Patent landscapes › rice cooker

Patent landscapes › Kitchen & cooking

Is a rice cooker patented?

Short answer: specific designs of a rice cooker have been patented many times, but "a rice cooker" as a general idea is not what is protected. What matters is the exact combination of features in your version.

What our index shows
  • 188 US and WO patent publications since 2000 have a title matching “rice cooker” or a close variant (our index of 9.7 million patent families; one publication per family).
  • Among the 188 best keyword matches we examined, 54 were published in 2020 or later, and the earliest was published in 2000.
  • Most frequent assignees in those matches: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORP (23), FOSHAN SHUNDE MIDEA ELECTRICAL HEATING APPLIANCES MFG CO LTD (15), SHARP KK (13), DAYOU WINIA CO LTD (9).
  • Most common patent classes (CPC subclasses): A47J (185), H05B (15), Y10S (9), A23L (8).

Counts come from keyword matching on titles and abstracts, so they are indicative, not a legal count. Some matches are different products that share a word.

14 real patent publications related to a rice cooker

  1. Drained-and-steamed rice cooking method based on water level adjustment and drained-and-steamed rice cooker WO-2026143829-A1 2026 · HAN YALAN
    A drained-and-steamed rice cooking method. Rice is submerged in boiling water or rice broth only in a rice cooking phase in which water in a rice cooking pot (2) is heated to vigorous boiling, and in a rice draining phase after th…
    View on Google Patents
  2. Multiply rice cooker pot WO-2025089940-A1 2025 · NI HSIN CORP SDN BHD
    The present invention relates to a rice cooker pot (1) comprising a pot body (2) comprising a pot bottom (3) having a flat bottom surface, wherein the pot body (2) is constructed from an inner layer (6) made of a high strength and…
    View on Google Patents
  3. Rice non-stickiness control method in heat preservation stage of cooking appliance, and rice cooker WO-2024093631-A1 2024 · JOYOUNG CO LTD
    The present application discloses a rice non-stickiness control method in a heat preservation stage of a cooking appliance, and a rice cooker. The cooking appliance completes rice cooking by means of an uncoated inner pot, and the…
    View on Google Patents
  4. Induction heating-type electric pressure rice cooker with separable lid WO-2022085877-A1 2022 · LG ELECTRONICS INC
    Provided is an induction heating-type electric pressure rice cooker with a separable lid. An induction heating-type electric pressure rice cooker with a separable lid according to an embodiment of the present invention is configur…
    View on Google Patents
  5. Steam rice cooker for visible cooking WO-2021175159-A1 2021 · JOYOUNG CO LTD
    A steam rice cooker for visible cooking, comprising a cooker body (100), a cooker cover (200), and an inner pot (300). The cooker cover (200) covers the cooker body (100) and defines a cooking cavity with the inner pot (300); a st…
    View on Google Patents
  6. Pressure control method and control system for clay pot rice, and electric rice cooker WO-2019227843-A1 2019 · GREE ELECTRIC APPLIANCES WUHAN CO LTD
    A pressure control method and control system for clay pot rice, and an electric rice cooker, wherein the pressurization in cooking is increased on the basis of original clay pot rice, and pressurization is carried out before and a…
    View on Google Patents
  7. Steam rice cooker WO-2019141207-A1 2019 · JOYOUNG CO LTD
    A steam rice cooker comprises a machine body (100) and a pot (200). The machine body (100) is provided with a steam generator and is laterally provided with an open space (10). A machine head (1) is provided at a top portion of th…
    View on Google Patents
  8. Electric rice cooker and heat cooking system WO-2018207441-A1 2018 · MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORP
    The electric rice cooker and heat cooking system are configured to prevent the electric rice cooker from overheating during induction-heating with a rice-cooking unit installed thereon, and to improve the usability. The electric r…
    View on Google Patents
  9. Electric rice cooker and heating cooking system WO-2018216298-A1 2018 · MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORP
    The electric rice cooker and heating cooking system are configured to prevent the electric rice cooker from overheating during induction heating with a rice-cooking unit installed thereon, and have improved usability. The electric…
    View on Google Patents
  10. Electric pressure rice cooker combinable with infrared steam light-wave grill having warmth-retaining function and freezing/refrigerating function WO-2017111425-A1 2017 · LEE SUK-HYANG
    The present invention relates to an electric pressure rice cooker combinable with an infrared steam light-wave grill incorporating a warmth-retaining and a freezing/refrigerating function and, more particularly, to an electric pre…
    View on Google Patents
  11. Planar heating element fixing structure for electric rice cooker WO-2017094968-A1 2017 · DAYOU WINIA CO LTD
    The present invention relates to a planar heating element fixing structure for an electric rice cooker, the fixing structure having a planar heating element fixed to the outer surface of a ring-type case provided at the top of the…
    View on Google Patents
  12. Electric rice cooker and heating control method thereof WO-2016041352-A1 2016 · FOSHAN SHUNDE MIDEA ELECTRICAL HEATING APPLIANCES
    A heating control method for an electric rice cooker, the electric rice cooker comprising a first heating coil (10) and a second heating coil (20); the first heating coil (10) is located under an inner pot (30) of the electric ric…
    View on Google Patents
  13. Rice cooker and pot for rice cooker WO-2012153444-A1 2012 · PANASONIC CORP
    A plurality of recesses (27) are disposed in a suitable shape in suitable positions on the inside surface of the bottom of an inner pot body (25) constituting a pot for a rice cooker, whereby boiling starts in the recesses when he…
    View on Google Patents
  14. Electric rice cooker with divided inner pot space WO-2009154397-A3 2010 · KIM JONG-MAN
    The present invention relates to an electric rice cooker, and more particularly, to an electric rice cooker including: an inner pot which is separable from the electric rice cooker and divided into at least two or more spaces; an …
    View on Google Patents

What this means for your idea

Because patents cover specific combinations of features, the useful question is not “has a rice cooker been patented?” but “has my combination of features been described before?” Kitchen gadgets are a crowded, mature field; novelty usually sits in one specific mechanism, the material, or how two familiar functions are combined.

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First-look landscape. Not exhaustive. Not legal advice. This page lists keyword-matched publications from a limited database; it does not say whether any product is or isn't covered by a patent, whether a patent is still in force, or whether your idea is patentable. Consult a registered patent attorney or agent.