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(11) | EP 1 514 497 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Plastic cutlery |
| (57) An item of plastic cutlery (1) of the disposable type is described, comprising a
handle (2) designed to be gripped by the user, a part for use (3) disposed in front
of the handle, first engagement means (25) disposed on the upper surface of the handle
(2) and second engagement means (26) disposed on the lower surface of the handle (2),
so that when two items of cutlery (1) are stacked one on top of the other, the first
engagement means (25) of the item of cutlery beneath engage with the second engagement
means (26) of the item of cutlery above. |
[0001] The present invention refers to the field of plastic cutlery of the disposable type such as, for example, forks, spoons, knives, teaspoons and the like.
[0002] Various types of plastic cutlery, obtained by injection moulding of plastic for alimentary use, are available on the market. They have the advantageous property of having a low manufacturing cost and therefore of being for single use or disposable, that is to say they are used only once and then they are sent for disposal.
[0003] This type of disposable plastic cutlery is widely used both by end users - which spare the inconvenience of having to wash the cutlery after their use - and by catering centres which, through such cutlery, ensure high standards of hygiene for the consumer.
[0004] The items of plastic cutlery leaving the mould are stacked one on the top of the other so as to obtain piles consisting of about 10-50 items. Each pile of cutlery is bound with a plastic band which serves to keep the cutlery stacked. One or more piles of plastic cutlery, bound with the respective bands, are packaged in a plastic bag ready to be put on the market.
[0006] First of all, the plastic band is an additional element which entails an additional packaging cost and an additional stage of binding in the plastic cutlery packaging process.
[0007] Furthermore, the plastic band does not ensure adequate holding of the pile of plastic cutlery. In fact, it often happens that said plastic band tears during the handling of the piles of cutlery before the packaging or during the transport of the package. As a result, the plastic cutlery is scattered in a disorderly manner from the pile, complicating packaging operations for the operators, or are scattered in a disorderly manner inside the package, making it unattractive for the end user.
[0008] Furthermore, once the end user has purchased a package of plastic cutlery and has opened it, the band must be cut in order to remove the cutlery required. As a result, the other cutlery of the pile is scattered in a disorderly manner, involving problems for the storage thereof by the end user.
[0009] An object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art, providing plastic cutlery that allows easy and safe stacking.
[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide plastic cutlery that is able to simplify the packaging and storage operations once the package has been opened.
[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide plastic cutlery that is cheap and simple to produce.
[0012] These objects are achieved in accordance with the invention with the characteristics listed in the appended independent claim 1.
[0014] An item of plastic cutlery of the disposable type according to the invention comprises a handle designed to be gripped by the user and a part for use disposed in front of the handle.
[0015] The peculiar characteristic of the invention is the fact that said item of cutlery further comprises first engagement means disposed on the upper surface of the handle and second engagement means disposed on the lower surface of the handle.
[0016] In this manner, when two items of cutlery are stacked one on the top of the other, the first engagement means of the item of cutlery beneath engage with the second engagement means of the item of cutlery above.
[0017] The advantages of the invention are evident. In fact, the coupling of the engagement means allows the cutlery to be stacked without the need for bands to be used to maintain the pile. Furthermore the end user can easily remove the cutlery needed from the pile, whilst keeping other cutlery in the pile tidy.
[0018] Further characteristics of the invention will be made clearer by the detailed description that follows, referring to a purely exemplary and therefore non limiting embodiment thereof, illustrated in the appended drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a top plan view of a plastic item of cutlery according to the invention;
Figure 2 is a side view in the direction of the arrow A of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the item of cutlery of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is cross sectional view taken along the plane of section IV-IV of Figure 1, illustrating the item of cutlery of Figure 1 stacked on another item of cutlery shown with a dashed line.
[0019] An item of plastic cutlery according to the invention is described with the aid of the figures. By way of example, a plastic fork, denoted as a whole with reference numeral 1, has been illustrated in the figures. However, it is obvious that the invention also extends to other types of plastic cutlery such as, for example, knives, spoons, teaspoons and the like.
[0020] Furthermore, hereunder, the terms "lower" and "upper" refer to a fork 1 resting on a horizontal surface coinciding with the plane of the sheet, as shown in Figure 1.
[0021] The fork 1 comprises a handle part 2 and a wider part for use 3 disposed in front of the handle 2.
[0023] The handle 2 comprises an upper wall 20 having a tapered shape, the width of which decreases towards the rear end 23.
[0024] Connected to the upper wall 20 there are two sidewalls 21, slightly oblique and protruding outwards with respect to the upper wall 20. In this manner, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, a seat 22 having a trapezoid shape when seen in cross section is formed in the lower surface of the handle 2.
[0025] The part for use 3 has four prongs 30 having a substantially arched shape when seen from the side (Figure 2). As shown in Figure 3, each prong 30 is made up, in its rear surface, of two side ribs 32 and of a central groove 33.
[0026] Between the part for use 3 and the handle 2 there is a transitional part 4, substantially arched, having the same radius of curvature as the prongs 30. The transitional part 4 has an upper wall 40 that connects the upper wall 20 of the handle to the upper wall of the prongs 30. The transitional part 4 additionally has two sidewalls 41 which connect the sidewalls 21 of the handle to the outer sidewalls of the two outermost prongs 30.
[0027] If the fork 1 is considered resting on a horizontal plane, as shown in Figure 2, the handle 2, starting from its rear end 23, is inclined slightly upwards, the transitional part 4 is curved slightly downwards and the prongs 30 are curved slightly upwards.
[0028] First engagement means 25 are provided in the front part of the outer surface of the sidewalls 21 of the handle 2, near the transitional part 4. Second engagement means 26 are provided in the inner surface of the sidewalls 21 of the handle 2, in register with the first engagement means 25. The second engagement means 26 are designed to couple, in a mutual coupling engagement, with the first engagement means 25 of another item of cutlery, when two items of cutlery are staked one on the top of the other.
[0029] Purely by way of example, the first engagement means 25 may be grooves or inwardly recessed parts, whilst the second engagement means 26 may be pins or inwardly protruding parts or vice versa. In this manner the protruding parts 26 are able to snap engage inside the recessed parts 25, ensuring an adequate stability of the coupling.
[0030] As can be seen clearly from Figure 4, the recessed parts 25 are about halfway up the outer surface of the side walls 21, whilst the protruding parts 26 are in register with the recessed parts 25, but lower down with respect to the recessed parts 25, that is to say in proximity to the bottom end of the inner surface of the sides 21.
[0031] By way of example, the fork 1 can be about 17.5 cm long; in this case the first and the second engagement means (25, 26) are disposed at a distance of about 10 cm from the rear end 23 of the handle.
[0032] Furthermore, it must be considered that the side walls 21 of the handle must be thin enough to be able to bend elastically outwards during the stacking of one item of cutlery on another and to return elastically to the initial position, once the protruding parts 26 of an item of cutlery snap engage in the recessed parts 25 of the item of cutlery beneath in the pile.
[0033] It is clear that the engagement means 25 and 26 can differ in number and in shape and that they can be disposed in a different position with respect to that shown in the drawings.
1. An item of plastic cutlery (1), of the disposable type, comprising:
- a handle (2) designed to be gripped by the user, and
- a part for use (3) disposed in front of the handle,
characterised in that it further comprises:- first engagement means (25) disposed on the upper surface of the handle (2), and
- second engagement means (26) disposed on the lower surface of the handle (2),
so that when two items of cutlery (1) are stacked one on top of the other, the first engagement means (25) of the item of cutlery beneath engage in the second engagement means (26) of the item of cutlery above.2. An item of plastic cutlery (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that said first engagement means (25) are grooves or recessed parts in the upper surface
of the handle (2) and said second engagement means (26) are pins or protrusions which
protrude outwards from the lower surface of the handle (2) or vice versa.
3. An item of plastic cutlery (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that said first engagement means (25) are disposed substantially in register with said
second engagement means (26).
4. An item of plastic cutlery (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said first engagement means (25) and said second engagement means (26) are disposed
in the front part of said handle (2).
5. An item of plastic cutlery (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that in the lower surface of said handle there is formed a recessed seat (22) designed
to receive the upper surface of the handle of another item of cutlery.
6. An item of plastic cutlery (1) according to claim 5, characterised in that said handle (2) comprises a top wall (20) and two side walls (21) inclined slightly
outwards with respect to said top wall (20) so as to define said seat (22) in the
lower surface of said handle (2).
7. An item of plastic cutlery (1) according to claim 6, characterised in that said first and second engagement means (25, 26) are disposed in pairs respectively
in the outer surface and the inner surface of said two side walls (21) of the handle.
8. An item of plastic cutlery (1) according to claim 6 or 7, characterised in that said side walls (21) of the handle are of reduced thickness so as to be able to bend
elastically outwards and to return elastically to the initial position, so that said
first and second engagement means (25, 26) can engage with each other in a snap coupling
relationship.
9. An item of plastic cutlery (1) according to claim 7 or 8, characterised in that the first engagement means (25) are about halfway up the outer surface of the side
walls (21), whilst the second engagement means (26) are in proximity to the bottom
end of the inner surface of the sides (21).
10. Plastic cutlery (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it comprises a fork, a spoon, a teaspoon, a knife and the like.