ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 19 -- United States Patent no. 12,228,291, issued on Feb. 18, was assigned to MIDEA GROUP Co. LTD. (Guangdong, China).
"Cooking appliance with self-closing user control" was invented by Richard W. Cowan (Buford, Ga.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A cooking appliance includes a self-closing user control for a cooking element that is capable of automatically returning to an off position whenever it is released by a user in a portion of the movable range of positions for the self-closing user control, yet also is capable of maintaining its position in another portion of the movable range of positions for the self-closing user control."
The patent was filed on Jan. 31, 2024...