Infant Feeding Spoon Inversion for Easier Food Clearing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing infant feeding spoons and spoons for physically impaired individuals do not adequately address mouth ergonomics and the difficulty in clearing food or medicine from the spoon, leading to inefficient feeding and administration.
Innovation Solution
A spoon with a shallow, concave food receiving recess and a contoured handle that allows for smooth lip contact, made from solid or hollow materials with a soft outer surface, designed to facilitate easy food removal and improved ergonomics for infants and impaired individuals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional spoon geometry is used for infants, then the spoon structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the spoon does not address infant mouth ergonomics and makes it difficult for infants to clear food
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional spoon geometry by positioning the deepest part of the food receiving recess at the front edge rather than the rear edge. This inversion creates a scraping action when the spoon is withdrawn from the infant's mouth, enabling the infant's lips to effectively clear food from the spoon surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs curved and contoured surfaces in the food receiving recess, creating a smooth, rounded geometry that facilitates food movement toward the front edge. The concave curved sides guide food toward the deepest front portion, enabling effective clearing by the infant's lips.
2Quantity of substance
If a deep food receiving recess is used, then the spoon can hold more food, but the spoon becomes difficult to clear and increases smearing
Solution Approach 1:
By inverting the spoon geometry so the deepest point is at the front edge rather than the rear, the patent enables food to be naturally guided to the clearing zone during withdrawal. This inversion allows effective clearing with less food capacity, resolving the contradiction between holding capacity and clearing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a localized deep region at the front edge of the food receiving recess specifically for food accumulation and clearing, while the rest of the recess maintains a shallower depth. This localized quality change allows food capacity to be sufficient while maintaining ease of clearing.
3Ease of operation
If a straight spoon bottom profile is used, then the spoon structure is simple, but the spoon does not facilitate smooth lip contact and food clearing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the straight spoon bottom profile with a curved contour that follows the natural arc of the infant's lips. This curvature creates smooth contact surfaces that guide food toward the front edge and facilitate effective clearing by the infant's lips during spoon withdrawal.
Data Source
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AI summary
A spoon is provided that has a handle, a neck, a head, and a spoon or food receiving recess that has a front edge and a rear edge. The rear edge is raised such that a straight line joining the front edge and the rear edge extends in the same general direction as a straight line extending in the general direction of the length of the handle of the spoon. Preferably, the neck is spaced from the spoon or food receiving recess by a distance of the same order as the dimension of the recess itself. The cross-sectional size of the spoon increases from the neck to a position corresponding to the rear edge of the recess with the outer surface being smoothly contoured to provide a smooth contact surface for the lips of a person using same to encircle the spoon between the neck and recess.