Fork

Abstract

A fork includes a handle and a fork head. The handle substantially extends in a front-rear direction. The fork head is connected to the handle. The fork head includes a plurality of columnar tines that extend in the front-rear direction, and a fork body that is connected between the tines and the handle. The tines are arranged in a left-right direction that is transverse to the front-rear direction. The tines are mainly made of pliable and flexible materials.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A fork comprising:
 a handle substantially extending in a front-rear direction; and   a fork head connected to said handle, and including a plurality of columnar tines that extend in the front-rear direction, and a fork body that is connected between said tines and said handle, said tines being arranged in a left-right direction that is transverse to the front-rear direction and being mainly made of pliable and flexible materials.   
     
     
         2 . The fork as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said tines are arranged and spaced apart in the left-right direction, and each adjacent pair of said tines cooperatively defining a fork gap, a distal portion of each of said fork gaps defined by said tines having a width smaller than that of an intermediate portion of said fork gap. 
     
     
         3 . The fork as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein each of said tines includes a first end that is connected to said fork body and a second end that is opposite to said first end, each of said fork gaps being partitioned into a first gap area that is defined by said first ends of the corresponding pair of said tines, a second gap area that is defined by said second ends of the corresponding pair of said tines, and a third gap area that is located between said first gap area and said second gap area,
 for each of said fork gaps, a maximum width of said first gap area, a maximum width of said third gap area, or both of said maximum width of said first gap area and said maximum width of said third gap area being greater than a minimum width of said second gap area.   
     
     
         4 . The fork as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein each of said tines includes a first tine surface that substantially faces upwardly in an up-down direction and that extends in the front-rear direction, and two connecting tine surfaces that extend in the front-rear direction, that are arranged in the left-right direction and that extend downwardly in the up-down direction. 
     
     
         5 . The fork as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein said fork head includes three of said tines that are arranged in the left-right direction, said tine in the middle further including a second tine surface that is located below said first tine surface in the up-down direction (D 3 ), said second tine surface extending in the front-rear direction and substantially tapering away from said fork body, said connecting tine surfaces of said tine in the middle extending downwardly from said first tine surface of said tine in the middle toward said second tine surface of said tine in the middle in the up-down direction. 
     
     
         6 . The fork as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein a cross-section of each of two of said tines that are located respectively at the outermost sides is in an inverted triangle-like shape that is wider at the top, the cross-section being perpendicular to the front-rear direction. 
     
     
         7 . The fork as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein a cross-section of each of two of said tines that are located respectively at the outermost sides is in an inverted triangle-like shape that is wider at the top, the cross-section being perpendicular to the front-rear direction. 
     
     
         8 . The fork as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said handle includes a handle body that is connected to said fork head, and a handle core that is surrounded by said handle body, hardness of said handle core being greater than that of said handle body. 
     
     
         9 . The fork as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein said handle body, said fork body and said tines are made of a same material, said handle core further including a handle tongue that extends into said fork body in the front-rear direction. 
     
     
         10 . The fork as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein each of said tines is mainly made of silicone rubber that has a hardness ranging from Shore 60 to Shore 95 when measured by a Shore durometer. 
     
     
         11 . The fork as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein each of said tines includes a first end that is connected to said fork body and a second end that is opposite to said first end, and each of said tines gradually tapers from said first end to said second end.