Cookware is used to hold and apply heat to food. Exemplary pieces of cookware include a stock pot, a wok, and a frying pan. Although each of these have different shapes, they each include two basic elements: one surface for receiving thermal energy from a heat source, a “heat-receiving surface” and one surface for applying the heat to food, a “cooking surface.”
Thermal energy can be generated from many different sources. Examples include electric and gas ranges. A heat source can generate the thermal energy by, e.g., burning gas, or transferring electricity through a heating coil.
When cooking food, the piece of cookware transfers the thermal energy from the heat-source to a heat-receiving surface. The food in the cookware then absorbs the heat from the cooking surface, cooking the food.
Thermal energy transfer from combustion sources can be inefficient. For example, a gas range is reported to be only about 30% efficient. This means that a lot of energy is wasted when cooking. The inefficiency increases energy bills and produces unnecessary, undesirable CO2 into the environment.
Prior efforts have been directed to increasing the efficiency of gas ranges. For example, others have optimized burners to efficiently mix of air and fuel to completely combust the fuel. However there has been limited effort to improve the efficiency of the heat-receiving surfaces of cookware.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds