Training chopsticks

Abstract

To provide chopsticks for practice which can be easily changed for a right-handed person or a left-handed person.SOLUTION: This chopstick for practice is composed of a chopstick part 3 composed of first and second rod 1 and 2, a connecting part 4 for connecting the first and second rod 1 and 2 and an attaching part 5 to be freely rotatably attached to the first rod 1. The elastic mounting part 5 is composed of a ring body side 5a and an elastic stripe part side 5a extending outward from one end of the ring body side 5b. By inserting the first rod-like body 1 into the through-hole 1a of the attachment portion 5 from the tip end 5e of the elastic strip portion 5b of the attachment portion 5 from the outside and attaching the attachment portion 5 to the chopsticks portion 3, an elastic force is generated in a direction in which the tips of the chopsticks portions 3 are separated from each other. Then, by adjusting the mounting angle of the ring body, it can be easily changed for a right-handed person and a left-handed person.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to practice chopsticks for helping young children learn how to hold chopsticks. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses training chopsticks that include a first stick supported by the thumb, a second stick supported by the index finger and middle finger, and a hinge member that connects the first and second sticks.

[0003] The first rod is provided with a thumb support hole so that the first rod can be supported by the thumb of a child, and this thumb support hole has a slight inclination angle with respect to the vertical first rod, which makes it easier for a child to hold the training chopsticks. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Utility Model Registration No. 3194983 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, although the training chopsticks in Patent Document 1 allow right-handed children to practice holding chopsticks without any problems, they cannot be used by left-handed children.

[0006] Therefore, it is necessary to produce training chopsticks with a symmetrical shape for left-handed people, but there is a problem that the cost of molds for left-handed components, which have different shapes from those for right-handed people, is incurred, which increases manufacturing costs.

[0007] The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide practice chopsticks that are made up of a single part and can be easily changed for right-handed or left-handed use. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the practice chopsticks of the present invention are comprised of a chopstick part consisting of first and second rod-shaped bodies, a connecting part that connects the first and second rod-shaped bodies, and an attachment part that is rotatably attached to the first rod-shaped body, wherein the first rod-shaped body has a through hole, the second rod-shaped body has an inner surface part that faces the first rod-shaped body, and a pair of parallel surface parts that sandwich a pair of vertical sides of the inner surface part and protrude towards the first rod-shaped body, and the attachment part is comprised of a ring body and an elastic rib part that extends outward from one end of the ring body, and the elastic rib part of the attachment part is inserted from the outside into the through hole of the chopstick parts connected by the connecting part, and the inserted elastic rib part is positioned within the pair of parallel surface parts in a bent state, and the tip of the elastic rib part abuts the inner surface part. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] In this way, with the practice chopsticks of the present invention, the attachment angle of the ring body into which the index finger can be inserted can be changed as appropriate, and by adjusting the attachment angle, the practice chopsticks can be easily changed into chopsticks for right-handed or left-handed people. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of practice chopsticks. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view of practice chopsticks assembled for right-handed use. [Figure 3] This is a perspective view of the practice chopsticks as seen from the back side. [Figure 4] A cross-sectional view of practice chopsticks. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the state in which the ring body has been rotated to change it to a left-handed version. [Figure 6] This is an explanatory diagram of a child holding practice chopsticks in his right hand. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The present invention will be described in detail below based on the illustrated embodiments.

[0012] Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of the practice chopsticks, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the practice chopsticks when assembled for right-handed use, Figure 3 is a perspective view of the practice chopsticks when viewed from the back, and Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the practice chopsticks.

[0013] The practice chopsticks are composed of a chopstick section 3 consisting of first and second rod-shaped bodies 1 and 2, a connecting section 4 that connects the first and second rod-shaped bodies 1 and 2, and an attachment section 5 that is rotatably attached to the first rod-shaped body 1. The chopstick section 3 and connecting section 4 are molded from a hard material such as hard plastic, while the attachment section 5 is molded from an elastic material such as silicone resin.

[0014] The first rod-shaped body 1 has a through hole 1a, a pair of annular protrusions 1b arranged at a predetermined distance below the through hole 1a, and a plurality of annular recessed grooves 1c arranged at the tip.

[0015] The second rod-shaped body 2 has a flat inner surface 2a facing the first rod-shaped body 1, a pair of convex portions 2b arranged on the lower side of the inner surface 2a, and a plurality of grooves 2c, which are annular recesses, arranged at the tip. In addition, a step 2d is provided at the lower end of the inner surface 2a.

[0016] The outer surface portion 2e, which is horizontally continuous with the inner surface portion 2a, is formed from three flat side surfaces that are U-shaped when viewed from above, and an appropriate shape for the outer surface portion 2e can be adopted depending on the horizontal cross-sectional shape of the inner surface of the fixing part of the connecting part 4, which will be described later.

[0017] The connecting portion 4 is composed of a connecting piece 4a provided on the second rod-shaped body 2 and a connected piece 4b provided on the first rod-shaped body 1 and positioned above the through-hole 1a. The connecting piece 4a may be detachable from the second rod-shaped body 2 as shown in the figure, or may be integrated with the second rod-shaped body 2.

