"CUTLERY WITH HYGIENIC CISPOSABLE MEMBRANE" Description Technical Field The present invention relates to the technical sector of the production of cutlery, particularly the one set to be used only once, for hygienic reasons or for increasing speed during cleaning operations. In particular, it concerns the production of disposable cutlery equipped with a fixed body and an interchangeable part.

Background Art People know disposable cutlery made of plastic or similar materials, which are used in order to avoid the need to wash them up or in order to get top hygiene.

Nevertheless, said cutlery has the drawback of a fragile structure, which involves, when it's used for holding food of a relevant consistency, its breakage or the incapacity to fork the food.

Furthermore, even if said plastic cutlery permits to save on cleaning, on the other hand it doesn't ensure top hygiene, because it is usually sold in multiple packages that may be touched and handled by many people.

Other disposable cutlery is known, constituted by a fixed body, the handle, and a mobile body, i. e. the part that forms the hollow of the spoon, the points of the fork or the blade of the knife. Said cutlery, normally entirely made of plastic

or having just the fixed part in metal, lets the part reaching the mouth interchangeable.

But even said cutlery has the drawback of making the hold of food difficult because of the fragility of the mobile part, like for the whole plastic cutlery. In addition, it's not easy to remove the mobile part once being used and put another one on. Moreover, said cutlery has a quite high production cost if compared with the cost of the common plastic throwaway cutlery.

Everybody is aware of the hygienic problems we encounter in public places, particularly in canteens, refectories, hospitals, coffee bars and all the places where food is served to a relevant number of people. In such places it often occurs that cutlery is not perfectly cleaned or is anyhow handled by a lot of people, with all the drawbacks and the relative effects. As clients cannot simply used plastic cutlery, not only for the practical inconveniences caused by its easy breakage but even and above all for an image factor, we can affirm that no technical solutions exist, which can meet the problem of the hygiene with the convenient use of cutlery.

Disclosure of invention The present invention aims at eliminating the above-mentioned and other drawbacks, supplying a piece of cutlery equipped with a disposable and interchangeable hygienic membrane that permits to get top hygiene.

We reached this result realizing a piece of cutlery with the characteristics described in the separate claims. Other characteristics of this invention are the object of dependent claims.

The advantages resulting from the present invention essentially consist of the fact that it permits to get the same advantages of a common plastic throwaway cutlery, but increasing substantially its features, as it is much more strong; that it permits to hold food of such a consistency as the one traditional cutlery can afford; that it ensures top hygiene, as each membrane is packaged separately and conveniently protected; that costs of production are considerably cut down, compared with the costs necessary to produce a whole plastic cutlery; that it's easy to use, simple and cheap, as it's made of recycled plastic; that the environmental impact is highly reduced, since the waste material is constituted by recycled plastic that, even if thrown away, is fewer than the material thrown in the bin after using whole plastic cutlery; that time and costs for washing the supporting element are reduced, because there's no need to scrub, as the part covered with food dirt is thrown away by removing the membrane.

These and further advantages and characteristics of the present invention can be better understood by every expert in this field by reading the following description and referring

to the enclosed drawings, given as practical examples of the invention, but not to be considered restrictive.

Reduced to its essential structure and with reference to the figures of the enclosed drawings, a piece of cutlery according to the invention, comprises: -supporting means, with a metal body consisting of a handle (1) and an upper part equipped with points (2); -covering means of the upper part, with a disposable and interchangeable membrane in plastic material.

Conveniently, the membrane covering the upper part (2) of the cutlery is disposable and of variable shape, so making the cutlery suitable to be used either as fork or spoon.

Conveniently, the membrane in plastic material takes the shape of the points of the fork (5), so that, once the upper part (2) is covered, the cutlery can be used like a traditional fork (Fig. 3).

Conveniently, once the upper part (2) is covered with the membrane (5), the cutlery takes a uniform width and thickness over the whole body.

Conveniently, the membrane in plastic material takes a hollow shape (6), so that, once the upper part (2) is covered, the cutlery can be used as a spoon.

Conveniently, the membrane is made of recycled plastic material.

Conveniently, the membrane is made of plastic material, such as polypropylene, polystyrene or other materials for the

production of objects used for food, and is manufactured by forming, thermoforming or other suitable techniques.

