The invention relates to the field of food apparatus and, in particular, to a handle designed for holding lolli pops or similar foods that have a long and thin handle that presents a danger to children among others. The handle is designed to hold the thinner, paper handle that is attached to the lollipop candy and thus make it difficult for a youngster to hurt himself by placing the stick too far into his mouth
Lollipops typically have a candy at one end and a handle made of sturdy paper that protrudes out of the candy. The handle is used to hold the lollipop in the mouth so that the youngster can suck on the candy. The invention described herein offers a larger handle having an opening in which to hold the lollipop""s paper handle and thus presents a larger thicker handle that cannot choke or become wedged in the back of the mouth as it is too large to be swallowed. The invention can be used with other candies that come with narrow sticks as well.
Lollipops, like many things, are attractive and yet dangerous to children. For one thing, youngsters put the lollipop in their mouths and this presents the risk that the youngster may play with the stick or use it in a manner unintended. For another, the youngster may inadvertently push the stick into the back of his mouth, either while running or playing or doing something else. Also, the youngster may choke or gag on the stick, again through inadvertence or simply out of curiosity. Children are of course, curious by nature and such curiosity makes them vulnerable to things that are both attractive and dangerous. They are also inattentive which makes them liable to not pay attention to the lollipop while it in their mouth and they are doing other things.
Lollipops are also very messy because the paper handle that comes with lollipops is oftentimes covered with the sticky sugar from the lollipop as the child sucks on it. Lollipops are also liable to come in contact with tables and chairs because there is no way to stand the lollipop up due to the fact that the narrow paper stick does not allow the lollipop to be stood up.
It is believed that using a handle to hold the smaller paper handle of the lollipop will minimize the danger to children of choking or gagging on the thin stick while allowing them to place the candy end of the lolli pop in their mouth. By providing a handle to hold the lollipop stick that is significantly larger than the paper stick this will provide a safety device that will prevent the lollipop from choking the child or becoming lodged in his/her mouth.
It is also believed that using the apparatus described herein will allow the lollipop to be disposed of with little mess once the child has had enough. While the apparatus is intended to be reusable the lollipop stick can be removed by either manually removing it from the apparatus or pushing it out from the bottom of the apparatus through a hollow central passage. This can be accomplished using a new lollipop or by other ways.
A larger handle for the lollipop will allow someone else to pick up the used lollipop with out having to touch the narrow paper handle directly. The paper handle is oftentimes covered with the sticky sugar from the lollipop. Sugar from the lollipop may melt off the candy but will drip down between the paper stick and the handle and thus the person disposing of the lollipop can handle the lollipop without having to touch the sticky stick.
Such handle will also allow the child to temporarily stand the lollipop up and so prevent the lollipop from coming in contact with surfaces such as tables and chairs when the child does not wish to hold onto the lollipop.
The invention is a handle designed for holding the paper stick of a lollipop or similar candy that is of larger thickness than the paper stick. The handle will have a narrow opening running down the length of the handle that is of size and shape in order to hold the narrow paper stick of the lollipop. Such handle will be equipped with a rim at the top and bottom to maintain contact with the hand of the youngster or whomever is holding the lollipop.
The rim at the top should be of size sufficient to prevent the child from forcing this end into his mouth thereby preventing mouth and throat injuries. The bottom rim will also be of size to prevent the child from placing it into his mouth. The bottom rim will also provide a convenient stand upon which to rest the lollipop and handle when not in use. A narrow extension piece having a passage continuous with the opening will run above the upper rim for a short distance, this extension will maintain the candy at a safe distance away from the handle.
It is among the objectives to provide safety handle for a lollipop that will prevent the lollipop from choking or harming a child or person sucking on the lollipop.
Another objective is to provide a handle for holding lollipops that will allow one to dispose of the lollipop without having to directly come in contact with the messy, sticky lollipop handle.
Another objective is to provide handle that can function as a stand for a lollipop and so prevent the lollipop from coming into contact with tables and other surfaces.
Other objectives will be apparent once the invention is shown and described.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds