US 11672377

Here is the analysis for US patent 11,672,377.

Patent Information

• Title: Cooking device and components thereof
• Assignee: Sharkninja Operating LLC
• Inventors: Christopher T. Martin, Thomas Guerin, Roger Neil Jackson, Joshua D. Anthony, Kerry Schwarz, Michaela Dubeau
• Filing Date: June 10, 2022
• Issue Date: June 13, 2023
• Abstract: A cooking system includes a housing having at least one internal compartment and a cooking container receivable within said at least one internal compartment. A cooking volume is defined within an interior of said cooking container. A bottom surface of said cooking container is angled upwardly. A heating element is associated with said at least one internal compartment.

Plain-Language Summary of Independent Claims

This patent has three independent claims: 1, 12, and 18. They describe the core invention without relying on other claims.

• Claim 1: This claim describes a cooking appliance with a housing that is internally divided by a wall into two separate compartments. Each compartment has its own removable cooking container that fully closes the compartment's opening when inserted. The system includes distinct heating elements and fans for each compartment, which are independently operable. This design allows for cooking different foods in each container at the same time, under different conditions.

• Claim 12: This claim covers a cooking system with a housing containing two side-by-side ("horizontally coplanar") internal cooking compartments, each with a removable container. Each compartment has its own heating assembly (comprising a fan and a heating element). A key feature of this claim is that these two assemblies are independently operable and can be programmed to simultaneously cook food in different cooking modes.

• Claim 18: This claim focuses on a cooking system with two independently removable cooking containers separated by a dividing wall. Each container is configured to create a specific air duct when placed inside the housing. The system features independent heating elements and independent fans for each container, which are designed to circulate air through their respective cooking volumes.

Litigation Status

A search of the CAFC 2026 dockets for US patent 11,672,377 returned no specific results. However, information provided with the patent text indicates active legal challenges:

• PTAB Case: An Inter Partes Review (IPR) has been instituted against the patent family (Case IPR2025-01530).
• District Court Cases: Two cases have been filed in the New Jersey District Court (Case numbers 1:25-cv-05650 and 1:24-cv-08984).

These legal proceedings suggest that the validity of this patent or related patents in its family is being challenged.