Invalidity dossier
US 11079118
Added 11/6/2026, 4:01:14 AM
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Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview — US 11079118 B2
Title: Combination microwave and hood system
Patent number / application: US 11079118 B2; Application US16/090,440 (published also as US 20190113241 A1)
Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation (original and current assignee per the supplied text)
Inventors: Owen Zhang, Michael Ledford, Xiangxu Liu, Stephen Zheng
Key dates: Priority date 2016-04-12; application filed 2017-04-11; granted/publication date 2021-08-03. The source lists an adjusted expiration of 2037-09-15 and shows a later priority claim to US19/572,277 (2026-03-19).
Purpose: The patent addresses space constraints in kitchens. As the source states, combination microwave-oven-and-ventilation-hood systems "typically have a significant overall vertical dimension," and the vertical gap between the cooktop and the underside of upper cabinetry may not accommodate such an appliance without restricting access to rear cooking areas. The disclosed system is intended for mounting under cabinetry above a cooking appliance.
Plain-language scope (based only on the supplied text): The system combines a microwave oven and a ventilation hood in one unit. It includes a cooking cavity, a cooking component area, and at least one vent fan inside an external enclosure. The fan draws exhaust air through at least one vent inlet and expels it through at least one vent outlet. In one aspect, the enclosure's overall vertical dimension is less than about 300 mm, with the cooking cavity occupying at least about 35% of the enclosure volume. Another aspect gives a vertical dimension of less than about 265 mm, with the enclosure including an outer wrapper (top and two sides, with air passages), a door, a rear plate, and a base plate with a vent inlet. A further aspect adds a separate heating cavity with a non-microwave heating component, with the overall system height equal to or less than about 440 mm.
Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US11079118/en
Not established by this excerpt: The full claim set and claim language, the detailed description, the identity or content of any cited prior art, the drawings' contents, the exact meaning of "about," and the basis for the 2037-09-15 expiration adjustment. The excerpt also does not support any conclusion about validity, infringement, or the merits of any litigation.
Generated 11/6/2026, 4:01:22 AM
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Litigation summary
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Proceedings on file (0)
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PTAB challenges
AIA trial proceedings at the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board — IPR, PGR, and CBM. Petitioners, judge panels, claim-level invalidation outcomes from Final Written Decisions, and Federal Circuit appeals. The single most important defensive datapoint after litigation history.
Assignment history
Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.
Prior art
Earlier patents, publications, and products that may anticipate or render the claims unpatentable.
Obviousness
Combinations of prior art that suggest the claimed invention would have been obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
Extensions
Patent term adjustments, term extensions, continuations, divisionals, family members, and expiration dates.
Derivative works
Defensive disclosure: derivative variations of each claim designed to render future incremental improvements obvious or non-novel.