Microwave processing device and microwave processing method

Abstract

To provide a microwave processing device capable of appropriately processing an object to be processed using microwaves.SOLUTION: A microwave processing device includes a container 10c inside which an object to be processed 2 moves, microwave irradiation means 21 having an irradiation portion 203 that irradiates the container 10c with microwaves, and a heat generating member 30 that is partially provided within the container 10c along a movement path 2a of the object to be processed 2 so as to cover the object to be processed 2 and is not provided in other parts along the movement path 2a, and absorbs microwaves irradiated from the microwave irradiation means 21 to generate heat, and the microwave irradiation means 21 irradiates, with microwaves, a part of the movement path 2a where the heat generating member 30d is provided to heat the heat generating member 30, and irradiates, with microwaves, to a part of the movement path 2a where the heat generating members 30d, 30f are not provided to heat the object to be processed 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a microwave processing apparatus and the like that performs processing such as heating processing by using microwaves. [Background technology]

[0002] As a conventional technique for processing using microwaves, a known configuration includes a heating furnace body made of a microwave shielding material, a microwave means for introducing microwave power into the heating furnace body, a heating cylinder formed of a heat-conducting material having a microwave shielding function and linearly arranged between an inlet part on one side of the heating furnace body and an outlet part on the other side, a microwave heating element arranged on the outer periphery of the heating cylinder for transferring heat to the heating cylinder, a filter arranged near the inlet and outlet parts of the heating furnace body and arranged around the end part of the heating cylinder to prevent leakage of microwave power, and a workpiece fed from the inlet part is passed through the heating cylinder, discharged from the outlet part, and heated within the heating cylinder (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5877448 (page 1, figure 1, etc.) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the conventional technology, there is a problem in that it is not possible to appropriately treat an object to be treated using microwaves.

[0005] For example, in conventional technology, heating is performed by radiant heat from a microwave heating element that is heated using microwaves, so the workpiece or other object to be processed can only be heated from the outside, making it difficult to achieve the desired heating, such as uniform heating.

[0006] In addition, since the microwaves are not directly irradiated onto the object to be treated, the object to be treated cannot be directly heated by the microwaves, resulting in poor heating efficiency.

[0007] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a microwave processing device, etc. that can appropriately process an object to be processed using microwaves. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The microwave processing device of the present invention is a microwave processing device comprising a container inside which an object to be processed moves, a microwave irradiation means having an irradiation section which irradiates microwaves into the container, and a heat-generating member which is partially provided within the container along the movement path of the object to be processed so as to cover the object to be processed and is not provided in other parts along the movement path, and which absorbs microwaves irradiated from the microwave irradiation means and generates heat, wherein the microwave irradiation means irradiates microwaves to parts of the movement path where the heat-generating member is provided to heat the heat-generating member, and irradiates microwaves to parts of the movement path where the heat-generating member is not provided to heat the object to be processed.

[0009] With this configuration, the object to be processed can be appropriately processed using microwaves.

[0010] Furthermore, the microwave processing device of the present invention may be configured so that the microwave processing device is provided with a first microwave irradiation position where the intensity of the microwaves irradiated by the irradiation unit is stronger at the heat-generating member, a second microwave irradiation position where the intensity of the microwaves irradiated by the irradiation unit is stronger at a portion of the object to be processed where the heat-generating member is not provided, and a third microwave irradiation position where the intensity of the microwaves irradiated by the irradiation unit is stronger at a portion of the object to be processed where the heat-generating member is provided.

[0011] With this configuration, it is possible to directly heat the object to be treated in areas where no heat-generating member is provided, and in the area where the heat-generating member is provided, it is possible to provide an area where the object to be treated is strongly heated by the heat generated by the heat-generating member, and an area where the object to be treated inside the heat-generating member can be directly heated.

[0012] In addition, in the microwave processing device of the present invention, one or more of the first microwave irradiation positions and one or more of the third microwave irradiation positions may be arranged to be at the same position in a direction along the movement path.

[0013] With this configuration, it is possible to strongly heat the object to be treated by the heat generated by the heat generating member and directly heat the object to be treated at the same position in the portion where the heat generating member is provided.

[0014] In addition, in the microwave processing device of the present invention, two or more of the heat-generating members are arranged along the movement path, sandwiching an area where no heat-generating members are arranged, and one or more of the first microwave irradiation positions and one or more third microwave irradiation positions may be located in portions where different heat-generating members are arranged.

[0015] With this configuration, in different heat generating members, it is possible to strongly heat the treatment object by heat generation from the heat generating member, and to strongly heat the treatment object in the heat generating member by direct heating.

[0016] In addition, in the microwave processing device of the present invention, a plurality of the irradiation units may be provided, and the phase of the microwaves irradiated by the irradiation units may be controlled so that the microwave intensity is strong at the first microwave irradiation position, the second microwave irradiation position, and the third microwave irradiation position.

[0017] With this configuration, by controlling the phase of the microwaves, microwave irradiation can be easily performed so that the microwave intensity is strong at the first microwave irradiation position, the second microwave irradiation position, and the third microwave irradiation position.

[0018] In addition, in the microwave processing device of the present invention, the microwave irradiation means may perform a first microwave irradiation in which microwaves are irradiated to a portion of the movement path where the heat-generating member is provided, thereby heating the heat-generating member, and a second microwave irradiation in which microwaves of a frequency different from the first microwave irradiation are irradiated to a portion of the movement path where the heat-generating member is not provided, thereby heating the object to be processed.

[0019] With this configuration, the object can be appropriately heated in both the portion where the heat generating member is provided and the portion where the heat generating member is not provided.

[0020] In addition, in the microwave processing device of the present invention, the frequency of the microwaves used for the first microwave irradiation may be a frequency at which the relative dielectric loss with respect to the heat-generating member is greater than the relative dielectric loss with respect to the object to be processed.

[0021] With this configuration, in areas where the heat-generating member is provided, the heat-generating member can be efficiently heated to heat the object to be treated, and in areas where the heat-generating member is not provided, the object to be treated can be directly heated.

[0022] In addition, in the microwave processing device of the present invention, the microwave irradiation means may further perform a third microwave irradiation in which microwaves having a frequency such that the relative dielectric loss for the heat-generating member is smaller than the relative dielectric loss for the object to be processed are irradiated to the portion where the heat-generating member is provided, thereby heating the portion of the object to be processed where the heat-generating member is provided.

[0023] With this configuration, in the area where no heat-generating member is provided, the object to be treated can be directly heated, and in the area where the heat-generating member is provided, the heat-generating member can be efficiently heated to provide a position where the object to be treated is heated and a position where the object to be treated is directly heated.

[0024] In addition, in the microwave processing device of the present invention, one or more positions to which microwaves are irradiated by the first microwave irradiation and one or more positions to which microwaves are irradiated by the third microwave irradiation may be the same position in a direction along the movement path.

[0025] With this configuration, in areas where no heat-generating members are provided, the object to be treated can be directly heated, and in areas where heat-generating members are provided, the object to be treated can be heated strongly both by the heat generated by the heat-generating members and directly at the same position.

