cover 19 and open on the underside.
• the dispenser shaft 18 has approximately the cross-sectional shape of the housing 16. On its narrow sides, it has guide grooves 20, 21 which run from top to bottom. Their width is adapted to the width of the gripping blades 11, 12 of the gripping tongs 1 so that they can engage in the guide grooves 20, 21 and slide therein.
• a large number of gripping tongs - designated by way of example with 1 - are filled into the dispenser shaft 18 in such a way that the articulated arch 4 stands down and the gripping arms 2, 3 diverge symmetrically upward. They are stacked one inside the other and lie on the gripping blades 11, 12 on the narrow sides of the dispenser shaft 18 in the guide grooves 20, 21.
• the prestressing is such that the gripping blades 11, 12 cannot jump out of the guide grooves 20, 21, but on the other hand it is possible for the gripping tongs 1 to slide downward in the dispenser shaft 18 due to their own weight.
• the gripping tongs 1 are prevented from falling out by the lowest gripping tongs 1.
• This lowermost gripping pliers 1 is held by latching means, specifically by latching webs 22, 23 projecting horizontally inwards at the lower ends of the guide grooves 20, 21 (FIG. 4). These locking webs 22, 23 engage in the locking grooves 9, 10 and thereby give the lowest gripping pliers 1 so much hold that they do not come under the loading the stacked gripping tongs 1 can fall out. This is ensured by the outward biasing force acting in the direction of the double arrows.

Landscapes

• Table Equipment (AREA)
• Food-Manufacturing Devices (AREA)
• Vending Machines For Individual Products (AREA)
• De-Stacking Of Articles (AREA)
• Confectionery (AREA)
• Seeds, Soups, And Other Foods (AREA)
• Jellies, Jams, And Syrups (AREA)
• General Preparation And Processing Of Foods (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=8008452

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Families Citing this family (11)

Family Cites Families (16)

• 1995
  • 1995-05-23 DE DE29508539U patent/DE29508539U1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 1996
  • 1996-05-21 AU AU59988/96A patent/AU5998896A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1996-05-21 DE DE59604950T patent/DE59604950D1/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1996-05-21 US US08/776,118 patent/US5899356A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1996-05-21 AT AT96917390T patent/ATE191622T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1996-05-21 EP EP96917390A patent/EP0774914B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1996-05-21 WO PCT/EP1996/002176 patent/WO1996037135A1/fr active IP Right Grant

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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