US3510643A - Eating utensil with illuminated head portion - Google Patents

Description

May 5,1910 R. H. FILE 3.510.6 3

, EATING UTENSIL WITH ILLUMINATED HEAD PORTION Filed Aug. 7. 1967 Robert H F /'/e IN VENTOR.

WW Em United States Patent EATING UTENSIL WITH ILLUMINATED HEAD PORTION Robert H. File, 7217 Ottawa Road NE., Albuquerque, N. Mex. 87110 Filed Aug. 7, 1967, Ser. No. 658,691 Int. Cl. B25f 3/00; B43k 29/10; F21v 33/00 US. Cl. 240-6.46 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention disclosed consists of an elongated eating utensil including a removable spoon bowl defining head portion at one end constructed of light-transmitting material. Illumination structure is provided and operable to cast a beam of light into the base of the head portion for illumination of the latter from within and the head includes measuring indicia for indicating the amount of fluent material disposed within the spoon bowl.

The eating utensil of the instant invention may be in the form of a spoon or fork as well as other possible eating utensils and includes a penlight flashlight-type shank portion over which the head portion of the eating utensil is telescopingly secured and the head portion is constructed of light-transmitting material whereby it may be illuminated from the interior thereof by the illumination means supported from the shank portion of the utensil.

By constructing eating utensils such as spoons and forks in accordance with the present invention food may be eaten in semior totally-dark areas. Further, a spoon utensil constructed in accordance with the present invention may be used to great advantage in administering medicants in a darkened room such as the room of a child at night. A person administering medicants with a spoon constructed in accordance with the present invention may readily view any medicants being poured into the spoon from the light emitted therefrom and if the bowl of the spoon is provided with various indicia indicating different levels to which the bowl of the spoon should be filled with liquid of various predetermined quantities, the spoon may even be utilized to measure the proper amount of medicant to be administered. Of course, the child or other person to receive a liquid form of medicine [from the spoon will have no difliculty in knowing the exact location of the latter and the person administering the medicine will be able to view the spoon so as to support the latter in a horizontal position at all times until the medicant is administered thereby reducing the possibility of spilling the medicant from the spoon.

Although the eating utensil of the instant invention has been specifically designed to assist in administering medicants in a darkened room, campers and other persons who might experience the necessity of having to eat in at least a semi-dark area find that it is to their advantage to be provided with eating utensils constructed in accordance :with the present invention.

The main object of this invention is to provide an eating utensil including a head portion constructed of light-transmitting materials and illuminated from within the confines of the exposed external surfaces of the head portion.

Another object of this invention is to provide an eating utensil in the form of a spoon whose head portion defines the bowl portion of the spoon and which includes measuring indicia on the bowl portion thereof whereby predetermined quantities of fluids may be poured into the bowl portion of the spoon in semi-darkened or even totally dark areas.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an ice eating utensil in accordance with the preceding objects and which includes readily removable head portions which may be illuminated from the interiors thereof whereby different head portions may be removably supported from a single member including illumination means and adapted to form the shank portion of the utensil.

A final object of this invention to be specifically enumerated herein is to provide an eating utensil in accordance with the preceding objects which will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be of simple construction and easy to use so as to provide a device that will be economically \feasible, long lasting and relatively trouble-free in operation.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an eating utensil constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 with parts being broken away and illustrated in longitudinal vertical section;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the assemblage illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a modified form of head portion which may be interchanged with the spoon defining head portion illustrated in FIGS. 1-3.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates the eating utensil. The utensil 10 includes a shank portion referred to in general by the reference numeral 12 and a head portion generally referred to by the reference numeral 14.

The shank portion 12 includes a tubular body 16 having one closed end 18 and an opposite end which is internally threaded as at 20. The tubular body 16 may be in the form of the body portion of a conventional penlight type flashlight in which one or more batteries 22 are disposed and which includes a longitudinally reciprocal exteriorly disposed switch actuator 24 from which an internally disposed contact bar 26 is supported. The tubular body 16 may be constructed of non-conductive material and a conventional flashlight bulb 28 is secured in the open end of the tubular body 16 by means of an externally threaded sleeve 30 threadedly engaged within the open end of the tubular body 16, the radially outwardly projecting flange 32 of the bulb 28 being held captive between an inner shoulder portion 34 defined on the body 16 and the inner end of the sleeve 30.

