Patents Examined by Steven N Leff
  • Patent number: 11963632
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a process and a system for brewing a beverage in a beverage brewing system, said system comprising: i) a water inlet line; ii) means for controlling flow of water connected to said water inlet line; iii) at least one water heating device for heating water to a predetermined temperature connected downstream to and in communication with said means for controlling flow of water; iv) a water dispenser connected downstream to and in communication with said at least one water heating device, said water dispenser comprising means for controllable dispense of water; v) optionally a water distribution device arranged to receive dispensed water from said water dispenser; vi) a beverage substance container arranged to receive dispensed water from said water dispenser or said water distribution device; vii) a beverage container arranged to receive dispensed beverage from said beverage substance container wherein the flow rate of water in said system is adjusted so as to correspond to a pr
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: 3TEMP AB
    Inventor: Anders Eriksson
  • Patent number: 11940768
    Abstract: A multi-function cooking apparatus control system and control method for improving the reproducibility of cooking results of a multi-function cooking apparatus includes a recipe program interface component to access a plurality of recipe programs. Predefined operating conditions include an operating parameter setting for a technical capability parameter of the cooking apparatus. An operating parameter interface component receives actual operating parameter values reflecting actual operating conditions of the cooking apparatus. If an actual technical capability parameter deviates from the predefined operating conditions and indicates a non-compensable deficiency of a technical capability of the cooking apparatus, instructions are sent to the cooking apparatus to prevent or stop automatic execution of the particular recipe program.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventors: Maximilian Koennings, Caroline Cozzone, Stefan Hilgers
  • Patent number: 11910512
    Abstract: A cooking appliance includes a cooking cavity, a microwave module, a convection module, an upper heater module and a lower heater module. A turntable is rotatably mounted in the cooking cavity. The cooking appliance is operable for, and related methods may include, activating at least one of the microwave module, the upper heater module, the lower heater module, and the convection module, while also rotating the turntable within the cooking cavity within the cooking cavity. The cooking appliance is further operable for, and related methods may also include rotating the turntable in a back-and-forth motion during at least a portion of a cook cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventor: Mark Heimerdinger
  • Patent number: 11832763
    Abstract: An oven comprises a cooking cavity, a stirring member extending, in use, into foodstuff contained in a vessel disposed in the cooking cavity as well as drive means to provide, in use, relative movement between the stirring member and the vessel. The oven comprises a displacement device to move the stirring member from outside the cooking cavity through an opening in a wall bounding the cooking cavity into the cooking cavity as well as, in use, into the vessel disposed in the cooking cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: EGGCITING PRODUCTS B.V.
    Inventors: Herman Hijma, Oscar Slurink, Dennis Giezeman, Michael Kasbergen, Marcel Alexander Bivert
  • Patent number: 11759042
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and articles to provide customized control of a cooking appliance, such as a sous vide cooker. A user provides a selection of one or more ending characteristics for a food product. A processor-based device determines one or more output food preparation parameters based on the user's selection of the one or more ending characteristics. Measurements of temperature, power delivery, or other characteristics may be obtained during cooking process. A cooking program controlling the cooking process may be revised or updated based at least in part on the obtained measurements or analysis of the measurements. Estimations or projections about the cooking process may be presented to a user via a user interface of the cooking appliance or a user interface of one or more computing devices (e.g., smartphone, tablet computer) associated with the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: Breville USA, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Charles Young, Nelson Timothy Salazar, Emmett Barton, Michael Natkin, Douglas Eugene Baldwin
  • Patent number: 11751712
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and articles to provide customized control of a cooking appliance, such as a sous vide cooker. A user provides a selection of one or more ending characteristics for a food product. A processor-based device determines one or more output food preparation parameters based on the user's selection of the one or more ending characteristics. Measurements of temperature, power delivery, or other characteristics may be obtained during cooking process. A cooking program controlling the cooking process may be revised or updated based at least in part on the obtained measurements or analysis of the measurements. Estimations or projections about the cooking process may be presented to a user via a user interface of the cooking appliance or a user interface of a computing device (e.g., smartphone) associated with the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: BREVILLE USA, INC.
    Inventors: Douglas Baldwin, Marc Ian Feifel, Christopher Charles Young
  • Patent number: 11751711
    Abstract: Food stuffs are cooked at precise temperatures, which are optionally below 100° C., in a vessel that is evacuated to exclude air, in which low pressure steam replaces the air. When a sufficient quantity of air is excluded and replaced with water vapor, the temperature of vapor is accurately measured inside the vessel below the lid to control the temperatures within about 1° C. Air is preferably excluded via a controlled heated process for a relatively short period of time at high temperature to generate steam, the temperature is lowered to condense water vapor upon which the lid will sealingly engage the rim of the vessel, forming a partial vacuum in the cooking vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Inventors: Stanley Kin Sui Cheng, Edward S. Sherman, Chun Wing Wong, Kam Yuen Li, Hin Hang Homer Cheung
  • Patent number: 11737600
    Abstract: Provided is an air fryer that includes an inner cooking chamber located within a cooking chamber. The inner cooking chamber has a first opening and a second opening spaced apart from the first opening across the inner cooking chamber. The inner cooking chamber is partly delimited by a second wall extending between the first opening and the second opening. A duct is defined by a space between the first wall and the second wall. The duct provides a fluid connection between the first opening and the second opening. The air fryer also includes a heater for heating the inner cooking chamber, and a fan. The fan receives air from axial directions and moves the air radially. The fan is axially movable relative to the inner cooking chamber such that the air fryer is switchable between a first configuration and a second configuration, and vice versa.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V.
    Inventor: Ingrid Hietbrink
  • Patent number: 11737594
    Abstract: An apparatus comprises at least two cooking devices, a control unit, an input device and an output device. The control unit is adapted to determine if at least two of the foodstuffs to be cooked can be cooked in one of the cooking devices in an at least partly concurrent manner. Depending thereon, the control unit allocates the foodstuffs to be cooked to the cooking devices and outputs, via the output device, which of the foodstuffs can be cooked in which cooking device or in which cooking devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: V-Zug AG
    Inventor: Marc Schönenberger
  • Patent number: 11717109
    Abstract: A device for heating and/or cooking food, in particular meat products, includes a cooking chamber formed in the housing for the food to be cooked, a heating device associated with the cooking chamber and having at least one heating element for heating the food product, and at least one food receptacle for receiving the food product in the cooking chamber. The food receptacle is movably received by an adjusting device for adjusting at least the distance of the food receptacle relative to the heating device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: REAMOTION GMBH
    Inventor: Emilio Reales Bertomeo
  • Patent number: 11700971
    Abstract: An outdoor cooking station configured to simultaneously and independently cook food with separate cooking modes. The cooking station includes a main body defining separate first and second cooking portions fueled by separate fuel sources for cooking food in the separate modes. The first cooking portion includes gas-fueled first heating elements configured to heat a first cooking surface associated with the first cooking portion of the main body. The second cooking portion of the main body extends to define a chamber, the chamber being accessible with a door or hood pivotably coupled to the main body. The chamber includes an upper region and a lower region separated by an inner panel, the upper region including a second cooking surface suspended within the upper region. The lower region includes a second heating element sized and configured to electrically heat pellet elements to supply heat and smoke to the upper region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: North Atlantic Imports, LLC
    Inventors: Roger Dahle, Steve L. Puertas, Jeffrey D. Clark
  • Patent number: 11700965
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method (100) for operating a food processor (10), in which, in a preparation mode, at least one processor device (50) of said food processor (10) is actuated so as to prepare food at least partly automatically, wherein a monitoring device (200) determines detection values (106) by detecting (105), at said processor (10), at least two detection variables (102) specific to a state of preparation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventors: Wenjie Yan, Maximilian Könnings, Maria Resende
  • Patent number: 11684212
    Abstract: Devices, systems, and methods are provided for baking a food product in a portable baking oven. The baking oven includes a main body, lower and upper stones, a heat shield suspending the upper stone above the lower stone, and a heat element emanating heat upward to a rotating flat panel having the lower stone thereon. Convection heat from the heat element moves upward from below the rotating flat panel and past a periphery of the flat panel, channeled by the heat shield to the upper stone, to move along the upper stone, and then down along the heat shield, on the opposite side. With this arrangement, the heat element heats the upper and lower stones with convection heat moving between the lower and upper stones in a side-to-side manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: North Atlantic Imports, LLC
    Inventors: Roger Dahle, Derrick Longson, Wayne B. Hardy, Deno R. Blau
  • Patent number: 11641969
    Abstract: A turkey cooking apparatus provides a pot and a specially configured insert (e.g., basket) that rests upon the pot bottom. A lower funnel shaped section and upper tube shaped section are provided inside the pot. The insert (e.g., basket) sits upon funnel shaped portion. The insert has a central opening that is receptive of the tubed portion. Both the insert and the tube section can have openings that enable steam to travel upwardly to cook the turkey carcass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2023
    Assignee: Metal Fusion, Inc.
