Background of the Invention In general, a pair of chopsticks consist of two individual sticks each of which is used to pick up food. But using the chopsticks adeptly requires some level of dexterity, and it is very difficult to use them for persons who are unfamiliar with the use of chopsticks, such as foreigners, the aged, those with physical handicaps, and especially such patients with tremulous hands.

In addition, the chopsticks can be contaminated by contact with the surface of the table since the chopsticks are usually put down on the table when not in use, thus invoking the feeling of a bad appearance and poor sanitation.

To solve these problems, some restaurants employ a separate chopstick-rest on which the chopsticks can be set down when not in use, so that the portion of the chopsticks that contacts with food will not touch the table surface. This practice, however, has its own drawbacks; provision of a chopstick-rest means extra work, time, and cost; it is also troublesome for diners who must set down the chopsticks on the rests every time.

Another solution is to be found in a Korean Utility Model, Registration No. 145841, which the present applicant obtained earlier. The Utility Model of the present applicant is characterized in that the chopsticks are made in a body; their upper ends being

connected with each other by means of a support 120 in the shape of a ring bent downward and their bottom parts being formed in a body together with grips 140; the outer side of them embossed or knurled.

However, although the chopsticks in said utility model have the effect of possibly preventing their contacts (food-contacting parts) 130 from contacting the table top due to the grips 140 and the support 120, there is still a problem in that when the grips 140 are pressed to grasp food, the pressure is applied to the support 120, viz. the tension to its outer side and the compression to its inner side; whereupon, the support 120 can be weakened or, worse still, fractured. If the support 120 is reinforced to overcome these shortcomings, then, it invariably occurs that the support 120 gets too tough to bend with sufficient elasticity for easy grasp of food.

Of course it may be possible to remedy such a problem simply by making the said ring of the support much bigger, but then the chopsticks must look unbalanced thereby damaging the appearance and making it hard for both contacts, remote from the central sections, to be brought together without intercrossing, since the pressing force needed to grasp food has to act mostly on the support.

Summary of the Invention Now the object of the present invention is to provide clean and sanitary chopsticks, in which the support will not fracture, nor the contacts intercross, while coming into no contact with the table surface.

The above object of the present invention can be attained by bestowing an elastically deformable shape on the part between support and grip, and thus the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a support connecting the upper ends of chopsticks; grips enlarged to have a bigger surface area than the adjacent parts and positioned between support and contact; and an intermediate part, which, positioned between grip and support, is wider and thinner than the part between contact and grip.

Brief description of the drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the conventional pincers-type chopsticks ; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the pincers-type chopsticks of the present invention; Fig. 3 is a plane view of the-type chopsticks of the present invention; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of another example of pincers-type chopsticks of the present invention; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of still another example of pincers-type chopsticks of the present invention; and, Fig. 6 is a perspective view of yet another pincers-type example chopsticks of the present invention.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments One of the embodiments of the present invention is described below, referring to the drawings thereof.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the chopsticks of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is its plane view.

As shown in the above drawings, the pincers-type chopsticks of the present invention comprise a support 20, which joins the upper ends of chopsticks in a body, and, bent downward, keeps contacts 30 of the chopsticks from coming into contact with the table top; grips 40, which are formed in a protuberance between the said support 20 and the said contacts 30, and, having their bottom parts in contact with the table top, do support, together with the said support 20, the chopsticks to keep the said contacts 30 from getting into contact with the table top; and, intermediate parts 50, which, positioned between the said grips 40 and the said support 20,

are formed wide and long so as to bestow an elastic transformative property on the chopsticks.

Of course, the said support 20 and grips 40 may not necessarily swell downward, but can rise upward or both fall downward and rise upward. And also, if the side face is formed with linear symmetry, the use of the chopsticks may be rendered more convenient, because there is no need to differentiate the upper and lower sides of chopsticks.

Only, the said support 20 and the said grip 40 have to get into contact with the table top and so they must support the chopsticks, preventing the said contacts 30 from getting in touch with the table top, and provide enough areas for grip with a hand.

The functions of the pincers-type chopsticks of the present invention are as follows: When the pincers-type chopsticks of the present invention are used for grasping food, force is applied to the said grips 40, and the chopsticks are bent inward from the said support 20, and then the said intermediate parts 50 between the said grips 40 and the said support 20, shaped thinner than other parts, prove elastic and easier to bounce, wherefore, the chopsticks with thus improved elasticity modulus can recover their original position easily enough for re-use if the force applied to the said grips is abated a little.

Accordingly, while conventional chopsticks function by the elasticity of the support alone, the chopsticks of the present invention are endowed with elasticity of their own to function, and in the present invention the said support only serve firmly to connect the two sticks and support the chopsticks but prevent the said contacts 30 from getting intercrossed and getting into contact with the table top.

And also the said contacts 30 which get in touch with food can be given either the shape of a fork with prongs, or of a wide flat, or else, an uneven surface, all to help grasp food with greater ease.

Industrial Applicability The present invention has effects of preventing the possible fracture of the support and helping grasp food with ease, since both contacts of the chopsticks can be brought together with small force, kept from intercrossing, while both the support and the grips, themselves in contact with the table top, can support the contacts and keep them from contact with the table top.