{
  "patent_number": "US 3997676",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Cup Noodles Are Designed to Cook Perfectly",
  "original_title": "Instant-cooking cupped noodles and a method of producing the same",
  "summary": "A 1976 patent describing the specific shape, density, and placement of dehydrated noodles inside a cup to ensure they cook evenly and quickly when hot water is added.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent details a method for creating a 'noodle lump' that fits perfectly inside a tapered, heat-insulating cup. By frying the noodles in a specific mold, the process creates a lump that is denser at the top and less dense at the bottom. When placed in the cup, the lump is suspended so it does not touch the bottom, allowing hot water to pool underneath and heat the noodles from below. The dense top layer acts as a lid to trap steam, which helps the noodles cook thoroughly in just a few minutes.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover instant noodles sold in plastic bags or bricks that are not pre-shaped for a specific cup.",
    "Does not cover noodle cooking methods that rely on microwave energy rather than hot water immersion.",
    "Does not cover non-fried noodle dehydration processes like air-drying or freeze-drying.",
    "Does not cover cups that are not heat-insulating or do not utilize a tapered, friction-fit design."
  ],
  "filed": "1976-03-19",
  "granted": "1976-12-14",
  "expires": "1996-03-19",
  "status": "expired",
  "holder": "Nissin Shokuhin KK",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/nissin-shokuhin-kk",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Momofuku Ando",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/momofuku-ando"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 22,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "mechanical"
  ],
  "abstract": "A noodle cup is disclosed containing a lump of instantly cookable noodles having an evenly distributed, reduced moisture content in which the noodle lump has a less dense lower portion as compared with the upper portion and a shape corresponding to the inside of the hermetically sealed cup, which tapers to a base of smaller diameter than the top. The noodle lump is disposed in the cup in frictional engagement with the sides of the cup and at a spaced distance from the top and bottom of the cup. The noodle lump is formed by filling the cup shaped mold with 50-80% by volume of gelatinized noodles and then dehydrating the noodles by dipping the mold into heated frying oil so that the noodles rise to the top of the mold.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/3997676/cup-noodles-instant-ramen-ando",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/3997676/cup-noodles-instant-ramen-ando/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US3997676",
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}