Looking at silly patents, I never expected to find this.
What is it?
Motorized Ice Cream Cone!
How does it work?
Essentially, one licks the top of the cone, while the motor automatically spins it. Unlike normal ice cream comes, the cone is not edible.
Claims (only showing a few, rest are in the sources)
1. A novelty amusement eating device for supporting, containing, rotating and sculpting a food portion of malleable consistency during consumption comprising:....a drive mechanism supported by said housing, said drive mechanism including rotating means for imparting a rotary motion upon said cup, said rotary motion providing feeding means for rotationally feeding the contents of said common edible pastry cone against a person's outstretched tongue.
Discussion
It's a bit silly that someone would come up this, so a person would have an easier time licking an ice cream cone. Furthermore, what makes this patent questionable is how it incorporates prior art and obviousness. It is likely that a child could conceive on this mechanized way to eat ice cream. I even recall having fanciful thinking that there should be a way so the lollipop, ice cream, etc moves, while I hold my tongue. Hence, I find it interesting how this went through the patent process. Perhaps, what makes it non-silly is how the patent was filed in 1998. This is before technology was rapidly in the household and it was difficult to imagine a handheld motor, battery, and miniaturized components for everyday things, like an ice cream cone.Why is it silly?
It's silly because it is not a feasible or practical invention. People want to eat the ice cream cone, at their own pace. Although technology is good, sometimes it it is not pragmatic. This is one of those examples.
Source:
http://www.treehugger.com/culture/just-what-we-needed-dept-the-motorized-ice-cream-cone.htmlhttp://www.google.com/patents/US5971829
Hey Jaskirat!
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing this in class and being incredibly dumbfounded that it actually exists. And, like you, I remember the days of my childhood when I imagined things just like this for lollipops, corn on the cob and popsicles. So, in my opinion, it is definitely possible for this to be classified as obvious. Furthermore, I believe there actually is prior art for this due to the spinning lollipop contraptions they sell at places like Disneyland and Magic Mountain!
Chris
Hi Jaskirat,
ReplyDeleteI actually remember professor going over this silly patent in class, but I think you did a great job summarizing the patent and giving your thoughts on why it is a silly patent. Once again, great blog post and I enjoyed learning more about this silly patent.
Hi Jaskirat,
ReplyDeleteI actually remember professor going over this silly patent in class, but I think you did a great job summarizing the patent and giving your thoughts on why it is a silly patent. Once again, great blog post and I enjoyed learning more about this silly patent.