Serving spoon with depression forming feature

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing serving spoons for malleable food products do not automatically form a depression to retain toppings, leading to inefficient serving and potential loss of toppings.

Innovation Solution

A serving spoon with a spoon portion and handle, featuring a concave body with a depression portion that forms a depression in the food product, allowing for the retention of toppings, and optionally detachable for different designs and materials like injection molded parts or release coatings.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If a traditional round concave serving spoon is used, then the spoon can serve malleable food products, but it cannot automatically form a depression to retain toppings

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedepression forming capabilityVSAvoidspoon structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The spoon portion is divided into two functional segments: a concave body for serving food and a depression portion extending into the concave body for forming depressions. This segmentation allows each part to perform its specific function while maintaining overall structural integrity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The depression portion is pre-formed within the concave body during spoon manufacturing. When the spoon contacts the malleable food product, this pre-formed depression portion automatically creates the depression cavity without requiring additional manual action or tools.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Loss of substance

If no depression is formed in the served food product, then the serving process is simple, but toppings cannot be retained and may be lost

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetopping retentionVSAvoidserving process

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of substanceVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The serving spoon performs the depression-forming function automatically through its own structure. The depression portion is integrated into the spoon itself, eliminating the need for separate tools or manual depression creation, thereby preventing topping loss without complicating the serving process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Ease of manufacture

If the spoon portion is made as a single piece with the handle, then manufacturing is simplified, but customization of spoon designs is limited

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvespoon productionVSAvoidspoon design variety

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The serving spoon is designed with a detachable connection between the spoon portion and handle portion. This allows the spoon portion (which contains the critical depression forming feature) to be manufactured independently and potentially customized for different food products, while the handle can be standardized for ease of manufacture.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The handle portion serves as a universal component that can be paired with different spoon portions designed for specific food products. This modular approach enables customization of spoon designs while maintaining a standardized handle for manufacturing efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS10893778B1Serving spoon with depression forming feature

Publication Date: 2021.01.19 RAYIS PAUL

AI summary

A serving spoon has a spoon portion with a depression portion that forms a depression in a serving of malleable food product, thereby allowing some other food product to be retained within the depression. The serving spoon includes a spoon portion and a handle portion. The spoon portion has a concave body and a depression portion configured within the concave body, wherein the depression portion extends up from the bottom of the concave body. The depression portion forms a depression, in a malleable food product. The spoon portion may be detachable from the handle portion.