Eating utensil system

Abstract

A combination spoon and fork system capable of being stored in a nested configuration or used as a combination eating utensil with the spoon and fork connected end to end. An interlocking mechanism can interlock the spoon and fork in either the nested position or in the end to end configuration. The interlocking system allows the handle of the spoon to slide between rails on the handle of the fork and to snap and lock the spoon in place either nested with the fork or end to end with the fork to form an elongated combination eating utensil. The spoon and fork of the system can also be used separately from one another.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to eating utensils. More particularly, the invention relates to combination eating utensils that may be suitable for transport.

Eating utensils are used by people all over the world to bring food to their mouths. Sometimes, eating utensils, such as knives, are used to cut food to a size and shape suitable for placing in a person's mouth. In some Asian countries, chopsticks are typically the only eating utensils used although spoons are also used for soups in Asia. In Western countries, forks, knives, and spoons are typically used as eating utensils. In still other countries, such as India and Ethiopia, hands are often used in place of utensils.

Although these existing utensils work quite well, there are continuing efforts to develop new hybrid combinations of utensils that provide not only improved function and convenience but can also reduce the need for separate utensils. Such combination utensils are also more easily transported, as they take up less space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with an embodiment, a combination fork and spoon system is provided. The combination fork and spoon system includes a fork and a spoon. The fork includes a recess in a bottom surface and a pair of rails. Each rail is positioned along a portion of an outer edge of the bottom surface of a handle. The spoon is configured to interlock with the fork either in a nested position or in an end to end configuration to form a single combination utensil. The spoon includes a handle that is capable of being slid between the rails.

In accordance with another embodiment, a combination eating utensil is provided. The combination eating utensil includes a fork and a spoon. The fork has a handle connected to a head portion including a plurality of tines. At least one tine on a curved outer edge of the head portion has a chamfered outer edge along substantially its entire length. The chamfered edge tapers to a point where the handle is connected to the head portion. The spoon has a substantially pentagonal bowl portion having substantially flat side and end edges. The spoon and fork can be connected at their proximal ends.

In accordance with yet another embodiment, a combination fork and spoon system is provided. The combination fork and spoon system includes a fork, a spoon, and an interlocking mechanism. The fork has a handle with a pair of rails along a portion of its side edges. The spoon has a handle slidable along the handle of the fork and the handle of the spoon is slidable between the rails of the fork. The interlocking mechanism is for interlocking the spoon and the fork either in a nested position or in an end to end position.

According to yet another embodiment, a fork is provided. The fork includes a head portion connected to a handle portion. The head portion includes a plurality of tines. An outer tine has a curved chamfered outer edge that extends along substantially an entire length of the head portion. The chamfered edge tapers to a point where the handle portion meets the head portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1A is a top perspective of a combination spoon and fork system in its nested position in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 1B is a top plan view of the combination spoon and fork system shown in FIG. 1A in its nested position.

FIG. 2A is a bottom perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in its nested position.

FIG. 2B is a bottom plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in its nested position.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4A is a top plan view of the fork separated from the spoon of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3.

FIG. 4B is a top perspective view of the fork separated from the spoon of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3.

FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional perspective view of the fork shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B.

FIG. 4D is a cross-sectional end view of the handle portion of the fork shown in FIGS. 4A-4C.

FIG. 4E is a detailed cut-away view of the handle portion of the fork shown in FIGS. 4A-4D.

FIG. 4F is a bottom plan view of the fork shown in FIGS. 4A-4E

FIG. 4G is a bottom perspective view of the fork shown in FIGS. 4A-4F.

FIG. 4H is a side view of the fork shown in FIGS. 4A-4G.

FIG. 5A is a top perspective view of the spoon separated from the fork of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3.

FIG. 5B is a top plan view of the spoon shown in FIG. 5A.

FIG. 5C is a bottom perspective view of the spoon shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B.

FIG. 5D is a side view of the spoon shown in FIGS. 5A-5C.

FIG. 6A is a perspective view of the combination spoon and fork system in the elongated combination utensil position in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 6B is a bottom plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6A.

FIG. 6C is a bottom perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B.

FIG. 6D is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6A-6C.

FIG. 7A is a top perspective view of an integral combination utensil in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 7B is a bottom perspective view of the integral combination utensil shown in FIG. 7A.

FIG. 7C is a side view of the integral combination utensil shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention relates generally to combination eating utensils.

