Patents on the soles of your shoes...: Oh, patents! OXO® Good Grips

Are there any OXO® utensils in your kitchen? The OXO® tools with their easy-grip rubber handles were borne of the pain of arthritis, even if their use is also more comfortable for people without special needs. According to Wilson (2018), the first OXO® hit product, launched in 1990, a vegetable swivel peeler with easy-grip handle, entered the MOMA permanent design collection in 2004. Almost 30 years later, this invention is still gathering accolades, in particular, the Fast Company 2018 Timeless Design, Innovation by Design, Award.

Beyond the essential necessity of restoring user comfort and capacity, the OXO® Good Grips product line was inspired by the rubber and fins on bike handlebars as a solution for adapting to any hand-held tool or utensil with a core shank. Add to this winning design solution, the OXO® brand name that can be read forward, backward or upside down, not to mention what it also connotes when you are signing off messages to your close friends and family, and little else should surprise you.

The OXO® grip invention was first recited in the US utility patent US4974286, titled Universal handle for hand-held implement, granted on December 4, 1990. The patent was subsequently amended and corrected, in the reissue patent USRE34194E, granted on March 16, 1993. The patent discloses an invention in the domain of human factors and ergonomic engineering, in response to the specific needs of individuals who cannot firmly grasp handles, whether the handles are for kettles, ladles, potato peelers, bottle openers, spatulas, pot brushes, cheese knives, garden tools, hammers, screwdrivers or any other tool or utensil. Thus, the invention offers a solution termed universal since it is designed to make all handheld implements and tools graspable by individuals who otherwise cannot grip conventional handles.

In particular, the patent recites a stocky handle with an elliptical crosssection, made of elastomeric material with good insulation and cushioning properties. The stocky handle further comprises a hollow internal cavity designed to “socket” the utensil’s core shank. The elastomeric material further comprises strategically-positioned depressable concave areas with which users can engage with forefinger and thumb, in view of strengthening their grip (see figure 7). The concave depressable areas are filled with an array of evenly spaced flexible fins. The elastomeric material of the handle is made out of, for example, neoprene or synthetic rubber. The wide contours of the handle generally conform to the palm of a hand forming a fist, especially if the user is unable to form a tight fist, due to arthritis or other disability.

The abstract of this invention is included below, together with Figures 2 and 7, extracted from the patent, and an image of the marketed OXO® dish or pot brush.

Figure 2 depicts an embodiment of the universal handle 10 implemented on a pot brush. The pot brush comprises bristle clusters 11 anchored in a base with an extension arm 13. The extension arm 13 is connected to the head 14 of a core shank 15, socketed inside the universal handle 10. The upper end of the universal handle 10 further comprises opposing concave areas 18A and 18B, each with an anchored array of evenly spaced fins 19 that are very flexible. At the lower end of the universal handle 10, an opening 17 makes it possible to suspend the pot brush.

Figure 7 depicts the universal handle 10 nested in the palm of a user’s hand 20, whose fingers 21, 22 and 23 appear clenched around the handle. The user’s forefinger 24 and thumb 25 are respectively engaged with the concave areas 18A and 18B, each comprising evenly spaced fins 19, at the upper end of the universal handle. The opening at the lower end of the handle 10, designed suspend the tool, is also visible.

A universal handle for household and other hand-held implements, the handle being adapted to ergonomically render the implement to which it is applied useable by individuals who have difficulty in firmly grasping a conventional handle. The universal handle, which is fabricated of elastomeric material having good thermal insulation and cushioning properties, includes an internal cavity to socket the core shank of the implement. The handle has an elliptical cross-section, the opposing sides of the handle adjacent its upper end each having a concave depression, in each of which an array of spaced, flexible fins is anchored to define a depressible grip site. When the fingers of a user's hand are clenched about the handle, the internal region of the resultant fist conforms to the form of the handle to provide a good grip thereon, the thumb and forefinger pressing into the grip sites to enhance the user's grip on the handle. [Abstract USRE34194E]

References

Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards

https://www.fastcompany.com/apply/innovation-by-design

OXO® (website)

www.oxo.com

USPTO MREP - 1401 Reissue [R-08.2017]

h ttps://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s1401.html

Wilson, M. (09-24-2018) The untold story of the vegetable peeler that changed the world

https://www.fastcompany.com/90239156/the-untold-story-of-the-vegetable-peeler-that-changed-the-world