The bulb 28 may be electrically actuated in a conventional manner by shifting the switch actuator 24 to the right as viewed in FIG. 2 of the drawings so as to shift the contact bar 26 into engagement with the flange 32 whereupon an electrical circuit between the battery 22 and the bulb 28 will be closed.

The outer end of the sleeve 30 includes a pair of axially spaced circumferentially extending shoulders 36 defining a circumferential groove 38 therebetween in which the convolution 38 of a coiled compression spring 40 is removably secured. I

The head portion 14 illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 defines an elongated body having a spoon bowl portion 44 on one end and a hollow sleeve portion 46 on the other end. The sleeve portion 46 is connected to the spoon bowl portion 44 by means of a short shank section 48 extending therebetween and the head portion 14 is constructed of lighttransmitting material such as a clear or translucent plastic.

The sleeve portion 46 is provided with a pair of generally diametrically opposite J-shaped slots 50 and the open end of the sleeve portion 46 is snugly telescoped over the compression spring 40, the exposed end of the sleeve 30 and the adjacent internally threaded end of the tubular body 16 with the pair of diametrically opposite and outwardly projecting pins 52 carried by the open end of the body 16 passed through the slots 50 and seated in the inner closed ends thereof. In this manner, the head portion 14 is removably supported from the shank portion 12 and the compression spring 40 acts to yieldingly urge the head portion 14 away from the closed end of the shank portion or tubular body 16 and therefore to retain the pins 52 seated in the closed ends of the slots 50.

Inasmuch as the material of which the head portion 14 is constructed will transmit light, light emanating from the grooved end of the sleeve 30 will enter the shank section 48 of the head portion 14 and illuminate the spoon bowl portion 14. The spoon bowl portion 14 is provided with indicia 54 whereby predetermined quantities of liquid poured into the spoon bowl portion 14 may be readily measured.

With attention now invited more specifically to FIG. 4 of the drawings there may be seen a second head portion generally referred to by the reference numeral 56 and which is substantially identical to the head portion 14 except that in lieu of a spoon bowl portion such as portion 44 the head portion 14 is provided with a fork head 58 including a plurality of generally parallel arcuate tines 60.

Accordingly, it may be seen that a utensil in the form of a fork as well as a utensil in the form of a spoon may be provided. Of course, if the utensil is constructed so as to be in the form of a fork, it may be utilized as a con ventional eating utensil. In addition, if the utensil is constructed in the form of a spoon, in addition to being able to be utilized in the conventional manner for eating purposes, the spoon form of utensil may be utilized to great advantage when administering liquid medicants to patients or children in darkened rooms.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An eating utensil including an elongated body portion having a spoon -bowl defining head portion on one end, said body and said head portion being constructed of a single body of light-transmitting material, and illumination means carried by the other end of said body remote from said head portion and operative to cast a beam of light into said remote end, through said body and into said head portion for illumination of the latter from within, said spoon bowl defining head portion including measuring indicia thereon so as to adapt said utensil to be used in administering oral medicants in a dark room.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein at least the other end of said body is hollow and encloses said illumination means.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said illumination means is removably secured to said other end of said body.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein at least said one end of said shank portion is hollow and encloses said i1- lumination means.

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein said illumination means is removably secured to said other end of said body, said head portion and said one end of said body including coacting means defining a releasable bayonettype connection between said body and head portion.

6. The combination of claim 1 wherein said illumination means comprises a lengthwise extension of said remote end of said body.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 353,055 11/1886 Dorr 30-141 2,186,143 1/1940 Neugass. 2,610,277 9/ 1952 Hooker et a1. 2,770,877 11/1956 Bird 30-123 2,885,537 5/ 1959 Wood 240-646 NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner R. A. WINTERCORN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

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