U.S. patent application number 17/100997 was filed with the patent office on 2021-10-14 for fork.
The applicant listed for this patent is Yu-Hsiang CHEN. Invention is credited to Yu-Hsiang CHEN.
Application Number | 20210315398 17/100997 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005265992 |
Filed Date | 2021-10-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20210315398 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CHEN; Yu-Hsiang |
October 14, 2021 |
Fork
Abstract
A fork includes a handle and a fork head. The handle
substantially extends in a front-rear direction. The fork head is
connected to the handle. The fork head includes a plurality of
columnar tines that extend in the front-rear direction, and a fork
body that is connected between the tines and the handle. The tines
are arranged in a left-right direction that is transverse to the
front-rear direction. The tines are mainly made of pliable and
flexible materials.
Inventors: |
CHEN; Yu-Hsiang; (Tainan
City, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
CHEN; Yu-Hsiang |
Tainan City |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000005265992 |
Appl. No.: |
17/100997 |
Filed: |
November 23, 2020 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G 21/023 20130101;
A47G 2400/10 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A47G 21/02 20060101
A47G021/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 9, 2020 |
TW |
109204135 |
Claims
1. A fork comprising: a handle substantially extending in a
front-rear direction; and a fork head connected to said handle, and
including a plurality of columnar tines that extend in the
front-rear direction, and a fork body that is connected between
said tines and said handle, said tines being arranged in a
left-right direction that is transverse to the front-rear direction
and being mainly made of pliable and flexible materials.
2. The fork as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tines are arranged
and spaced apart in the left-right direction, and each adjacent
pair of said tines cooperatively defining a fork gap, a distal
portion of each of said fork gaps defined by said tines having a
width smaller than that of an intermediate portion of said fork
gap.
3. The fork as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of said tines
includes a first end that is connected to said fork body and a
second end that is opposite to said first end, each of said fork
gaps being partitioned into a first gap area that is defined by
said first ends of the corresponding pair of said tines, a second
gap area that is defined by said second ends of the corresponding
pair of said tines, and a third gap area that is located between
said first gap area and said second gap area, for each of said fork
gaps, a maximum width of said first gap area, a maximum width of
said third gap area, or both of said maximum width of said first
gap area and said maximum width of said third gap area being
greater than a minimum width of said second gap area.
4. The fork as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said tines
includes a first tine surface that substantially faces upwardly in
an up-down direction and that extends in the front-rear direction,
and two connecting tine surfaces that extend in the front-rear
direction, that are arranged in the left-right direction and that
extend downwardly in the up-down direction.
5. The fork as claimed in claim 4, wherein said fork head includes
three of said tines that are arranged in the left-right direction,
said tine in the middle further including a second tine surface
that is located below said first tine surface in the up-down
direction (D3), said second tine surface extending in the
front-rear direction and substantially tapering away from said fork
body, said connecting tine surfaces of said tine in the middle
extending downwardly from said first tine surface of said tine in
the middle toward said second tine surface of said tine in the
middle in the up-down direction.
6. The fork as claimed in claim 4, wherein a cross-section of each
of two of said tines that are located respectively at the outermost
sides is in an inverted triangle-like shape that is wider at the
top, the cross-section being perpendicular to the front-rear
direction.
7. The fork as claimed in claim 5, wherein a cross-section of each
of two of said tines that are located respectively at the outermost
sides is in an inverted triangle-like shape that is wider at the
top, the cross-section being perpendicular to the front-rear
direction.
8. The fork as claimed in claim 1, wherein said handle includes a
handle body that is connected to said fork head, and a handle core
that is surrounded by said handle body, hardness of said handle
core being greater than that of said handle body.
9. The fork as claimed in claim 8, wherein said handle body, said
fork body and said tines are made of a same material, said handle
core further including a handle tongue that extends into said fork
body in the front-rear direction.
10. The fork as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said tines is
mainly made of silicone rubber that has a hardness ranging from
Shore 60 to Shore 95 when measured by a Shore durometer.
11. The fork as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said tines
includes a first end that is connected to said fork body and a
second end that is opposite to said first end, and each of said
tines gradually tapers from said first end to said second end.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to Taiwanese Utility Model
Patent Application No. 109204135, filed on Apr. 9, 2020.
FIELD
[0002] The disclosure relates to an eating utensil, and more
particularly to a fork.
BACKGROUND
[0003] A conventional fork as shown in FIG. 1 is made of stiff
materials like metals. The conventional fork includes a handle 11
that extends in a front-rear direction and a fork head 12 that
extends forwardly from the handle 11. The handle 11 is adapted to
be held in one hand by a user. The fork head 12 includes a
plurality of tines 13 that extend in the front-rear direction and
that are spaced apart and arranged in a left-right direction, and a
fork body 14 that is connected between the tines 13 and the handle
11.
[0004] Each of the tines 13 extends in the front-rear direction and
is in a shape of a leaf that is thin, long and flattened. Moreover,
each of the tines 13 cooperates with at least one adjacent tine 13
so that it is easy for the user to pierce food. Although such
conventional fork has the ability of piercing food, the user may be
exposed to potential injuries such as being pierced or stabbed in
view of the specific characteristics of the tines 13 (i.e. the
stiff materials and the thin and flattened shape). Thus, the
conventional fork is not safe enough for use, especially by babies
or preschool children. Furthermore, the configuration of the tines
13 makes it difficult for the conventional fork to hold
grain-shaped or stick-shaped food, so that food in such shapes may
easily separate from the tines 13.
SUMMARY
[0005] Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a fork
that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior
art.
[0006] According to the disclosure, the fork includes a handle and
a fork head. The handle substantially extends in a front-rear
direction. The fork head is connected to the handle. The fork head
includes a plurality of columnar tines that extend in the
front-rear direction, and a fork body that is connected between the
tines and the handle. The tines are arranged in a left-right
direction that is transverse to the front-rear direction. The tines
are mainly made of pliable and flexible materials.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become
apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment
with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional
fork;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a
fork according to the disclosure;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, enlarged top view illustrating the
embodiment;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken in a front-rear direction
through a fork handle of the embodiment;
[0012] FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along a horizontal cutting
plane through a handle tongue of the fork handle;
[0013] FIG. 6 is a bottom view illustrating the embodiment;
[0014] FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line
VII-VII in FIG. 3 through a plurality of tines; and
[0015] FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line
VIII-VIII in FIG. 3 through the tines.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it
should be noted that where considered appropriate, reference
numerals or terminal portions of reference numerals have been
repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous
elements, which may optionally have similar characteristics.
[0017] Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, an embodiment of a fork according
to the disclosure includes a handle 2 and a fork head 3, and is
adapted for piercing and holding food so that a user can pick up
the food. The handle 2 substantially extends in a front-rear
direction (D1), and the fork head 3 is connected to and integrated
with the handle 2, and extends forwardly from the handle 2.
[0018] The handle 2 includes a handle body 21 that is connected to
and integrated with the fork head 3, and a handle core 22 that is
surrounded by the handle body (i.e., embedded in the handle body
21).
[0019] The handle body 21 is a bent rod that substantially extends
in the front-rear direction (D1). More specifically, from the rear
to the front, the handle body 21 first curves upward and then
curves downward. Moreover, a width of the handle body 21 in a
left-right direction (D2) that is transverse to the front-rear
direction (D1) generally decreases from the rear to the front.
Because the handle body 21 is designed with a shape that is curved
and that tapers forwardly, the handle body 21 is ergonomic.
[0020] The handle body 21 is mainly made of silicone rubber.
Hardness of silicone rubber can be measured in the Shore type A
hardness scale of the Shore durometer. The Shore type A hardness
scale ranges from 0A to 100A; the higher the number, the harder the
material. In the embodiment according to the disclosure, the
hardness of the silicone rubber that is used to make the handle
body 21 is substantially 80A. With the silicone rubber as the main
constituent, the handle body 21 provides not only stiffness for the
fork to pierce the food, but also softness for the comfort and
safety of use. Furthermore, silicone rubber is relatively stable
when used as eating utensils, and eating utensils made of silicone
rubber would not contain harmful substances such as heavy metals or
Bisphenol A. Therefore, silicone rubber is suitable for making the
handle body 21 of the fork as it is relatively safe and does not
contaminate the food.
[0021] In other embodiments, the handle body 21 of the fork may be
made of silicone rubber that has a hardness of xA, where x is an
integer ranging from 60 to 95. In addition, the silicone rubber can
be added with silver for its antibacterial properties so that food
safety is not only achieved but further ensured.
[0022] The handle core 22 extends and bends in a similar direction
as the handle body 21 to conform to the structure of the handle
body 21. In the present embodiment, the handle core 22 is mainly
made of polyamide that has a hardness greater than that of the
handle body 21 so that the handle core 22 can support and reinforce
the handle body 21.
[0023] In the embodiment according to the disclosure, the fork head
3 includes three columnar tines 31 that extend generally in the
front-rear direction (D1), that are arranged in the left-right
direction (D2), and that are bent, and a fork body 32 that is
integrated with and connected between the tines 31 and the handle
body 21 of the handle 2. However, one or more other embodiments
where the fork head 3 includes only two of the tines 31 or the fork
head 3 includes at least four of the tines 31 can also be
practiced.
[0024] The fork body 32 and the tines 31 are made of the same
materials as the handle body 21. The fork body 32 cooperates with
the bent tines 31 to forma spork-shaped structure that is curved,
that has a concave upper spork-shaped surface 33 and a convex lower
spork-shaped surface opposite to the upper spork-shaped surface
33.
[0025] The handle core 22 further includes a handle tongue 221 (see
FIG. 5) that extends into the fork body 32 in the front-rear
direction (D1). However, in one or more other embodiments of the
fork according to the disclosure, the handle core 22 is only
surrounded by the handle body 21 but does not extend into the fork
body 32 of the fork head 3, so that the fork head 3 can be more
flexible than this embodiment. As for effects that the fork can
achieve in the case where the handle tongue 221 of the handle core
22 extends into the fork head 3, relevant descriptions will be
provided after detailed descriptions of the tines 31.
[0026] In the embodiment according to the disclosure, adjacent
pairs of the tines 31 with a common tine 31 between the pairs
cooperatively define two fork gaps 34. Each of the fork gaps 34
generally extends in the front-rear direction (D1) and is located
between the corresponding pair of the tines 31. Besides, each of
the tines 31 includes a first end 311 that is connected to the fork
body 32 and a second end 312 that is opposite to the first end
311.
[0027] Each of the fork gaps 34 is partitioned into a first gap
area 341 that is defined by the first ends 311 of the corresponding
pair of the tines 31, a second gap area 342 that is defined by the
second ends 312 of the corresponding pair of the tines 31, and a
third gap area 345 that is located between the first gap area 341
and the second gap area 342.
[0028] For each of the fork gaps 34, a maximum width 343 of the
first gap area 341 in the left-right direction (D2), a maximum
width 346 of the third gap area 345 in the left-right direction
(D2), or both of the maximum width 343 of the first gap area 341 in
the left-right direction (D2) and the maximum width 346 of the
third gap area 345 in the left-right direction (D2) are greater
than a minimum width 344 of the second gap area 342 in the
left-right direction (D2). In this embodiment, a distal portion of
each fork gap 34 defined by the corresponding pair of tines 31 has
a width smaller than that of an intermediate portion of the fork
gap 34. Further, in this embodiment, the second gap area 342
slightly diverges toward a distal end of the fork gap 34.
[0029] Referring to FIGS. 3, 7 and 8, for each of the tines 31, a
cross-section of the first end 311 is dimensionally greater than a
cross-section of the second end 312, and each of the tines 31
gradually tapers from the first end 311 to the second end 312.