[0018] The connecting piece 4a has a pair of opposing parallel surface portions 4c, a side portion 4d connecting these parallel surface portions 4c, an axis portion 4e provided between the pair of parallel surface portions 4c and rotatably engaging with the bearing portion which is the connected piece 4b of the first rod-shaped body 1, and a protrusion 4f provided between the pair of parallel surface portions 4c.

[0019] On one side of the connecting portion 4, there is arranged a fixing portion 4h consisting of a side portion 4d and a part of a pair of parallel surface portions 4c continuous with this side portion 4d, and on the other side of the connecting portion 4, there is arranged an axis portion 4e.

[0020] The shaft 4e and the protruding piece 4f are both rod-shaped bodies that protrude from the inner surface of one of the parallel surface portions 4c toward the other parallel surface portion 4c. The connected piece 4b provided on the first rod-shaped body 1 consists of a pair of clamping pieces and extends in the same direction as the through-hole 1a, that is, in the direction of arrow A shown in Figure 1.

[0021] The connecting portion 4 may have any structure that connects the first and second rod-shaped bodies 1 and 2, and may be, for example, a connecting body that connects the rear ends of the first and second rod-shaped bodies 1 and 2. When such a connecting body is used, instead of providing the connecting portion 4, a structure may be adopted in which the second rod-shaped body 2 holds a pair of vertical sides of the inner surface portion 2a therebetween, is provided with a pair of parallel surface portions that protrude toward the first rod-shaped body 1, and a protruding piece is provided that protrudes from one parallel surface portion of the pair of parallel surface portions toward the other parallel surface portion.

[0022] The elastic mounting part 5 is composed of a ring body 5a and an elastic rib part 5b extending outward from one end of the ring body 5a. The elastic rib part 5b is composed of a cylindrical base part 5c on the ring body 5a side, the diameter of which is slightly larger than the diameter of the through-hole 1a, a main rib part 5d continuing from the base part 5c and having a smaller diameter than the base part 5c, and a generally spherical tip part 5e provided at the tip of the main rib part 5d.

[0023] When assembling these practice chopsticks, first move the connecting part 4 in the direction of the arrow B shown in Figure 1 relative to the second rod-shaped body 2, and insert the fixing part 4h of the connecting part 4 from the rear end of the second rod-shaped body 2. In this way, the outer surface part 2e of the second rod-shaped body 2 comes into contact with the inner surface of the fixing part 4h of the connecting part 4.

[0024] At this time, a notched locked portion 4g provided at the upper end of the side surface portion 4d is locked with a locking piece 2f provided at the upper end of the side surface of the outer surface portion 2e that faces back to back with the inner surface portion 2a, thereby establishing a locked state. By establishing the locked state in this way, the second rod-shaped body 2 and the attachment portion 5 cannot be easily separated.

[0025] After integrating the connecting portion 4 and the second rod-shaped body 2 in this manner, the connected piece 4b, which is the bearing portion, is pushed into the shaft portion 4e of the connecting portion 4 to engage the shaft portion 4e, thereby making the first rod-shaped body 1 rotatable relative to the second rod-shaped body 2.

[0026] Furthermore, the tip 5e of the elastic rib portion 5b of the mounting portion 5 is inserted into the through-hole 1a of the first rod-shaped body 1 from the outside in the direction of arrow A until the base 5c fits into the through-hole 1a. Because the diameter of the cylindrical base 5c is slightly larger than the diameter of the through-hole 1a, by placing the base 5c in the through-hole 1a, the ring body 5a can be fixed with an appropriate amount of resistance. Note that, as shown in FIG. 4, the diameter of both ends of the base 5c is slightly larger than that of the center of the base 5c, so once fitted into the through-hole 1a, it is difficult to remove.

[0027] As shown in the cross-sectional view of Figure 4, the assembly of the practice chopsticks is completed by attaching the attachment part 5 to the chopstick parts 3 and the connecting part 4. The main rib part 5d of the elastic rib part 5b of the attachment part 5 is curved in a U-shape around the protrusion 4f provided between the parallel surface parts 4c, and the tip part 5e is hooked onto the step part 2d of the inner surface part 2a of the second rod-shaped body 2. By arranging the elastic rib part 5b in this way, an elastic force is generated in the direction that moves the tips of the chopstick parts 3 apart.

[0028] As shown in the figure, the distance between the connectable piece 4b and the protruding piece 4f is smaller than the diameter of the tip 5e of the attachment part 5. By doing so, even if an infant tries to pull the ring body 5a to remove the attachment part 5 from the first rod-shaped body 1, the main strip 5d disposed between the connectable piece 4b and the protruding piece 4f can pass between them, but the tip 5e, which has a diameter larger than the length between the connectable piece 4b and the protruding piece 4f, cannot pass between them, and therefore the attachment part 5 will not separate from the first rod-shaped body 1. Therefore, there is no risk of an infant swallowing the ring body 5a.