Referring to FIGS. 1-6, a combination spoon and fork system in accordance with one embodiment of the invention will be described. In the illustrated embodiment, the combination spoon and fork system 100 includes a spoon 110 and a fork 140 that can nest together for storage and transport. To form a single, longer combination utensil with a spoon on one end and a fork on the other end, the proximal ends of the spoon 110 and fork 140 can slide together and lock in place. A low profile interlocking mechanism is used to interlock the spoon 110 and the fork 140 in both the nested position and in the combination utensil mode. The spoon 110 and fork 140 can also be separated completely and used separately.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are top perspective and top plan views, respectively, of the combination spoon and fork system 100 in its nested position, in accordance with an embodiment. FIGS. 2A and 2B are bottom perspective and bottom plan views, respectively, of the spoon and fork system 100 in its nested position.

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the spoon 110 and fork 140 can be nested together in a low profile manner for convenient storage and transport. FIG. 3 is a side view of the combination spoon and fork system 100, which illustrates the low profile nature of the spoon and fork system 100 nested position. In the illustrated embodiment, the fork 140 is nested over the spoon 110.

As discussed above, the spoon 110 and the fork 140 can be separated from one another and used separately. The geometries of the fork 140 and the spoon 110 will be described below. FIGS. 4A and 4B are top plan and perspective views, respectively, of the fork 140 separated from the spoon 110. In the illustrated embodiment, the fork 140 has four tines 142, 144. It will be understood that, in other embodiments, the fork can have more or fewer tines. The fork 140 has a head portion 141, which includes the tines, that is connected to a handle 146.

Each tine 142, 144 has a sharp crest, which aids in spearing or piercing pieces of food so that the food can be picked up by the fork 140. In the illustrated embodiment, the two center tines 142 are straight and the two outer tines 144 each have a straight inner edge and a curved outer edge 145. The curved outer edges 145 of the outer tines 144 and the ends of the tines 142, 144 do not extend beyond the outer edges of the bowl portion of the spoon 110, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The curvature of the outer edges 145 can also be used for scraping food, as the curved edges 145 follow the curvature of a curved container, such as a bowl, better than the straight tines of many conventional forks.

In addition to being curved, the outer edges 145 of the outer tines 144 are also tapered or chamfered such that the fork 140 can be used to cut through or separate foods that do not require a knife. The tapered or chamfered outer edges 145 are shown in the cross-sectional perspective view of FIG. 4C. As illustrated in FIG. 4C, the top surface of each of the outer edges 145 is tapered or chamfered. As illustrated, each chamfered edge 145 has one end at the tip of the outer tine 144 and extends along the outer curved edge of the outer tine 144 to the position where the fork head 141 meets the handle 146. As shown in FIGS. 4A-4C, the chamfered edge 145 spans the entire width of the outer tine 144 at the tip. As the chamfered edge 145 extends down along the curved outer edge of the outer tine 144, the width of the chamfered edge 145 remains substantially the same until it begins to taper toward the end of the fork head 141. In the illustrated embodiment, the chamfered edge 145 tapers and ends in a point where the fork head 141 meets the handle 146. Although the fork head 141 is described above as being connected to or meeting the handle 146, it will be understood that the fork is formed as an integral piece in this embodiment.

In a particular embodiment, the outer edges 145 are chamfered at an angle of about 20-25 degrees, and preferably at an angle of about 23 degrees. The outer edges 145 have an edge width of about 1 mm at its widest point. In the illustrated embodiment, the outer edges 145 of both outer tines 144 are chamfered so that both outer edges 145 can easily be used to cut or separate food regardless of whether the user is right-handed or left-handed.

In the illustrated embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a safety feature is that when the spoon 110 and fork 140 are nested, the tines 142, 144 of the fork 140 do not extend as far as the end of the spoon 110 such that the tips of the tines 142, 144 cannot poke or stab someone or something when the fork 140 and spoon 110 are in the nested position.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 4A, the center tines 142 have a longer length than the outer tines 144 and therefore extend farther distally than the outer tines 144, thereby forming a curve at the distal end of the fork 140. The curvature of the distal end of the fork 140 can match the curvature of the distal end of the spoon 110, but as noted above, the tips of the tines 142, 144 do not extend beyond the end edge of the spoon 110 when nested. As shown in FIG. 1A, the bowl portion of the spoon 110 is slightly wider and longer than the corresponding portion of the fork 140 in the illustrated embodiment.

The handle 146 of the fork 140 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4D-4H. The handle 146 has a pair of rails 148 that extend downward from the bottom side of its two outer edges. The rails 148 aid in guiding the handle 146 of the fork 150 over the handle 114 of the spoon 110 when the spoon handle 114 is slid between the rails 148 to either place the spoon 110 and fork 140 in the nested position or slid end over end to form an elongated combination eating utensil, as will be described in more detail below. The rails 148 also secure the spoon handle 114 to the handle 146 of the fork 140, as will be explained in more detail below. As shown in the side view of FIGS. 3 and 6D, the rails 148 are very low profile, as they do not extend below the lowest bottom surface of the spoon handle 114 when the fork 140 and spoon 110 are either nested together or slid end over end to form the elongated combination eating utensil. FIGS. 2A, 2B, 6B and 6C show that, in the illustrated embodiment, the rails 148 extend only to about halfway across the width of the chamfered edge 122 of the spoon 110. The low profile nature of the rails 148 allow more efficient stacking of the fork and spoon systems 100.

The outer edge of each rails 148 is aligned and continuous with the outer edge of the rest of the fork handle 146. Further, the rails 148 taper inward so that the portion of the handle 146 with the rails 148 does not feel different from the rest of handle 146 when the fork 140 is held in a user's hand. The inward tapering as well as the low profile nature of the rails 148 reduce the tactile impact they have on a user's hand holding the fork. That is, the handle with low profile rails 148 feels better to hold than a handle having big protuberances, edges, etc.

As shown in FIG. 4D, the handle portion 146 of the fork 140 has a slight upside down V-shape with a ridge 156 in the center when viewed from an end. The center ridge 156 is the highest point of the handle 146 and runs down the center along substantially the entire length of the handle 146. Each side of the handle 146 angles downward from the center line to the edge at an angle of about 75-80 degrees, and preferably about 79 degrees.

The bottom of the fork handle 146 also includes a recess 150 that accommodates the contour of the top surface of the handle 114 of the spoon 110 as well as a crescent-shaped raised edge 116 on the proximal end of the spoon 110. As shown in FIGS. 4F and 4G, the recess 150 has two straight end walls 162, 163, each acting as a hard stop when the raised edge 116 of the spoon 110 abuts the end wall.

The recess 150 also includes two detents 152, 153, one near each end of the recess 150. As will be explained in more detail below, the detents 152, 153 serve to snap and lock the spoon handle 114 in place relative to the handle 146 of the fork when the spoon 110 and fork 140 are in the nested position as well as when the spoon 110 and fork 140 are attached end to end to form an elongated eating utensil, as shown in FIGS. 6A-6D.

The spoon 110 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 5A-5D. FIG. 5A is a top perspective view of the spoon 110. The spoon 110 includes a head portion or bowl 112 and a handle 114. The proximal end of the spoon handle 114 includes a crescent-shaped raised edge 116. As shown in the side view of FIG. 5D, the raised edge 116 protrudes above the top surface of the spoon handle 114.

The spoon handle 114 and the fork handle 146 are contoured similarly. As shown in FIG. 5A, the spoon handle 114 has a ridge 120 in the center. The center ridge 120 is the highest point of the handle body (excluding the raised edge 116) and runs down the center along substantially the entire length of the handle 114. Each side of the handle 114 angles downward from the center line 118 to the edge at an angle of about 75-80 degrees, and preferably about 79 degrees.

The bowl 112 of the spoon 110 has a substantially flat side edge 118, which allows for “scraping” food from of a container (e.g., a yogurt container) or a bowl. A conventional spoon typically has a rounded edge that is not particularly effective for scraping. As illustrated, the side edge 118 and front edge 118b of the bowl 112 of the spoon 110 is substantially flat, thus providing an effective surface for scraping. In the illustrated embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5B, the bowl 112 has a substantially elongated pentagonal shape with rounded corners.

Also, as shown in the side view of FIG. 5D, the bowl 112 is angled upward to form a deeper bowl, which can be more efficient when scooping liquids, such as soups. In a particular embodiment, the bowl is angled upward at an angle of about 20-25 degrees, and preferably about 23 degrees. It will be noted that the spoon 110 has a deeper bowl 112 than the corresponding head portion 141 of the fork 140 so that the fork 140 can be nested on top of the spoon 110 in the nested position.