[0030] Referring to FIGS. 5 to 7, each of the tines 31 includes a
first tine surface 313 that substantially faces upwardly in an
up-down direction (D3) and that extends in the front-rear direction
(D1), and two connecting tine surfaces 314 that extend in the
front-rear direction (D1), that are arranged in the left-right
direction (D2) and that extend downwardly from the first tine
surface 313 in the up-down direction (D3).
[0031] In the embodiment, the tine 31 in the middle (hereinafter
also referred to as "middle tine 31") further includes a second
tine surface 315 that is located below the first tine surface 313
in the up-down direction (D3). The second tine surface 315 extends
in the front-rear direction (D1) and substantially tapers away from
the fork body 32 (see FIG. 6). The connecting tine surfaces 314 of
the middle tine 31 extend downwardly from the first tine surface
313 of the middle tine 31 toward the second tine surface 315 of the
middle tine 31 in the up-down direction (D3), so that a
cross-section of the middle tine 31 is roughly a trapezoid that is
wider at the top, where the cross-section is perpendicular to the
front-rear direction (D1).
[0032] In addition, the connecting tine surfaces 314 of each of two
of the tines 31 that are located respectively at the outermost
sides (hereinafter also referred to as "outermost tines 31") extend
downwardly from the respective first tine surface 313 in the
up-down direction (D3), so that a cross-section of each of the
outermost tines 31 is in an inverted triangle-like shape that is
wider at the top, where the cross-section is perpendicular to the
front-rear direction (D1).
[0033] Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the embodiment of the fork is
characterized in that the tines 31 are mainly made of pliable and
flexible materials, so a user is safe from being pierced or stabbed
when the tines 31 get into contact with the user. Therefore, the
embodiment of the fork is assured to be safe not only for adults
but also for babies or children during use.
[0034] Having each of the tines 31 gradually tapering from the
first end 311 to the second end 312 and including the connecting
tine surfaces 314 that extend downwardly in the up-down direction
(D3) are beneficial designs so that the tines 31 made of pliable
and flexible materials can pierce the food. Moreover, each adjacent
pair of the tines 31 are able to cooperatively grip the food
relatively tightly because of the design of each fork gap 34 with a
distal portion smaller in width than an intermediate portion. More
specifically, when grain-shaped or stick-shaped food (i.e. peas,
corn kernels, vegetable strips and vegetable sticks) enters one of
the fork gaps 34 through the respective second gap area 342, the
grain-shaped or stick-shaped food does not easily separate from the
one of the fork gaps 34 because the respective second gap area 342
is not wide enough for the grain-shaped or stick-shaped food to
slip away. Thus, the tines 31 cooperatively achieve an effect of
gripping the food tightly, even if the food is grain-shaped or
stick-shaped.
[0035] In addition, the upper spork-shaped surface 33 of the fork
head 3 cooperatively formed by the fork body 32 and the bent tines
31 allows the fork head 3 to have a function similar to a spoon,
which means, for the food that is too small for the tines 31 to
pierce and pick up, the upper spork-shaped surface 33 of the fork
head 3 can be adapted to spoon the food. For such usage, the
structure of the fork head 3 can be reinforced to spoon the food
more smoothly if the handle tongue 221 of the handle core 22
extends into the fork body 32 of the fork head 3.
[0036] In summary, the embodiment of the fork according to the
disclosure achieves the effect of eliminating the possibility of
harming the user with the tines 31 for the tines 31 are mainly made
of pliable and flexible materials. Aside from safety, the columnar
tines 31 of the fork can pierce the food effectively and grip the
food tightly with each of the fork gaps 34 defined by the tines 31
having a distal portion smaller in width than an intermediate
portion.
[0037] In the description above, for the purposes of explanation,
numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a
thorough understanding of the embodiment. It will be apparent,
however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other
embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific
details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout
this specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," an
embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth
means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may
be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further
appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes
grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description
thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding
in the understanding of various inventive aspects, and that one or
more features or specific details from one embodiment may be
practiced together with one or more features or specific details
from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the
disclosure.
[0038] While the disclosure has been described in connection with
what is considered the exemplary embodiment, it is understood that
this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is
intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit
and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all
such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
* * * * *