JP2018007953A - Feeding utensil - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a feeding utensil, such as a spoon and fork, that emits a sound when putting a food in the mouth with it.SOLUTION: A feeding utensil 10 includes: a rod-like grip part 20; a rod-like gripping electrode 21 buried in the grip part 20 and exposed to the outside along a longitudinal direction of a surface of the grip part 20; a conductive tip 40 disposed at one end of the grip part 20 and insulated from the gripping electrode 21; and a speaker for emitting a sound when electricity is conducted between the gripping electrode 21 and the tip 40.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a meal utensil.

  Infants have large appetite and may not want to eat even if they prepare meals. There has been proposed a tableware that can entertain an infant during a meal by detecting vibrations and making a sound (Patent Document 1).

JP-A-8-112182

  In the tableware of patent document 1, putting food into a mouth and a sound are not interlocked. Infants who use such tableware may enjoy making a sound due to vibrations caused by tapping the table or tableware rather than putting food in their mouths, and the meal may not proceed.

  An object of this invention is to provide the eating tool which utters an audio | voice by putting food into a mouth.

  The eating utensil is disposed at one end of the gripping portion, a rod-shaped gripping electrode embedded in the gripping portion, exposed in the longitudinal direction on the surface of the gripping portion, and the gripping portion, A conductor tip insulated from the gripping electrode; and a speaker that emits sound when the gripping electrode and the tip are electrically connected.

  In one aspect, a food utensil can be provided that emits sound by putting food in the mouth.

It is an external view of a meal tool. It is a disassembled perspective view of a meal tool. It is a circuit diagram of a meal tool. FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of the meal utensil of the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram of the meal utensil according to the third embodiment. It is explanatory drawing explaining the structure of the eating utensil of Embodiment 4, and a charger.

[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is an external view of the eating utensil 10. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the eating utensil 10. The meal tool 10 of this Embodiment is a spoon for infants. The eating utensil 10 includes a rod-shaped gripping portion 20 whose center is gently constricted, a spoon-shaped tip portion 40 provided at one end of the gripping portion 20, and a rear end portion 50 provided at the other end of the gripping portion 20. .

  The gripping part 20 is constricted along the edge in the longitudinal direction when viewed from above in a state where food is held in a spoon. The gripping part 20 has two gripping electrode grooves 33 and two gripping electrodes 21 along the edge in the longitudinal direction. The grip electrode 21 is a flat bar-shaped conductor bent along the outer shape of the grip portion 20. The gripping electrode 21 is embedded in the gripping electrode groove 33 with a part thereof exposed on the surface of the gripping part 20.

  The grip 20 has a switch 24 at the constricted portion. The switch 24 is a push button-like switch that is so hard that it cannot be operated with the power of an infant.

  The holding part 20 has a battery accommodating part that can accommodate the battery 23 and a battery lid 31 that covers the battery accommodating part. The battery lid 31 and the grip 20 can be opened by an adult to replace the battery 23, but are fixed so that they cannot be easily opened by an infant.

  The grip 20 has a tip hole 26. A spoon-shaped tip portion 40 is fixed to the tip hole 26. The tip 40 is made of a conductor such as stainless steel. The tip 40 and the gripping electrode 21 are insulated.

  The rear end portion 50 includes a base 53, a seal 51 attached to a sticking portion provided on the bottom surface of the base 53, and a seal lid 52 that covers the seal 51. The base 53 is a substantially disc disposed at the end of the grip 20. The seal lid 52 has a transparent part 521 that is transparent and a frame 522 that surrounds the transparent part 521. The base 53 has a male screw on the side surface to which the seal 51 is attached, and the frame 522 has a female screw corresponding to the male screw of the base 53 on the inner surface. The frame 522 is screwed to the base 53.

  The seal 51 is disposed on the surface of the rear end portion 50 that is on the upper side when the food is poured into the spoon and held. On the sticker 51, a picture that an infant is pleased with is printed. In the rear end portion 50, the speaker 22 is arranged so as to emit sound toward the opposite side of the surface on which the picture is printed.

  In the eating utensil 10 of the present embodiment, the components are firmly joined so that portions other than the battery lid 31 do not come off. The meal utensil 10 may be a fork for infants.

  FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of the eating utensil 10. A portion surrounded by a broken line on the right side in FIG. A portion surrounded by a broken line on the left side in FIG. The switch S1 in the circuit diagram corresponds to the switch 24 provided on the grip 20. In the following description, the switch S1 is referred to as a switch 24 in the description of the circuit diagram.

  The circuit disposed in the grip 20 includes a battery 23, a processor 25, a switch 24, a resistor R, a capacitor C, and a diode D. The processor 25 has a TG1 terminal, a PWM1 terminal, a PWM2 terminal, a VDD terminal, and a VSS terminal. The processor 25 has a built-in memory 28 in which sound is recorded. The memory 28 is an example of a recording unit according to the present embodiment.

  The TG1 terminal is connected to the grip electrode 21. The VSS terminal is connected to the negative electrode of the battery 23. One terminal of each of a resistor R and a capacitor C is further connected to the negative electrode of the battery 23. The PWM1 terminal and the PWM2 terminal are connected to the speaker 22. The VDD terminal is connected to one terminal of the switch 24 via the diode D. The switch 24 switches between the positive electrode of the battery 23 and the resistor R. The other terminal of the capacitor C and the tip 40 are further connected to the VDD terminal.

  As the battery 23, it is desirable to use a lightweight battery such as an AAA battery or a button battery. The exterior of the grip part 20 has a watertight structure.

  Operation | movement of the eating utensil 10 is demonstrated using FIG. 1 and FIG. When an adult such as a guardian turns on the switch 24, the VDD terminal and the positive electrode of the battery 23 are connected via the diode D. As a result, power is supplied to the processor 25.

  When the infant has the eating utensil 10, the gripping electrode 21 is in contact with the hand. When the infant includes the distal end portion 40 in the mouth, the distal end portion 40 and the gripping electrode 21 are conducted through the infant's body. That is, the infant's body performs the function of the switch S <b> 2 that switches the presence / absence of conduction between the distal end portion 40 and the grasping electrode 21.

  When the distal end portion 40 and the gripping electrode 21 are brought into conduction, the same potential as the VDD terminal is applied to the TG1 terminal of the processor 25. That is, the TG1 terminal is in a high state. The processor 25 detects that the TG1 terminal has become High, and outputs a voltage corresponding to the audio read from the memory 28 between the PWM1 terminal and the PWM2 terminal. The speaker 22 emits sound according to the output voltage.

  The voice is a word such as “delicious” or “mogu mogu” by the voice of a character preferred by an infant, for example. Also, it may be an animal cry preferred by infants such as dogs and cats.

  After the meal is finished, an adult such as a guardian turns off the switch 24 to connect the diode D and the resistor R. Since no power is supplied to the processor 25, no sound is output when the eating utensil 10 is washed. The action of the resistance R can prevent the eating utensil 10 from generating unnecessary sounds due to external noise.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide the eating utensil 10 that emits a sound when an infant holds the grip 20 in the hand and includes the tip 40 in the mouth. According to the meal utensil 10 of the present embodiment, the infant can eat while enjoying the sound. Furthermore, the infant can learn how to use the eating utensil 10 by being encouraged by the voice of the character.

  Since the grip part 20 has a rod shape with a gently constricted central part, it is easy for an infant to grip. Since the two gripping electrodes 21 are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the gripping part 20, even if the infant grips various ways, the hand can touch at least one of the gripping electrodes 21. . On the other hand, the eating utensil 10 that can be used safely by an infant can be provided by performing anti-slip processing, antibacterial processing, or the like on the portion other than the grip electrode 21 of the grip portion 20.

  By sticking the sticker 51 on which a character or the like that the infant likes is provided, the eating utensil 10 that the infant is willing to use can be provided. When used in a household where there is a sibling, or in a group childcare place such as a nursery school, the sticker 51 can provide the meal utensil 10 that can distinguish who belongs. The seal 51 and the seal lid 52 may be provided on both bottom surfaces of the rear end portion 50.

  When the highly durable seal 51 is used, the eating utensil 10 does not have to include the seal lid 52. When a character or the like is directly printed on the surface of the base 53, the eating utensil 10 does not have to have the seal 51 and the seal lid 52.

  The processor 25 may output the sound once every time the TG1 terminal becomes High a predetermined number of times such as three times.

  The switch 24 can be disposed at an arbitrary place such as the rear end portion 50 side or the rear end portion 50 of the grip portion 20 where it is difficult for an infant to accidentally operate during a meal.

  The speaker 22 emits a sound in a direction facing the head of the infant when the infant holds the eating utensil 10 in his hand and puts food into the mouth. Therefore, the adult accompanying the infant can confirm the reaction of the infant by listening to the same voice as the infant.

  The speaker 22 may be disposed inside the grip portion 20. Since there is no need to pass the wiring of the speaker 22 between the grip portion 20 and the rear end portion 50, it is possible to provide the eating utensil 10 having a small number of parts and easy to manufacture.

[Embodiment 2]
The present embodiment relates to a eating utensil 10 that outputs sound and emits light. Description of portions common to the first embodiment is omitted.

  FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of the eating utensil 10 of the second embodiment. The processor 25 of the present embodiment has an L terminal. An LED 54 is connected to the L terminal. The LED 54 is disposed at the rear end 50. The LED 54 may be disposed on the grip 20. The LEDs 54 may be disposed on both the rear end portion 50 and the grip portion 20.

  When the infant has the eating tool 10 in his hand and includes the tip 40 in his mouth, the switch S2 is conducted through the infant's body. As a result, the TG1 terminal of the processor 25 is in a high state. The processor 25 detects that the TG1 terminal has become High, and outputs a voltage corresponding to the audio read from the memory 28 between the PWM1 terminal and the PWM2 terminal. Further, the processor 25 outputs a voltage for causing the LED 54 to emit light to the L terminal.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a meal utensil 10 that can entertain an infant by not only voice but also light emission to encourage meals.

  The processor 25 may output a voltage to the L terminal by detecting that the infant has moved the tip 40 from the mouth, that is, that the TG1 terminal has changed from a high state to a low state. The infant can enjoy further watching the eating tool 10 that emits light after having finished putting food into the mouth while listening to the voice.

  A display panel such as an organic EL panel may be used instead of the LED 54. The display panel is desirably arranged at the rear end portion 50 instead of the seal 51 and the seal lid 52. The picture displayed on the display panel may be changed according to the number of times the TG1 terminal becomes High.

[Embodiment 3]
The present embodiment relates to a dining utensil 10 that outputs sound and vibrates. Description of portions common to the first embodiment is omitted.

  FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of the meal tool 10 according to the third embodiment. A vibration motor 56 is connected to the PWM2 terminal via an amplifier 55. The vibration motor 56 and the speaker 22 are disposed in the grip portion 20. When the infant has the eating tool 10 in his hand and includes the tip 40 in his mouth, sound is output from the speaker 22 and the vibration motor 56 vibrates.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide the eating utensil 10 that can entertain an infant with both voice and tactile sense and promote a meal. Moreover, the eating tool 10 which can be used similarly to other infants can be provided even for an infant with weak hearing.

[Embodiment 4]
The present embodiment relates to a meal utensil 10 that can be charged. Description of portions common to the first embodiment is omitted.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the configuration of the eating utensil 10 and the charger 60 according to the fourth embodiment. The battery 23 of the eating utensil 10 of the present embodiment is a rechargeable secondary battery. The eating utensil 10 has a power receiving circuit 29 at the end of the grip 20. The power receiving circuit 29 includes a power receiving coil that receives power by electromagnetic induction and a charging circuit that charges the battery 23 with the received power.

  The charger 60 has a holding hole 62 for holding the eating utensil 10. When the eating utensil 10 is held in the holding hole 62, the power transmission circuit 61 is disposed at a position close to the power reception circuit 29. The power transmission circuit 61 includes a power transmission coil. The power transmission coil is disposed so as to face the power receiving coil in proximity. The charger 60 has a power plug 63 connected to a commercial power source.

  When the eating utensil 10 is inserted into the holding hole 62, the power transmission circuit 61 operates to supply the power acquired from the power plug 63 to the power transmission coil. Electrodes are supplied from the power transmission coil to the power reception coil by electromagnetic induction. The power receiving circuit 29 charges the battery 23 with the power received by the power receiving coil.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a meal tool 10 that can be charged. Since it is not necessary to replace the battery 23, the waterproof structure of the eating utensil 10 can be easily realized.

  The charger 60 may have a plurality of holding holes 62 and a power transmission circuit 61. For example, a plurality of eating utensils 10 such as forks and spoons can be charged simultaneously.

  The tip 40 and the grip 20 may be detachable. In this case, it is desirable to provide the switch 24 at the attachment / detachment portion between the tip portion 40 and the grip portion 20. By attaching the tip 40 to the grip 20, the switch 24 is switched, and the VDD terminal and the positive electrode of the battery 23 are connected via the diode D. As a result, power is supplied to the processor 25.

  After the meal is finished, an adult such as a guardian removes the tip 40 from the grip 20, whereby the switch 24 is switched and the diode D and the resistor R are connected. As a result, the processor 25 and the battery 23 are disconnected.

  By doing in this way, the meal tool 10 which can replace | exchange the front-end | tip part 40 of several shapes, such as a spoon type and a fork type, according to the menu of a meal can be provided. Moreover, the eating tool 10 which combines the front-end | tip part 40 of a different magnitude | size according to a child's growth can be provided.

  Also in the first to third embodiments described above, the distal end portion 40 and the grip portion 20 may be detachable.

  The rear end portion 50 and the grip portion 20 may be detachable. In this case, it is desirable that the rear end portion 50 has a built-in memory 28 in which sound is recorded. The memory 28 is connected to the processor 25 by wire or wireless. More preferably, the rear end 50 incorporates a speaker 22 having a tone color suitable for the sound recorded in the memory 28.

  When the infant has the eating tool 10 in his hand and includes the tip 40 in his mouth, the switch S2 is conducted through the infant's body. As a result, the TG1 terminal of the processor 25 is in a high state. The processor 25 detects that the TG1 terminal has become High, and reads the sound from the memory 28. The processor 25 outputs a voltage corresponding to the sound read from the memory 28 between the PWM1 terminal and the PWM2 terminal.

  By doing in this way, the meal utensil 10 which can be changed into the sound of a favorite character according to the change of an infant's liking and intelligence development can be provided.

  Also in the first to third embodiments, the rear end portion 50 and the grip portion 20 may be detachable.

The technical features (components) described in each embodiment can be combined with each other, and new technical features can be formed by combining them.
The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and should not be considered as restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined not by the above-described meaning but by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Eating utensil 20 Grip part 21 Grip electrode 22 Speaker 23 Battery 24 Switch 25 Processor 26 Tip hole 28 Memory 29 Power receiving circuit 31 Battery cover 33 Grip electrode groove 40 Tip part 50 Rear end part 51 Seal 52 Seal cover 53 Base 54 LED
55 Amplifier 56 Vibration Motor 60 Charger 61 Power Transmission Circuit 62 Holding Hole 63 Power Plug

Claims (6)

A rod-shaped gripping part;
A bar-shaped gripping electrode embedded in the gripping part and exposed along the longitudinal direction on the surface of the gripping part;
A tip end made of a conductor disposed at one end of the gripping part and insulated from the gripping electrode;
A dining tool comprising: a speaker that emits a sound when the gripping electrode and the tip end portion are electrically connected. A rear end disposed at the other end of the gripping portion;
The speaker is built in the rear end,
The eating tool according to claim 1, wherein the grip portion can accommodate a battery that supplies power to the speaker. It has a recording unit that records audio,
The eating tool according to claim 1, wherein the speaker emits sound recorded in the recording unit.   The eating tool according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a plurality of the gripping electrodes are embedded.   The eating tool according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the tip portion is detachable from the grip portion. A rear end portion detachably disposed on the other end of the gripping portion;
The eating tool according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the recording unit is built in the rear end portion.

Images