PATENT OF THE WEEK – ELECTRIC RICE COOKER

This was invented by Yong-Jae Sa (Seoul). It was patented by the USPTO on March 17, 1998 bearing patent number US5727448A. The current innovation pertains to an electric rice cooker that incorporates an adiabatic vacuum mechanism that minimises heat loss from the hot plate from the outside while also continually retaining heat inside.

An electric rice cooker is provided to achieve the aforementioned goal of the invention. It consists of an outer case with an inner case placed within; a cooking kettle placed inside the inner case to hold water and rice to be cooked; a hot plate mounted next to an exterior surface of the cooking kettle to heat the cooking kettle; a first lid to cover the top of the cooking kettle; a second lid mounted on a lower portion of said lid; and an adiabatic vacuum member fixed between the outer case and said cooking kettle at said second lid to prevent a heat emission from the cooking kettle to an outside.

It is preferred for the adiabatic vacuum part to have an aluminium film inside of a hollow space. The adiabatic vacuum member is ideally constructed with a latch that is integrally formed inward from the flange, an outwardly extending flange, and at least one protrusion at one of its side walls to prevent the side wall from bending. A fixture for securing the adiabatic vacuum part is also included with the electric rice cooker.