Validity of Deep Fryer Sensor Patent Upheld
Written September 17, 2019
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on September 12, 2019, affirmed a PTAB ruling which held that a patent covering a cooking oil sensor in a deep fryer was not invalid for obviousness. Henny Penny Corp. v. Frymaster LLC, Fed. Cir., No. 18-1596, 9/12/19.
Henny Penny challenged the validity of Frymaster’s US Patent No. 8,497,691. The patent covers a system for measuring the state of cooking oil degradation with a sensor which detects impurities and alerts the operator to change the oil.
The PTAB found the patent valid, rebuffing Henny Penny’s assertion that it was obvious based on a combination of an existing US patent and a Japanese patent application. The Federal Circuit upheld the decision, finding that a person of ordinary skill wouldn’t have been motivated to combine the existing patent and the application.
Henny Penny challenged the validity of Frymaster’s US Patent No. 8,497,691. The patent covers a system for measuring the state of cooking oil degradation with a sensor which detects impurities and alerts the operator to change the oil.
The PTAB found the patent valid, rebuffing Henny Penny’s assertion that it was obvious based on a combination of an existing US patent and a Japanese patent application. The Federal Circuit upheld the decision, finding that a person of ordinary skill wouldn’t have been motivated to combine the existing patent and the application.