Cooking Appliance With Removable Plates
Patent No. US12171368 (titled "Cooking Appliance With Removable Plates") was filed by Tsann Kuen Enterprise Co Ltd on May 16, 2024.
What is this patent about?
’368 is related to the field of cooking appliances, specifically those with removable cooking plates. The background acknowledges the common desire for households to have multiple cooking appliances for different needs, while balancing factors like size, aesthetics, ease of use and cleaning, cost, and environmental impact. The invention aims to improve upon existing cooking appliances by providing a more versatile and convenient design.
The underlying idea behind ’368 is to create a cooking appliance, such as a waffle iron or griddle, that allows for easy interchangeability of the cooking plates. This is achieved through a locking mechanism that secures the plates to the appliance's housing but can be easily released to swap them out. This allows a single appliance to be used for cooking different types of food or creating different patterns.
The claims of ’368 focus on a cooking appliance with a housing comprising a base portion and a top portion, a base locking mechanism , and a first cooking plate removably coupled to the base portion. The cooking plate has an engagement feature that allows it to be locked to the housing. The base locking mechanism can be altered to an unlocked state, allowing the cooking plate to be detached. The base locking mechanism includes a base button, a push rod, a spring, a latch, and a fixed sheet, all working together to secure and release the cooking plate.
In practice, the user can easily swap cooking plates by pressing a button that actuates a latch, releasing the plate. The plate can then be removed and replaced with a different one. The spring-loaded latch ensures that the plate is securely locked in place during cooking. The design incorporates features like engagement tabs and notches to ensure proper alignment and secure attachment of the cooking plates.
This design differentiates itself from traditional cooking appliances with fixed cooking surfaces by offering greater versatility and ease of cleaning. The ability to quickly and easily change cooking plates allows the user to adapt the appliance to different cooking needs without requiring multiple separate appliances. The removable plates also simplify the cleaning process, as they can be easily detached and washed separately.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical landscape at the time
In the early 2020s when ’368 was filed, cooking appliances were typically implemented using heating elements controlled by basic circuitry, at a time when removable parts were commonly secured using mechanical latches or fasteners. At this time, the design of cooking appliances often balanced ease of use and cleaning with manufacturing costs and structural integrity.
Novelty and Inventive Step
The application received a non-final office action. Claims were objected to for informalities and rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 103. Claims 1-5, 22, and 26 were provisionally rejected for nonstatutory double patenting. Claims 6, 11, 24, and 25 were objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim. The prosecution record does not describe the technical reasoning or specific claim changes that led to allowance.
Claims
This patent contains 22 claims, of which claims 1, 7, and 19 are independent. The independent claims are directed to cooking appliances with features such as locking mechanisms for cooking plates and specific housing configurations. The dependent claims generally elaborate on and add detail to the features described in the independent claims.
Key Claim Terms New
Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.
Patent Family
File Wrapper
The dossier documents provide a comprehensive record of the patent's prosecution history - including filings, correspondence, and decisions made by patent offices - and are crucial for understanding the patent's legal journey and any challenges it may have faced during examination.
Date
Description
Get instant alerts for new documents
US12171368
- Application Number
- US18666274
- Filing Date
- May 16, 2024
- Status
- Granted
- Expiry Date
- May 16, 2044
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents