ONION SOUP SPOON

Abstract

Provided is an onion soup spoon including a handle, and a bowl having a rounded first edge coupled to an end of the handle and a rounded second edge opposite the rounded first edge, wherein the bowl includes a serrated portion at a top of the rounded second edge and extending around a circumference of the bowl on either side of the rounded second edge along sides of the bowl such that the serrated portion is at least about twenty percent of the circumference of the bowl.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to eating utensils, and more particularly to specialized spoons.

BACKGROUND

A spoon is a typical table utensil. The characteristic feature of a spoon is the bowl that holds the liquid or soft foods. The larger the bowl the more volume of food the spoon can hold.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to an implementation, an onion soup spoon is provided that includes a handle, and a bowl having a rounded first edge coupled to an end of the handle and a rounded second edge opposite the rounded first edge, wherein the bowl includes a serrated portion at a top of the rounded second edge and extending around a circumference of the bowl on either side of the rounded second edge along sides of the bowl such that the serrated portion is at least about twenty percent of the circumference of the bowl.

The serrated portion may be at least about thirty percent of the circumference of the bowl.

The serrated portion may be at least about forty percent of the circumference of the bowl.

The serrated portion may be at least about fifty percent of the circumference of the bowl.

The rounded second edge of the bowl and the sides of the bowl are rounded such that the edge and sides correspond to a curvature of an inner surface of a container for cutting contents against the inner surface of the container.

A top of the bowl is substantially oval shaped.

The first and second edges of the bowl have substantially the same curvature.

The rounded second edge is rounded to correspond to a curvature of an inner surface of a container for cutting contents against the inner surface of the container.

The serrated portion has a substantially circular arc shape.

The serrated portion includes a plurality of spaced teeth forming peaks and valleys and extends substantially upward toward a top of the bowl.

The peaks of the plurality of spaced teeth are planar with the top of the bowl.

A top of the serrated portion is planar with a top of the bowl.

The serrated portion has a substantially circular arc shape.

According to another implementation an onion soup spoon is provided that includes a handle, and a bowl having a first edge coupled to an end of the handle and a second edge opposite the rounded first edge, the bowl including a serrated portion at a top of the second edge and extending around a circumference of the bowl on either side of the second edge along sides of the bowl such that the serrated portion is about twenty percent to about fifty percent of the circumference of the bowl, wherein the serrated portion has a substantially circular arc shape, and wherein the serrated portion includes a plurality of spaced teeth forming peaks and valleys and extends substantially upward toward a top of the bowl.

The second edge of the bowl and the sides of the bowl are rounded such that the edge and sides correspond to a curvature of an inner surface of a container for cutting contents against the inner surface of the container.

The first and second edges of the bowl have substantially the same curvature.

The second edge is rounded to correspond to a curvature of an inner surface of a container for cutting contents against the inner surface of the container.

The peaks of the plurality of spaced teeth are planar with the top of the bowl.

According to still another implementation, an onion soup spoon is provided that includes a handle, and a bowl having a first edge coupled to an end of the handle and a second edge opposite the rounded first edge, the bowl including a serrated portion at a top of the second edge and extending around a circumference of the bowl on either side of the second edge along sides of the bowl such that the serrated portion is about fifty percent of the circumference of the bowl, wherein the serrated portion has a substantially circular arc shape.

The first and second edges of the bowl have substantially the same curvature.

The foregoing and other features of the application are described below with reference to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary onion soup spoon.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the onion soup spoon.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the onion soup spoon.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the onion soup spoon.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a bowl of the onion soup spoon.

FIG. 6 is a close-up view of teeth from the inside of the onion soup spoon.

FIG. 7 is a close-up view of teeth from the outside of the onion soup spoon.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of another embodiment of the onion soup spoon.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The principles of the present application relate to a utensil, such as an onion soup spoon for use with eating French onion soup, and thus will be described below in this context. It will be appreciated that the principles of the application may be applicable to eating other soups, stews, jambalaya, ramen, etc., and alternative serving containers such as bread bowls.

