1994-05-19
1996-01-09
Watts, Douglas D.
Cutlery
Forks
D 7653, A47J 4328
Patent
active
054818052
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an eating utensil for use by those with handicaps affecting the hands.
The experts in this field are extremely aware of the problems faced by individuals with hand impairments, whether of a congenital or of an acquired nature, when trying to eat.
To better understand the problems encountered in the use of a utensil in bringing food to the mouth, it is helpful to first of all briefly describe the morphology of the hand, its movements and dysfunctions.
The hand, as described in FIG. 2, has an anterior side, or palm 1, a posterior side, or dorsal 2, a medial edge 3, a lateral edge 4, and lastly a distal edge 5, from which the fingers originate; the palm is concave in the center and has slightly protruding margins. The most outstanding protrusion is found at the base of the thumb 10, said protrusion is determined by the fleshy mass of three muscles and has an elongated freshy protuberance 6, with the larger pole towards the wrist; on the opposite side is another, less outstanding protrusion 7, of an elongated elliptical shape, which corresponds to the little finger 14. These two protrusions, in proximity of the wrist, are found close together and separated by only a gentle depression 8. The palm of the hand has four folds disposed in an M form, and are: the thumb fold 9a, the fold of the fingers 9b, the longitudinal fold 9c, and the oblique fold 9d.
The dorsal side of the hand reflects, on the whole, the form of the skeleton, slightly convex in the transversal sense; the spaces between the metacarpal bones are filled by the dorsal interosseous muscles, and above the lower level run the tendons of the extensor muscles of the fingers. Regarding the length of the fingers, the thumb 10 is the shortest consisting of only two phalanges, the middle finger 12 is the longest, while the index finger 11 and the ring finger 13 are generally equivalent and the tip of these two fingers arrive at the midway point of the terminal segment of the middle finger 12, the little finger 14 terminates at the point of the second interphalangic articulation of the ring finger 13.
Regarding the movements of the fingers, it is important to clarify in precise terms, that the bending of the first segment of the finger can reach a right angle with respect to the plane of the hand; while the second segment can slightly exceed a right angle, and the terminal segment generally cannot reach a right angle bend.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Laterality movements of the fingers--the bringing together towards and separating of the fingers from one another--occur as a result of metacarpal-phalangic articulation.
The thumb has various and extended movements, owed to the articulation of the corresponding metacarpal bone with the carpus (trapezial), and the most important movement being the one towards and away from the other fingers.
Various pathologies concern the functional limitations of the hand: for example, deformative arthritis, other forms of arthritis and polyarthritis, contractures of the fingers, as well as the various forms of paralysis.
All the various forms of pathologies, congenital or acquired, the paresis, as well as the neurolesisons, create difficulty in the movement of the fingers' articulations, and most of all bring about a limited capacity of fine prehension in addition the impossibility of holding an object through the combined action of the fingers with the concave part of the hand.
The known utensils which enable patients to feed themselves all belong to one of the following groups:
one ties the traditional utensils (fork or knife for example), to a dorsal support fixed to the wrists and to the dorsal portion of the hand, that allows the its use solely as a support for the utensil, while having to depend upon the rotary movements of the arm, discounting the functionality of the hand;
the other is based upon the use of utensils which employ one or more fingers as hooks, requiring that the user be able to exert a considerable amount of gripping force. In any event, the variou
REFERENCES:
patent: D226139 (1982-09-01), Cyren
patent: D271364 (1983-11-01), Cassini
patent: D271366 (1983-11-01), Cassini
patent: 4035865 (1977-07-01), McRae et al.
patent: 4917517 (1990-04-01), Ertz
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