Combination Microwave And Hood System
Patent No. US11079118 (titled "Combination Microwave And Hood System") was filed by Whirlpool Corp on Apr 11, 2017.
What is this patent about?
’118 is related to the field of combined ventilation hood and microwave oven systems, particularly those designed for mounting under kitchen cabinetry above a cooking appliance. Traditional combination units often have a large vertical profile, which can restrict access to the rear of the cooking surface. The patent addresses the need for a more compact design that maximizes space utilization in the kitchen.
The underlying idea behind ’118 is to reduce the overall vertical dimension of a combined microwave and ventilation hood by strategically positioning the ventilation fans on the lateral sides of the microwave cooking cavity. This allows for a lower profile design without sacrificing ventilation performance. The system can also be configured to either recirculate air or vent it outside.
The claims of ’118 focus on a microwave oven system with an external enclosure, a cooking cavity, and ventilation components. Specifically, the independent claims cover the arrangement of vent fans on either side of the cooking cavity, drawing air through inlets on the base plate and expelling it through either recirculation vents or an outside vent. Claim 10 further includes a modular heating system coupled to the bottom of the microwave oven enclosure.
In practice, the system uses one or more fans to draw in exhaust air from the cooking surface below through inlets on the bottom of the unit. This air is then either filtered and recirculated back into the kitchen through vents on the top surface or expelled outside through a dedicated vent. A separate cooling fan draws air across the microwave components to prevent overheating, with the heated air then exhausted through a separate outlet.
The key differentiation from prior approaches lies in the compact arrangement of the ventilation system. By placing the fans laterally to the cooking cavity, the overall height of the combined unit is significantly reduced. This allows the system to be installed in spaces where traditional units would be too large, improving usability and kitchen design flexibility. The modular heating system is an additional feature that enhances the functionality of the combined unit without increasing its overall footprint beyond that of conventional systems.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical landscape at the time
In the mid-2010s when ’118 was filed, microwave and ventilation hood combination systems were at a time when they typically had a significant overall vertical dimension. This was when hardware or software constraints made it non-trivial to reduce the vertical size of such appliances while maintaining adequate cooking cavity volume and ventilation performance.
Novelty and Inventive Step
The examiner allowed claims 33-35, 37, 38, and 53 because the prior art does not disclose or teach a second vent fan disposed within the external enclosure on a second lateral side of the cooking cavity, wherein the second vent fan is in fluid communication with the second vent inlet, wherein the first and second vent fans draw exhaust air through the first and second vent inlets and expel exhaust air through the at least one recirculation vent outlet. Claims 40-43 and 54 are allowable because the prior art does not disclose or teach a base plate defining at least one vent inlet, wherein the at least one vent inlet is in fluid communication with the at least one recirculation vent outlet and the outside vent outlets. Claims 45-52 and 55 because the prior art does not disclose or teach a modular heating system coupled to a bottom of the microwave oven enclosure, wherein the modular heating system defines a heating cavity.
Claims
There are 20 claims in total. Claims 1, 6, and 10 are independent. The independent claims generally focus on microwave oven systems and enclosures with specific ventilation configurations. The dependent claims elaborate on the features and configurations described in the independent claims.
Key Claim Terms New
Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.
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Date
Description
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US11079118
- Application Number
- US16090440
- Filing Date
- Apr 11, 2017
- Status
- Granted
- Expiry Date
- Sep 15, 2037
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents