Portable countertop electric oven

• US 8,330,083 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2011
• Issued: 12/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NuWave LLC
• Original Assignee: Hearthware, Inc.
• Inventors: Moon, Jung S., Kim, Gene H., Kwon, Mikale K., Choi, Eung Y., Choi, Byong G.
• Primary Examiner(s): PASCHALL, MARK H
• Application Number:
  US13/046,700
• Publication Number:
  US 20110220632A1
• Time in Patent Office: 640 Days
• Field of Search: 219/490, 219/494, 219/497, 219/505, 219/506, 219412-414, 219/458.1
• US Class Current: 219/490
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 37/0623 Small-size cooking ovens, i.e. defining an at least partially closed cooking cavity A47J37/0605 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 15/325 electrically-heated
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 7/08 Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49002 Electrical device making

Abstract

A portable countertop electric oven for cooking food includes: a cooking housing; a power head operative to attach, connect, and/or couple, to the cooking housing, at least a portion of the power head extending into an interior of the cooking housing; a base operative to attach, connect, and/or couple, to the cooking housing; and a first securing element operable to secure the cooking housing to the base. A porting element may be provided, such as a handle formed from a portion of the power head, which may include first and second bulged regions of the power head. At least one of: the cooking housing; the power head and the base, may have a substantially elliptical shape, and may include two bulged portions at respective distal ends. The first securing element may be an attachment clip including a first region operable to engage with the cooking housing and a second region operable to engage with the base.

Claims

1. A portable countertop electric oven for cooking food, the oven comprising:

at least one cooking housing;

at least one power head operative to be coupled to the at least one cooking housing, at least a portion of the at least one power head extending into at least a portion of an interior of the cooking housing,

wherein said at least one power head comprises a porting element coupled to an upper portion of said at least one power head for enabling lifting or mobility of the device;

at least one base operative to be coupled to the at least one cooking housing; and

at least one first securing element operable to secure the at least one cooking housing to the at least one base.

2. The portable countertop electric oven of claim 1, further comprising an oven pan disposed to be placed in a central cavity of the base.

3. The portable countertop electric oven of claim 2, further comprising a grill disposed to be placed in the oven pan.

4. The portable countertop electric oven of claim 1, wherein said porting element comprises an inverted substantially u-shaped handle.

5. The portable countertop electric oven of claim 4, wherein the porting element comprises the handle, wherein the handle is formed from a portion of the power head.

6. The portable countertop electric oven of claim 5, wherein the portion of the power head comprises first and second bulged regions of the power head.

7. The portable countertop electric oven of claim 1, wherein the power head is detachably coupled to the cooking housing by a second securing element.

8. The portable countertop electric oven of claim 7, wherein the second securing element comprises one or more raised lands operative to engage with one or more ramped tabs.

9. The portable countertop electric oven of claim 8, wherein the raised lands are formed from a material comprising the power head, and wherein the ramped tabs are formed in a material comprising the cooking housing.

10. The portable countertop electric oven of claim 1, wherein the cooking housing forms an open area between the base and the power head.

11. The portable countertop electric oven of claim 1, wherein at least one of:

the cooking housing;

or the power head and the base, at least partially comprises a polycarbonate material.

12. The portable countertop electric oven of claim 1, wherein at least one of:

the cooking housing;

the power head and the base, have a substantially elliptical shape.

13. The portable countertop electric oven of claim 12, wherein at least one of:

the cooking housing;

the power head;

or the base, comprises two bulged portions at respective distal ends thereof.

14. The portable countertop electric oven of claim 13, wherein the base comprises two bulged portions, and a gap is formed in the sidewall thereof in the vicinity of said bulged portions of the base.

15. The portable countertop electric oven of claim 1, wherein the first securing element comprises an attachment clip comprising a first region operable to engage with the cooking housing and a second region operable to engage with the base.

16. The portable countertop electric oven of claim 15, wherein the first region comprises at least one of:

one or more engagement teeth disposed to engage with corresponding one or more grooves of the cooking housing;

or one or more grooves formed by the material of the first region disposed to engage with one or more rim portions of the cooking housing.

17. The portable countertop electric oven of claim 15, wherein the second region comprises at least one pin portion disposed to engage with one or more corresponding recessed groove portions of the base.

18. A method of manufacturing a portable countertop electric oven for cooking food, the method comprising:

producing at least one cooking housing;

producing at least one power head operative to be coupled to the at least one cooking housing, at least a portion of the at least one power head extending into at least a portion of an interior of the at least one cooking housing;

producing at least one base operative to be coupled to the at least one cooking housing; and

producing at least one first securing element operable to secure the at least one cooking housing to the at least one base.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein at least one of:

the cooking housing;

or the power head and the base, are produced to have a substantially elliptical shape.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein at least one of:

the cooking housing;

the power head;

or the base, are produced to comprise two bulged portions at respective distal ends thereof.