Conveniently, the membrane (5,6) is put over the upper part (2) of the cutlery by pressing it manually or by means of specific mechanical or electrical apparatus that makes the membrane automatically fitted.

Conveniently, the base of the membrane (5,6) ends with a semicircular part (10,11) that corresponds to the portion (12) forming the base of the upper part of the cutlery.

Conveniently, the membrane has two tabs (8,9) that rest on the notches (4) located on the base of the upper part (2) of the cutlery, in order to avoid accidental leaks of the membrane itself.

Conveniently, said tabs (8,9) are used in order to easily remove the membrane from the cutlery once being used.

Conveniently, the membrane is removed by pulling it and exerting a force opposite to the one necessary for putting it over, manually or by means of specific removers.

Conveniently, the membrane is sold separately in a suitable package or supplied preloaded inside specific dispensers.

Conveniently, an apparatus is provided, allowing the membrane to be applied on the cutlery in an autonomous and simple manner.

Conveniently, the body of the cutlery is stiff and made of metal, so as to ensure a safe hold and a strong structure,

representing the skeleton of the cutlery that allows the points to fork any kind of food.

Conveniently, the upper part (2) of the cutlery has a smaller width and thickness than the one of the handle (1).

Conveniently, the upper part (2) of the cutlery has a series of points (3) that are covered by the membrane (5,6) and never directly touch the food or the user's mouth.

Conveniently, the points (3) of the cutlery are blunt in order to avoid involuntary holes or damages to the membrane.

Conveniently, the upper part (2) has on its base two notches (4) where the membrane (5,6) firmly rests.

Conveniently, the upper part (2) has on its base a hollow semicircular part (12) that corresponds to the semicircular portion (10,11) forming the base of the membrane (5,6).

We're now going to describe how to use the present invention.

The main characteristics of this cutlery consist of the fact that it's disposable, versatile, easy to use and perfectly hygienic.

Whenever we need to use a fork, we have only to put the membrane (5) over the upper part (2) of the cutlery. In this way we obtain a fork with a metal handle and the upper part in plastic or similar material. Once the upper part is covered, we go on using the fork in a traditional way. Finally, we'll remove the membrane by pulling and throwing it away. At this moment, the supporting body is ready to be used again without any other operation. This body can be quickly washed up, since

it doesn't need to be scrubbed or pre-washed by hand, neither needs strong detergents that entail a great environmental impact, nor needs to be washed in high temperature water for sterilization.

Similarly, if we want to use a spoon, we have only to take the basic cutlery and cover its upper part with the hollow membrane (6). In this case, the points (3) of the upper part (2) remain inside the membrane (6) and we do not perceive them at all. After we have used the spoon, we'll remove the membrane (6) and throw it in the bin, while the supporting body will be rapidly washed and used again.

In practice, the manufacturing details may, however, vary as regards shape, size, position of elements, and type of materials used, but still remain within the range of the idea proposed as a solution and, consequently, within the limits of the protection granted by this patent for invention.

Brief description of drawings -Fig. 1 shows a frontal view of the cutlery without the membrane. Said cutlery is made of metal and has a regular handle (1), while the upper part (2), including the typical points (3) of the fork, is thinner and has two notches (14) on its base, in order to firmly close the covering, and a hollow semicircular part (12); -Fig. 2 shows a side view of the same cutlery, in order to note the smaller thickness of the upper part (2) compared with the handle (1);

Fig. 3 shows the cutlery with the upper part (2) covered by the membrane (5), in such a way that the width of the covered upper part is almost the same as the one of the handle (1). It has then a semicircular part (10) corresponding to the hollow part (12) of the cutlery; -Fig. 4 shows the cutlery with the upper part (2) covered by a different membrane (6) having the shape of a spoon and a semicircular part (11), on its base, corresponding to the hollow part (12) of the cutlery; -Fig. 5 shows the detail of the fork-shaped membrane (5) formed by the points (7) covering the points (3) of the basic cutlery, and two tabs (8) on its base, which make the membrane easier to be removed once used. On the base of this membrane, we note the semicircular part (10) realized in order to ensure a greater cover and protection and also to make it easy to be fitted over the upper part (2) of the cutlery; -Fig. 6 finally shows the spoon-shaped membrane (6), having on its base the edges (9) that fit into the notches (4) on the base of the upper part (2) of the cutlery, equipped with semicircular portion (11) as well.