[0026] In addition, in the microwave processing device of the present invention, two or more of the heat-generating members are arranged along the movement path, sandwiching an area where no heat-generating members are arranged, and one or more positions where microwaves are irradiated by the first microwave irradiation and one or more positions where microwaves are irradiated by the third microwave irradiation may be located in parts where different heat-generating members are arranged.

[0027] With this configuration, in areas where no heat-generating members are provided, the object to be treated can be directly heated, and in different heat-generating members, the object to be treated can be strongly heated by the heat generated by the heat-generating members, and the object to be treated within the heat-generating members can be strongly heated by direct heating.

[0028] Moreover, in the microwave processing apparatus of the present invention, the object to be processed may be a precursor fiber of a carbon fiber, and the microwave processing apparatus may be used for flame-proofing the precursor fiber.

[0029] With this configuration, it is possible to obtain precursor fibers of flame-retardant treated carbon fibers.

[0030] In addition, the carbon fiber manufacturing method of the present invention is a carbon fiber manufacturing method including a step of irradiating microwaves into a container equipped with a heat-generating member inside that absorbs microwaves and generates heat, and heating precursor fibers of carbon fibers moving along the heat-generating member, wherein the heat-generating member is partially provided along the movement path of the precursor fibers and is not provided in other parts along the movement path, and in the heating step, the heat-generating member is heated by irradiating microwaves to the part of the movement path where the heat-generating member is provided, and the object to be processed is heated by irradiating microwaves to the part of the movement path where the heat-generating member is not provided.

[0031] With this configuration, the precursor fibers of the carbon fibers can be appropriately heated from the outside and directly to obtain high-quality carbon fibers. Effect of the Invention

[0032] According to the present invention, a processing object can be appropriately processed using microwaves. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0033] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a microwave processing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2(a) shows a heat generating member of the microwave processing apparatus, and FIG. 2(b) to FIG. 2(d) show modified examples thereof. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the microwave processing apparatus. [Figure 4] 4(a) to 4(b) are cross-sectional views showing modified examples of the microwave processing apparatus. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5(a) is a cross-sectional view of a microwave processing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5(b) and FIG. 5(c) are schematic cross-sectional views of the microwave processing device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6(a) is a cross-sectional view of a microwave processing device according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6(b) to FIG. 6(d) are schematic cross-sectional views of the microwave processing device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 7(a) is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a modified example of a microwave processing device according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7(b) to FIG. 7(d) are schematic views. [Figure 8] FIG. 8(a) to FIG. 8(d) are schematic diagrams for explaining modified examples of a microwave processing device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0034] Hereinafter, embodiments of a microwave processing apparatus and the like will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that components with the same reference numerals in the embodiments perform similar operations, and therefore repeated description may be omitted.

[0035] (Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, the microwave processing apparatus will be described taking as an example an apparatus for performing flame retardant treatment on precursor fibers used in the production of carbon fibers.

[0036] First, an example of a carbon fiber manufacturing process will be described. Precursor fibers such as polyacrylonitrile (PAN) are oxidized by heating them in heated air at 200 to 300°C for 60 to 120 minutes. This treatment is called flame-retardant treatment. In this treatment, a cyclization reaction of the precursor fibers occurs, and flame-retardant fibers are obtained by oxygen bonding. The obtained flame-retardant fibers are then heated in a nitrogen atmosphere at 1000 to 1500°C for several minutes to carbonize the fibers and obtain carbon fibers.

[0037] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view parallel to the moving direction of an object to be processed, for explaining a microwave processing apparatus in this embodiment.

[0038] The microwave processing device 1 includes a container 10 , a microwave irradiation means 20 , a heat generating member 30 , one or more sensors 40 , a control means 50 , and a transport means 60 .

[0039] The container 10 is made of a material having microwave reflectivity such as stainless steel. The container 10 is hollow and has a horizontally long box shape. The object 2 to be treated is placed in the container 10. Here, the object 2 to be treated is assumed to be, for example, a PAN-based precursor fiber. The precursor fiber as the object 2 to be treated may be, for example, a single precursor fiber, or may be a thread-like or string-like precursor fiber bundled together. The object 2 to be treated placed in the container 10 may be a single object or a plurality of objects. Here, an example in which the object 2 to be treated placed in the container 10 moves through the container 10 will be described. The movement here may be a continuous movement, or may be a discontinuous movement that combines movement and stopping. For example, while microwave irradiation is being performed in the container 10, the movement of the object 2 to be treated may be stopped, and the object 2 to be treated may be moved while microwave irradiation is not being performed. The movement here may be a movement with a constant moving speed, or a movement with a moving speed that changes continuously or discontinuously. This is the same in other embodiments. In the following, a case in which the processing object 2 moves continuously will be described as an example.

[0040] An inlet 101a for the object 2 to be treated is provided at one of both ends in the longitudinal direction of the container 10, and an outlet 101b is provided at the other end. The object 2 to be treated enters the container 10 from the inlet 101a, moves inside the container 10, and exits from the outlet 101b. Here, as an example, a case in which the object 2 to be treated moves substantially horizontally inside the container 10 will be described. However, the moving direction and moving path of the object to be treated inside and outside the container 10 are not important. For example, the moving direction of the object to be treated may be changed midway by a roller or the like, and for example, the moving direction of the precursor fiber may be turned over one or more times by a roller or the like. The container 10 is usually arranged so that the longitudinal direction is horizontal, but the container 10 may be arranged at an angle. The inlet 101a and the outlet 101b are provided with a filter (not shown) for preventing the microwave irradiated inside the container 10 from leaking to the outside. The filter used may have, for example, a choke structure utilizing the properties of the wavelength of microwaves, and may prevent microwave power from passing through without contact. The inlet 101a and the outlet 101b may have a structure that prevents microwave leakage other than the filter. The size of the container 10 and the thickness of the outer wall of the container 10 are not important. The outer wall of the container 10 may be provided with a heat insulating material (not shown). The size of the container 10 is determined depending on, for example, the object to be treated, the treatment time, etc.

[0041] The shape of the container 10 as described above is an example, and the container 10 may have any shape other than the above. For example, the container 10 may have a cylindrical shape extending in the horizontal direction, a polygonal column shape, or a combination of these shapes. It may also have a vertically long shape. The movement path 2a of the processing object 2 may be a folded path using rollers (not shown) so that the movement direction of the processing object 2 is alternately reversed in the horizontal direction, and the container 10 may be shaped to cover at least the part of the movement path 2a where the processing object 2 moves in parallel. Here, for convenience of explanation, the movement path 2a is shown overlapping the processing object 2. In addition, in the movement path 2a, the movement direction of the processing object 2 is shown by the direction of the arrow. This also applies hereinafter.

[0042] The shape, size, etc. of the container 10 are determined, for example, according to the distribution of microwaves irradiated to the container 10. For example, the shape and size of the container 10 are preferably set so that the mode of the microwaves in the container 10 is multimode. The multimode of microwaves is, for example, a mode in which no standing waves of microwaves are generated in the container 10.

