Oh, patents! Le Bread Xpress (2)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Le Bread Xpress robotic-bakery vending machine was awarded the  US design patent USD674020S, titled Vending machine. As a reminder the  difference between utility and design patents is explained in the following provisions of the United States Patent and TradeMark Office (USPTO) Manual of Patent Examing Procedure (MPEP): 

 “a “utility patent” protects the way an article is used and works (35 U.S.C. 101), while a "design patent" protects the way an article looks (35 U.S.C. 171). [USPTO - MPEP]  

Below, the Figure 1 drawing, extracted from the US design patent USD674020S,  together with an image of the marketed, robotic-bakery, vending machine. 

The franchised, award-winning, robotic-bakery vending machines deliver piping hot and crusty, artisan-made baguettes, on-demand, 24/7. In France the Panivending machines are found in under-served rural areas, and just outside artisan bakery shops, in view of extending hours of operation. In the US, pandemic-interrupted deployment of the machines was planned for malls and at corporate centers. 

References

Le Bread Xpress https://www.lebreadxpress.com/

Le PaniVending https://www.panivending.com/concepts

United States Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO), Manual of Patent Examing Procedures (MPEP) https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/index.html