GB2401025A

GB2401025A - Spoon feeder

Info

Publication number: GB2401025A
Application number: GB0406684A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Rollin Rachele
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-03-28
Filing date: 2004-03-25
Publication date: 2004-11-03
Anticipated expiration: 2024-03-25
Also published as: GB0307188D0; GB2401025B; GB0406684D0

Abstract

A spoon feeder for delivering a paste-like food or medicine product to a person's mouth, the feeder comprising a paste container 1 which is coupled to a container outlet duct 4 and a spoon bowl 2, in which the outlet duct terminates in an entry opening located on a side wall of the spoon bowl, wherein the entry opening has a flap of a flexible material attached adjacent said opening. This provides a combined food container and spoon which can be used to feed a baby and which is able to be operated by one hand. The container 1 may be flexible and discharged by compression or rigid and discharged by a piston. The duct 4 may pass through a hinge 3 about which the bowl 2 may be pivoted to a position engaging the container 1 with the duct 4 out of communication with the container 1. The container 1 may be provided with a temperature sensor, a noise maker and a napkin or wipe. Alternatively, the duct 4 may comprise a tube which may be folded to prevent discharge of the paste.

Description

2401 025

SPOON FEEDER

This invention relates to a spoon feeder. It relates particularly to a spoon feeder that can be used to provide a means for feeding or giving medicine to a person who is unable to use a spoon themselves. Such a person might be a baby, a very old or disabled individual or someone who is unable to move their arm or hands.

There have been certain systems proposed already for enabling a spoon feeder to be used in a one-handed operation to provide means for feeding a baby. One such proposal is disclosed in patent application No. GB2382020. The device of this patent application allows the parent to hold the baby with one hand and use the other hand to manipulate the spoon and additionally to refill the spoon when necessary from a closed food container to which the feeder has been attached. The provision of a container of suitable food thus avoids the need to take small portions of food from a separate open container which could cause spillage and a possible wastage if the whole contents of the container were not able to be used in a single feeding session. Furthermore, the use of a separate open-topped container would be likely to cause a large surface area of the food to be exposed to the air with a risk of the food becoming contaminated.

I have now devised an alternative construction of spoon feeder which can enable the usable body of food to be shielded further from the risk of surface contamination.

According to the invention, there is provided a spoon feeder for delivering a paste- like food or medicine product to a person's mouth, the feeder comprising a paste container which is coupled to a container outlet duct and a spoon bowl, in which the outlet duct terminates in an entry opening located on a side wall of the spoon bowl, wherein the entry opening has a flap of a flexible material attached adjacent said opening.

Preferably, the flap is attached at the spoon bowl upper edge or at a location between the said opening and an upper edge of the bowl. The flap may be attached at an upper edge of the spoon bowl with a fixing which extends in a direction towards a front edge of the bowl. The flap may be so dimensioned that it extends over a major part of the open area of the spoon bowl.

Conveniently, the said paste container may be a flexible package which is able to eject the paste to be dispensed by compression of a wall of said package. Alternatively, the said paste container may be a rigid hollow body which is able to eject the material to be dispensed by movement of a piston.

In one embodiment, the spoon bowl is secured to the paste container by a hinge means such that the bowl may be folded over the container to form a lid therefor. The hinge means may be located in the region of the container outlet duct. The container outlet duct may be arranged to be sealed when the lid is in the said folded position.

The container outlet duct may be a flexible tube which is arranged to be closed by compression of a tube wall or the formation of a kink in the tube when the lid is in the said folded position. The container outlet duct may be a tube including a rotary valve means such that a valve passage will be closed when the lid is in the said folded position.

The invention also comprises a feeder as just described, in which the said paste container includesa filling of a food or medicine product.

By way of example, a particular embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure I shows an axial cross-section of the spoon feeder when in the closed condition, Figure 2 is a similar view showing the spoon feeder when arranged for a feeding operation, Figure 3 is a view of the closed spoon feeder with some accessory components, Figure 4 is a front view of the feeder when in the open condition for use, Figure 5 is a plan view of the foldable spoon portion, Figure 6 is a perspective view of the foldable spoon, Figure 7 is an exploded view of the spoon and the supporting hinge structure, Figure 8 is a cross-section of a different embodiment of the spoon feeder, Figure 9 shows the embodiment when arranged for use, and, Figure 10 depicts the spoon support tube when in the closed condition.

As depicted in Figure 1, the spoon feeder comprises a food container 1 which supports a spoon bowl 2 on a hinge 3 mounting. Initially, the food container 1 and spoon bowl 2 are covered by a protective cap which serves to keep the container surface clean and hygienic until it is intended to be used. The spoon bowl 2 is also secured temporarily to a wall of the container 1 by a clip 15 (Figure 4) until the device is required to be used.

The food container I is manufactured with flexible walls so that it can be squeezed by the fingers of a user to deliver a paste-like food material through a container opening 4 (Figure 2) into the spoon bowl 2. The container opening in this embodiment is a through passage in the hinge 3 and when the feeder is in the closed condition, as depicted in Figure 1, the hinge 3 will be folded so that the container opening 4 will be closed.

