US-12616334-B2 - Cooking device and components thereof

US12616334B2US 12616334 B2US12616334 B2US 12616334B2US-12616334-B2

Abstract

A cooking system includes a housing defining a hollow chamber configured to receive food. The housing has an upper portion defining an opening to said hollow chamber. A lid is movable relative to the housing between an open position and a closed position. A lid lock is associated with at least one of the lid and the housing. The lid is configurable between a lid locked condition with the housing and a lid unlocked condition with the housing via the lid lock. At least one vent is disposed in at least one of the lid and the housing, and the at least one vent is configurable between an open vent condition and a closed vent condition via actuation of the lid lock.

Inventors

Rupert Elliston
Joyce Chien Tu
Roger Neil Jackson
Steven Carter
Benjamin Sharp
Thomas Guerin
Christopher T. Martin
Christopher Smith
Joshua D. Anthony
Michaela Dubeau

Assignees

SHARKNINJA OPERATING LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20201231

Claims (20)

1 . A cooking system comprising: a housing defining a hollow chamber configured to receive food, said housing having an upper portion defining an opening to said hollow chamber; a lid movable relative to said housing between an open position and a closed position; an elongate slot disposed on an exterior surface of said lid; a mode selector slidably disposed in said elongate slot, the mode selector being actuatable between a first position associated with a first cooking mode, a second position associated with a second cooking mode, and a third position associated with a third cooking mode, the third position being between the first position and the second position; a lid lock coupled to said mode selector and associated with said lid, said lid being configurable between a lid locked condition with said housing, a lid unlocked condition with said housing, and an intermediate locked position with said housing, via said lid lock, wherein moving said mode selector relative to said lid from the first position to the second position transforms said lid from said lid locked condition to said lid unlocked condition, and moving said mode selector relative to said lid from the first position to the third position transforms said lid from said lid locked condition to said intermediate locked condition; and at least one vent disposed in said lid, wherein said at least one vent comprises an inlet vent and an outlet vent, both of which are configurable between an open vent condition and a closed vent condition via actuation of said mode selector, wherein, when said lid is in said intermediate locked condition, said inlet vent is in said open vent condition and said outlet vent is in said closed vent condition.
2 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein said lid lock is rotatable about an axis relative to said lid to transform said lid between said lid unlocked condition, said intermediate locked condition, and said lid locked condition.
3 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein the second cooking mode comprises a non-pressurized cooking mode wherein said at least one vent is in said open vent condition and the first cooking mode comprises a pressurized cooking mode wherein said at least one vent is in said closed vent condition.
4 . The cooking system of claim 3 , wherein the non-pressurized cooking mode includes a convection cooking mode and the pressurized cooking mode includes a conductive cooking mode.
5 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein both said inlet vent and said outlet vent are in said open vent condition when said lid is in said lid unlocked condition and both said inlet vent and said outlet vent are in said closed vent condition when said lid is in said lid locked position.
6 . The cooking system of claim 5 , wherein said third cooking mode comprises a combination cooking mode including at least two separate cooking modes.
7 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein said lid lock further comprises a first portion of an engagement mechanism and said housing further comprises a second portion of said engagement mechanism, and when said lid is in said lid locked condition said first portion and said second portion of said engagement mechanism are coupled.
8 . The cooking system of claim 7 , wherein said engagement mechanism is a bayonet locking system.
9 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein the cooking system further comprises a user interface including a plurality of inputs, and a functionality of said user interface is determined in response to a position of said lid lock.
10 . The cooking system of claim 9 , wherein said user interface includes a first portion and a second portion, said first portion is energized when said lid is in said lid unlocked condition and said second portion is energized when said lid is in said lid locked condition.
11 . The cooking system of claim 1 , further comprising at least one heating element disposed in at least one of said lid and said housing.
12 . The cooking system of claim 1 , further comprising a first heating element mounted within the lid and a second heating element disposed within the housing.
13 . The cooking system of claim 12 , wherein said first position of the mode selector allows for activation of the first heating element in the first cooking mode, and said second position of the mode selector allows for activation of the second heating element in the second cooking mode.
14 . The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein said mode selector is configured to move independently of said elongate slot.
15 . A cooking system comprising: a housing defining a hollow portion configured to receive food; a lid coupled to the housing and movable between an open position and a closed position; an elongate slot disposed on an exterior surface of said lid; a lock ring concentrically disposed in the lid, the lock ring configured to rotate between first, second, and third positions, wherein in the first position the lock ring locks the lid relative to the housing, and wherein in the second position the lock ring releases the lid such that the lid is unlocked relative to the housing, and wherein in the third position the lid is in an intermediate locked position; at least one vent disposed within the lid, the at least one vent having a closed vent state when the lock ring is in the first position, the at least one vent being moved by the lock ring to a fully open vent state when the lock ring is in the second position, and the at least one vent being moved by the lock ring to a partially open vent state when the lock ring is in the third position; and a mode selector knob slidably disposed in said elongate slot, wherein said mode selector knob is coupled to the lock ring and configured to move the lock ring between the first position associated with a first cooking mode, the second position associated with a second cooking mode, and the third position associated with a third cooking mode, wherein said at least one vent comprises an inlet vent and an outlet vent, both of which are configurable between the fully open vent state, the partially open vent state, and the closed vent state via actuation of said mode selector knob, and wherein, when the lid is in the intermediate locked condition, the inlet vent is in the fully open vent state or the partially open vent state and the outlet vent is in the closed vent state.
16 . The cooking system of claim 15 , wherein the at least one vent is moved to the open position by the lock ring via a plunger system.
17 . The cooking system of claim 15 , wherein the lock ring includes a bayonet mechanism for locking the lid relative to the housing.
18 . The cooking system of claim 15 , further comprising a fan disposed on the lid, the fan configured to create a fluid flow direction, wherein the inlet vent extends with the fluid flow direction and the outlet vent extends against the fluid flow direction.
19 . A cooking system comprising: a housing defining a hollow food chamber; a lid coupled to the housing and lid movable between an open position and a closed position; an elongate slot disposed on an exterior surface of said lid; a mode selector knob slidably disposed in said elongate slot and movable between a first position associated with a first cooking mode, a second position associated with a second cooking mode, and a third position associated with a third cooking mode, the third position being between the first position and the second position; a lock ring disposed within and adjacent to an outer perimeter of the lid, the lock ring being coupled to the mode selector knob such that movement of the mode selector knob from the first position to the second position causes the lock ring to rotatably move from an engaged position in which the lock ring engages the housing to lock the lid relative to the housing to a disengaged position in which the lock ring is disengaged from the housing; an inlet vent formed in the lid and configured to be moved between a closed vent condition and an open vent condition in response to movement of the mode selector knob from the first position to the second position and/or the third position; and an outlet vent formed in the lid and configured to move between a closed vent condition and an open vent condition in response to movement of the mode selector knob from the first position and/or the third position to the second position, wherein, in the third cooking mode, the inlet vent is in the open vent condition and the outlet vent is in the closed vent condition.
20 . The cooking system of claim 19 , wherein the lock ring includes a bayonet mechanism for locking the lid relative to the housing.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/001,953, filed Mar. 30, 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND Embodiments of the present disclosure relates generally to a cooking device and components thereof, and more specifically, to a multifunction device configured to perform the operation of a plurality of distinct cooking devices, the multifunctional cooking device optionally employing various components for cooking in the distinct cooking modes. Conventional cooking devices, such as pressure cookers and air fryers each perform a single cooking operation, and as such, these devices employ different components and methods for cooking food items. As such, multiple devices are required to perform various cooking operations. For consumers that wish to enjoy food cooked in different ways via different operations, an accumulation of these devices can occur. Such an accumulation of cooking devices is often prohibitive from a standpoint of cost and storage space. For at least these reasons, it would be desirable to integrate the functionality of several cooking devices into a single user-friendly cooking device. SUMMARY According to an embodiment, a cooking system includes a housing defining a hollow chamber configured to receive food. The housing has an upper portion defining an opening to said hollow chamber. A lid is movable relative to the housing between an open position and a closed position. A lid lock is associated with at least one of the lid and the housing. The lid is configurable between a lid locked condition with the housing and a lid unlocked condition with the housing via the lid lock. At least one vent is disposed in at least one of the lid and the housing, and the at least one vent is configurable between an open vent condition and a closed vent condition via actuation of the lid lock. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, in further embodiments said lid lock is manually movable to transform said lid between said lid unlocked condition and said lid locked condition. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, in further embodiments said lid lock further comprises a protrusion arranged within a slot formed at an exterior of said lid, said protrusion being movable between a first position associated with said lid unlocked condition and a second position associated with said lid locked condition. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, in further embodiments the cooking system is operable in a non-pressurized cooking mode when said at least one vent is in said open vent condition and the cooking system is operable in a pressurized cooking mode when said at least one vent is in said closed vent condition. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, in further embodiments said at least one vent is in said open vent condition when said lid is in said lid unlocked condition and said at least one vent is in said closed vent condition when said lid is in said lid locked position. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, in further embodiments said at least one vent further comprises an inlet vent and an outlet vent, wherein both said inlet vent and said outlet vent are in said open vent condition when said lid is in said lid unlocked condition and both said inlet vent and said outlet vent are in said closed vent condition when said lid is in said lid locked position. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, in further embodiments said lid is further configurable at an intermediate lid locked condition with said housing. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, in further embodiments said inlet vent is in said open vent condition and said outlet vent is in said closed vent condition when said lid is in said intermediate lid locked condition. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, in further embodiments said lid further comprises a first portion of an engagement mechanism and said housing further comprises a second portion of said engagement mechanism, and when said lid is in said lid locked condition said first portion and said second portion of said engagement mechanism are coupled. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, in further embodiments said engagement mechanism is a bayonet locking system. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, in further embodiments the cooking system further comprises a user interface and a functionality of said user interface is determined in response to a position of said lid lock. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternat