WO2008000107A1

WO2008000107A1 - Cutlery

Info

Publication number: WO2008000107A1
Application number: PCT/CH2007/000318
Authority: WO
Inventors: Werner Baltisser
Original assignee: Werner Baltisser
Priority date: 2006-06-27
Filing date: 2007-06-27
Publication date: 2008-01-03

Abstract

The invention relates to a piece of cutlery comprising a handle (11), especially a coffee spoon, a soup spoon, a fork or a knife, provided with at least two compartments (13, 15). Said compartments contain food, and each filled compartment has an opening (23, 25) closed by a removable covering film (19, 21). The covering film comprises a seal (51) around each opening, by which means it is connected to the opening edge in an annular and liquid-tight manner. In order to remove the covering film (19) from the opening edge of the first opening (23), a first tab (37) is formed on the covering film, and in order to remove the covering film (21) from the opening edge of the second opening (25), a second tab (39) is formed on the covering film. The covering film (19, 21) can be at least partially detached from the opening edge of the first or second opening by pulling on the first or second tab. A separation e.g. a tear line (41), is provided between the first tab (37) for pulling the covering film (19) from the first opening (23) and the seal (51) around the second opening (25). Along said separation, a covering film region (19) to be pulled from the first opening (23) can be detached with less force from the covering film region (21) closing the other opening (25), than the covering film (21) from the opening edge of the other opening (25).

Description

cutlery

The invention relates to a cutlery, in particular a spoon.

State of the art

From DE-A-3841 075 a spoon-shaped container for food is known. He has one or more chambers for receiving these foods. The food can be liquid, free-flowing, free-flowing or solid. The openings are closed with removable cover sheets. The container shown in this document has two chambers which are separated by a directed in the longitudinal direction of the container wall. On one end side of the elongated container, the openings of the chambers are adjacent to each other. The two openings are jointly surrounded by a flange on which the films can be attached. Between the two chambers a thin chamber wall is present.

It is not shown how it can be avoided that when opening the one chamber by removing the one cover sheet, the other chamber is not opened. The small dimension of the chamber wall cooperating with the cover sheet between the two openings does not allow two cover sheets to be attached thereto as described. It is not further described whether the cover sheets are able to separate the two chambers liquid-tight. In particular, it is impossible to peel off the covering film closing one chamber, so that the other chamber still remains liquid-tightly sealed with its cover film.

Further disadvantages of this prior art are that for advertising purposes the spoon handle itself must be printed in order to obtain an attractive advertising surface, and that both openings are arranged on the smallest side, the rearward end side of the stem, so that the openings are very must have small dimensions and therefore are difficult to fill. Object of the invention

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a cutlery made of plastic, which has at least two liquid-tight, liquid, kornf örmige, free-flowing and / or powdery food containing chambers, which can be selectively opened. The unopened chamber should be sealed liquid-tight before and after opening the other chamber.

Description of the invention

This object is achieved according to the invention by a cutlery with the features of claim 1.

Cutlery has a handle or handle to hold the cutlery. Cutlery is understood to mean a coffee spoon, a soup spoon, a fork or a knife. This cutlery has in known manner at least two chambers containing food. Each filled chamber has an opening closed by a peelable cover sheet. This cover sheet has a seal around the opening. Thanks to the seal, the cover film is annular and liquid-tight connected to the opening edge. In this case, the cutlery for removing the cover film from the opening edge of the first opening has a first tab on the cover film, and for removing the cover film from the opening edge of the second opening, a second tab is formed on the cover film. These tabs allow the cover sheet to be loosened at least partially from the opening edge of this first or second opening at the first or the second tab.

In order for this opening of a first chamber not to result in the involuntary or inadvertent opening of the second chamber, there is a separation between the first opening and the second one between the first tab for peeling the cover sheet from the first opening and the seal around the second opening Opening occlusive area of the cover sheet available. Such a separation means the property of the cover sheet which guarantees that along this separation the cover sheet area to be peeled from one opening can be removed with less force from the cover sheet area closing the other opening than the cover sheet can be released from the opening edge of the other opening , The separation may be formed such that a first cover foil closing the first opening is separated from a second cover foil closing the second opening. The separation in this case is therefore absolute, in that two cover sheets already present in unopened chambers are present.

However, the separation can also be designed in such a way that the cover sheet to be withdrawn enters between its tab and the seal around the other opening during removal. It can then be present so a cover closing both openings. In any case, this feature ensures that the covering foil which closes off an opening penetrates before the seal is revolving all around. It can only be demolished small area of the cover sheet, or it can also be virtually demolished the entire cover sheet of a small, remaining at the opening edge remaining piece of the cover sheet.

One measure to ensure this tearing is to provide a tear notch in the cover sheet between its tab and the seal of the cover sheet provided around the other opening. With a tear notch the cover sheet tears the intention of this notch accordingly. Since a torn film with less force is torn apart continued, as is necessary for a release of the cover sheet from the seal, this tear notch, the seal from inadvertent release is largely protected. If such a tear notch exists, so only a seal line between the two openings may be present. This allows a very narrow mounting surface for the sealing of the cover sheet on the chamber wall between the two openings

However, it is preferred to form a separate, annular seal around each opening such that there are two seals juxtaposed between the two openings.

Basically, the chambers a) may be formed in the integrally formed with the spoon head, clevis or knife head cutlery stem. But they can also b) be formed in a container which is inserted into a cutlery head and forms the cutlery stem. Finally, these containers can also c) be inserted only in the cutlery stem.

In the starting position according to a) the cutlery including chambers is preferably injection molded from plastic. In the starting positions b) and c), this is the case for the cutlery head or for the cutlery head and the cutlery stalk, but not for the container with the chambers. The container forming one or more chambers is preferably deeply drawn.

The access openings to the chambers, which are necessary for the introduction and removal of the molding during injection molding, need not necessarily form the openings which are closed with the peelable cover sheets. The necessary for the preparation of the chambers access openings can also be closed with a common closure part. The openings closed with the cover film are then formed in this closure part or in the wall of the chambers next to the closure part. This has the advantage that there is a very great freedom with regard to the arrangement of the openings.

One of these closed with cover films opening may be formed for example on the upper surface of the stem and be closed by a relatively large cover sheet, while a second opening is directed to the rear and is closed by a relatively small-sized cover sheet.

It may be directed backwards either, or, if the chambers are arranged side by side in the stem and extend in the longitudinal direction of the stem to be directed upward. This is possible even if the chambers are formed in a container inserted.

Another aspect that applies to some of the embodiments of the subject invention can be seen in that the cutlery, which has a stem and at least two chambers containing food, and each filled chamber each having a closed by a selectively peelable cover sheet opening Each cover sheet has a separate seal around the opening. This seal connects the cover sheet annular and liquid-tight with the opening edge. Since both openings are each closed with a separate seal, two seals are present side by side between the two openings. This has the advantage that a cover sheet can be completely detached, without thereby affecting the sealing of the other cover sheet.

Yet another aspect of embodiments of the subject invention is that in the aforementioned cutlery, the openings are arranged on two different sides of the cutlery stem. This allows a very simple way to maintain such a large distance between the openings, which allows a separate sealing of the cover sheets closing the openings.

A decisive advantage in terms of commercial use of certain embodiments of the subject invention is that the cover sheets can be printed and the difficult-to-print cutlery body does not need to be printed. In this context, it is of interest that with such a cutlery one of the cover sheets covers at least half of a longitudinal flank of the handle. This longitudinal flank is preferably the top of the handle or handle on the spoon and on a fork. With a knife this would be better the side surface.

These separately mentioned aspects are to be protected regardless of the characteristics of the subject invention defined in claim 1.

Brief description of the figures:

1 shows a longitudinal section through a spoon with a first, rearwardly opening lower chamber and a second, upwardly opening upper chamber, Fig. 2 shows a longitudinal section through a spoon with two, rearwardly opening chambers, Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through a Spoon with two by a separate

4 shows a longitudinal section through a spoon with two chambers designed as plug-in parts, whose openings are therefore almost arbitrary

Job can be trained

Fig. 5 is a perspective sketch of a spoon according to Figure 1, Fig. 6 is a perspective sketch of a spoon, in which the two

Chambers are not on top of each other, but are formed one behind the other in the stem. 7 five views of a spoon according to FIG. 2,

9 is a perspective sketch of a spoon with two interconnected, inserted, rearwardly opening containers. FIG. 10 is a perspective sketch of a spoon with two. FIG inserted, separate, rearwardly opening containers, Fig. 11 is a perspective sketch of a spoon according to Figure 4 and the

Openings on the side of the dipper stick, FIG. 12 a perspective sketch of a spoon according to FIG. 4 and FIG

Openings on the top of the dipper stick, at the front end of the stem, Fig. 13 is a perspective sketch of a spoon according to Figure 4 and the

Openings on the top of the dipper stick, at the rear end of the stem, Fig. 14 Schematic representation of two openings with separate

Cover films, Fig. 15 schematic representation of two openings with only one

Fig. 16 shows a schematic representation of two openings with a common cover film perforated between two seals.

Detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the figures.

In the present figures, only spoons, especially coffee spoons, are shown because the Applicant currently classifies the market for coffee spoons as the largest. However, the invention is not limited to spoon or teaspoon, but also relates to knives and forks, in the stem at least two chambers are present. The invention is therefore independent of whether the front end of the cutlery forms a spoon, a fork or a knife.

In the handle 11 of the spoon according to Figure 1, two chambers 13, 15 are formed, namely a lower 13 and an upper 15. The lower chamber 13 opens to the rear and is closed there with a first cover sheet 19. The upper chamber 15 opens upwards and is closed there with a second cover film 21. The spoon is an injection molded part. The walls of the chambers and the spoon are cast in one piece. To mold the cutlery, a mold with three moldings is necessary: a lower mold, which is the underside of the handle and the spoon defined, an upper mold part, which defines the spoon recess and the second chamber 15, and a third mold part, which defines the shape of the first chamber 13.

To fill the chambers 13, 15 of this bucket, the bucket must be held once with the first opening 23 of the first chamber 13 upwards, e.g. To fill coffee cream in the chamber 13. Then, the chamber must be closed, the spoon are rotated so that the second opening 25 of the second chamber 15 is directed upward. Now this chamber is filled, e.g. with sugar, and then sealed. The second cover sheet covers the entire top of the dipper stick. The cover sheets 19, 21 are advantageously printed. This makes it easier to color the cutlery. They can be printed with advertising or with a collector's picture.

Thanks to a large wall surface between the two openings 23,25, it is easily possible to seal each opening separately, as shown schematically in Figure 14. The cover sheets 23, 25 are not connected to one another and can thus be selectively removed.

If it is to be possible not to have to change the spoon for filling in its position, the two chambers 13,15 can also open at the back or upwards. In FIG. 2, the two superimposed chambers 13, 15 both open to the rear. The chambers 13, 15 may also be arranged side by side in this case. If the two openings are separated only by a narrow end face of the wall separating them, there are various possibilities for achieving the selective removal of a cover foil closing one of the openings or of a cover foil area closing one of the openings. It can be provided, as shown in Figure 2, the intermediate wall toward its end face, with which the film is sealed, thickened form. This does not lead to a consistently very thick, and thus material-intensive, design of the wall in adjacent chambers, the two molds defining the chambers of the injection mold are not axially parallel form slidably. In the figure 2, the axes on which these moldings are brought into position for injection molding and then removed from the sprayed cutlery again, shown as dotted lines. These lines converge from back to front, so that the shape of the molding with respect to the axis of Direction of movement tapers from back to front. This requires that the moldings for the two chambers need to be moved separately.

If the two chambers are to open to the rear, but both mold parts of the chamber interior spaces can be moved in parallel, the intermediate wall between the two chambers must taper towards the opening. This is the case in FIG. 3. So that these two, closely spaced openings of the two chambers 13,15 can be tightly closed, a separately manufactured closure member 29 is set to these openings. This can be welded to the walls of the chambers 13,15, glued or tightly mated. This design makes it possible to provide the openings 23, 25 sealed with the covering film at a practically arbitrary point on the stem (cf., FIGS. 11 to 13).

Figure 4 shows another way to form the chambers in the stem. There is a cutlery head 31 (in the example a spoon) is formed, which has a rearwardly open cavity 33. In this cavity 33, a container 35 is inserted. The container 35 has in the example according to Figures 4, 8 and 9 two juxtaposed chambers 13,15. In FIG. 4, only the chamber 13 is cut therefrom. This container 35 is formed and manufactured in the manner of Kaffeerahm-Kübeli. He is merely plugged in, possibly glued with the cutlery head.

The following examples are possible variants of these four types.

FIG. 5 shows a spoon with an upper chamber and a lower chamber in the handle. The upper chamber 15 is closed by a cover foil 21 covering the entire upper surface of the dipper stick. This allows the chamber 15 to be defined with the same shaped part defining the top of the cutlery, that is to say the trough of the spoon or the trough of the fork.

The rearwardly opening chamber 13 is arranged at the bottom. It is closed by a relatively small-area cover sheet 19. The two chambers can also be arranged side by side instead of one above the other. The cover sheet 21 covers in this case only one half of the upper surface of the stem. This allows the embossing of advertising messages in the Giessf orm and on the advertising effective handle surface and reduces the size of the necessary for closing cover sheet by about half. The cover sheets are circumferentially connected to the dipper stick. The compound is formed liquid-tight. It can be achieved by gluing or welding.

Both cover sheets 19,21 are provided with a tab 37,39 for tearing off the cover sheets 19,21. The tab 37 is used to release the cover sheet 19 in total. The tab 39 serves to tear open a discharge opening in the cover film 21.

In Figure 6, the two chambers 13 and 15 are not superimposed, but arranged one behind the other in the stem. This arrangement of the chambers 13,15 again results in a reduction of the necessary cover sheet surface over the embodiment according to FIG 5. In the embodiment according to Figure 6 also has a third, very small chamber 17 for an artificial sweetener available. This can also be opened selectively. Although the cover sheet 21 covers both chambers 15 and 17. It is equipped between the chambers only with a single seal 51. The chamber 17 can still be selectively opened, as a tear notch 41 is provided which allows or forces a tearing of the cover sheet in the region of the opening 27 of the third chamber 17.

The spoon shown in Figure 7 has two rearwardly oriented openings, which are closed with two separate cover sheets 19,21. On the cover foil above the lower opening is "Milk", on the cover foil of the upper opening is "Sugar". This is to indicate that the chambers can be labeled with their contents, or so that the consumer can open the correct chamber. This illustration of the spoon shows a preferred shape. However, the shape is independent of the arrangement of the openings.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show two spoons with inserted containers 35. The inserted container 35 serve as a stem 11 of the spoon. The containers are deep-drawn from one piece. They are therefore connected to each other on the side on which the cover sheets are applied. The two troughs closed with the cover films form the chambers for the food. In Figure 8, the wells are flat and long. Accordingly, the cover sheet covers the entire upper surface of the stem. Since the containers are inserted into the cutlery head 31, the cover film 19 or 21 also extends under the wall of the cutlery head 31. To open the chambers 13,15 in the container 35, a tab 37, 39th be selected and then pulled on the tab. Since an incision 41 is then present in the cover foil 19, 21 following the tab 37, 39, it tears at the cut location when the tab is pulled. So the chamber is opened only at one corner. The cover sheet remains stretched over a predominant area over the opening of the chamber. Through the resulting pouring the contents of the chamber, ie the milk, the lemon juice, the liquor, the sugar, the oil, the vinegar, the salad sauce, the ketchup, the mayonnaise, etc. can be distributed.

In Figure 9, the container is also deep-drawn, but in a direction defining the length of the dipperstick direction. The hollows are very deep and have small cross-sectional dimensions. The cover sheets are arranged on the rear end side of the stem. The two containers are integral, i. between the openings connected by a bridge. The cover sheet 19 spans both openings. On the web connecting the two hollows, it is sealed twice and perforated between the seals 51. The cover sheet has two tabs 37,39. By pulling on the tab 37, the opening of the chamber 13 is opened. The cover sheet thereby comes off the flange, which is present around the opening and finally breaks off along the perforation 47 (FIG. 16). Likewise, the other half of the film is removable by pulling on the tab 39.

There is a gap between the chambers. Each chamber has its own walls. Between these walls, a partition formed in the cavity 33 of the cutlery head can be inserted, which defines the width of the gap.

The two chambers may also be formed in separate containers 45, which together form the steep. Then two containers 45 must be inserted into the cutlery head 31. These containers may be glued together or interlocked with each other to form together a stem forming unit.

FIG. 10 illustrates a spoon in which two receptacles are formed in the handle 11, into which separate containers 45 are inserted. The containers are again shown independently of the spoon. This embodiment has the advantage that only these containers 45 need to be plugged into the spoon, which are also desired by the customer. In FIGS. 11 to 13, three variants of the spoon shown in principle in FIG. 3 are sketched in perspective. In contrast to the spoon according to Figure 3, the chambers in these three variants are arranged side by side in the stem and not on top of each other. These two chambers can be defined by molded parts which can be pulled out of the ready-made cutlery in parallel. The middle wall between the two chambers 13,15 may be formed with a minimum thickness and yet in the embodiments according to Figures 12 and 13 have sufficiently wide flanges on which the cover sheets of adjacent openings can be sealed separately side by side.

In Figure 11, the cover sheet 19 is arranged laterally on the dipper stick 11 and closes there the opening to the chamber 13. Symmetrically, the chamber 15 is closed with a cover sheet 21.

In FIGS. 12 and 13, the openings of the two chambers 13, 15 are arranged side by side on the upper side of the stem. The cover sheets 19,21 are separated (or perforated) between two side-by-side seals 51. Thus, each of the two sheets 19,21 can be removed individually and therefore selectively.

Figures 14 to 17 show different solutions for the openings and their cover sheets, which allow the contents of the individual chambers selectively pour. FIG. 14 schematically shows a first solution of this problem, in that the two openings 23, 25 are closed with separate cover films 19, 21 and are so far away from each other that each cover film 19, 21 can be connected individually to the edge of the opening between them , Here, the entire cover sheet can be removed by pulling on the tab 37,39. But it can also be torn only a pouring opening in the cover sheet.

In Figure 15, the two openings 23,25 are arranged so close to each other that they can be closed only with a common cover sheet, which is sealed on the intermediate wall between the chambers 13,15 in a single line. If in this solution the cover sheet circumferentially removed from the opening edge, only both openings could be opened simultaneously. Therefore, a tear notch 41 is subsequently formed on each of the tabs 37, 39 so that the cover sheet is torn when the opening on the tab is torn open. As a result, only a pouring opening is torn into the cover sheet. In Figure 16, a common cover sheet 19 is stretched over two openings. Between the openings, the film is sealed on two parallel lines with the opening edge. Between these two lines, the cover foil is perforated. In order for the perforation 47 to break in safely, a tear notch 41 is formed.

Claims

claims

1. cutlery with a handle (11), in particular coffee spoon, soup spoon, fork or knife, which cutlery at least two chambers (13,15) containing food, wherein each filled chamber by a peelable cover sheet (19, 21) has a closed opening (23, 25), which cover foil has a seal (51) around the opening, with which it is connected in a ring-shaped and liquid-tight manner to the opening edge, in which cutlery for removing the cover foil (19) from the opening edge of the opening foil a first tab (37) is formed on the cover film, and for removing the cover film (21) from the opening edge of the second opening (25) a second tab (39) is formed on the cover film, so that at the first or the second tab pulling the cover sheet (19,21) at least partially from the opening edge of this first or second opening (23,25) can be solved, wherein between the first tab (37) for removing the cover sheet (19) a separation (41) between a region (19) closing the first opening and a region (21) of the cover film (19) closing off the second opening from the first opening (23) and the seal (51) around the second opening (25) , 21), along which separation (41) the cover film region (19) to be peeled off from one opening (23) can be detached with less force from the cover film region (21) closing the other opening (25) than the cover film (21 ) can be solved by the opening edge of the other opening (25).

2. Cutlery according to claim 1, characterized in that the separation is formed such that a first cover (23) closing the first cover film (19) is separated from the second opening (25) closing the second cover film (21).

3. Cutlery according to claim 1, characterized in that the separation (41) is formed such that the peelable cover sheet (19) between its tab (37) and the existing around the other opening seal (51) penetrates the peeling.

4. Cutlery according to claim 3, characterized in that the cover sheet (19) over the first opening (23) between its tab (37) and the Seal (51) around the other opening (25) with a tear notch (41) is provided, at which the cover sheet (19) is to tear.

5. Cutlery according to one of the preceding claims, in particular according to claim 2, characterized in that around each opening (23,25) around a separate, annular seal (51) is formed, so that between the two openings (23,25) two Seals (51) are present side by side.

6. Cutlery according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the chambers (13,15) are formed in the integrally formed with the spoon head, clevis or knife head cutlery stem (11).

7. Cutlery according to claim 6, characterized in that for the production of the chambers (13,15) necessary access openings with a common closure part (29) are closed and closed with the cover film (19,21) openings in this closure part (29 ) or in the wall of the chambers (13,15) next to the closure part (29) are formed.

8. cutlery according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the first opening (23) of the first chamber (13) is formed on the upper surface of the stem (11) and is closed by a relatively large cover sheet (19), and the second opening (23) of the second chamber (13) is directed rearwardly and is closed by a relatively small-area cover sheet (21).

9. cutlery according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that both openings (23,25) of the two chambers (13,15) are directed to the rear.

10. cutlery according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the two openings (23,25) are directed upward.

11. Cutlery according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the chambers (13,15) are formed in a container (35) in a Cutlery head (31) is inserted and the cutlery stem (11) forms, or is inserted into the cutlery handle (11).

12. Cutlery according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the chambers (13,15) are formed in separate containers (45) which are inserted in a cutlery head (31) and the cutlery stem (11) form, or in the cutlery stem (11) are inserted.

13. Cutlery with a handle (11), in particular coffee spoon, soup spoon, fork or knife, which cutlery has at least two chambers (13,15) containing food, in which each filled chamber through a selectively peelable cover sheet ( 19, 21), each cover sheet having around the opening a separate seal (51) with which it is connected in a ring-shaped and liquid-tight manner to the opening edge, so that two seals are present next to each other between the two openings are.

14. Cutlery with a handle (11), in particular coffee spoon, soup spoon, fork or knife, which cutlery at least two chambers (13,15) containing food, in which each filled chamber by a single peelable cover sheet (19 , 21) has a closed opening (23, 25), which openings are arranged on two different sides of the cutlery stalk.

15. Cutlery with a handle (11), in particular a coffee spoon, soup spoon, fork or knife, which cutlery has at least two chambers (13, 15) containing food, in which each filled chamber is replaced by a peelable cover film (19, 21) has a closed opening (23, 25), of which one of the cover foils covers at least half of a longitudinal flank of the handle.