Turning now to FIG. 1, an onion soup spoon is shown generally at reference numeral 10. The onion soup spoon 10 includes a handle 12 having a neck 14, a bowl 16, and a serrated portion 18, which may be formed of a suitable material, such as metal, wood, plastic, etc. The handle 12 has a first end 20 and a second end 22 and a suitable length between the first and second ends. The neck 14 joins the second end 22 of the handle 12 to the bowl 16 at a first edge 24 of the bowl, although it will be appreciated that the neck may be excluded and the second end 22 of the handle 12 would be joined or unitarily formed to the bowl 16 at the first edge 24. The neck 14 may join the second end 22 of the handle with the first edge 24 of the bowl in a suitable manner, such as by welding or molding from one piece, or the handle 12, neck, and bowl 16 may be unitarily formed. The serrated portion 18 is provided at a second edge 26 of the bowl 16, and is opposed to the first edge 24 of the bowl.

Turning now to FIGS. 2-4 in addition to FIG. 1, the handle 12 has a handle length HL from the first end 20 to the second end 22 that may be a suitable length, such as about three inches to about six inches, and in an embodiment about four and a half inches to about five inches. A longer handle may allow for increased manipulation of the spoon 10 in a user's hand. The handle 12 also has a handle height HH that may be a suitable height, such as about five hundredths of an inch to about five tenths of an inch, and in an embodiment about one tenth of an inch to about two tenths of an inch. The handle 12 may also have a handle width that may be a suitable width, such as about five hundredths of an inch to about one inch, and in an embodiment about one tenth of an inch to about four tenths of an inch. The handle width may taper from the first end 20 with a handle width HW1 to a second end 22 with a handle width HW2, such that HW1 is greater than HW2. The handle 12 may be straight or curved and may have rounded edges for a user's comfort and an ergonomic advantage. It will be appreciated that the handle's shape and dimensions, collectively HL, HH, HW1, and HW2, may be any suitable measurements for manipulability in a user's hand.

The neck 14 may have dimensions comparable to the handle 12, such that the second end 22 of the handle may be flush with the neck 14, and the neck 14 may taper comparably to the handle 12. As noted above, the handle 12 and neck 14 may be unitary or formed of separate pieces. Similarly, the neck 14 and bowl 16 may be unitary or formed as separate pieces.

The length of handle 12 extends longitudinally along an axis P. An axis Q extends through a line connecting the first edge 24 and the second edge 26 of the bowl 16. The axis P and the axis Q form an angle R. The neck 14 may be bent such that the angle R is about zero degrees to about forty-five degrees, and in an embodiment about fifteen degrees to about twenty-five degrees. It will be appreciated that the angle R may be any suitable degree amount for manipulability in a user's hand.

The bowl 16 may be a segment of a hollow ovoid shape, such that the bowl 16 segment is less than half of an ovoid shape. Alternatively, the outer profile of the bowl 16 may be substantially circular in shape, substantially oval in shape, or other suitable curved shape. As shown in the top view of FIG. 3, the bowl 16 may be concave and have an inner surface 34. As shown in the bottom view of FIG. 4, the bowl 16 may have an outer surface 36. The bowl 16 may be configured to be substantially equivalent to the curvature of a serving container. The bowl 16 may be sufficiently round and wide at the serrated portion 18 to correspond to the curvature of the serving container to allow for cutting and retaining the contents of the bowl, whereas a narrower or pointed tip will not achieve comparable cutting and scooping ability. A bowl depth BD may be a suitable depth, such as about twenty-five hundredths of an inch to about one inch, and in an embodiment about three tenths of an inch to six tenths of an inch. A bowl length BL from the first edge 24 to the second edge 26 may be about one and twenty-five hundredths of an inch to about two and a half inches, and in an embodiment about one and seventy-five hundredths of an inch to about two and two tenths of an inch. A bowl width BW may be about one inch to about two inches, and in an embodiment about one and a half inches to about one and seventy-five hundredths of an inch. The bowl may have the bowl length BL and bowl width BW, such that the bowl length BL is greater than or equal to the bowl width BW. It will be appreciated that the bowl's shape and dimensions, collectively BD, BL, and BW, may be any suitable measurements for collecting a volume of food. Larger bowl dimensions will allow for increased volume of the bowl of the spoon whereas while smaller dimensions on narrower or pointed tips will hold significantly less volume.

