ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 10 -- United States Patent no. 12,411,515, issued on Sept. 9, was assigned to Whirlpool Corp. (Benton Harbor, Mich.).
"Knob mechanism for gas cooktop" was invented by Matheus Ponick (Joinville, Brazil) and Rodrigo Schultz (Joinville, Brazil).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A locking mechanism to prevent inadvertent gas flow for a knob for a gas cooktop may include a stem configured to abut the knob in the resting position to prevent actuation of the knob, a locking mechanism movable between a locked position preventing translation of the stem to prevent against unintentional rotation of the knob, and a released position allowing translation of the stem and thus activation...