Figure 2 shows the spoon feeder when in the open condition, the spoon bowl 2 having been moved away from the container wall by a rotation of part of the hinge 3. The hinge 3 has therefore freed the container opening 4 so that food material 5 may be passed along the through passage in the hinge and delivered into the spoon bowl. At the outlet opening of the passage in the hinge, the spoon bowl 2 is provided with a flap 7 (Figure 5) of a flexible film material and this flap will be pushed aside by the entry of the food when the food material is delivered into the spoon bowl. The flap 7 is attached to the spoon above the opening in the region of the upper edge of the bowl and it serves partly to prevent air from coming into contact with the food portion.

In the operation of feeding a baby with the feeder of the invention, the user will open the folded spoon bowl away from the container and squeeze the container to deliver a portion of the food paste into the spoon bowl. The food portion in the bowl will be partially covered with the flap 7. When the food is in the spoon bowl 2, the person feeding the baby will slip the spoon bowl into the recipient's mouth. When the recipient's lips are pressed together around the food substance, the upper lip will come into contact with the top of the sealing flap. The food will slide out from under the flap and into the mouth of the recipient. In doing so, the underside of the flap 7 will lock onto the surface of the spoon bowl 2 and around and over the hole 4 by means of the vacuum force exerted by surface tension. The flap 7 thus seals the food from any unnecessary air contact while also providing the important function of regulating the next squeeze of food substance making it conform more consistently to the contours of the spoon bowl.

When the baby needs extra help to concentrate on the act of eating, a visual cue card with a picture of a stimulating object shown can be used and this card is simply attached to an upper surface of the food container 1. A noise maker 12 can also be used to attract attention. The feeder unit may additionally be provided with a temperature sensor 9 to ensure that the food substance is being served at a suitable temperature. A napkin or wipe 16 may also be included.

Figure 4 is a front view of the feeder when in the open condition. Figure 5 is a plan view of the foldable spoon components and Figure 6 is a perspective view. Figure 7 is a side view of the components.

Figures 8 and 9 show an alternative embodiment of the spoon feeder where the hinge support for the spoon bowl has been replaced by a rigid tube which may be folded to form a kink in the tube wall and thus prevent any passage of the food material. As before, when folded, the spoon bowl opening is closed against the side of the container 1 and the bowl is secured in this position by the clip 15.

Figure 10 depicts the folded spoon bowl on an enlarged scale.

The spoon feeder of the invention when in use has been found to enhance cleanliness of the feeding operation, to facilitate the carrying out of this task and to reduce the amount of wastage of the baby food. The spoon feeder may be manufactured inexpensively from synthetic plastics materials and it may be readily disposed of after use.

The foregoing description of an embodiment of the invention has been given by way of example only and a number of modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For instance, instead of the spoon feeder of the invention being provided as a single unit, this could be made up for sale in a multipack form with two or more units being provided in a side-by- side arrangement. These units could then be separated later by the customer to enable the spoon feeders to be put into use. The spoon feeder of the invention is not, of course, limited to being used only for delivering baby food and it could be used for other purposes such as for delivering medical preparations, as a convenient food container for the hiker or fisherman, as a childs lunch pack item when filled with yoghurt, for dispensing food material on a picnic, or as a snack food container.

Claims

1 A spoon feeder for delivering a paste-like food or medicine product to a person's mouth, the feeder comprising a paste container which is coupled to a container outlet duct and a spoon bowl, in which the outlet duct terminates in an entry opening located on a side wall of the spoon bowl, wherein the entry opening has a flap of a flexible material attached adjacent said opening.

2 A feeder as claimed in Claim 1, in which the flap is attached at the spoon bowl upper edge or at a location between the said opening and an upper edge of the bowl.

3 A feeder as claimed in Claim 2, in which the flap is attached at an upper edge of the spoon bowl with a fixing which extends in a direction towards a front edge of the bowl.

4 A feeder as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, in which the flap is so dimensioned that it extends over a major part of the open area of the spoon bowl.

A feeder as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4, in which the said paste container is a flexible package which is able to eject the paste to be dispensed by compression of a wall of said package.

6 A feeder as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4, in which the said paste container is a rigid hollow body which is able to eject the material to be dispensed by movement of a piston.

7 A feeder as claimed in any one of Claims I to 6, in which the spoon bowl is secured to the paste container by a hinge means such that the bowl may be folded over the container to form a lid therefor.

8 A feeder as claimed in Claim 7, in which the said hinge means is located in the region of the container outlet duct.

9 A feeder as claimed in Claim 7 or 8, in which the container outlet duct is arranged to be sealed when the lid is in the said folded position.

A feeder as claimed in any one of Claims 7 to 9, in which the container outlet duct is a flexible tube which is arranged to be closed by compression of a tube wall or the formation of a kink in the tube when the lid is in the said folded position.

11 A feeder as claimed in any one of Claims 7 to 9, in which the container outlet duct is a tube including a rotary valve means such that a valve passage will be closed when the lid is in the said folded position.

12 A feeder as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 11, in which the said paste container includes a filling of a food or medicine product.

13 A spoon feeder substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings.