JP6525281B2 - Tong - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tongue used instead of pinching an article with a fingertip.

  For example, when taking food such as bread or pastry, tongue is used as a device to be grasped without touching with a finger or a hand. Tongs are known to have various shapes depending on the shape and use of the food to be grasped, but using food instead of pinching or grasping with a finger, that is, tongs food while being pinched by the tongue Little is known about the purpose of carrying and eating.

  On the other hand, food such as potato chips is to be picked directly by the fingertips and eaten, but there is a problem that the finger gets oiled. It is fine to wipe the fingertip with a table napkin or the like, but it is inevitable that the user will feel bothersome. Therefore, the present invention provides a tong for food such as potato chips directly carried to the mouth for eating instead of pinching with a finger. Foods to be targeted include a wide variety of foods such as pickles, etc., which have odors on their fingers, in addition to the above-mentioned problems with stains.

  A search of the prior art considered to be used for this purpose finds several things, for example Design Registration No. 1396694 discloses a tongue which is used to avoid staining hands when eating snacks such as potato chips. ing. The tongue shown in the design is designed to have a convex portion so that the tip for clamping does not touch the table surface when placed on a table or desk. However, the tip is also exposed before and after use, and there are still problems in terms of hygiene.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-55574 describes a tongue having a case. In the above invention, the part touching the object of the tongue is accommodated in the demountable sheath, and when the body of the tongue is accommodated in the sheath, the collar for preventing excessive insertion and the body fixed to the case in the accommodated state It has a dropout prevention means consisting of a recess and a protrusion. However, even if the main body of the tongue is stored in the case, the main body is open, so there is a risk that foreign substances such as dust and dirt may enter from the interval, which is unsanitary.

Design Registration No. 1396694 JP 2012-55574 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned point, and its object is to provide a hygiene-friendly tongue in which the tongue is kept clean from the storage state to the use. Another object of the present invention is to provide a tongue which can be suitably used according to the form and nature of food.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is
A tongue that is used instead of pinching or grasping food with a fingertip,
The tongue consists of a tongue body and a case into which the tip of the tongue body is inserted.
The tongue body has a curved spring portion, a pair of operation portions for holding and holding the hand in parallel from the spring portion to the tip, and a food gripping portion provided at the tip of the operation portion Yes,
A means for providing a protrusion which protrudes in the opposite direction from one or both of the pair of operation parts and functions as a lid for closing the insertion port of the case is provided.

  Although the said protrusion is provided in the surface which a pair of operation part opposes, the method of providing in each of a pair of operation parts, and the method of providing only in one of a pair of operation parts can be taken. When provided in each of the pair of operation parts, the size of the protrusion is approximately half the area of the protrusion provided in only one of the pair of operation parts.

  In the tongue main body according to the present invention, the tongue main body and the case are provided with engaging means which engage with each other in a stored state in which the tip end portion is inserted into the case. In the stored state, the outside of the tongue main body contacts the inner surface of the case, and the space between the operation parts of the tongue main body is closed by the projection.

  The operating portion is made of a resilient material, and the projection can constitute a gripping force defining means that changes the gripping force according to the degree of contact even when the gripping portion contacts by the operation of the operating portion. When the distal end of the tongue body is substantially closed, the force to be gripped is further strengthened by applying further force, but it becomes possible for the projection to be a fulcrum and cause the distal end to be opened.

  As the engagement means, a convex portion which protrudes laterally to each of the pair of tongue bodies is respectively provided, and the two convex portions are respectively provided on the left and right, and are closer to the tip than the center of gravity of the tongue body. In position, the gripping portion may be configured to be separated from the desktop surface when the tongue body is placed on the desktop.

  In addition, the tongue body has a spring portion having a curved shape slightly larger in diameter than the distance between a pair of parallel operation portions, and has a grip portion for food at the tip of the operation portion in a substantially U (Ω) shape as a whole. The configuration in which the operating unit is provided with a finger rest unit operated by a finger applying a force when operating the pair of operating units with two fingers is easy to use the tongue according to the present invention It is effective in doing.

  Since the present invention is configured and operates as described above, it is possible to keep the tongue clean until the time of use, and to provide a tongue free from problems in terms of hygiene. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a tongue which can be suitably used according to the form and nature of food.

It is a perspective view showing an example of food food tongue concerning the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which decomposes | disassembles and shows a tongue same as the above to a tongue main body and a case. Similarly, it relates to the operation of food food tongues, and A is a side explanatory view showing a state in which the operation is not performed, B a state in which the food is gripped, and C a state in which the food is stored in the case. Similarly, it relates to the action in food-use tongues, where A is a state in which the tip end is almost close, B is a state in which a protrusion is a little closer with a slight increase in force, and C is a case where the case slot is closed by a protruding piece. FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view taken along line IVC-IVC of FIG. 3C showing a state. Similarly, the present invention relates to the use of food food tongues, in which A is a side view for explaining the state of use, and B is an explanatory view for viewing from the side the state in which the case insertion part is closed by the projection.

  The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments. The food tongue 10 according to the present invention is composed of a tongue body 11 and a case 20 into which the tip of the tongue body 11 is inserted. The tongue 10 of the present invention is formed by plastic molding and is made of an elastic material.

  The tongue body 11 has a curved spring portion 12, a pair of operation portions 13 and 14 parallel to the tip end of the spring portion for holding and grasping the hand, and the tips of the operation portions 13 and 14 The food gripping portions 15, 16 provided in the

  The tongue main body 11 has a spring portion 12 formed of a curved shape having a diameter larger than the distance between a pair of parallel operation portions 13 and 14, and grips the food P gripping portions 15 and 16 on the tip side of the operation portions 13 and 14. It has a substantially U-shape as a whole. More specifically, the pair of operation parts 13 and 14 is formed such that about a third of the entire length on the side of the spring part 12 is constant wide, and the remaining two thirds are on the grip part side of the tip It is tapered toward the end, and the grips 15, 16 are formed slightly wider.

  In this embodiment, the spring portion 12 is substantially circular, and the diameter thereof is larger than the distance at the boundary between the operation portions 13 and 14. Therefore, the spring portion 12 bulges with respect to the distance between the operation portions 13 and 14. Therefore, at the time of operation, the spring portion 12 has a function of entering into the palm and stabilizing the holding.

  In addition, when the spring portion 12 enters the palm, the finger applying the force is intended to be positioned at the finger rest portion 17 when operating the pair of operation portions 13 and 14. That is, one operation portion 13 comprises an inclined portion 13a which occupies from the spring portion 12 to a position about a third of the total length, and a flat portion 13b located on the tip side of the pair of operation portions 13 and 14 There is. The finger rest portion 17 is a portion provided across the boundary between the inclined portion 13a and the flat portion 13b.

  Engaging means are respectively provided on the tongue main body 11 and the case 20 so as to engage with each other when the tip end portion of the tongue main body 11 is inserted into the case 20 to be in the stored state. On the left and right sides of the pair of tongue bodies 13 and 14, convex portions 23, 23, 24 and 24 having neck portions 21, 21, 22 and 22 as engagement means are respectively provided.

  The above-mentioned convex portions 23, 23, 24, 24 are engaging concave portions 27 provided at the neck portions 21, 21, 22, 22 as engaging means in the case 20 and having engaging neck portions 25, 25, 26, 26; 27, 28 and 28 are configured to engage. The engagement necks 25, 25, 26, 26 are formed narrower than the necks 21, 21, 22, 22, and can be engaged and separated by the elasticity of the case 20 to prevent the possibility of accidental disengagement.

  Further, the convex portions 23, 23, 24, 24 are located closer to the tip end than the barycentric position of the tongue main body 11. Therefore, when the tongue main body 11 is placed on the tabletop, the grips 15 and 16 come to be naturally separated from the tabletop surface (see FIG. 5B).

  According to the above configuration, the tongue main body 11 is engaged with each other by the engagement means in the storage state in which the tip end portion thereof is inserted into the case 20. When the engagement means are engaged with each other, the tongue main body 11 is housed in the case 20, and in the housed state, the outside 11a of the tongue main body 11 contacts the inner surface 20a of the case 20 without any gap (FIG. 3C, FIG. 4C). reference).

  A protrusion 30 is provided on one or both of the pair of operation parts 13 and 14 and functions as a lid that protrudes in the opposite direction and closes the insertion port 29 of the case 20. In the illustrated embodiment, the projection 30 is composed of the projecting pieces 31 and 32 provided on each of the pair of operation parts 13 and 14, and thus the space S between the operation parts of the tongue main body 11 is a protrusion It is closed by part 30. The protruding pieces 31 and 32 are slightly inclined to the upper one (31) in the front and the lower one (32) to the rear, and the tip is opened by the force when the finger rest 17 is operated. It is considered to be difficult.

