FR2720250A1 - Clip to grip small pieces of food - Google Patents

Abstract

The clip has two shells (1, 3) which are made in plastic material and are joined together by a supple articulation (2). This allows the pressure of the fingers to close the shells on the food and they separate elastically when the pressure diminishes. The lower shell (3) is held by the thumb and the upper shell (1) is held by the fingers. The shells are made by moulding and they can be in the shape of the head of a bird or animal.

Description

The present invention relates to a gripper for grasping, without touching them with the fingers, food the shape or presentation of which would suit manual gripping.

Some foods are sometimes presented to be entered by hand, others are difficult to enter with the usual cutlery and a manual intake would be easier. The manual intake of these foods requires prior cleanliness of the hands and requires cleaning them after or during feeding. In some cases the heat of the food does not allow direct contact with the fingers.

The use of pliers replacing the manual grip without removing its convenience overcomes these drawbacks
The invention is a plastic clamp which is placed between the fingers and which consists of two shells connected by a flexible articulation which keeps the shells apart as long as the user does not exert pressure on them in the otherwise the two shells come to close on the food and this allows to grasp it to bring it to the mouth.

By design, the appearance of the clamp can be varied and attractive, since the manufacture of the device, by molding or stamping for example, makes it possible to obtain shells of different shapes. For example, the tongs, to be attractive, can represent an animal head, a bivalve shell, etc. It can also be adapted to the food to be grasped
The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention: - Figure 1 shows the clamp in basic form.

- Figure 2 shows a pliers in the shape of a bird's head and its handling - Figure 3 shows the application to the seizure of fries.

- Figure 4 shows a clamp whose upper shell has been cut to view the profile.

- Figure S shows a clamp of particular shape.

With reference to these drawings, the clamp comprises the two shells (1) and (3) and the joint (2).

The lower shell (3) is held by the thumb and the upper shell (1) is held by one or more of the other fingers of the hand. Possibly surfaces favoring the maintenance of the clamp may exist on the shells (Fig. 4). The joint (2) spreads the shells sufficiently to grip the food.

The hulls can have different shapes and are therefore more attractive (e.g. in the shape of a bird's head Fig. 2) or better suited to the food to be grasped because it matches its shape or even they can combine the two features (e.g. shape of a bird's head, more particularly suitable for entering ovoid-shaped foods such as olives, peanuts ect .: Fig.S)
The joint is an area of reduced thickness obtained during the manufacture of the system and then folded so as to: - be able to obtain the closing of the shells by pressing on them, until the food is seized.

- move the tongs apart enough to be able to grasp the food.

This type of joint is easily achievable by a skilled person.

This device is particularly suitable for gripping French fries served uncovered in fast food restaurants, but its use can be easily extended to other foods.

The device can be obtained by molding, stamping or other means of processing piastic materials.

Claims (1)

 1) Gripper for gripping food characterized in that it consists of a plastic part formed by two shells (1) and (3) connected by a flexible joint (2) which allows by pressure between the fingers to close those -this on the food to be gripped and by elasticity to spread them when the pressure decreases.