On August 7, 1990, Donald Bonasia received U.S. Patent No. D309695 on the Chop Stick Fork.

A little more than a year later on October 15, 1991, Frank J. Brincat received U.S. Patent No. 5,056,173 on a Combination Fork and Chopsticks.

Brincat’s utensil seems to be a significant improvement over Bonasia’s utensil. Combination eating utensils have been an active field of endeavor.

U.S. Patent No. 147,119, from February 3, 1874, on combined Knives, Forks, and Spoons, is perhaps the earliest example:

U.S. Patent No. D190198 from April 25, 1961, shows a more recent adaptation:

U.S. Patent No. 4,771,541 from September 20, 1988, discloses a combination fork and knife:

U.S. Patent No. 4,984,367 from January 15, 1991, discloses a combination utensil:

U.S. Patent No. D388,664, issued January 6, 1998, is the first patent literally on a “Spork”:

Other “Spork” patents include: D633344, D657625, D722836, D723341, D736039, D771,444, D778,120, D822,443, D858,214, D876907, D909,821, D910386, D979,350, and D1026571.