IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0223741
(2002-08-20)
|
발명자
/ 주소 |
- Metcalf,Darrell J.
- Goodrow,Michael
|
출원인 / 주소 |
- Metcalf,Darrell J.
- Goodrow,Michael
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
2 인용 특허 :
7 |
초록
▼
A folds-as-you-eat multi-purpose food-serving apparatus ('MPFSA') that is supportable from one end by one hand during eating, and has optional exhibiting means for providing multi-minute close-proximity exposures promoting observer-discernible content and/or user-discernible content, and optionally
A folds-as-you-eat multi-purpose food-serving apparatus ('MPFSA') that is supportable from one end by one hand during eating, and has optional exhibiting means for providing multi-minute close-proximity exposures promoting observer-discernible content and/or user-discernible content, and optionally providing recreational, or display, functionality. The MPFSA is comprised of one or more materials having a pliability which accommodates the bending and unbending of the apparatus a plurality of times in a manner that will not significantly alter the presentation of served food. The MPFSA is also comprised of material(s) having sufficient rigidity to support one or more items of food, having a food-supporting surface which is stiffened by at least one adjacent food-retaining portion which extends upward from an edge thereof, or can be so positioned by a user, to increase the rigidity of, and facilitate the retention of served food on, the apparatus. The food-supporting surface of the apparatus is predisposed to be selectively bent and unbent, by a user, adjacent to an end of a reduced cross-section of at least one food-retaining portion. The food retaining portion(s) has at least one reduced cross-section predisposed to be bent and unbent by a user adjacent to the food-supporting surface reduced cross-section(s). Upper surfaces of the MPFSA provide close proximity viewing as a user is taking, or about to take, a bite out of the served food. MPFSA surfaces are easily viewed by observers proximate to the user, when the user is holding the apparatus or when it is in a resting position.
대표청구항
▼
The invention claimed is: 1. A multi-purpose handheld food-serving apparatus, providing repeatable fold-as-you-eat bending and unbending functionality, substantially sized and shaped to that of the size and shape of at least one food-item intended to be served thereon, comprising: a food-supporting
The invention claimed is: 1. A multi-purpose handheld food-serving apparatus, providing repeatable fold-as-you-eat bending and unbending functionality, substantially sized and shaped to that of the size and shape of at least one food-item intended to be served thereon, comprising: a food-supporting member consisting of a material sized to serve at least one food-item without altering the normal appearance of the food, and having sufficient rigidity when held at one end to support said food-item(s), including when said apparatus is in a substantially horizontal orientation and following at least one bending and unbending cycle; said food-supporting member having at least one bendable food-retaining portion integrally formed adjacent thereto which extends upward, relative to a food-supporting surface of said member, in a manner which increases the rigidity of the food-supporting member, and said portion(s) is sized, having sufficient rigidity, to facilitate the retention of said food-item(s) on the food-supporting member, and at least one of said portions has an upper edge adjoining a discernible-content displaying tab sized to extend over and cover an upper surface portion of served food-item(s) as said apparatus is held by a user, and the combination of said discernible-content displaying tab and said at least one of said portions comprising at least one flexible material different from that of the rest of the apparatus and being attached adjacent to an end of said apparatus; and said food-supporting member having at least one re-bendable cross-section extending across a width of the member to predispose bending and unbending of the member at said bendable cross-section(s); and at least one of said food-retaining portion(s) having at least one re-bendable reduced-cross-section located tangent to an end of said re-bendable cross-section(s) to predispose bending and unbending of said portion(s) at said reduced-cross-section(s), whereby i. discernible-content of said tab is brought into a user's field of view as the user is about to eat, and as the user is eating, one or more items of food supported on said handheld food-serving apparatus, and ii. a simultaneous bending of a said member re-bendable cross-section(s) and at least one adjacent said portion re-bendable reduced-cross-section causes at least one segment of the apparatus to be bent away from said food-item(s) to fully expose a portion of the food for eating. 2. The handheld food-serving apparatus of claim 1 wherein said apparatus is comprised ofamaterial sufficient in said rigidity to facilitate a rapid user reshaping of a user-bent apparatus, to a substantially unbent previous condition, to provide for a quick setting down of the apparatus in a resting position, as desired. 3. The handheld food-serving apparatus of claim 1 wherein said apparatus is comprised of material sufficient in said rigidity to facilitate a rapid user-reshaping of a user-unbent apparatus, to a previous bent condition, which provides for a quick resumption of the eating of the food-item(s) served on the apparatus. 4. The handheld food-serving apparatus of claim 1 wherein said apparatus is further comprised of a plurality of material, wherein said material is from any one or more of a group consisting of: materials suitable for use in a dishwasher, materials which readily tolerate repeated washings, materials which readily tolerate repeated bending, materials suitable for vacuum forming, materials suitable for plastic-injection molding, flexible plastic materials, materials commonly used for food-serving apparatus, materials suitable for use in a microwave oven, materials suitable for use in a heating device, materials suitable for storage in a refrigeration device, biodegradable materials, and recycled materials.
※ AI-Helper는 부적절한 답변을 할 수 있습니다.