  The projecting pieces 31 and 32 are disposed at the positions of the convex portions 23, 23, 24 and 24 of the pair of operation portions 13 and 14 and have a width substantially equal to the width of the pair of operation portions 13 and 14 at that position. (See FIG. 4C). The projecting pieces 31, 32 are separated when no force is applied (FIGS. 3A, 4A), but approach when a force is applied (FIG. 4B). On the other hand, the tip end portion of the tongue 10 is closed in accordance with the strength of the operation force, and the protruding pieces 31 and 32 are disposed so as to be shifted so as to overlap in the front and back after approaching.

  Therefore, if the force applied to the operation parts 13 and 14 is intensified, the protruding pieces 31 and 32 become closer and deviate from each other to strengthen the overlap, and accordingly, the force to grasp the food P also becomes stronger. It can be adjusted to a wide range of strength. On the other hand, the present invention can be configured without shifting the projecting pieces 31 and 32 back and forth. For example, the protruding pieces 31 and 32 may be arranged to abut, and in this case, when the protruding pieces 31 and 32 abut, the pair of grips 15 and 16 contact to substantially keep the food P constant. You will be able to hold it with the power of

  Further, the food tongue 10 according to the present invention will be described. When the user takes out the tongue main body 11 from the case 20, the pair of grips 15, 16 are slightly opened or almost parallel as shown in FIG. In the state (FIG. 3A). Then, when holding this in the hand, for example, the other operating unit 14 is supported by a thumb or the like, and the index finger is shaped to operate the vicinity of the finger rest 17 of one operating unit 13.

  When a force is applied to the finger rest 17 with one of the fingers, the pair of grips 15 and 16 can be operated in the closing direction, and the food P can be gripped with an appropriate force F1 and carried to the mouth as it is Can be used to eat at (Figure 3B, Figure 5A). When closing the pair of grips 15 and 16 and applying a force F2 so that the projecting pieces 31 and 32 approach, it is in a state suitable for gripping a fragile flaky food P such as potato chips. It can be said that there is (FIG. 4B).

  In the case where the pair of gripping portions 15 and 16 abut each other, when a strong force is further applied to the operating portions 13 and 14 from the closed state, the projecting pieces 31 and 32 become fulcrums and the pair of gripping portions 15 and 16 Although it tends to open again, it is not easy to open it if the protruding piece 31 is inclined forward and the protruding piece 32 is inclined rearward. In the tongue main body 11 made of an elastic material, when a force is applied to the operation parts 13 and 14 and the projecting pieces 31 and 32 become fulcrums, an action force may be applied to the pair of grip parts 15 and 16 by the principle of forceps. There is, but it is not difficult to use.

  According to the present invention configured as described above, when the convex portions 23, 23, 24, 24 are closer to the tip end than the barycentric position of the tongue main body 11, when the tongue main body 11 is placed on the tabletop The gripping parts 15, 16 come to be separated from the tabletop surface. In addition, since it can be inserted into the case 20 until the state of use, there is no fear of getting dirty and there is no unsanitary condition.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 tongue 11 tongue body 12 spring portion 13, 14 pair of operation portions 15, 16 pair of grip portions 17 finger rest portion 20 case 21, 22 neck portion 23, 24 convex portion 25, 26 engagement neck portion 27, 28 engagement concave portion 30 Protrusions 31, 32 Projected pieces

Claims (4)

It is a tongue used instead of pinching food with a fingertip,
The tongue consists of a tongue body and a case into which the tip of the tongue body is inserted.
The tongue body has a curved spring portion, a pair of operation portions for holding and holding the hand in parallel from the spring portion to the tip, and a food gripping portion provided at the tip of the operation portion Yes,
A food tongue characterized in that a protrusion which functions as a lid that protrudes in the opposite direction and which closes the insertion port of the case is provided on one or both of the pair of operation parts. Engaging means are provided on the tongue body and the case that engage with each other in the storage state in which the tip of the tongue body is inserted into the case, and the outside of the tongue body contacts the inner surface of the case in the storage state. 2. A food tongue according to claim 1, wherein the space between the operation parts of the main body is closed by a projection. As the engagement means, convex portions protruding laterally to the pair of tongue bodies are respectively provided, and the convex portions are located closer to the tip than the center of gravity of the tongue bodies, and the tongue bodies are placed on the table The food tongue according to claim 2, wherein the grip portion is configured to be separated from the tabletop surface when placed. The tongue body has a spring portion formed of a curved shape having a diameter larger than the distance between a pair of parallel operation portions, and is formed in a substantially U shape as a whole having a food grip portion at the tip of the operation portion
2. The food tongue according to claim 1, further comprising a finger rest unit operated by a finger to which a force is applied when operating the pair of operation units with two fingers.

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