Heated or cooled dishware and drinkware and food containers
First Claim
1. An actively heated or cooled portable food container for heating or cooling a meal, comprising:
- a removable lid;
an insulated container body having an inner wall and a base attached to the inner wall, the inner wall and base defining a chamber that extends between an opening at a top end of the chamber configured to be removably sealed by the lid and a closed end at the base, the chamber configured to receive and hold a foodstuff, the foodstuff accessible solely through the opening at the top end of the chamber, the container body further comprising a cavity between the base and a bottom wall of the container body; and
a temperature control system housed in the cavity, the temperature control system comprisingone or more heating or cooling elements in thermal communication with the chamber and configured to heat or cool at least a portion of the chamber,circuitry configured to control the operation of the one or more heating or cooling elements,one or more sensors configured to sense one or more parameters of the foodstuff in the chamber and to communicate with the circuitry, the one or more sensors including at least one temperature sensor in thermal communication with the chamber, andone or more batteries configured to provide power to one or more of the circuitry, one or more sensors and one or more heating or cooling elements, wherein the circuitry is configured to;
receive a meal time setting from a user corresponding to a start of a meal period,receive a temperature set point to which to heat or cool the foodstuff,receive a sensed temperature signal from the at least one temperature sensor corresponding to a sensed temperature of the foodstuff in the chamber,automatically calculate a period of time needed to heat or cool the foodstuff from the sensed temperature to the temperature set point,automatically calculate a start time for initiating operation of the one or more heating or cooling elements by subtracting the calculated period of time from the meal time setting, andautomatically actuate operation of the one or more heating or cooling elements at the calculated start time prior to the meal time setting so that the foodstuff is at approximately the temperature set point at the start of the meal period.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An actively heated or cooled food container can have a lid movable between an open and a closed position and an insulated body to which the lid can be attached. The insulated body can have a sidewall that defines a perimeter of the container body and a base, the sidewall and base defining one or more chambers that can be sealed by the lid. The food container can have a temperature control system that can include one or more heating or cooling elements in thermal communication with one or both of the sidewall and the base and operable to heat or cool one or both of the sidewall and the base to thereby heat or cool the one or more chambers in the food container.
297 Citations
15 Claims
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1. An actively heated or cooled portable food container for heating or cooling a meal, comprising:
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a removable lid; an insulated container body having an inner wall and a base attached to the inner wall, the inner wall and base defining a chamber that extends between an opening at a top end of the chamber configured to be removably sealed by the lid and a closed end at the base, the chamber configured to receive and hold a foodstuff, the foodstuff accessible solely through the opening at the top end of the chamber, the container body further comprising a cavity between the base and a bottom wall of the container body; and a temperature control system housed in the cavity, the temperature control system comprising one or more heating or cooling elements in thermal communication with the chamber and configured to heat or cool at least a portion of the chamber, circuitry configured to control the operation of the one or more heating or cooling elements, one or more sensors configured to sense one or more parameters of the foodstuff in the chamber and to communicate with the circuitry, the one or more sensors including at least one temperature sensor in thermal communication with the chamber, and one or more batteries configured to provide power to one or more of the circuitry, one or more sensors and one or more heating or cooling elements, wherein the circuitry is configured to; receive a meal time setting from a user corresponding to a start of a meal period, receive a temperature set point to which to heat or cool the foodstuff, receive a sensed temperature signal from the at least one temperature sensor corresponding to a sensed temperature of the foodstuff in the chamber, automatically calculate a period of time needed to heat or cool the foodstuff from the sensed temperature to the temperature set point, automatically calculate a start time for initiating operation of the one or more heating or cooling elements by subtracting the calculated period of time from the meal time setting, and automatically actuate operation of the one or more heating or cooling elements at the calculated start time prior to the meal time setting so that the foodstuff is at approximately the temperature set point at the start of the meal period. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An actively heated or cooled portable food container for heating or cooling a meal, comprising:
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a removable lid; an insulated container body having a wall and a base, the wall and base defining a chamber configured to receive and hold a foodstuff therein, the foodstuff accessible solely via an opening at a top end of the chamber configured to be sealed by the lid when in the closed position; and an active temperature control system housed in the container body, comprising one or more heating or cooling elements in thermal communication with one or both of the wall and the base and configured to heat or cool one or both of the wall and the base to thereby heat or cool the foodstuff in the chamber; one or more batteries configured to provide power to the one or more heating or cooling elements; control circuitry configured to control the operation of the one or more heating or cooling elements; one or more temperature sensors in thermal communication with the chamber and configured to communicate one or more signals to the control circuitry indicative of a sensed temperature of the foodstuff in the chamber; and a transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with a remote electronic device to one or both of transmit information to the remote electronic device and receive information from the remote electronic device, the control circuitry operable to; wirelessly receive from the remote electronic device a meal start time setting corresponding to a start of a meal period, wirelessly receive from the remote electronic device a temperature set point to which to heat or cool the foodstuff, receive the sensed temperature from the one or more temperature sensors corresponding to the sensed temperature of the foodstuff in the chamber, automatically calculate a period of time needed to heat or cool the foodstuff from the sensed temperature to the temperature set point, automatically calculate a start time for initiating operation of the one or more heating or cooling elements by subtracting the calculated period of time from the meal start time setting, and automatically actuate operation of the one or more heating or cooling elements at the calculated start time prior to the meal start time setting so that the foodstuff is at approximately the temperature set point at the start of the meal period. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification