WO2009063137A1

WO2009063137A1 - Piece of cutlery

Info

Publication number: WO2009063137A1
Application number: PCT/FI2008/050657
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jari Kinnunen
Original assignee: Mezzoforte Oy
Priority date: 2007-11-15
Filing date: 2008-11-14
Publication date: 2009-05-22
Also published as: FI7815U1; FIU20070445U0

Abstract

The invention is based on a piece of cutlery. According to the invention, the piece of cutlery is formed from wood composite which is substantially formed from wood-based material.

Description

PIECE OF CUTLERY

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a piece of cutlery as defined in the preamble of claim 1, i.e. to a piece of tableware, e.g. a fork, knife, spoon, chopstick or the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Known from the prior art are various items of cutlery which are mainly made from e.g. metal or other hard and shape-retaining material. Also known from the prior art are various items of cutlery which are designed for disposable use. Disposable cutlery is mainly formed from plastic. Further known from the prior art is cutlery which is made from wood.

OBJECTIVE OF THE INVENTION

The objective of the invention is to disclose cutlery which is formed from a new type of material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The piece of cutlery according to the invention is characterized by what has been presented in the claims.

The invention is based on a piece of cutlery which can be used as a disposable item of cutlery and which can be recycled after use in an environmentally friendly manner. According to the invention, the piece of cutlery is formed from wood composite which is substantially formed from wood-based material.

In this context, wood-based material refers to any kind of material that contains wood or wood fibers, such as wood, saw dust, wood fibers, materials formed mainly from wood, paper etc. The wood-based material may be virgin material, recycled material, recovered material or other wood-based material .

In one embodiment, a combination of materials containing wood-based material and at least one additional material or additional materials is used as the wood composite.

In one embodiment of the invention, the wood composite contains 50 to 90% wood-based material. In one embodiment of the invention, the wood composite contains 70 to 90% wood-based material.

In one embodiment of the invention, the wood composite contains, in addition to the wood-based material, at least one additional material selected from a group comprising plastic, polymer, polymeric compound and mixtures thereof.

In one embodiment of the invention, the proportion of additional material in the wood composite is 10 to 50%. In one embodiment, the proportion of ad- ditional material in the wood composite is 10 to 30%.

Forming cutlery from wood composite provides a number of advantages. One is the easy processability of wood composite. The cutlery is easy to process into a desired shape. Further, it is easy to form cutlery of a desired color from wood composite. In addition, wood composite provides strong cutlery which retains its shape well and can be used e.g. for cutting and eating steaks .

Another advantage of the invention is the en- vironmentally friendly recyclability of wood composite, such as disposal or recovery.

A further advantage of the invention is that the production of cutlery from wood composite is fast and inexpensive. The simple manufacturing processes and devices known per se can be utilized in the production. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following section, the invention will be described in more detail with the aid of an exam- pie.

In this example, disposable cutlery, such as forks, knives and spoons, is formed from wood composite material mixed with additional material. The wood composite material is formed from sawdust with plastic used as the additional material. The proportion of sawdust is about 80% and the proportion of plastic is about 20% of the wood composite material.

In this embodiment, cutlery is formed from wood composite by the affordable and fast injection molding technique known per se.

The cutlery according to the invention is suitable for use as different embodiments in various application purposes. The invention is not limited merely to the example referred to above; instead many variations are possible within the scope of the inventive idea defined by the claims.

Claims

CIiAIMS

1. A piece of cutlery, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the piece of cutlery is formed from wood composite which is substantially formed from wood-based material .

2. The piece of cutlery according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the wood composite contains 50 to 90% wood-based material.

3. The piece of cutlery according to claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the wood composite contains 70 to 90% wood-based material.

4. The piece of cutlery according to any one of claims 1 to 3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the wood composite contains, in addition to the wood-based material, at least one additional material selected from a group comprising plastic, polymer, polymeric compound and mixtures thereof .

5. The piece of cutlery according to any one of claims 1 to 4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the proportion of additional material in the wood composite is 10 to 50%.

6. The piece of cutlery according to any one of claims 1 to 4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the proportion of additional material in the wood compos- ite is 10 to 30%.