In the illustrated embodiment, the bottom surface of each of the edges 122 of the handle 114 of the spoon 110 is tapered or chamfered so that the edge 122 can be used as a splitter or cutter, similar to the outer tines 144 of the fork 140. In the illustrated embodiment as shown in FIG. 5C, the chamfered edge 122 starts at the proximal end of the spoon 110 and extends along the entire length of the spoon handle 114. In a particular embodiment, the edges 122 are chamfered at an angle of about 65-70 degrees, and preferably about 67 degrees, and each edge 122 has a width of about 0.7 mm at its widest point. The width remains substantially the same along the length of the chamfered edge 122 but tapers to end in a point where the spoon handle 114 meets the head portion or bowl 112, as shown in FIG. 5C. Although the spoon head portion or bowl 112 is described above as being connected to or meeting the spoon handle 114, it will be understood that the spoon is formed as an integral piece in this embodiment. In the illustrated embodiment, both edges 122 are chamfered so that both edges 122 can easily be used to cut or separate food regardless of whether the user is right-handed or left-handed.

The taper of the bottom surface edges 122 of the spoon handle 114 also allows for low profile rails 148 on the fork 140, as the edges 122 of the spoon 140 are configured to slide under and between the rails 148 of the fork 140 to either nest the spoon 110 and fork 140 together or to form a longer combination eating utensil. That is, the bottom edges 122 are chamfered at an angle that corresponds to the angle of the bottom surface of the rails 148 on the fork 140. According to an embodiment, the height of the rails is about 1.5-3 mm and the height of the edges 122 is about 0.5-1.75 mm.

The rails 148 are so low profile that when the spoon 110 and fork 140 are interlocked (whether in the nested position or connected in the elongated combination utensil position), the bottom of the spoon bowl 112 actually extends below the bottom of the rails 148, as shown in the side view of FIGS. 3 and 6D.

The spoon 110 and fork 140 are formed of a plastic material, such as a glass reinforced thermoplastic, that is suitable for food contact. A particularly suitable reinforced thermoplastic for forming the spoon 110 and fork 140 is glass filled nylon. Compared with unreinforced nylon, glass filled nylon has increased structural strength and stiffness.

Nested Position

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the spoon 110 and fork 140 can be nested together for storage and/or transport. In the nested position, the spoon 110 and fork 140 are interlocked with the spoon head 112 and the fork head 141 oriented the same way. An interlocking mechanism can lock the spoon 110 in place relative to the fork 140, as will be described in more detail below.

As described above, there is a recess 150 in the bottom surface of the fork 140 that is configured to receive the top surface spoon handle 114 and its crescent-shaped raised edge 116. To nest the spoon 110 and fork 140 together, the spoon 110 is first positioned underneath the fork 140 in the same orientation (the spoon 110 and fork 140 are both facing up or both facing down) and both pointed in the same direction (the bowl and tines pointed in the same direction), with the raised edge 116 at the proximal end of the spoon positioned in the recess 150 of the fork 140 laterally between the rails 148 and the detent 153 closer to the distal end of the fork 140. The curvature of the crescent-shaped raised edge 116 corresponds to the curvature of the recess 150 such that the raised edge 116 fits nicely in the recess 150.

The raised edge 116 at proximal end of the spoon 110 is then slid laterally along the recess 150 toward the proximal end of the fork 140 while guiding the outer edges of the spoon handle 114 between the rails 148 until the raised edge 116 abuts the gradually sloped face of the detent 152 closer to the proximal end of the fork 140. A greater force is then applied in the same direction to push the raised edge 116 over the gradually sloped face of the detent 152 and over the top of the detent 152 to engage the groove 151 between the detent 152 and the proximal end wall 162 of the recess 150. As the raised edge 116 is pushed over the gradually sloped face of the detent 152, the handle-ends of the spoon 110 and fork 140 are bent away from each other. This bending allows the crescent of the raised edge 116 to ride up and over the detent 152. The distance between the ends of the rails 148 and the detent 152 effectively creates beams in the spoon and fork ends that are made to bend through the pressing or pulling action. It will be appreciated that the snapping force can be tuned by such things as changing the length of the rails and/or the size of the detent. That is, longer rails results in shorter beams making it more difficult to deflect and snap. Conversely, shorter rails result in longer beams making it easier to deflect and snap.

With the raised edge 116 snapped in the groove 151 between the detent 152 and the proximal end wall 162 of the recess 150, the spoon 110 and fork 140 are interlocked. The end wall 162 acts as a hard stop and prevents the spoon 110 from moving beyond the locked position and the detent 152 prevents the spoon 110 from moving back in the opposite direction to disengage the fork 140. The rails 148 prevent the fork 140 and spoon 110 from being separated in the z-direction.

It will be noted that the crescent shape of the raised edge 116 provides additional surface area to abut the end wall 162 to prevent the spoon 110 from sliding past the locked position. When the raised edge 116 engages the space between the detent 152 and the end wall 162, the spoon 110 and fork 140 are interlocked in the nested position and fairly significant force is required to disengage the spoon 110 and fork 140 from the nested position because the raised edge 116 must move over the top of the detent 152 without the benefit of a gradually sloped face of the detent 152. It will be understood that greater force is necessary to disengage the spoon from the fork than is required to interlock the utensils in the nested position because the detent 152 is gradually sloped leading to the top of the detent 152 from the center of the distal end of the fork 140 whereas the opposite side of the detent 152 opposite the end wall 162 is more steeply angled, as illustrated. The more gradually sloped face of the detent 152 makes it easier for the raised edge 116 to slide up to the top of the detent 152. According to an embodiment, the slope of the gradually sloped face of the detent is at an angle of about 15 degrees. The gradually sloped face can also be formed as a curved surface of about 4 mm radius.

As shown in FIGS. 4F and 4G, there are two detents 152, 153 and there is a groove 151 between detent 152 and end wall 162 and there is also a groove 157 between detent 153 and end wall 163. Each detent has an angled face on both sides. The sides facing together or inward are more gradually sloped, and the sides facing away from each other are steeply sloped. The inward-facing detent angles are more gradually sloped to permit easier nesting of the fork and spoon (as explained above) or extension to form the elongated combination utensil (as explained in more detail below). The outward-facing detent angles are steeper making it more difficult to “un-snap” or disengage the spoon and fork from each configuration.

To disengage the spoon 110 and fork 140 from the interlocked nested position, the spoon 110 and fork 140 can simply be pulled apart from one another in the lateral direction. A particularly convenient way to disengage the spoon 110 and fork 140 from the interlocked nested position is to start with the nested spoon and fork system 100 upside down. Thus, with the bottom of the spoon 110 facing up, a user can hold the handles with a conventional grip while using a thumb to push the bowl 112 toward the distal end to disengage the spoon 110 and fork 140. With enough force applied, the raised edge 116 of the spoon 110 will move over the nub 152 and the raised edge 116 of the spoon 110 can slide along the recess 150 and the spoon handle 114 can slide between the rails 148 until the raised edge 116 is once again between the rails 148 and the nub 152 closer to the distal portion of the fork 140. When the raised edge 116 has moved past the rails 148, the spoon 110 can be disengaged from the fork 140 and separated.

The rails 148 are centered laterally between the detents 152, 153, as shown in FIGS. 4F and 4G. In the illustrated embodiment, the rails 148 are approximately half the length of the recess 150. The length as well as the position of the rails 148 along the handle 146 are important for a properly functioning interlocking mechanism. It will be appreciated that the rails 148 need to have a certain length in order to adequately secure the handles 114, 146 together when the spoon and fork are interlocked. The centering of the rails 148 laterally with respect to the length of the recess 150 and the positioning of the detents 152, 153 is important to allow for the raised edge 116 of the spoon handle 114 to engage the recess 150 at one end of the recess and also for the raised edge 116 to engage the detent on the other end of the recess 150 to snap the spoon and fork in the interlocked position (whether nested or connected end to end to form a combination utensil).

Elongated Combination Utensil

As mentioned above, the spoon 110 and fork 140 can be connected end to end to form an elongated combination utensil having a fork 140 on one end and a spoon 110 on the other end, with an elongated handle in between. Such an elongated utensil can be useful in certain situations, such as stirring food in a pot or eating out of deep containers or bagged foods.

The elongated combination utensil will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A-6D, which represent various views of the spoon 110 and fork 140 connected end to end to form the elongated combination utensil. The interlocking mechanism for forming the elongated combination utensil is the same as that for the nested position except that it operates in the opposite direction, as explained in more detail below.

To assemble the combination utensil, the fork 140 and spoon 110 are positioned facing opposite directions (with the spoon 110 on one end and the fork 140 on the other end) but with the same orientation (both facing up or both facing down). The raised edge 116 of the spoon 110 is then positioned in the recess 150 between the rails 148 and the detent 152 closer to the proximal end of the fork 140. The spoon 110 is then slid toward the distal end of the fork 140, with the crescent-shaped raised edge 116 sliding along the correspondingly shaped recess 150 and the outer edges of the spoon handle 114 between the rails 148. Once the raised edge 116 abuts the gradually sloped face of the detent 153 closer to the distal end of the fork 140, additional force is necessary to push the raised edge 116 up along the angled portion of the detent 153 and over the top of the detent 153 until the raised edge 116 engages the groove between the detent 153 and the distal end wall 163 of the recess 150. With the raised edge 116 engaged in the groove between the detent 153 and the end wall 163, the spoon 110 and fork 140 are interlocked in the elongated combination utensil position.

