Patent Application
20110146082
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material, which is subject to copyright protection. The owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by any one of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrights whatsoever.
Certain marks referenced herein may be common law or registered trademarks of third parties affiliated or unaffiliated with the applicant or the assignee. Use of these marks is for providing an enabling disclosure by way of example and shall not be construed to limit the scope of this invention to material associated with such marks.
The present invention relates generally to utensils and, more particularly, to utensils with detachable components that can be utilized to enhance dental hygiene.
Generally, utensils comprise an implement portion and a handle portion. The implement portion is the portion that comes into contact with food, while the handle portion is the portion that is grasped by a user.
Though utensils are primarily used for eating, utensils may also include a component to serve a secondary function. Utensils have been designed that have a toothpick or even a dispenser to dispense food-related items such as condiments. See, for example, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0072432 filed on Jun. 29, 2007.
Unfortunately, such utensils incorporate the component into the handle portion, making the handle portion bulky or otherwise uncomfortable for a user to grasp. Further, such utensils fail to serve more than one secondary function.
Improved utensils are needed that can overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings.
For purposes of summarizing, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features have been described herein. It is to be understood that not all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any one particular embodiment. Thus, the claimed subject matter may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages without achieving all advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.
In accordance with one embodiment, a utensil with detachable toothpick and floss is provided. The utensil comprises a handle portion; an implement portion connected to one end of the handle portion; and a separable portion connected to another end of the handle portion, wherein the separable portion comprises a toothpick and floss.
In accordance with another embodiment, a utensil with a detachable dental hygiene component is provided. The utensil comprises a handle portion; an implement portion connected to one end of the handle portion; and a separable portion connected to another end of the handle portion, wherein the separable portion comprises a dental hygiene component.
One or more of the above-disclosed embodiments in addition to certain alternatives are provided in further detail below with reference to the attached figures. The invention is not, however, limited to any particular embodiment disclosed.
Embodiments of the present invention are understood by referring to the figures in the attached drawings, as provided below.
Features, elements, and aspects of the invention that are referenced by the same numerals in different figures represent the same, equivalent, or similar features, elements, or aspects, in accordance with one or more embodiments.
In the following, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough description of various embodiments of the invention. Certain embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details or with some variations in detail. In some instances, certain features are described in less detail so as not to obscure other aspects of the invention. The level of detail associated with each of the elements or features should not be construed to qualify the novelty or importance of one feature over the others.
Referring to
As provided earlier, the implement portion 110 is the portion that comes into contact with food, while the handle portion 120 is the portion that is grasped by a user. The separable portion 130 in one implementation may comprise a dental hygiene component, such as a toothpick component, a floss component, or a combination of several components such that each component is separable from the handle portion 120, as shown in
In one embodiment, the separable portion 130 has a snap-fit construction, for example, to provide an operational relationship between the detachable hygiene component and an end of the handle portion 120. Accordingly, extending or interleaving the hygiene component with the end the handle portion 120 does not result in the handle portion 120 being bulky, as shown in the
Alternatively, in accordance with another embodiment, the separable portion 130 is connected at an angle, or to one side, of the handle portion 120, as shown in
In yet another embodiment, the separable portion 130 may be connected to the handle portion 120 by way of a hollow cavity in the handle portion 120, as shown in
It is noteworthy that the utensil may be made from a variety of different materials such as plastic, wood, stainless steel, etc. By way of example, one or more embodiments as disclosed herein are suggested to be made of material such as plastic that can be easily broken or snapped off by a user. The exemplary utensils disclosed here are also designed to be disposable. It is noteworthy, however, that in other implementations the eating utensils may also reusable if made of material that are durable and suitable for washing and long-term use.
Referring to
In
The present invention has been described above with reference to one or more features or embodiments. Those skilled in the art will recognize, however, that changes and modifications may be made to these embodiments without departing from the scope of the claimed subject matter. For example, the above features or embodiments may be applicable to a spoon, as shown in