[0043] The positions where the inlet 101a and the outlet 101b are provided in the container 10 do not matter. For example, the inlet 101a and the outlet 101b may be provided at the same end or side of the container 10. The container 10 may also have a plurality of inlets 101a and outlets 101b, and for example, the moving direction of the processing object 2 may be changed by rollers (not shown) or the like, so that the processing object 2 can be put in and out of the container 10 through the plurality of inlets 101a and outlets 101b.

[0044] In addition, the container 10 is preferably structured so that microwaves do not leak, except for parts that require openings, such as the inlet 101a and outlet 101b for the object 2 to be treated, and the opening 102 described below.

[0045] Although not shown, a hot water jacket, a cold water jacket, a heater, or the like may be provided around the outer periphery of the container 10 to adjust the temperature of the container 1. The container 10 may also be provided with an observation window for observing the inside, and a vent or fan for supplying and exhausting air, etc., which are not shown.

[0046] FIG. 2 is a perspective view (FIG. 2(a)) that shows a typical heat generating member 30 of the microwave processing device 1 of this embodiment, perspective views (FIGS. 2(b) to 2(c)) that show typical modifications of the heat generating member 30, and a cross-sectional view (FIG. 2(d)) along the moving path 2a of the processing object 2 for explaining the modification of the heat generating member 30 shown in FIG. 2(a). The container 10 is provided with the heat generating member 30 that absorbs microwaves irradiated from the microwave irradiating means 20 to generate heat. The heat generating member 30 is preferably, for example, one that absorbs a part of the microwaves irradiated from the microwave irradiating means 20 to generate heat and transmits a part of the microwaves. The heat generating member 30 is arranged along the processing object 2 arranged in the container 10. Being arranged along the processing object 2 may be considered to be arranged along the outer periphery of the processing object 2, or may be considered to be arranged around the processing object 2, for example. The distance between the heat generating member 30 and the object to be treated 2 may be constant or different in the longitudinal direction or the moving direction of the object to be treated 2. In either case, the heat generating member 30 may be considered to be arranged along the object to be treated. The distance between the heat generating member 30 and the part of the heat generating member 30 that faces the object to be treated 2 through the object to be treated may be constant or different. In either case, the heat generating member 30 may be considered to be arranged along the object to be treated. Here, since the object to be treated 2 moves in the container 10, the heat generating member 30 is arranged along the moving path 2a of the object to be treated 2. For example, the shape of the heat generating member 30 may be any shape as long as it covers the object to be treated 2. The shape of the heat generating member 30 is preferably a cylindrical shape provided so as to surround the outer periphery of the object to be treated 2 as shown in FIG. 2(a), but may be, for example, a cylindrical shape other than a cylindrical shape, a ring shape, or a U-shaped shape in a cross section perpendicular to the moving direction of the object to be treated 2 as shown in FIG. 2(b). 2(c), the heat generating member 30 may be two plate-shaped members arranged to sandwich the object to be treated 2. The heat generating member 30 may have a partially expanded cylindrical shape, a partially recessed cylindrical shape, a partially curved cylindrical shape, or the like.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 2(a) to FIG. 2(c), the heat generating member 30 has a heating medium 301 that absorbs the irradiated microwaves to generate heat, and a support 302 that supports the heating medium 301. The heating medium 301 is usually provided on the side of the support 302 that does not face the processing object 2. The side here is, for example, a surface parallel to the moving direction of the processing object 2. The heating medium 301 is formed of, for example, a heating element such as carbon, SiC, a carbon fiber composite material, a metal silicide such as molybdenum silicide or tungsten silicide, or a ceramic material containing powder of these heating elements. For example, the heating medium 301 is made of a material and thickness that absorbs a part of the microwaves irradiated to the heat generating member 30 to generate heat and is capable of transmitting a part of the irradiated microwaves. For example, the heating medium 301 is made of a material and thickness that is capable of transmitting a part of the microwaves irradiated to the heat generating member 30. The heating medium may be a metal layer having a thickness that allows microwaves to partially pass through, for example, a metal layer having a thickness of several μm. The support 302 is made of a material having high microwave permeability, such as ceramic or glass. The heating medium 301 is provided, for example, by applying or attaching the material of the heating medium 301 to the surface of the support 302. When the heating medium 301 alone has sufficient strength, such as when the heating medium 301 is a ceramic containing a heating element, the support 302 may be omitted. The heating medium 301 may be made of a material or have a thickness that allows a portion of the microwaves irradiated to the heat generating member 30 to pass through. When the support 302 is used to reinforce the heating medium 301 or to maintain the shape of the heating medium 301, only the heating medium 301 may be considered as the heat generating member 30. The heat generating member 30 is preferably such that, for example, heat generation by microwave irradiation to the heat generating member 30 is greater than heat generation in the processing object 2 by microwaves transmitted through the heat generating member 30, and the heat generating member 30 is preferably such that, for example, heat generation by microwave irradiation to the heat generating member 30 is greater than heat generation in the processing object 2 by microwaves transmitted through the heat generating member 30. The material and thickness of the heat generating member 30 in this case may be considered to be the material and thickness of the heating medium 301.For example, if the processing object 2 is a single precursor fiber, the inner diameter of the cylindrical heat generating member 30 is about 9-12 mm or 11-14 mm, and the thickness of the heat generating member 30 is about 2-5 mm. However, other sizes may be used.

[0048] The heat generating member 30 may be provided, for example, partially in the longitudinal direction or the moving direction of the object 2 to be treated in the container 10, or may be provided over the entire longitudinal direction or the moving direction of the object 2 to be treated in the container 10. For example, a plurality of heat generating members 30 may be arranged at desired intervals in the longitudinal direction or the moving direction of the object 2 to be treated. Here, a case where a cylindrical heat generating member 30 as shown in FIG. 2(a) is partially arranged along the moving path 2a of the object 2 to be treated will be described. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, three cylindrical heat generating members 30 are arranged at intervals so that the object 2 to be treated moves inside each of them. Here, the three heat generating members 30 are represented as heat generating members 30a to 30c in order from the inlet 101a side of the container 10. However, when it is not necessary to distinguish between them, they are simply called heat generating members 30. The same applies to the other irradiating units 201, 202, sensors 40, etc. The length of each heat generating member 30 in the direction of movement of the object 2 to be treated (hereinafter referred to as the length of the heat generating member 30), i.e., the length in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical shape, may be the same or different, and the respective lengths do not matter. For example, when the object 2 to be treated is moving inside the container 10, the length of the heat generating member 30 may be considered to correspond to the heating time using the heat generating member 30. In addition, the intervals between the heat generating members 30 may be equal or not equal, and the respective distances do not matter. For example, when the object 2 to be treated is moving inside the container 10, the intervals between the heat generating members 30 in this movement direction, the distance between the heat generating member 30 closest to the inlet 101a and the inlet 101a, and the distance between the heat generating member 30 closest to the outlet 101b and the outlet 101b (hereinafter referred to as the length of the portion where the heat generating member is not provided) may be considered to correspond to the heating time not using the heat generating member 30. Furthermore, the distance between the heat generating member 30 and the inlet 101a of the container 10 and the distance between the heat generating member 30 and the outlet 101b of the container 10 may or may not be equal, and the distance does not matter. Furthermore, the diameter of the cylindrical heat generating member 30 does not matter. Furthermore, the diameters of the heat generating members 30 may be the same or different. Here, the heat generating member 30 does not contact the processing object 2, but at least a part of the heat generating member 30 may contact the processing object.The side surface of the heat generating member 30 is arranged so as not to come into contact with the container 10 .

