Patent Application
20090212583
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Tongs are well known in kitchens around the world. Tongs are generally used to lift food or other items that should not or cannot be touched because of temperature, hygiene or any number of other reasons. However, if left in an open position, tongs are difficult to store because they can take up a great deal of space in a drawer or cabinet.
Furthermore, the user of the tongs may need to temporarily place the tongs down while handling another matter. This is problematic because the tongs will revert to the open position once the user releases his grip. Once placed on a horizontal surface, tongs in an open position are more difficult to quickly pick up and have ready for use.
Once set on a horizontal surface, the end of the tongs used to grasp food or other items will touch the horizontal surface. This is problematic because the tongs will dirty the horizontal space and/or the horizontal space will dirty the tongs raising concerns about hygiene.
Information relevant to attempts to address these problems can be found in: Yamanaka, US 2007/0130034 (June 2007); McRorie, US 2006/0157996 (July 2006); Kerr, US 2005/0253404 (November 2005); Sumter, US 2004/0239129 (December 2004); and Oretti, U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,139 (March 1988). However, each of these references suffers from one or more of the following disadvantages:
The object of the Elevated Lockable Tongs (“Tongs”) is to provide an easy to use locking system which allows the user to lock the Tongs in the closed position. Additionally, the Tongs are supported so that when they are placed on a horizontal surface, the grasping end is raised above the horizontal surface.
The current invention provides the user with a pair of tongs that have a locking mechanism so that the tongs can be placed in a closed position without addition of continued pressure from the user on the hinged end and a support so that when the tongs are placed on a horizontal surface the grasping end is raised above the horizontal surface.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
While preferred embodiments of the invention will be shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modification may be made therein without departing from the invention in its broader aspects.
Referring to
The hinge end 50 of the first member 20 and the hinge end 70 of the second member 30 are pivotally connected allowing first member 20 and second member 30 to move apart from each other (open position) or move close to each other (closed position).
The Tongs has a means to lock it in the closed position. In the preferred embodiment, the pivotal connection comprises a two piece hinge 80, 90. Parts 80 and 90 are connected by axial threads, with piece 90 having female threads and piece 80 having male threads. This two piece hinge 80, 90 also has a keyed section 100 [as an integral part of piece 90.
To lock the Tongs in the closed position, the Tongs are placed in the closed position, which aligns keyways 110 in the hinge ends 50, 70 of the two members 20, 30, and the pivotal connection is pushed from [the piece 90 end of the two piece hinge 80,90 to insert the keyed section 100 into the keyway 110.
To unlock the tongs, the pivotal connection is pushed from the piece 80 end of the two piece hinge 80,90 to push the keyed section 100 out of the keyway 110.
In the preferred embodiment the grasping ends 40, 60 are shaped like a spoon. Also, in the preferred embodiment, a portion of the spoon shaped grasping ends 40, 60 is scalloped 130, 140.
