US 5,934,181 · Granted 1999-08-10

The Infrared Cooking Thermometer That Knows When Your Pan Is Hot

Imagine a frying pan or griddle that can sense its own temperature without a probe sticking into the food. This patent covers a built-in infrared sensor that watches the cooking surface get hotter, converts that heat radiation into an electrical signal, and feeds that data to a display or control system—so you always know exactly how hot your pan is.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers the specific design of an infrared sensor embedded in or attached to a cooking utensil (like a pan, griddle, or pot) positioned to detect heat radiation from the cooking surface, combined with an electronic circuit that translates the infrared data into an electrical signal. What's protected here is the combination of the sensor placement, the infrared detection method, and the signal conversion system—not just the sensor itself, but how it's integrated into the utensil as a functional unit.

Why it matters

This patent, filed by SEB S.A. (a major French cookware manufacturer), represents an early attempt to bring smart temperature monitoring into everyday kitchen tools. Real-time surface temperature feedback reduces guesswork and prevents burning; it's a safety and performance upgrade for home cooks. Though infrared thermometers existed before, embedding one directly into the utensil's structure and connecting it to feedback electronics was a novel approach that could have reduced accidents and improved cooking consistency.

Real-world use

When you're searing meat or making pancakes, you'd glance at a digital readout on the handle or pan rim telling you the exact temperature of the cooking surface, removing the guesswork of whether the pan is ready or about to smoke.

Original USPTO abstract

A sensor for measuring the temperature of the utensil is an infrared sensor arranged at a location of the utensil such that it can receive the infrared radiation emitted by the heating surface, the sensor being connected to an electronic circuit capable of converting the variation in the infrared radiation caused by the heating of the utensil into an electrical signal.

Patent details

Publication number: US 5,934,181
Filing date: 1999-01-22
Grant date: 1999-08-10
Assignee: Seb S.A.
Inventor(s): ADAMCZEWSKI; DAVID
CPC class: A47J45/068

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