[0049] For convenience of explanation, the case where three heat generating members 30 are provided has been described here, but the number of heat generating members 30 may be one or more. For example, when the microwave processing device 1 is used for flame-proofing the precursor fiber of the carbon fiber moving in the container 10, the heat generating members 30 may be provided as many times as necessary for heating. In this case, the length of each heat generating member 30 may be, for example, a length corresponding to the time required for heating using the heat generating member 30, and the length of the portion where the heat generating member 30 is not provided may be a length corresponding to the time required for heating without using the heat generating member 30. In addition, when the moving path 2a of the processing object 2 is bent, one or more heat generating members 30 may be disposed both in the portion before the bend and in the portion after the bend, and in this case, the heat generating members 30 may not be disposed in the same straight line.

[0050] The microwave irradiation means 20 irradiates microwaves into the container 10. The microwave irradiation means 20 is attached to the container 10, for example. The microwave irradiation means 20 performs a first microwave irradiation for heating the heat generating member 30 and a second microwave irradiation for heating the processing object 2. Note that heating the heat generating member 30 may mean, for example, heating only the heat generating member 30, or heating the heat generating member 30 more strongly than the processing object 2. Also, heating the processing object 2 may mean, for example, heating only the processing object 2, or heating the processing object 2 more strongly than the heat generating member 30. However, it is preferable that the first microwave irradiation is heating that also heats the processing object 2.

[0051] The first microwave irradiation is, for example, microwave irradiation in which the heat generated by the heat generating member 30 due to microwave irradiation is greater than the heat generated by the processing object 2. The first microwave irradiation may be considered as microwave irradiation in which the heat generated by the heat generating member 30 is dominant. The heat generated here may be considered as, for example, the amount of heat generated. The heat generated by the heat generating member 30 here may also be considered as the amount of heat received by the processing object 2 from the heat generating member 30 that has been heated by microwaves.

[0052] The second microwave irradiation is, for example, microwave irradiation that causes the heat generation of the processing object 2 to be greater than the heat generation of the heat-generating member 30. The second microwave irradiation may be considered as microwave irradiation in which the heat generation of the processing object 2 is dominant. The heat generation here may be considered as the amount of heat or heating that the processing object 2 directly receives from the microwaves.

[0053] In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the microwave irradiation means 20 has one or more first irradiation sections 201 that perform a first microwave irradiation and one or more second irradiation sections 202 that perform a second microwave irradiation.

[0054] The first irradiating section 201 irradiates microwaves to a portion of the movement path 2a of the processing object 2 where the heat generating member 30 is provided, thereby performing a first microwave irradiation to heat the heat generating member 30. That is, the first microwave irradiation performed by the first irradiating section 201 is the irradiation of microwaves to a portion of the movement path 2a of the processing object 2 where the heat generating member 30 is provided. Note that, in the first microwave irradiation, it is preferable that heat is also generated in the processing object 2. For example, the first microwave irradiation performed by the first irradiating section 201 is microwave irradiation in which the heat generating member 30 generates heat due to the absorption of a portion of the irradiated microwaves, and the processing object 2 generates heat due to the absorption of a portion of the microwaves transmitted through the heat generating member 30, and the heat generated by the heat generating member 30 is greater than the heat generated by the processing object 2. The first microwave irradiation is irradiation of microwaves to the heat-generating member 30 such that the heating of the object 2 from the outside due to the heat generated by the heat-generating member 30 is higher than the direct heating of the object 2 by the microwaves transmitted through the heat-generating member 30. For example, the material, thickness, etc. of the heat-generating member 30 are preferably set so that the object 2, etc. are heated as described above by the microwaves absorbed by the heat-generating member 30 and the microwaves transmitted through the heat-generating member 30.

[0055] The second irradiating unit 202 also irradiates microwaves onto a portion of the movement path 2a of the object 2 where the heat generating member 30 is not provided, thereby performing second microwave irradiation to heat the object 2. That is, the second microwave irradiation performed by the second irradiating unit 202 is the irradiation of microwaves onto a portion of the movement path 2a of the object 2 where the heat generating member 30 is not provided. In the second microwave irradiation performed by the second irradiating unit 202, the heat generating member 30 is not provided at the position where the microwaves are irradiated, so the object 2 is not heated from the outside by the heat generated by the heat generating member 30, etc. As a result, the direct heating of the object 2 by microwave irradiation is higher than the heating of the object 2 from the outside by the heat generating member 30, etc. irradiated with microwaves.

[0056] In the following, in the present embodiment, as an example, as shown in FIG. 1, the microwave processing device 1 has three first irradiation units 201 and three second irradiation units 202, but the number of each is not limited. Here, for convenience of explanation, the three first irradiation units 201 are represented as first irradiation units 201a to 201c in order from the inlet 101a side of the container 10, and the three second irradiation units 202 are represented as second irradiation units 202a to 202c in order from the inlet 101a side of the container 10. It is preferable that the one or more first irradiation units 201 and the one or more second irradiation units 202 of the microwave irradiation means 20 are capable of individually changing the microwave output (for example, wattage, etc.). For example, the output of the first irradiation unit 201 and the second irradiation unit 202 is controlled according to a control signal from the control means 50 described later. In addition, in a microwave processing device 1 in which a plurality of heat-generating members 30 are arranged as shown in FIG. 1, it is preferable to provide one or more first irradiating sections 201 at positions where microwaves can be directly irradiated to each heat-generating member 30, and it is preferable to provide one or more second irradiating sections 202 at positions where microwaves can be directly irradiated to at least one of the following regions: the region between each heat-generating member 30, the region between the heat-generating member 30 closest to the entrance 101a and the entrance 101a, and the region between the heat-generating member 30 closest to the exit 101b and the exit 101b.

[0057] Each of the first irradiation section 201 and the second irradiation section 202 includes, for example, a microwave oscillator 2001 and a transmission section 2002 that transmits the microwave generated by the microwave oscillator 2001 and irradiates the microwave into the container 10. The microwave oscillator 2001 may be any type of microwave oscillator 2001, for example, a magnetron, a klystron, a gyrotron, or a semiconductor oscillator. The frequency and intensity of the microwave emitted by each microwave oscillator 2001 are not important. The frequency of the microwave emitted by each microwave oscillator 2001 may be, for example, 915 MHz, 2.45 GHz, 5.8 GHz, or any other frequency within the range of 300 MHz to 300 GHz, and the frequency is not important. The transmission section 2002 is, for example, a waveguide or a coaxial cable that transmits microwaves.

[0058] Each of the first irradiation section 201 and the second irradiation section 202 is attached to the container 10, for example, and irradiates microwaves into the container 10. For example, each of the first irradiation section 201 and the second irradiation section 202 is attached to an opening 102 provided on the wall surface or the like of the container 10 at an end of the transmission section 2002 to which the microwave oscillator 2001 is not attached, and the microwave oscillator 2001 emits radiation through this opening 102, and the microwave transmitted through the transmission section 2002 is irradiated into the container 10. An antenna (not shown) or the like for irradiating the microwave transmitted through the transmission section 2002 may be further provided at the end of the transmission section 2002 attached to the opening 102. The opening 102 may be closed with a plate or the like made of a material such as a fluorinated polymer such as PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), glass, rubber, or nylon, which has high microwave transparency. The first irradiating unit 201 and the second irradiating unit 202 may be other than those described above as long as they are capable of irradiating the inside of the container 10 with microwaves.

[0059] Each first irradiator 201 is attached to the container 10 so that microwaves are irradiated to a portion of the movement path 2a of the object 2 to be treated in the container 10 where each heat generating member 30 is arranged. The portion here may be considered as a region. For example, an end of the transmission section 2002 of each first irradiator 201 is attached to an opening 102 provided in a position facing the portion of the wall of the container 10 where each heat generating member 30 is arranged on the movement path 2a. Here, an example is shown in which one first irradiator 201 is provided in one opening 102 provided in the portion where one heat generating member 30 is arranged, but multiple first irradiators 201 may be attached to multiple openings 102 provided in the portion where one heat generating member 30 is arranged.

[0060] Each second irradiator 202 is attached to the container 10 so that microwaves are irradiated to a portion of the movement path 2a of the object 2 in the container 10 where the heat generating members 30 are not arranged. Specifically, each of the second irradiators 202 is attached so that microwaves are irradiated to a portion between the heat generating members 30 and a portion between the heat generating member 30 arranged at the rearmost position of the movement path 2a and the outlet 101b of the container 10. For example, an end of the transmission section 2002 of each second irradiator 202 is attached to an opening 102 provided at a position facing a portion of the wall surface of the container 10 where the heat generating member 30 is not provided on the movement path 2a. Here, an example is shown in which one first irradiator 201 is provided in one opening 102 provided in one portion where the heat generating member 30 is not provided, but multiple first irradiators 201 may be attached to multiple openings 102 provided in one portion where the heat generating member 30 is not provided.

[0061] Here, the microwaves irradiated by each of the first irradiating units 201 and the second irradiating units 202 are assumed to be microwaves of the same frequency. However, one or more of the multiple first irradiating units 201 and the multiple second irradiating units 202 may irradiate microwaves of a frequency different from the others.

[0062] One or more sensors 40 are provided inside the container 10 to obtain information on the condition of the object to be treated, the condition inside the container, and the like. The sensor 40 may be a sensor that obtains information on any condition. For example, the sensor 40 may be a temperature sensor that obtains information on the temperature inside the container, or a humidity sensor that obtains information on the humidity inside the container, or a sensor that detects internal discharge caused by microwaves.

[0063] Here, the sensor 40 is a radiation thermometer, and an example will be described in which six sensors 40 are installed in the container 10. For convenience of explanation, the six sensors 40 are represented as sensors 40a to 40f in order from the inlet 101a side of the container 10. A radiation thermometer is a thermometer that measures the temperature of an object by measuring the intensity of infrared rays or visible light emitted from the object. Here, the sensors 40a to 40c, which are radiation thermometers, are installed in positions near the exit 101b side in the area of ​​the moving path 2a where the heat generating members 30 are provided, in order to measure the temperature of the processing target 2 immediately before it leaves the area where each heat generating member 30 is provided. Specifically, the sensors 40a to 40c are attached to the container 10 so that their horizontal positions are near the exit 101b side of the heat generating members 30a to 30c. Although not shown here, as an example, the heat generating members 30a-30c are provided with openings such as slits extending in the horizontal direction in order to detect the temperature of the object 2 to be treated, in the portions between the sensors 40a-40c and the object 2 to be treated. The remaining radiation thermometers, sensors 40d-40f, are installed in the area of ​​the moving path 2a where the heat generating members 30 are not provided, in the vicinity of the exit 101b side, in order to measure the temperature of the object 2 immediately before it leaves the area where the heat generating members 30 are not provided. Specifically, the sensors 40d-40e are attached to the container 10 at positions in the horizontal direction closer to the heat generating members 30b-30c in the moving direction of the object 2 to be treated, and the sensor 40f is attached to a position closer to the exit 101b. Here, the sensor 40 measures, for example, the intensity of infrared rays or the like radiated from the object 2 to be treated in a direction perpendicular to the moving path 2a to obtain temperature information. However, the sensor 40 may be attached at another position. The sensor 40 is attached, for example, to an opening or the like provided on the wall surface of the container 10. Note that since the precursor fiber is, for example, a single fiber having a thickness of about 1 mm, formed by twisting several thousand fibers, when the processing target 2 is a precursor fiber, the surface temperature of the precursor fiber may be considered to be the same as the internal temperature of the precursor fiber.

[0064] The control means 50 controls the microwaves irradiated by the microwave irradiating means 20. For example, the control means 50 controls the output of the microwaves irradiated by the microwave irradiating means 20. For example, the control means 50 controls the output of the microwaves irradiated by the microwave irradiating means 20 in accordance with information acquired by the sensor 40.

[0065] Specifically, the control means 50 uses temperature information acquired by the sensor 40 disposed on the exit 101b side of the area where the heat generating members 30 are disposed to feedback-control the output of microwaves irradiated by the first irradiating section 201, which irradiates microwaves to the area of ​​the moving path 2a where the heat generating members 30 are disposed. The control means 50 also uses temperature information acquired by the sensor 40 disposed on the exit 101b side of the area where the heat generating members 30 are not disposed to feedback-control the output of microwaves irradiated by the second irradiating section 202, which irradiates microwaves to the area of ​​the moving path 2a where the heat generating members 30 are not disposed. The area where the heat generating members 30 are disposed and the area where the heat generating members 30 are not disposed here are, for example, areas separated by a virtual plane perpendicular to the moving path 2a. For example, when the temperature acquired by the sensor 40a is higher than a first threshold, the control means 50 reduces the output of microwaves irradiated by the corresponding second irradiating section 202a, and when the temperature acquired by the sensor 40a is lower than a second threshold, the control means 50 increases the output of microwaves irradiated. The first threshold here is assumed to be higher than the second threshold.

[0066] Note that the control performed by the control means 50 may be a control other than feedback control. Also, it does not matter which irradiation unit the control means 50 controls the output of, depending on which sensor 40 acquires information. For example, the control means 50 may control the output of one or more irradiation units depending on the output of multiple sensors 40. Also, the control means 50 may control the output of multiple irradiation units depending on the output of one sensor 40.

[0067] Furthermore, one or more sensors 40 may obtain information indicating the state of one or more heat generating members 30, such as the temperature of one heat generating member 30 or at different positions on one heat generating member 30, and the control unit 50 may use this information indicating the state to control (e.g., feedback control, etc.) the output of one or more irradiation units. For example, the output of microwaves used in the first microwave irradiation performed on each heat generating member 30 may be feedback controlled using information on the temperature of each heat generating member 30 obtained by each sensor 40 that obtains information on the temperature of each heat generating member 30.