Turning also to FIGS. 5-7, the bowl 16 has a circumference that consists of the edges of the bowl 16 including the first edge 24 and the second edge 26. The serrated portion 18 includes serrations that are made up of a plurality of teeth 28 (exemplary teeth referenced as 28a, 28b, 28c, 28d). The teeth 28 may extend substantially upward toward a top of the bow and may have tips that are substantially planar with the top of the bowl 16. Each of the teeth 28 may be generally triangular with a rounded point 30 (e.g. 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d), and each point 30 may be substantially planar with a top of the bowl 16. Each of the teeth 28 may have an outer face 32 (e.g. 32a, 32b, 32c, 32d) that tapers from the respective point 30 toward the outside of the bowl 16, and the teeth 28 may have generally smooth edges. The serrated portion 18 may be a portion of the total circumference of the bowl 16, such that the serrated portion 18 may makes up about twelve and a half percent to about fifty percent of the total circumference of the bowl 16, and in an embodiment about thirty percent to about forty percent of the total circumference of the bowl 16. The serrated portion 18 is provided at the second edge 26 and extends around the bowl on either side of the edge 26 to allow both the front and sides of the spoon to be used, for example, for cutting cheese in a soup bowl.

The bowl 16 may be configured to be substantially equivalent to the curvature of a serving container, such that the serrated portion 18 may cut baked cheese along the inside of a serving container, for example to use the onion soup spoon 10 to breach the baked cheese crust of a French onion soup and to cut the baked cheese into smaller bite size pieces. The user may apply some force to cut into the baked cheese of a French onion soup with the serrated portion 18. The user may collect the French onion soup and cheese in the bowl 16 such that the user may transfer the French onion soup from the French onion soup container to the user's mouth. Additionally, a user may use the serrated portion 18 to scrape the edge of the French onion soup container to collect more baked cheese, may use the serrated portion 18 with some force to break, cut, or pull apart large pieces of baked cheese, may drag the serrated portion 18 along the baked cheese of a French onion soup to cut through the baked cheese, may twist the onion soup spoon 10 to wrap a string of baked cheese around the bowl 16 and use the serrated portion 18 to cut the string of baked cheese before taking the onion soup spoon 10 up to their mouth. The user may use any of the serrated portion 18 of the bowl 16 to cut the cheese such that a user may cut with the left serrated edge or the right serrated edge on either side of the serrated portion 18 around the circumference of the bowl 16. During cutting, a user may press the serrated portion 18 against the inside of the container in order to apply a counter force to cut through pieces of baked cheese.

It will be appreciated that the aforementioned methods may be used in any order and independently or in combination with one another, and may be executed multiple times. A user will be able to cut the cheese without other utensils, such as a knife or fork, to assist in consuming the French onion soup. It may be contemplated that the methods may be executed with proper soup etiquette. The curvature of the spoon will allow for cutting a wider area of cheese than with a pointed utensil, and will allow the spoon to contact the side of the bowl during or after cutting across a wider area.

Turning now to FIG. 8, another exemplary embodiment of the onion soup spoon is shown at reference numeral 110. The onion soup spoon 110 substantially the same as the above-referenced onion soup spoon 10, and consequently the same reference numerals but indexed by 100 are used to denote structures corresponding to similar structures in the spoons. In addition, the foregoing description of the onion soup spoon 10 is equally applicable to the onion soup spoon 110 except as noted below.

FIG. 8 illustrates a bottom view of the onion soup spoon 110 where the serrated portion 118 on the bowl 116 extends about fifty percent of the circumference of the bowl 116. Providing serrations around about fifty percent of the bowl allows for a user to cut the cheese in more direction and to cut more cheese per bite.

The above examples are merely illustrative of several possible embodiments of various aspects of the present application, wherein equivalent alterations and/or modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon reading and understanding this specification and the annexed drawings. In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components (assemblies, devices, systems, and the like), the terms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component that performs the specified function of the described component (e.g., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the illustrated implementations of the invention. In addition although a particular feature of the application may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. Also, to the extent that the terms “including”, “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, or variants thereof are used in the detailed description and/or in the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.”

This written description uses examples to disclose the application, including the best mode, and also to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the application, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the application is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that are not different from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.

In the specification and claims, reference will be made to a number of terms that have the following meanings. The singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Approximating language, as used herein throughout the specification and claims, may be applied to modify a quantitative representation that could permissibly vary without resulting in a change in the basic function to which it is related. Accordingly, a value modified by a term such as “about” is not to be limited to the precise value specified and means an amount of a measurement accounting for error associated with the measurement technique and manufacturing variability. In some instances, the approximating language may correspond to the precision of an instrument for measuring the value. Moreover, unless specifically stated otherwise, a use of the terms “first,” “second,” etc., do not denote an order or importance, but rather the terms “first,” “second,” etc., are used to distinguish one element from another.