[0029] The practice chopsticks for right-handed use shown in Figures 2 and 3 can be easily converted into practice chopsticks for left-handed use shown in Figure 5 by rotating the ring body 5a against resistance and adjusting the attachment angle. The attachment angle is preferably about ±20 to 30 degrees for right-handed and left-handed people, assuming that the horizontal state of the ring body 5a is 0 degrees.

[0030] In addition, the surface surrounding the through hole 1a of the first rod-shaped body 1 is provided with a convex arc portion 1d that bulges outward in an arc shape, and by bringing this convex arc portion 1d into contact with a concave arc portion 5f that is concave inward of the ring body 5a, the contact area is increased and a frictional force is generated in the rotational direction.

[0031] Therefore, the ring body 5a becomes more difficult to rotate, and after adjusting the ring body 5a for right-handed or left-handed use, the ring body 5a will not rotate when practicing with the practice chopsticks, etc.

[0032] Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram of a right-handed child's right hand H holding practice chopsticks for the right hand. The thumb H1 of the right hand H is placed against the outer surface of one of the parallel surfaces 4c of the connecting part 4, and the index finger H2 is inserted into the ring body 5a from the other parallel surface 4c side. Furthermore, the middle finger H3 is placed between the pair of protrusions 1b of the first rod-shaped body 1, and the ring finger H4 is placed between the pair of protrusions 2b of the second rod-shaped body 2, thereby forming a grip on the practice chopsticks.

[0033] As shown in Figure 6, the first rod-shaped body 1 generates a force in the direction that separates the tips of the chopsticks 3 due to the repulsive force of the main rib 5d arranged between the parallel surfaces 4c of the connecting part 4. From this state, the child can learn how to hold chopsticks by repeatedly practicing the action of pulling the index finger H2 and middle finger H3 toward the ring finger H4 against the repulsive force.

[0034] Furthermore, once the child has mastered how to hold the chopsticks using the practice chopsticks, the attachment part 5 can be removed, allowing the child to practice holding the chopsticks without generating any elastic force that would move the tips apart.

[0035] In this way, according to the practice chopsticks of the present invention, the attachment angle of the ring body 5a into which the index finger H2 can be inserted can be changed as appropriate, and by adjusting the attachment angle, the practice chopsticks can be easily changed into chopsticks for right-handed or left-handed people. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1 First rod 1a Through hole 2 Second rod 2a Inner side 3 Chopsticks 4 Connecting part 4a Connecting piece 4b Connected piece 4c Parallel surface section 4e Shaft 4f protrusion 4h Fixed part 5 Mounting part 5a Ring body 5b Elastic strip 5d Main strip 5e Tip

Claims

1. Practice chopsticks comprise a chopstick part consisting of first and second rod-shaped bodies, a connecting part for connecting the first and second rod-shaped bodies, and an attachment part for rotatably attaching the chopsticks to the first rod-shaped body, the first rod-shaped body has a through hole, the second rod-shaped body has an inner surface portion facing the first rod-shaped body, and a pair of parallel surface portions that sandwich a pair of vertical sides of the inner surface portion and protrude toward the first rod-shaped body, the mounting portion is composed of a ring body and an elastic rib portion extending outward from one end of the ring body, the elastic rib portion of the attachment portion is inserted from the outside into the through-hole of the chopstick portions connected by the connecting portion; The inserted elastic rib portion is positioned within the pair of parallel surfaces in a bent state, and the tip portion abuts against the inner surface portion.

2. The pair of parallel surface portions are provided with protruding pieces that protrude from one parallel surface portion to the other parallel surface portion, 2. The practice chopsticks according to claim 1, wherein the elastic rib portion disposed within the connecting portion is curved around the protruding piece.

3. a step is provided at a lower end of the inner surface portion of the second rod-shaped body, 3. The practice chopsticks according to claim 1, wherein the tip of the elastic rib disposed within the connecting portion is hooked onto the step portion.

4. the connecting portion is provided on the first rod-shaped body and includes a bearing portion or a shaft portion disposed above the through hole, and a shaft portion or a bearing portion provided on the second rod-shaped body, The practice chopsticks according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first rod-shaped body is rotatable relative to the second rod-shaped body by engaging the bearing portion or shaft portion of the first rod-shaped body with the shaft portion or bearing portion of the second rod-shaped body.

5. the connecting portion is provided on the first rod-shaped body and is composed of a bearing portion or a shaft portion disposed above the through hole, and a connecting piece provided on the second rod-shaped body, the connecting piece includes the pair of parallel surface portions, a shaft portion or a bearing portion provided between the pair of parallel surface portions, and the protruding piece, Practice chopsticks as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first rod-shaped body is rotatable relative to the second rod-shaped body by engaging the bearing portion or shaft portion of the first rod-shaped body with the shaft portion or bearing portion of the connecting piece.

6. 6. The practice chopsticks according to claim 5, wherein the connecting piece is detachable from the second rod-shaped body.

7. The main rib portion of the elastic rib portion is disposed between the connected piece and the protruding piece, 7. Practice chopsticks according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the tip portion provided at the tip of the main strip portion is a substantially spherical body with a diameter larger than the length between the connected piece and the protruding piece.

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