[0068] In addition, a part of sensor 40 may be provided as a first sensor that acquires temperature information of the portion of heat-generating member 30 where the first microwave irradiation is performed, and a part of sensor 40 may be provided as a second sensor that acquires temperature information of the portion of object to be treated 2 where the second microwave irradiation is performed, and control means 50 may use the temperature information acquired by the first sensor to feedback-control the microwave output used for the first microwave irradiation, and may use the temperature information acquired by the second sensor to feedback-control the microwave output used for the second microwave irradiation. For example, the heat generating members 30a-30c may not be provided with slits or the like in the portions between the sensors 40a-40c and the object 2 to be treated, and the first sensors 40a-40c may acquire information on the temperatures of the heat generating members 30a-30c, and the control means 50 may feedback-control the output of the microwaves irradiated by the first irradiators 201a-201c using the information on the temperatures of the heat generating members 30a-30c acquired by the sensors 40a-40c, respectively, and feedback-control the output of the microwaves irradiated by the second irradiators 202a-202c using information on the temperatures of the object 2 in the region where the heat generating member 30 is not provided acquired by the second sensors 40d-40f, respectively. In this way, it is possible to appropriately control the heating of the heat generating member 30 by the first microwave irradiation and the heating of the object 2 by the second microwave irradiation.

[0069] The conveying means 60 is a means for conveying the object 2 to be treated in the container 10. The conveying means 60 may be provided in the container 10 or outside the container 10. Here, as an example, the conveying means 60 includes a holding unit 62 that rotatably holds a reel 61 around which the precursor fiber, which is the object 2 to be treated, is wound on the inlet 101a side of the container 10, a roller 63 that changes the moving direction of the object 2 to be treated and sends the object 2 to the container 10 from the inlet 101a, a roller 64 that changes the moving direction of the object 2 to be treated coming out of the outlet 101b of the container 10, and a winding unit 65 that winds up the object 2 to be treated whose moving direction has been changed by the roller 64. However, any conveying means may be used as the conveying means 60. In addition, when a plurality of objects 2 to be treated are moved into the container 10, a plurality of conveying means 60 may be provided.

[0070] Next, the operation of the microwave processing device 1 of this embodiment will be described with a specific example. Here, an example will be described in which the microwave processing device 1 is used to perform flame retardant treatment on a PAN-based precursor fiber, which is a processing object 2. For simplicity of explanation, the microwave processing device 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be used for the explanation. The processing object 2 is, for example, a precursor fiber with a width of about 5 to 10 mm and a thickness of about 1 to 2 mm. The microwaves to be irradiated have, for example, a frequency of 915 MHz or 2.45 GHz and an output of 6 to 20 KW.

[0071] First, the PAN precursor fiber, which is the object to be treated 2, is set in the conveying means 60 so that one end side of the fiber enters the container 10 from the inlet 101a, passes through the inside of each of the cylindrical heat generating members 30a to 30c, and exits the container 10 from the outlet 101b. Then, the object to be treated 2 is moved in the container 10 by the conveying means 60. The conveying speed of the conveying means 60 is controlled to a predetermined speed, for example. Moreover, the first irradiation units 201a to 201c and the second irradiation units 202a to 202c start irradiating microwaves. Here, it is assumed that the microwaves irradiated by the first irradiation units 201a to 201c and the second irradiation units 202a to 202c have the same frequency (for example, 2.45 GHz). The conveying speed of the conveying means 60 is controlled to a predetermined speed, for example, by the control means 50 or a control means not shown. The control means 50 controls each of the first irradiating sections 201a to 201c and the second irradiating sections 202a to 202c so that the microwaves irradiated by each of the first irradiating sections 201a to 201c and the second irradiating sections 202a to 202c have an output that is individually determined in advance.

[0072] The portion of the object 2 to be treated that enters the container 10 from the inlet 101a and enters the inside of the heat generating member 30 is heated from the outside by radiant heat from the heat generating member 30, which generates heat by absorbing a portion of the microwaves irradiated by the first irradiator 201, and is also heated directly by microwaves irradiated from the first irradiator 201 that are not absorbed by the heat generating member 30 and that have passed through it. Here, if the material and thickness are set such that the amount of heat generated by the heat generating members 30a-30c absorbing the microwaves irradiated by the first irradiators 201a-201c is sufficiently larger than the amount of heat generated by the object 2 to be treated by the microwaves that have passed through the heat generating member 30, then in the region inside the heat generating member 30, the heating of the object 2 to be treated is stronger from the heating from the heat generating member 30 than from the direct heating by the microwaves that have passed through the heat generating member 30. The output of the microwaves irradiated from the first irradiators 201a to 201c is feedback-controlled in response to the temperatures of the object 2 acquired by the sensors 40a to 40c, respectively, so that the temperature of the object 2 is controlled within a desired range.

[0073] When the part of the processing object 2 that was inside the heat generating member 30 goes out, it enters the area immediately behind the heat generating member 30 where the heat generating member 30 is not provided, receives microwave irradiation from the second irradiating unit 202 without going through the heat generating member 30, and generates heat by the microwave. That is, it is directly heated by the microwave. In this area where the heat generating member 30 is not provided, the processing object is not heated by the heat generated by the heat generating member 30, so that the direct heating by the microwave is stronger than the heating from the outside by the heat generating member 30, etc. The output of the microwave irradiated from the second irradiating units 202a to 202c is feedback controlled according to the temperature of the processing object 2 acquired by the sensors 40d to 40f, respectively, and is controlled so that the temperature of the processing object 2 is in a desired range.

[0074] In this way, the first irradiating section 201 and the second irradiating section 202 can appropriately switch between strong heating from the heat generating member 30 and strong direct heating by microwave irradiation on the processing object 2 moving inside the container 10. This makes it possible to, for example, appropriately switch between heating the processing object 2 from the outside and direct heating of the processing object 2, and to heat the processing object 2 evenly without bias between heating from the outside and direct heating.

[0075] In particular, microwaves are not easily absorbed in PAN-based precursor fibers that have not been subjected to flame-retardant treatment. Therefore, even when the heat-generating member 30 is heated by microwave irradiation using the first irradiating section 201, the object to be treated 2 can be directly heated by the microwaves that have passed through the heat-generating member 30, thereby reducing the time required for heating the object to be treated 2 using the second irradiating section 202.

[0076] In addition, when the object 2 to be treated reaches a certain temperature by heating, the heat generated by the object 2 to be treated reaches a peak, and the object 2 to be treated rapidly heats up, which may result in carbonization of the object 2 to be treated, making it impossible to perform the desired treatment. For example, when the precursor fiber, which is the object 2 to be treated, reaches a certain temperature by heating, the heat generated by the precursor fiber may reach a peak due to oxidation, and the precursor fiber may be carbonized. In particular, when the object 2 to be treated is strongly heated by direct heating by the second microwave irradiation, the heat efficiency is good, and the heat generating portion is concentrated in one place, so that the object is heated from a temperature just before the heat generating peak to a temperature at which the heat generating peak occurs in a short time, making it difficult to control the heating before and after the heat generating peak. For this reason, when the object 2 to be treated is heated by the second microwave irradiation, the heat generating member 30 is arranged so that the second microwave irradiation is switched to the first microwave irradiation when the temperature of the object 2 to be treated reaches a temperature just before the heat generating peak, thereby making it possible to suppress rapid heating and carbonization by heating the object 2 to be treated by radiant heat from the heat generating member 30.

