GB2444226A

GB2444226A - Baby spoon

Info

Publication number: GB2444226A
Application number: GB0623830A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Briony Brand
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-11-29
Filing date: 2006-11-29
Publication date: 2008-06-04
Also published as: GB0623830D0

Abstract

A baby spoon (1) comprising a spoon bowl (2) for, holding a baby foodstuff in use of the spoon; a spoon handle (3) connected to the spoon bowl for handling the spoon in use thereof, the handle comprising an elongate body extending from a proximal end (4) at or towards one end of the spoon and a distal end (5) at or towards the spoon bowl, the elongate body being provided at or towards its distal end with an abutment flange (6) for preventing the spoon being inserted into a baby's mouth in use of the spoon beyond the abutment flange.

Description

BABY SPOON

The present invention relates to a feeding spoon for a baby, in particular to such a feeding spoon comprising a safety feature to prevent the baby from inserting the spoon too far into his or her mouth.

Feeding spoons for weaning babies have been the subject of extensive developments in both innovation and design. Flexible and/or resilient materials have been used in feeding spoons to reduce the harshness of contact between the spoon and the baby's mouth, for example. Much attention has been paid to the shape both of the spoon handle and the spoon bowl, in terms of the ease of handleability and the effectiveness of delivering baby food from the spoon bowl to the baby's mouth in use. Other developments include the use of heat sensitive materials to alert a parent or carer when the spoon and/or the baby food thereon is too hot, and other advances have simply focused on the appearance of such spoons with a view to making them attractive and/or desirable for babies to notice and pay attention to.

However, one extremely important aspect of the weaning process which has not been satisfactorily addressed in some ways is the innate tendency for a baby to grasp the spoon itself and, even at a very young age (4 to 6 months for example) to seek to guide the spoon into its own mouth without the assistance of parent or carer. Such behaviour on the part of a baby is apparently natural and seemingly to be encouraged to promote the baby's developing independence in thought and action.

However, the natural desire of the baby to feed itself can be thwarted by the baby's lack of the necessary physical co-ordination, and there is a risk that the baby may insert the spoon too far into his or her mouth, thereby causing a choking effect or gagging reflex, which may in some extreme cases be dangerous but at the very least causes concern to the parent or carer and may deter the baby from the weaning process. 1 0

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved baby spoon which addresses the aforesaid problem. It is a further object of the invention to provide such a spoon with a safety feature to prevent the baby from inserting the spoon too far into his or her mouth.

According to the present invention there is provided a baby spoon comprising a spoon bowl for holding a baby foodstuff in use of the spoon, a spoon handle connected to the spoon bowl for handling the spoon in use thereof, the handle comprising an elongate body extending from a proximal end at or towards one end of the spoon and a distal end at or towards the spoon bowl, the elongate body being provided at or towards its distal end with an abutment flange for preventing the spoon being inserted into a baby's mouth in use of the spoon beyond the abutment flange _) - The baby spoon of the invention has the advantage that when a baby grips the spoon (usually by the handle portion) and inserts the spoon into his or her mouth, the abutment flange will prevent the spoon being inserted into the mouth beyond the flange. Preferably, the abutment flange will be of a size and shape to render it impossible or at least extremely difficult for the baby to insert the abutment flange into the mouth.

The abutment flange preferably extends at least substantially radially from the elongate body, and may extend around the entire periphery of the elongate body, or only part of it.

The abutment flange itself may be a continuous member, and in a straightforward embodiment of the invention will be a substantially circular member extending radially from the elongate body. However, it will be appreciated that many other shapes and sizes of abutment flange may be contemplated. The abutment flange may be square, triangular, pentagonal, hexagonal, oval and many other shapes besides. It may also have a non-uniform shape, for example in the shape of an animal's head. In this or in any other case the abutment flange may be suitably decorated, as may the spoon itself.

The abutment flange may if desired be provided with a degree of concavity and/or convexity Although one-piece abutment flanges may often be suitable, it is also envisaged that the abutment flange may comprise separate elements. Thus, the abutment flange may, for example, comprise an abutment post standing out in a generally radial direction from the elongate body. Generally in this case it will be desirable to provide more than one abutment post to meet fully the functionality required, namely to prevent the baby being able to insert the spoon into his or her mouth beyond the abutment post.

The abutment flange may be made from any suitable material, but often this will be a plastic material and most usually it is envisaged that the abutment flange will be moulded together with the spoon as a one-piece construction.

The material of the abutment flange may be transparent or semi-transparent so that a parent or carer offering the spoon to the baby can see through the flange to assess the proximity of the spoon to the baby's mouth and/or the likely end position of a foodstuff mounted in the spoon bowl The abutment flange is necessarily positioned towards the distal end of the elongate member, and the positioning is ideally carefully chosen to ensure that the distance from the tip of the spoon bowl to the abutment flange is no longer than that which can be comfortably accommodated in a baby's mouth whilst manufacturers and designers may differ slightly as to the correct distance, and indeed as not all babies are the same size, it is not certain what that distance always will be. However, generally speaking, the distance should not be more than about 6cm, preferably not more than about 5cm and often not more than about 4cm The abutment flange will often extend from the elongate body in at least one generally radial direction, more often in at least two generally radial directions.

The extent of the abutment flange in a radial direction normal or approximately normal to the rim of the spoon bowl will preferably be at least the width of the spoon bowl. The extent of the abutment flange in a radial direction parallel or substantially parallel to the rim of the spoon bowl will preferably be at least the width of the spoon bowl.

It is also preferable that the length of the elongate member from the abutment flange to its proximal end be greater than the length from the tip of the spoon bowl to the abutment flange. Preferably, the said longer length will be at least one and a half times as long, more preferably at least twice as long, and most preferably at least three times as long. Itis generally desirable that there be a substantial element of the length of the spoon in total in the elongate member from its proximal end to the abutment flange so that the baby, or indeed a parent or carer has a substantial gripping area. -c)-

In common with prior art spoons, the spoon of the invention may be manufactured from any suitable material or indeed combination of materials and may be decorated or enhanced with ergonomic gripping portions and/or protrusions, as is well known. The spoon may also be manufactured from a heat sensitive material if desired so that, for example, the spoon changes colour upon the application of heat. The spoon bowl may be designed readily to be accommodated in a baby's mouth and may be made of a material, for example a flexible material which minimises the risk of trauma to the baby's mouth when using the spoon.

The invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a baby spoon in accordance with the invention.

Referring to Figure 1 there is shown baby spoon 1 comprising spoon bowl 2 and handle portion 3. Handle portion 3 comprises an elongate member having proximal end 4 and distal end 5. Towards distal end 5 is provided abutment flange 6 which serves in use to prevent the spoon 1 from being inserted too far into a baby's mouth. -6 -

Claims

A baby spoon comprising a spoon bowl for holding a baby foodstuff in use of the spoon; a spoon handle connected to the spoon bowl for handling the spoon in use thereof, the handle comprising an elongate body extending from a proximal end at or towards one end of the spoon and a distal end at or towards the spoon bowl, the elongate body being provided at or towards its distal end with an abutment flange for preventing the spoon being inserted into a baby's mouth in use of the spoon beyond the abutment flange.
2. A baby spoon according to Claim 1 wherein the abutment flange extends at least substantially radially from the elongate body.
3 A baby spoon according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the abutment flange extends around the entire periphery of the elongate body.
4. A baby spoon according to any one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein the length of the elongate member from the abutment flange to its proximal end be greater than the length from the tip of the spoon bowl to the abutment flange
5. A baby spoon according to Claim 4 wherein the length of the elongate member from the abutment flange to its proximal end is at least one and a half times as long as the length from the tip of the spoon bowl to the abutment flange.

6 A baby spoon according to any one of claims I to 5 wherein the abutment flange is made from a transparent or semi-transparent material.

7 A baby spoon according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the extent of the abutment flange in a radial direction normal or substantially normal to the rim of the spoon bowl is at least as much as the width of the spoon bowl.

8 A baby spoon according to any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the extent of the abutment flange in a radial direction parallel or substantially parallel to the rim of the spoon bowl is at least as much as the width of the spoon bowl.