It will be understood that the end wall 163 acts as a hard stop, preventing the spoon 110 from being slid further. The end wall 163 prevents the spoon 110 from moving beyond the locked position and the detent 153 prevents the spoon 110 from moving back in the opposite direction to disengage the fork 140. The rails 148 not only prevent the fork 140 and spoon 110 from being separated in the z-direction, but also prevent the fork and spoon from being separated by bending (both side-to-side and top-to-bottom bending) as well by torsion or twisting forces.

When the raised edge 116 engages the groove between the detent 153 and the distal end wall 163 of the recess 150, the spoon 110 and fork 140 are interlocked in the combination utensil position and fairly significant force is required to disengage the spoon 110 and fork 140 from this position. To disengage the spoon 110 and fork 140, with the spoon 110 and fork 140 are simply pulled apart in the lateral direction. With enough force applied, the gradually sloped face of the detent 153 exerts a normal force on the ends of the handles 114, 146, thereby bending them and allowing the raised edge 116 of the spoon 110 to move over the top of the detent 153. The spoon 110 can then slide along the recess 150 between the rails 148 until the raised edge 116 is once again positioned laterally between the rails 148 and the detent 152 closer to the proximal portion of the fork 140. When the raised edge 116 has moved laterally past the rails 148, the spoon 110 can be disengaged from the fork 140 and separated. It will be understood that greater force is necessary to disengage the spoon from the fork than is required to interlock the utensils because the detent 153 is more gradually sloped leading to the top of the detent 153 from the center of the proximal end of the fork 140 whereas the opposite face of the detent 153 opposite the end wall 163 is more steeply sloped. According to an embodiment, the gradually sloped face of the detent is at an angle of about 15 degrees.

As noted above, the spoon 110 and fork 140 are oriented in the same direction (with both heads 141, 112 facing up or both facing down) when connected end to end such that the combination spoon and fork system 100 has a substantially wide U-shaped configuration, as shown in FIG. 6D. It will be appreciated that the U-shaped configuration is comfortable for a user to hold and manipulate. With the spoon head 112 and the fork head 141 oriented the same way, the fork head 141 does not get in the way of the user's hand when the combination utensil is being used as a spoon and when the combination utensil is being used as a fork, the spoon head 112 does not get in the way of the user's hand.

Integral Combination Utensil

According to another embodiment, an integral combination fork and spoon utensil 200 is shown in FIGS. 7A-7C. This embodiment is related to concurrently filed U.S. Design Application No. 29/484,553, which is incorporated herein by reference. This embodiment is similar to the elongated combination utensil shown in FIGS. 6A-6D except that this embodiment is formed as a single integral unit. The handle 210 is positioned laterally between a spoon 220 on one end and a fork 240 on the other end.

The fork 240 has a head portion 241, which includes the tines, that is connected to handle 210. In the illustrated embodiment, the fork 240 has two substantially straight center tines 242. The two outer tines 244 each have a substantially straight inner edge and a curved outer edge 245. The curvature of the outer edges 245 can also be used for scraping food from a container, as the curved edges 245 follow the curvature of a curved container, such as a bowl, better than the straight tines of many conventional forks. In the illustrated embodiment, the fork 240 has four tines 242, 244. It will be understood that, in other embodiments, the fork can have more or fewer tines. Each tine 242, 244 has a pointed tip, which aids in spearing or piercing pieces of food so that the food can be picked up by the fork 240.

In addition to being curved, the outer edges 245 of the two outer tines 244 are also tapered or chamfered such that the fork 240 can be used to cut through or separate foods that do not require a knife. As illustrated in FIG. 7A, the top surface of each of the outer edges 245 is tapered or chamfered. As illustrated in FIG. 7A, the top surface of each of the curved outer edges 245 is tapered or chamfered. As illustrated, each chamfered edge 245 has one end at the pointed tip of the outer tine 244 and extends along the outer curved edge of the outer tine 244 to the position where the fork head 241 meets the handle 210. As shown in FIG. 7A, the chamfered edge 245 spans the entire width of the outer tine 244 at the pointed tip. As the chamfered edge 245 extends down along the curved outer edge of the outer tine 244, the width of the chamfered edge 145 remains substantially the same until it begins to taper toward the end of the fork head 241. In the illustrated embodiment, the chamfered edge 245 tapers and ends in a point 243 where the fork head 241 meets the handle 210. In a particular embodiment, the outer edges 245 are chamfered at an angle of about 20-25 degrees, and preferably about 23 degrees, and the chamfered edge has a width of about 1 mm. In the illustrated embodiment, the outer edges 245 of both outer tines 244 are chamfered so that both outer edges 245 can easily be used to cut or separate food regardless of whether the user is right-handed or left-handed. In the illustrated embodiment, the center tines 242 are longer than and extend further distally than the outer tines 244, thereby forming a curve at the distal end of the fork 240 when viewed from the top.

The spoon 220 has a head portion or bowl 212 on its distal end. The bowl 212 of the spoon 220 has a substantially flat side edge 218 and end edge 218b, which allows for “scraping” food from of a container (e.g., a yogurt container) or a bowl. As shown in the side view of FIG. 7C, the bowl 212 is angled upward to form a deeper bowl, which can be more efficient when scooping liquids, such as soups. In a particular embodiment, the bowl 212 is angled upward at an angle of about 20-25 degrees, and preferably about 23 degrees. In the illustrated embodiment, the bowl 212 has a substantially elongated pentagonal shape with rounded corners. The substantially flat side edge 218 of the bowl 212 forms a portion of a side surface 217 or edge of the utensil 200. As shown in FIGS. 7A-7C, the side surface 217 of the utensil 200 extends continuously along the entire length of the utensil 200, from the distal tip of an outer tine 244 to the distal tip or end of the spoon bowl 212. As shown in FIG. 7A, the chamfered outer edge 245 is chamfered at an angle from the side surface 217.

It will be noted that the integral combination fork and spoon utensil 200 can be formed with a handle of any desired length. That is, the handle can be a standard length, or if desired, the handle can be shorter or elongated. In a particular embodiment, the handle has a length of about 165 mm. Similar to the elongated combination utensil described above, the integral combination utensil also has a substantially wide U-shaped configuration with the spoon 210 and fork 240 are oriented in the same direction (with both heads 241, 212 facing up or both facing down) when connected end to end such that the integral combination spoon and fork system 200 has a substantially wide U-shaped configuration, as shown in FIG. 7C. As noted above, the substantially U-shaped configuration is comfortable for a user to hold and manipulate. With the spoon head 212 and the fork head 241 oriented the same way, the fork head 241 does not get in the way of the user's hand when the integral combination utensil is being used as a spoon. When the integral combination utensil is being used as a fork, the spoon head 212 does not get in the way of the user's hand.

Although only a few embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it should be appreciated that the invention may be implemented in many other forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. In view of all of the foregoing, it should be apparent that the present embodiments are illustrative and not restrictive and the invention is not limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A combination fork and spoon system, comprising: a fork including a fork head and a fork handle, the fork head including a plurality of tines, the fork handle having a pair of longitudinally spaced apart fork catch features and a guide portion; anda spoon including a spoon head and a spoon handle, the spoon head including a bowl portion and the spoon handle including a spoon catch feature, wherein the spoon handle is configured to interlock with the fork handle in two distinct orientations with the spoon handle inserted into the guide portion of the fork in two different ways, the two distinct orientations including a nested orientation and an extended orientation, wherein, in the nested orientation, the fork head and the spoon head are nested together, with the spoon catch feature engaging a first one of the fork catch features and the fork guide portion receiving the spoon handle to help hold the spoon and fork in the nested orientation, andin an extended orientation, the fork head and the spoon head extend in opposite directions with the spoon catch feature engaging a second one of the fork catch features and the fork guide portion receiving the spoon handle to help hold the spoon and fork in the extended orientation.

2. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 1, wherein the fork and spoon are formed from a thermoplastic material.

3. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 2, wherein the thermoplastic material is a glass filled nylon.

4. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 1, wherein: the first one of the fork catch features is arranged to engage the spoon catch feature when the spoon and fork are coupled in the nested orientation, but not when the spoon and fork are coupled in the extended orientation; andthe second one of the fork catch features is arranged to engage the spoon catch feature when the spoon and fork are coupled in the extended orientation, but not when the spoon and fork are coupled in the nested orientation.

5. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 1, wherein the fork head includes a concave bowl portion, wherein the spoon head bowl portion and the fork head concave bowl portions both face in a same direction in the nested orientation.

6. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the tines on an outer edge of the fork head has a splitting feature.

7. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 1, wherein none of distal tips of the tines extends longitudinally beyond a distal tip of an outer edge of the spoon head bowl portion when the fork and spoon are in the nested orientation.

8. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 7, wherein the spoon head bowl portion is wider than the fork head such that outer edges of outer ones of the tines do not extend beyond the spoon head bowl portion in the nested orientation.

9. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 1, wherein the bowl portion of the spoon has a plurality of substantially flat side edges.

10. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 9, wherein the plurality of substantially flat side edges comprises at least three substantially flat side edges with rounded corners therebetween.

11. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 1, wherein a distal tip of the bowl portion of the spoon is positioned at an angle relative to the handle of the spoon.

12. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 1, wherein: the plurality of tines includes four tines including two inner tines and two outer tines;the inner tines each have a pair of substantially straight and substantially parallel side edges and a pointed distal tip; andthe outer tines each include a curved outer edge and a pointed distal tip.

13. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 1, wherein the tines include a pair of outer tines, wherein at least one of the outer tines has a chamfered outer edge.

14. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 1, wherein the spoon handle is configured to be a splitter or a cutter.

15. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 1, wherein the spoon handle is configured to be slid longitudinally through the fork guide portion with the spoon handle extending in parallel with the fork handle.

16. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 1, wherein the fork guide portion comprises a pair of rails arranged to extend around at least a portion of opposing side edges of the spoon handle to help maintain alignment of the spoon and fork handles in both the nested and extended orientations.

17. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 1, wherein opposing side edges of the spoon handle key into the fork guide portion to help maintain alignment of the spoon and fork handles in both the nested and extended orientations.

18. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 1 wherein different surfaces of the spoon catch feature engage the first and second fork catch features in the nested and extended orientations respectively.

19. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 1 wherein a first surface of the spoon catch feature engages the first fork catch feature in the nested orientation and a second surface of the spoon catch feature engages the second fork catch feature in the extended orientation.

20. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 19 wherein the first and second surfaces of the spoon catch feature are opposite sides of the spoon catch feature.

21. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 1 wherein the engagement between the first fork catch feature and the spoon catch feature, and the engagement between the second fork catch feature and the spoon catch feature are both snap fittings.

22. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 1 wherein in the extended configuration the spoon catch feature is a positive feature that snaps into a fork catch feature that defines a corresponding negative feature.

23. A combination fork and spoon recited in claim 1 wherein in the nested configuration a proximal end of the fork handle extends further longitudinally proximally than a proximal end of the spoon handle such that the proximal end of the spoon handle is set in from the proximal end of the fork handle.

24. A combination fork and spoon system, comprising: a fork including a fork head and a fork handle, the fork head including a concave bowl portion, and a plurality of tines that include a pair of outer tines, each tine having a proximal base and a distal tip, wherein outer edge portions of the fork head are curved longitudinally and each outer edge portion of the fork head comprises an outer edge of a respective one of the outer tines such that the outer tines get progressively narrower towards their respective distal tips, the fork handle having a pair of longitudinally spaced apart fork catch features and a guide portion; anda spoon including a spoon head and a spoon handle, the spoon head including a concave bowl portion and the spoon handle including a spoon catch feature, wherein the spoon is configured to interlock with the fork in a nested orientation by sliding the spoon handle into the guide portion of the fork in a first direction, and wherein the spoon is configured to interlock with the fork in an extended orientation by sliding the spoon handle into the guide portion of the fork in a second direction, wherein the nested orientation and the extended orientation are two distinct orientations, and wherein, (i) in the nested orientation, the fork head and the spoon head are nested together, with the spoon catch feature engaging a first one of the fork catch features and the fork guide portion receiving the spoon handle to help hold the spoon and fork in the nested orientation, and(ii) in the extended orientation, the fork head and the spoon head extend in opposite directions with the spoon catch feature engaging a second one of the fork catch features and the fork guide portion receiving the spoon handle to help hold the spoon and fork in the extended orientation; andwherein the fork and spoon are formed from a glass reinforced thermoplastic material.

25. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 24, wherein a distal tip of the bowl portion of the spoon head is tilted at a first angle relative to the spoon handle, and a distal tip of the bowl portion of the fork head is tilted at a second angle relative to the fork handle.

26. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 24, wherein: the plurality of tines further include two inner tines each having a pair of substantially straight side edges;an inner edge of each of the outer tines is substantially straight; andthe distal tip of each of the plurality of tines is pointed.

27. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 24, wherein the spoon handle has a chamfered outer edge.

28. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 24 wherein different surfaces of the spoon catch feature engage the first and second fork catch features in the nested and extended orientations respectively.

29. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 24 wherein a first surface of the spoon catch feature engages the first fork catch feature in the nested orientation and a second surface of the spoon catch feature engages the second fork catch feature in the extended orientation.

30. A combination fork and spoon system as recited in claim 29 wherein the first and second surfaces of the spoon catch feature are opposite sides of the spoon catch features.