[0077] For example, in the case of a microwave processing device 1 shown in FIG. 1, when the object 2 to be treated is moved in a container 10 and heated, the position at which the object 2 to be treated reaches the peak of heat generation can be known in advance by the moving speed and the number, arrangement, output, etc. of the first irradiating unit 201 and the second irradiating unit 202. This position may be detected by an experiment or the like. For this reason, for example, by arranging the heat generating member 30 at the position where the temperature of the object 2 to be treated reaches the peak of heat generation on the moving path 2a of the object 2 to be treated, or at a position covering this position and the positions before and after the position, and irradiating the heat generating member 30 from the first irradiating unit 201 with microwaves, it is possible to appropriately treat the object 2 to be treated while avoiding sudden heating when the object 2 to be treated reaches the peak of heat generation. In addition, by appropriately arranging or not arranging the heat generating member 30 at a position not including the position where the heat generation peak occurs, the first microwave irradiation and the second microwave irradiation can be switched to the moving object 2 to be treated, and the object 2 to be treated can be heated evenly or as desired. The peak temperature of heat generation of the object to be treated can be measured, for example, by TG-TDA measurement (thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis).

[0078] Note that the number of heat-generating members 30 and the number and arrangement of the first irradiating section 201 and the second irradiating section 202 in this specific example are merely examples, and the number of heat-generating members 30 and the number and arrangement of the first irradiating section 201 and the second irradiating section 202 are not important.

[0079] As described above, in this embodiment, the first microwave irradiation for heating the heat-generating member and the second microwave irradiation for heating the object to be treated are performed in the container, so that the object to be treated can be appropriately treated using microwaves. For example, appropriate heating can be performed by controlling the combination and ratio of heating from the outside of the object to be treated by the heat-generating member generated by microwaves and direct heating by generating heat in the object to be treated by microwaves.

[0080] Furthermore, by performing the first microwave irradiation in the first irradiation unit 201 and the second microwave irradiation in the second irradiation unit 202, it becomes possible to individually control the output of the first microwave irradiation and the output of the second microwave irradiation, which allows for fine control of the heating of the object to be processed and results in high quality processing.

[0081] As shown in FIG. 2(d), at least a part of the heat generating member 30 on the side of the object 2 to be treated may be provided with a non-transmitting part 303 that does not transmit microwaves. FIG. 2(d) is a cross-sectional view along the moving direction of the object 2 to show an example of the heat generating member 30 in which the non-transmitting part 303 is provided inside the cylindrical heat generating member 30 shown in FIG. 2(a). At least a part of the heat generating member 30 on the side of the object 2 to be treated is preferably a part of the heat generating member 30 on the side of the object 2 to be treated, but may be the entire part of the heat generating member 30 on the side of the object 2 to be treated. At least a part of the heat generating member 30 on the side of the object 2 to be treated is, for example, a part of the inside of the cylindrical heat generating member 30 as shown in FIG. 2(d). When multiple heat generating members 30 are provided in the container 10, the part of the heat generating member 30 on the side of the object 2 to be treated may be the entire surface of one or more of the multiple heat generating members 30 on the side of the object 2 to be treated. The non-transmitting part 303 is preferably made of a material that does not transmit microwaves and has good thermal conductivity. Examples of materials that can be used for the non-transparent portion 303 include graphite and metal. The non-transparent portion 303 may be used instead of a part of the support 302, and in this case, the non-transparent portion 303 may be considered to be provided on the processing object 2 side of the heat generating member 30. By providing such a non-transparent portion 303, the processing object 2 is not irradiated with microwaves in the part where the non-transparent portion 303 is provided, so that the processing object 2 is not directly heated, and the processing object 2 can be heated from the outside by the heat generated by the heat generating member 30. The non-transparent portion may be provided on at least a part of the heat generating member 30 in the same manner in other embodiments.

[0082] In the above, the thickness of the heat generating member 30 may be uniform or may not be uniform. The concept of the heat generating member 30 not being uniform includes the presence of parts of different thicknesses. The thickness of the heat generating member 30 may be considered as the thickness of the heating medium 301 of the heat generating member 30. For example, the thickness of the heat generating member 30 may be uniform or may not be uniform in the longitudinal direction of the heat generating member 30 or in the moving direction of the object 2 to be treated. For example, when multiple heat generating members 30 are arranged in the container 10, the thickness of one or more of the multiple heat generating members 30 (excluding all of them) may be different from the thickness of the other heat generating members 30. In this case, the thickness of each of the multiple heat generating members 30 may be uniform in the longitudinal direction or in the moving direction of the object 2 to be treated. The same applies hereinafter.

[0083] For example, in the microwave processing apparatus as shown in FIG. 1, instead of the microwave irradiation performed on the part of the moving path 2a of the processing object 2 where the heat generating member 30 is not provided as the second microwave irradiation, a second heat generating member (not shown) having a thickness thinner than the heat generating member 30 may be provided on one or more parts where the heat generating member 30 is not provided, and the microwave irradiation performed on this second heat generating member from the second irradiating unit 202 may be the second microwave irradiation. By reducing the thickness of the second heat generating member, the penetration depth of the irradiated microwaves changes, so that by adjusting the thickness of the second heat generating member, the absorption of the microwaves irradiated to the second heat generating member by the second heat generating member is reduced, and the microwaves passing through the second heat generating member are increased, so that the processing object 2 can be heated more strongly than the second heat generating member. In this case, the processing object 2 can also be heated from the outside by the heat generated by the second heat generating member.

[0084] In addition, one or more of the heat generating members 30 may have a thickness different from that of the other heat generating members 30. This makes it possible to change the microwave absorbed by the heat generating member 30 depending on the thickness of the heat generating member 30, and to change the ratio of heating of the heat generating member 30 by the first microwave irradiation to heating of the heat generating member 30 by the first microwave irradiation. This also applies to the second microwave irradiation using the second heat generating member 30. This also applies to the following.

[0085] In the above, the material of the heat generating member 30 may be the same or different in the longitudinal direction of the heat generating member 30 or the moving direction of the processing object 2. Different materials may be materials with different compositions, components, material ratios, etc. The concept of the heat generating member 30 being made of different materials includes the mixture of parts made of different materials. The material of the heat generating member 30 here may be considered as the material of the heating medium 301 of the heat generating member 30. For example, when multiple heat generating members 30 are arranged in the container 10, the material of one or more of the multiple heat generating members 30 (excluding all of them) may be different from the material of the other heat generating members 30. In addition, three or more heat generating members 30 may be composed of three or more heat generating members 30 made of different materials. In this case, the material of each of the multiple heat generating members 30 may be a uniform material. The same applies hereinafter.

