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Feeding aidRelated Patent Categories: Cutlery, Cutting Tools, With Support Or Attaching MeansFeeding aid description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070039192, Feeding aid. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] This invention relates to feeding aids and in particular, but not limited to, feeding aids for young children. [0002] An essential step in the development of young children is when a child begins to eat solid foods. Weaning typically begins when children are around 4-6 months old. Initially, solid foods are blended or mashed into a pulp and are fed to the child by an adult using conventional feeding implements. The next stage of development is to teach the child to feed hir/herself using feeding implements such as knives, forks and spoons. Normally a child is given an implement such as a baby spoon. This tends to be made of a plastics material and is lighter and shorter than spoons used by adults. A child will use the implement to scoop up a portion of food from a bowl and attempt to deliver it to his/her mouth. [0003] Developing this skill can take several months or more. This can be a very frustrating time for parents since children often drop feeding implements onto the floor and the parents have to repeatedly stoop to retrieve the implement. This also presents a hygiene hazard since dirt, harmful bacteria and other infectious organisms may contaminate the implement when it contacts the floor. If the parent gives the implement back to the child without first washing it, the child may ingest the contaminants which may consequently damage the child's health. Therefore there is a need for a feeding aid that can assist the child to develop a controlled feeding action more quickly as well as preventing the feeding implement from falling onto the floor. [0004] A similar problem exists for physically impaired people. Some impairments restrict a person's hand movement and coordination making feeding difficult. Such people would benefit from a feeding aid that assists feeding activity. Some conditions may also cause a person to more easily lose their grip on feeding implements. If the feeding implement falls onto the floor the person may not be able to retrieve it by themselves thereby requiring assistance of another individual. [0005] Accordingly, the invention seeks to mitigate some of the afore-mentioned problems. [0006] According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a feeding aid including a feeding implement, an anchor device for fixing the feeding aid to a surface and a resilient member connecting the feeding implement to the anchor device. [0007] Advantageously, the invention assists the child's development by reducing the amount of time it takes to learn to feed him/herself properly with a feeding implement. This is because when the child has completed a feeding action, the child tends to relax his/her arm and the resilient action of the resilient member tends to return the child's hand towards the anchor device. This has the effect of teaching the child to return his/her hand to approximately the same position after each feeding action has been completed which encourages the child to commence a subsequent feeding action. [0008] Since the feeding aid is firmly anchored to a surface if the child loses its grip from on the feeding implement the feeding implement will be prevented from falling onto the floor. This reduces the risk of dirt and harmful bacteria migrating from the floor onto the eating implement and therefore preventing the child from ingesting such contaminants, thus benefiting the child's health. [0009] Preferably the resilient member is made from a plastics material that has elastic properties. For example, the resilient member can be made from a thermoplastic rubber or elastomer, such as a phthalate free PVC material. Preferably the resilient member is coiled. [0010] Advantageously the anchor device includes a suction device. Alternatively the anchor device may include a clip, a clamp or a bracelet. [0011] Preferably the feeding implement includes a cavity having first and second openings, wherein one end of the resilient member is located in the cavity through the first opening and is attached to the feeding implement. Preferably the resilient member is attached to the feeding implement by a welding process such as an ultrasonic welding process. A plug is located in the second opening to close the second opening. The resilient member may additionally be clamped between the plug and the feeding implement. Preferably the cavity has a base and one of the cavity base and the plug includes a formation that is arranged to clamp the resilient member against the other. In one embodiment, the cavity has a first formation in its base and the plug has a second formation in its body, wherein the first and second formations are arranged to clamp the resilient member. [0012] An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate equivalent features, wherein: [0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a feeding aid in accordance with the present invention; [0014] FIG. 2 is a cross-section of a feeding implement; [0015] FIG. 3 is an end view of a feeding implement; [0016] FIG. 4 is a side view of a feeding implement; [0017] FIG. 5 is a top view of a feeding implement; [0018] FIG. 6 is a top view of a feeding implement with a handgrip; [0019] FIG. 7 is a cross-section of a feeding implement with a handgrip; [0020] FIGS. 8-12 show various views of a plug for fitting into a cavity in the feeding implement; [0021] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a suction device; and [0022] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention. [0023] FIG. 1 shows a feeding aid including a feeding implement (spoon 2), an anchor device (suction cup 4) and a resilient member (connector member 6) that connects the spoon 2 to the suction cup 4. [0024] The spoon 2 has an arcuate handle 8 that is suitable for gripping by a young child. The spoon 2 is preferably made from a plastics material such as polypropylene. Alternatively, the spoon 2 may be formed from a suitable metal such as stainless steel, although plastics materials are preferred as these tend to be lighter than metals and are kinder to children's gums and teeth (i.e. do less damage). Towards one end of the handle, there is a cavity 10 formed in the handle 8 (see FIGS. 2, 4, 5 and 7). The cavity 10 is substantially rectangular in plan view, is substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the spoon 2 and has an opening 11. The cavity 10 has a base 12 with a first rib 14 integrally formed therewith that extends across the width of the cavity 10. A bore 16 is formed in the end of the handle 8 that intersects the cavity 10. The bore 16 is arranged to receive one end of the connector member 6. The connector member 6 is threaded through the bore 16 and into the cavity 10 such that it lies over the first rib 14. The connector member 6 is attached to the base 12 of the cavity by an ultrasonic welding process. Continue reading about Feeding aid... Full patent description for Feeding aid Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Feeding aid patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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