Eating utensil
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing eating utensils often require separate tools for different functions, such as cutting and scooping, and are not optimized for space-efficient transport.
Innovation Solution
A combination eating utensil with a fork and spoon that can be nested or connected end-to-end, featuring chamfered edges for cutting and a low-profile design for efficient storage, using glass-reinforced thermoplastic materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate utensils are used for different functions (cutting, scooping), then functional versatility is improved, but device complexity and transport space increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines a fork and spoon into a single integrated utensil, where the fork head includes both tines for piercing and a concave bowl portion for scooping. This merging of functions into one device directly reduces the number of separate utensils needed while maintaining functional versatility for different food types and eating methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The fork head is designed with multi-functional capabilities: the tines can pierce and hold solid foods, while the concave bowl portion can scoop soups, sauces, or soft foods. This universal design allows a single utensil to perform multiple eating functions that traditionally required separate tools.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional fork design is used, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but cutting functionality is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The outer tines of the fork head are provided with chamfered or tapered surfaces at specific locations, creating localized cutting edges. This local modification adds cutting functionality to otherwise simple fork tines, enabling the utensil to cut through foods like bread or vegetables without requiring a completely complex blade structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The chamfered or tapered surfaces on the outer tines change the geometric parameters of the tine edges, transforming them from simple cylindrical shapes into edges capable of cutting. This parameter modification enables cutting functionality while maintaining the basic fork structure and manufacturing simplicity.
3Ease of operation
If fork tines extend beyond handle width, then functional access is improved, but storage efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The fork head is designed to nest within the spoon head when not in use, with the fork tines positioned to fit inside the concave bowl portion. This nesting arrangement significantly reduces the overall storage volume of the combination utensil while maintaining full functional access when the fork is deployed.
Solution Approach 2:
The fork tines are arranged and positioned in three-dimensional space to optimize both functionality and compactness. The tines extend laterally from the handle but are positioned to nest within the spoon bowl, utilizing vertical and lateral dimensions efficiently to achieve compact storage without sacrificing functional access.
Data Source
AI summary
An eating utensil having a fork head that includes a plurality of tines and a concave fork bowl portion is described. One or both of the outer tines include a chamfered or tapered surface that extends laterally inward from a curved outer edge of the corresponding outer tine such that the curved tine/fork head edge acts as a splitting feature. In some embodiments one or both of the curved fork head edges that act as a splitting feature is/are smooth. In some embodiments, the eating utensil is formed of a glass reinforced thermoplastic material such as a glass filled nylon.