Snap-together eating utensil assembly

• US 7,013,568 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2004
• Issued: 03/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Community National Bank (Citizens Financial Group Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Creative Building Products
• Inventors: Schmidt, George
• Primary Examiner(s): PAYER, HWEI SIU CHOU
• Application Number:
  US10/936,111
• Publication Number:
  US 20050278958A1
• Time in Patent Office: 559 Days
• Field of Search: 301/42, 301/43, 301/47, 301/48, 301/49, 301/50, D76/45
• US Class Current: 30/147
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 21/06 Combined or separable sets of table-service utensils; Oyster knives with openers; Fish servers with means for removing bones kitchen equipment A47J

Abstract

An eating utensil assembly includes a knife, a fork and a spoon. The knife includes an elongate handle, and grooves are formed in opposite surfaces of the handle. The fork and the spoon each have channel-shaped handles that can be nested over the handle of the knife. Additionally, the channel-shaped handles of the fork and spoon have elongate ribs configured for releasable snapped engagement with the grooves in the handle of the knife.

Claims

1. An eating utensil assembly comprising:

a knife having opposite first and second ends, a blade formed at the first end and a handle extending from the blade to the second end, the handle having opposite surfaces formed with grooves extending along the handle substantially from the blade to a position spaced from the second end of the handle;

a fork having opposite first and second ends, a plurality of substantially concave tines formed adjacent the first end and a concave channel extending from the second end towards the first end, concave surfaces of the tines and the channel facing in a common direction, the concave channel of the fork being configured for nested engagement over the handle of the knife, opposed ribs formed in the concave channel of the fork and configured for releasable snapped engagement with the grooves in the handle of the knife; and

a spoon having opposite first and second ends, a concave bowl formed adjacent the first end and a concave channel extending from the second end substantially to the bowl, concave surfaces of the bowls and the channel facing in a common direction, the concave channel of the spoon being configured for nested engagement over the handle of the knife, opposed ribs formed in the concave channel of the spoon and configured for releasable snapped engagement with the grooves in the handle of the knife while the ribs of the fork are in snapped engagement with the grooves in the handled of the knife.

2. The eating utensil assembly of claim 1, wherein the knife, fork and spoon each is formed unitarily from a thermoplastic material.

3. The eating utensil assembly of claim 1, wherein the handle of the knife has an elongated rounded shape.

4. The eating utensil assembly of claim 1, wherein the handle of the knife has a substantially elliptical cross-section.

6. The eating utensil assembly of claim 1, wherein each of the eating utensils is formed unitarily of a thermoplastic material.

7. The eating utensil assembly of claim 1, wherein the first eating utensil is a knife.

8. The eating utensil assembly of claim 7, wherein the second eating utensil is a spoon.

9. The eating utensil assembly of claim 7, wherein the second eating utensil is a fork.

10. The eating utensil assembly of claim 1, wherein the handle of the first utensil has an elongated rounded shape.

11. The eating utensil assembly of claim 1, wherein the handle of the first eating utensil has a substantially elliptical cross-section.

5. An eating utensil assembly comprising a first eating utensil having an elongate handle with opposite first and second surfaces formed thereon, first and second mounting grooves formed respectively on the opposite first and second surfaces of the handle of the first eating utensil, a second eating utensil having an elongate channel-shaped handle with a concave face configured for nesting over one longitudinal side of the handle of the first eating utensil, first and second mounting ribs formed on the concave face of the second eating utensil, the first and second mounting ribs on the second eating utensil being configured for releasable snapped engagement with portions of the respective first and second mounting grooves on the handle of the first eating utensil, and a third eating utensil having an elongate channel-shaped handle with a concave face configured for nesting over one longitudinal side of the handle of the first eating utensil, third and fourth mounting ribs formed on the concave face of the third eating utensil, the third and fourth mounting ribs on the third eating utensil being configured for releasable snapped engagement with the first and second mounting grooves on the handle of the first eating utensil while the first and second ribs of the second eating utensil are in releasable snapped engagement with the first and second mounting grooves.