Flexible Snack Gripper for Low-Breakage Portion Serving

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Solution Overview

Problem

Serving snack foods like potato chips and tortilla chips is challenging due to their irregular shapes, leading to frustration and breakage when using large spoons, and unsanitary when using hands.

Innovation Solution

A snack food serving device with pivotally attached handle members and flexible gripper portions with radially extending gripping members, designed to grasp snack foods while minimizing breakage and providing portion control, allowing for easy and sanitary serving.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If a large spoon is used to serve snack foods, then a larger amount of snack food can be obtained, but the irregular shape of snack foods makes it difficult to obtain a reasonable amount and increases serving time

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveamount of snack foodVSAvoidserving time

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The serving device divides the gripping function into multiple gripping members (first plurality and second plurality) that can independently adapt to irregular shapes. Each gripping member acts as a separate element that collectively provides effective grasping of snack foods with irregular geometries, resolving the difficulty of obtaining reasonable amounts efficiently.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The handle members are pivotally attached allowing dynamic adjustment of the gripper portions to accommodate irregular snack food shapes. The pivotal connection enables the gripping members to adapt their configuration dynamically, improving both the quantity of snack food that can be grasped and reducing the time required to obtain a reasonable amount.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Ease of operation

If hands are used to grasp snack foods, then it is easy to obtain desired serving amounts, but sanitary concerns make it undesirable

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of servingVSAvoidsanitary concerns

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The serving device acts as an intermediary tool between the user and the snack food. The handle members and gripping members provide a sanitary interface that allows users to easily obtain desired serving amounts without direct hand contact with the snack food, thereby addressing both ease of operation and sanitary concerns.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Device complexity

If rigid gripping members are used, then the structure is simple, but snack foods with irregular shapes are more likely to break

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestructure simplicityVSAvoidsnack food integrity

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The gripping members are made flexible rather than rigid, changing the physical parameter of the gripping members from rigid to flexible. This allows the gripping members to conform to irregular snack food shapes without applying excessive localized pressure that would cause breakage, while maintaining relatively simple device structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

4Adaptability or versatility

If a large spoon is used, then it can accommodate irregular shapes, but the serving process becomes frustrating and time-consuming

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccommodation of irregular shapesVSAvoidserving efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The gripper portions are segmented into multiple gripping members that can independently adjust to accommodate irregular snack food shapes. This segmentation provides the adaptability of a large spoon while enabling more efficient and less frustrating serving through precise multi-point contact with the irregular surfaces.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The pivotally connected handle members provide dynamic adaptability to irregular shapes, allowing the gripping members to automatically adjust their positions. This dynamic adaptation improves serving efficiency by reducing frustration and time requirements compared to static large spoon designs.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The device effectively grasps snack foods with minimal breakage and provides portion control, reducing waste and the need for unsanitary hand contact, while being easy to use and dishwasher-safe.

Implementation Method 1

The first distal end is biased away from the second distal end

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectElastic deformation: Elasticity

Implementation Method 2

At least a portion of the gripping members in the first plurality of gripping members and the second plurality of gripping members are flexible

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectFlexibility: Elasticity

Data Source

PatentUS9918574B1Snack food serving device

Publication Date: 2018.03.20 OCCOM INNOVATIONS LLC

AI summary

A snack food serving device that includes a handle portion, a first gripper portion and a second gripper portion. The handle portion has a first handle member and a second handle member that are operably attached to each other. The first gripper portion is attached to the first handle member. The first gripper portion includes a first plurality of gripping members radially extending therefrom. The second gripper portion is attached to the second handle member. The second gripper portion includes a second plurality of gripping members radially extending therefrom.