The inventor of the electric pressure cooker is Wang Yongguang, a retired engineer from the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. On January 9, 1991, Wang Yongguang formally applied to the State Intellectual Property Office for an invention patent for the electric pressure cooker's compact structure. According to China's "Patent Law", the protection period of an invention patent is 20 years, which means that Wang Yongguang's patent rights can be exercised until January 8, 2011.