Patent ID: 7193190

Claim:
An apparatus for heating a meal comprising: a serving plate having an upper surface and an underside; a plate adapter with a number of depending legs, each of the legs including an aperture at a lower extent, the shape of the plate adapter corresponding to the shape of the underside of the serving plate, the plate adapter further comprising a pressure switch; a glue securing the plate adapter to the underside of the serving plate, the glue being dissolvable to thereby allow the plate adapter to be selectively coupled or uncoupled to an existing serving plate; a heater assembly housing an internal heating element, a rechargeable battery, and opposing electrodes, a pressure switch on an upper surface of the assembly and apertures about the periphery of the assembly, wherein when the pressure switch of the plate adapter and the pressure switch of the heater assembly are engaged, a circuit is completed that activates the internal heating element; a base fixture including a number of slots adapted to receive the depending legs of the plate adapter and a recess adapted to receive the heater assembly, a coupling mechanism within the base fixture, the coupling mechanism selectively inserting or removing fastening elements through the apertures of the depending legs and periphery of the heater assembly to thereby couple or uncouple the plate adapter from the heater assembly, the coupling mechanism being operative only when the plate adapter and the heater assembly are positioned within the base fixture; a battery charger for receiving a number of individual heater assemblies after they have been uncoupled from associated plate adapters, the battery charger recharging the rechargeable battery of the heater assemblies via an electromagnetic field.