US 7,473,872 · Granted 2009-01-06

The Smart Cooking Tool That Takes Its Own Temperature

Imagine a cooking appliance that uses an infrared sensor to constantly check the temperature of whatever you're cooking — no thermometer needed. The machine reads that heat signal and automatically adjusts its own heating power to keep your food at exactly the right temperature, all without you touching anything.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a cooking apparatus with four key parts working together: a frame that holds the cooking tool in place, a heating element that generates heat, an infrared receiver that detects the tool's temperature from a distance, and a control system that adjusts the heating based on the temperature data it receives. What's protected here is the specific combination of these components and how they communicate — essentially, a self-regulating cooker that uses infrared feedback to manage its own heat output.

Why it matters

This patent represents an approach to automating temperature control in cooking without requiring a user to manually monitor or adjust settings. By using infrared sensing, the apparatus can measure heat without direct contact, which is more sanitary and safer than inserting probes. This kind of closed-loop feedback system became increasingly valuable as kitchen appliances moved toward 'smart' operation, though the patent's impact is difficult to assess without knowing how widely Toshiba's designs were adopted or licensed in the market.

Real-world use

If you've ever used a rice cooker or induction cooktop that switches from high heat to low heat automatically once your food reaches the right temperature, you're experiencing the same principle this patent locked down — the machine watching its own work and adjusting on the fly.

Original USPTO abstract

A heat cooking apparatus includes a supporting unit for supporting a cooking tool, a heating unit for heating the cooking tool, a receiving unit capable of receiving temperature data of the cooking tool transmitted in the form of infrared rays from the exterior, and a controlling unit for controlling the heating unit on the basis of temperature data received by the receiving unit.

Patent details

Publication number: US 7,473,872
Filing date: 2004-08-30
Grant date: 2009-01-06
Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba / Toshiba Ha Products Co., Ltd. / Toshiba Consumer Marketing Coporation
Inventor(s): TAKIMOTO HITOSHI
CPC class: H05B6/062

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