    Inventors: Barbara Bourgeois, Michael Bourgeois, Norman Bourgeois, Jr., Nicholas Ryan Bourgeois
  • Patent number: 11638442
    Abstract: The invention relates to a food processing system (100) allowing reconstitution and/or structuration and/or texturization of dehydrated food materials such as powders, the system comprising: —a dosing system (50) comprising one or a plurality of containers (20) each container comprising a dehydrated or partially dehydrated food material; —at least one reconstitution food processing unit (10) to which the containers (20) from the dosing system can be connected, the processing unit (10) comprising: at least one product inlet (17) for the food material coming from a container (20), at least one liquid inlet (18) for liquid to be mixed with the food material, and at least one product outlet (16) at one end of the unit (10) for in-line depositing the formed food; —a depositing area (60) where the formed food from the processing unit (10) is dispensed; the depositing area (60) and the at least one food processing unit (10) being moveable with respect to each other in such a way that different food shapes and/or pat
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2023
    Assignee: Societe des Produits Nestle S.A.
    Inventor: Youcef Ait Bouziad
  • Patent number: 11627746
    Abstract: A method for producing a purée from a food product, comprising the following steps: refining the food product up to obtaining a purée; de-activating the enzymes by heating the purée, in order to prevent oxidation of the purée. The step of de-activating the enzymes comprises the step of passing an electric current through the purée between electrodes of a first ohmic heater (31).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: CFT S.P.A.
    Inventors: Roberto Catelli, Stefano Romei, Mario Gozzi
  • Patent number: 11589708
    Abstract: A method of controlling a cooking apparatus includes identifying an initial thickness of a food product on a lower heating plate of the cooking apparatus and calculating a difference between an initial gap value corresponding to the initial thickness of the food product and a predefined final gap value. The method includes controlling at least one of a pressure of at least one of an upper heating plate and a lower heating plate on the food product, a rate of descent of the upper heating plate toward the lower heating plate, and a rate of ascent of the lower heating plate toward the upper heating plate based on the calculated difference between the initial gap value and the predefined final gap value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: TAYLOR COMMERCIAL FOODSERVICE, LLC
    Inventors: Jeffrey L. Sands, Ronald J. Glavan, Dennis J. Nelson, Otley D. Freymiller
  • Patent number: 11583146
    Abstract: The subject invention is a device for opening coconuts that includes a handle and a cutting cylinder attached to the handle, including a cutting edge at one end, and a cap that provides a striking surface. The cutting cylinder may have teeth and may have a gap. The cutting cylinder or the teeth may be beveled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2023
    Assignee: EZ-COCO LLC
    Inventor: David L. Goodman
  • Patent number: 11559160
    Abstract: A system and method for storing, preserving and cooking meals using the sous-vide technique. The system and method of the present invention is designed to automatically cook, upon request a meal having various ingredients by immersing bagged food in temperature-controlled liquid. The cooking time may be manually or automatically programmed from downloaded cooking direction associated with the food. The cooking request may be given by a user from the physical apparatus or using a mobile device application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2023
    Inventor: Marc Gagnon
  • Patent number: 11553817
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a control device for a food processing apparatus, and to a food processing apparatus, the apparatus comprising a food processing compartment (3) for a food substance, a heating unit (15) arranged to apply a heating procedure to the food substance, a weight sensor (44) arranged to monitor the weight of the processed food substance, and a control device (40) that is arranged to obtain weight information for the food substance, compute a derivative signal that is indicative of a weight loss rate of the food substance, compute a characteristic value of the derivative signal, and in an initial stage of the heating procedure, based on the characteristic value, determine an estimate for an initial fat content of the food substance, for the ongoing heating procedure, and/or an estimate for a resulting fat content change for the food substance. The present disclosure further relates to a method of operating a food processing apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V.
    Inventors: Yafang Jin, ZhongChi Luo, Haitao Feng