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spoon for disabled

Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2003 8:02 am
by Guest
My hands shake terribly from medication that I take and I know that some disabled people have as hard a tiime eating as I do. I want to share my idea and someone else can feel free to invent it, since I have no money to invest in patents and initial start up costs. I only want to help those who can't help themselves. Here is the idea. A deep welled spoon with a retractible top that is spring loaded and works by pushing a button on the side. That way, you can dip your spoon, put the top over the food until you get it to your mouth and then retract the lid and swallow the contents. Tada. Corn and peas are now in the mouth instead of on your shirt and everywhere. There can be spoons with buttons on either side for righties and lefties.

Lisa Coin
4320-D Eastgate Drive
Owensboro, KY 42303
rlkcj011@juno.com

Have a great one.

Spoon for the disabled

Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2004 4:09 pm
by Rishi
The problem with spring operated closures is that if they are reliable they are somewhat stiff. If too light they tend to give up. The springs have to be in SS to be food grade. Such complex devices are difficult to clean. They cannot be made disposable as they will be expensive.

The problem posed is real and demands a solution.

It may be possible to make disposable spoons and forks out of a plastic like polypropylene(PP). Imagine a deepish elliptical welled elliptical spoon with the mouth almost closed along the long diameter. It is possible to mould such shapes in PP. The handle itself can be moulded somewhat like a thimble so that a person with rather unsteady fingers can slip a forefinger into this hollow. It would be possible to press on the far end of the closed diameter to split open the cup end of the spoon, akin to what happens with a pea pod.

The spoon can be brought to touch the lips. A press on the end of the spoon against the lip will open the cup and deliver the contents into the mouth.

It can be made light enough to be disposable so that there is no bother of cleaning.

There exist some designs for cups, which have a sort of slit at the base (instead of the usual loop handle) into which the whole palm enters. This makes it quite easy for the infirm to lift and drink from the cup without spilling the contents.

Rishi

Think outside the box...

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 9:06 pm
by C-Chamberlain
The problem is containment correct? Why not have a containment unit (spoon) that is a new shape rather than use the traditional spoon or fork model? I propose a shape that is similar to a pipe that one would use for smoking tobacco. A small opening but deep. This would allow the contents to slosh and rattle a bit but stay contained until touching the lips where the hungry person would rotate it to "dump" the material into their mouths. Contents would be scooped up initially.
Disposable or metal it could be made. Alas, I too suffer from the woes of poverty or I would patent this idea.
Try plugging up a thin walled pipe or something similar and try it. Good luck and let me know if that worked. My goal in life is to help others... and get rich off of one of my inventions too.