As used herein, the terms “may” and “may be” indicate a possibility of an occurrence within a set of circumstances; a possession of a specified property, characteristic or function; and/or qualify another verb by expressing one or more of an ability, capability, or possibility associated with the qualified verb. Accordingly, usage of “may” and “may be” indicates that a modified term is apparently appropriate, capable, or suitable for an indicated capacity, function, or usage, while taking into account that in some circumstances the modified term may sometimes not be appropriate, capable, or suitable. For example, in some circumstances an event or capacity can be expected, while in other circumstances the event or capacity cannot occur—this distinction is captured by the terms “may” and “may be.”

The best mode for carrying out the application has been described for purposes of illustrating the best mode known to the applicant at the time and enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the application, including making and using devices or systems and performing incorporated methods. The examples are illustrative only and not meant to limit the application, as measured by the scope and merit of the claims. The application has been described with reference to preferred and alternate embodiments. Modifications and alterations will occur to others upon the reading and understanding of the specification. It is intended to include all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof. The patentable scope of the application is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to one of ordinary skill in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differentiate from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims. Claims

Claims

1. A spoon comprising: a handle; anda bowl having a rounded first edge coupled to an end of the handle and a rounded second edge opposite the rounded first edge, wherein the bowl includes a serrated portion at a top of the rounded second edge and extending around a circumference of the bowl on either side of the rounded second edge along sides of the bowl such that the serrated portion is at least about twenty percent of the circumference of the bowl.

2. The spoon according to claim 1, wherein the serrated portion is at least about thirty percent of the circumference of the bowl.

3. The spoon according to claim 1, wherein the serrated portion is at least about forty percent of the circumference of the bowl.

4. The spoon according to claim 1, wherein the serrated portion is at least about fifty percent of the circumference of the bowl.

5. The spoon according to claim 4, wherein the rounded second edge of the bowl and the sides of the bowl are rounded such that the edge and sides correspond to a curvature of an inner surface of a container for cutting contents against the inner surface of the container.

6. The spoon according to claim 1, wherein a top of the bowl is substantially oval shaped.

7. The spoon according to claim 1, wherein the first and second edges of the bowl have substantially the same curvature.

8. The spoon according to claim 1, wherein the rounded second edge is rounded to correspond to a curvature of an inner surface of a container for cutting contents against the inner surface of the container.

9. The spoon according to claim 1, wherein the serrated portion has a substantially circular arc shape.

10. The spoon according to claim 1, wherein the serrated portion includes a plurality of spaced teeth forming peaks and valleys and extends substantially upward toward a top of the bowl.

11. The spoon according to claim 10, wherein the peaks of the plurality of spaced teeth are planar with the top of the bowl.

12. The spoon according to claim 1, wherein a top of the serrated portion is planar with a top of the bowl.

13. The spoon according to claim 12, wherein the serrated portion has a substantially circular arc shape.

14. A spoon comprising: a handle; anda bowl having a first edge coupled to an end of the handle and a second edge opposite the rounded first edge, the bowl including a serrated portion at a top of the second edge and extending around a circumference of the bowl on either side of the second edge along sides of the bowl such that the serrated portion is about twenty percent to about fifty percent of the circumference of the bowl,wherein the serrated portion has a substantially circular arc shape, andwherein the serrated portion includes a plurality of spaced teeth forming peaks and valleys and extends substantially upward toward a top of the bowl.

15. The spoon according to claim 14, wherein the second edge of the bowl and the sides of the bowl are rounded such that the edge and sides correspond to a curvature of an inner surface of a container for cutting contents against the inner surface of the container.

16. The spoon according to claim 14, wherein the first and second edges of the bowl have substantially the same curvature.

17. The spoon according to claim 14, wherein the second edge is rounded to correspond to a curvature of an inner surface of a container for cutting contents against the inner surface of the container.

18. The soup spoon according to claim 14, wherein the peaks of the plurality of spaced teeth are planar with the top of the bowl.

19. An onion soup spoon comprising: a handle; anda bowl having a first edge coupled to an end of the handle and a second edge opposite the rounded first edge, the bowl including a serrated portion at a top of the second edge and extending around a circumference of the bowl on either side of the second edge along sides of the bowl such that the serrated portion is about fifty percent of the circumference of the bowl,wherein the serrated portion has a substantially circular arc shape.

20. The onion soup spoon according to claim 19, wherein the first and second edges of the bowl have substantially the same curvature.