[0086] For example, in the microwave processing apparatus as shown in FIG. 1, instead of the microwave irradiation performed on the part of the moving path 2a of the processing object 2 where the heat generating member 30 is not provided as the second microwave irradiation, a second heat generating member (not shown) made of a material different from that of the heat generating member 30 may be provided on one or more parts where the heat generating member 30 is not provided, and the microwave irradiation performed on this second heat generating member from the second irradiating unit 202 may be the second microwave irradiation. Since the penetration depth of the irradiated microwaves changes by changing the composition of the second heat generating member, the absorption of the microwaves irradiated to the second heat generating member by the second heat generating member can be reduced by selecting the composition of the second heat generating member, and the microwaves passing through the second heat generating member can be increased, so that the processing object 2 can be heated more strongly than the second heat generating member. In this case, the processing object 2 can also be heated from the outside by the heat generated by the second heat generating member.

[0087] In addition, one or more of the heat generating members 30 may be made of a material different from that of the other heat generating members 30. This makes it possible to change the microwave absorbed by the heat generating member 30 depending on the material of the heat generating member 30, and to change the ratio of heating of the heat generating member 30 by the first microwave irradiation to heating of the heat generating member 30 by the first microwave irradiation. This also applies to the second microwave irradiation using the second heat generating member 30. This also applies to the following.

[0088] Needless to say, the combination of materials and thicknesses of the heat generating member 30 and the second heat generating member may be changed.

[0089] In the above, an example in which the processing target portion 2 moves has been described, but the processing target portion 2 may be made not to move in the container 10 and may be made to remain stationary in the container 10. This is the same in other embodiments. If movement is not required, the conveying means 60 may be omitted. Also, one or more irradiation units (not shown) of the microwave irradiation means 20 may irradiate microwaves to both the portion where the heat generating member 30 is located and the portion of the processing target 2 where the heat generating member 30 is not provided. This may be considered, for example, as one or more irradiation units (not shown) of the microwave irradiation means 20 performing both the first microwave irradiation and the second microwave irradiation. In this case, the above-mentioned irradiation units are installed in positions where they can irradiate microwaves to, for example, one or more heat generating members 30 and one or more portions of the moving path 2a where the heat generating member 30 is not provided. For example, the irradiation unit may be disposed near the boundary between the heat-generating member 30 and a portion of the moving path 2a adjacent to the heat-generating member 30 where the heat-generating member 30 is not provided. As the irradiation unit here, for example, an irradiation unit similar to the first irradiation unit 201 or the second irradiation unit 202 described above can be used.

[0090] (First Modification) FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a first modified example of the microwave processing device 1 of the present embodiment. In the microwave processing device 1 of the first modified example, a gas supplying means 70 for supplying oxygen to the inside of the heat generating member 30 is further provided in the microwave processing device 1 in which the heat generating member 30 has a cylindrical shape. The gas supplying means 70 includes a supplying section 701 for supplying oxygen such as an oxygen cylinder or an oxygen generator, a pipe 702 for supplying oxygen, the pipe 702 being attached to the heat generating member 30 so that one end opens to the inside of the heat generating member 30 and the other end connected to the supplying section 701, and a valve 703 for adjusting the supply amount of oxygen inserted into the path of the pipe 702. The position where one end of the pipe 702 is attached to the heat generating member 30 does not matter. The valve 703 may be controlled by, for example, the control means 50 or the like, or may be controlled according to the user's operation or the like. The supply of oxygen here is a concept that also includes the supply of a gas having a higher oxygen concentration than the gas such as air in the container 10 (for example, a gas obtained by adding oxygen to air). Note that a plurality of gas supply means 70 may share one supply unit 701. In addition, when an external supply unit (not shown) or the like is used instead of the supply unit 701, the gas supply means 70 does not need to have the supply unit 701.

[0091] In addition, in order to prevent the oxygen supplied to the inside of the heat-generating member 30 from escaping to the outside of the heat-generating member 30, both ends of the heat-generating member 30 through which the object to be treated 2 enters and exits may be blocked except for openings that allow the object to be treated 2 to enter and exit.

[0092] Further, although the case where the gas supply means 70 is provided individually for all of the plurality of heat generating members 30 has been described here, the gas supply means 70 may be provided only for some of the plurality of heat generating members 30 .

[0093] In this way, by supplying oxygen into the heat generating member 30 by the gas supply means 70, it is possible to control the oxygen concentration and appropriately control the processing performed in the microwave processing device 1. For example, by supplying oxygen according to the object to be processed, it is possible to shorten the processing time and promote uniform processing.

[0094] The gas supply means 70 may be provided in the microwave processing apparatuses according to the other embodiments having a cylindrical heat generating member or the like.

[0095] In the above, the gas supply means 70 may supply a predetermined gas other than oxygen. For example, the predetermined gas may be nitrogen gas, a rare gas such as argon gas, hydrogen gas, or a combination of one or more of these. The concept of supplying a predetermined gas here includes, for example, supplying a gas having a higher concentration of the predetermined gas than the gas such as air in the container 10 (for example, a gas obtained by adding a predetermined gas to air). The configuration of the gas supply means 70 is the same as that described above, except that the gas supplied by the supply unit 701 is a predetermined gas. Note that, when the container 10 is filled with a gas other than air, the gas supplied by the gas supply means 70 may be air. Also, the gases supplied by the gas supply means 70 connected to different heat generating members 30 may be the same gas or different gases. Also, the gases supplied by the gas supply means 70 connected to different heat generating members 30 may be gases having different predetermined concentrations or different composition ratios.

[0096] (Second modified example) 4(a) and 4(b) are diagrams showing a second modified example of the microwave processing device 1 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4(a) and FIG. 4(b), the microwave processing device 1 of the second modified example uses, as a heat generating member, a member that assists in the transport of the processing object 2 in the container, has a portion that contacts the processing object 2, and uses a member such as a roller or belt having a heating medium that absorbs microwaves and generates heat in the portion that contacts the processing object 2, instead of the heat generating member 30. In addition, in FIG. 4(a) and FIG. 4(b), the container 10a and the container 10b are containers corresponding to the container 10. In addition, although the description is omitted here, the modified example of the microwave processing device 1 shown in FIG. 4(a) and FIG. 4(b) may also have a control means similar to the control means 50 shown in FIG. 1 and a sensor similar to the sensor 40, and may perform feedback control of the microwave output according to the output of the sensor.

[0097] For example, in FIG. 4(a), the moving path 2a is a path folded back in multiple layers by a plurality of rollers 11 provided on the outside of the container 10a, the container 10a has a shape that covers the moving path 2a except for the folded back part, and a plurality of inlets 101a and outlets 101b for the processing object 2 to be put in and taken out are provided near the folded back part of the moving path 2a. The size of the rollers 11 is not important. Also, in FIG. 4, the container 10a has two cavities 110a and 110b provided so as to divide the moving path 2a into a plurality of regions, and the plurality of inlets 101a and outlets 101b are provided as openings through which the processing object 2 of each of the cavities 110a and 110b enters and exits.

[0098] In the cavity 110a, a plurality of belts 32a, which are heat generating members having a heating medium on their surface as described above, are hung on rollers 33 so as to sandwich and contact the processing target 2 moving along the moving path 2a from above and below. The material of the belts 32a is, for example, a material that is partially permeable to microwaves. The first irradiating unit 201 described above is provided so as to irradiate microwaves to the portion of the moving path 2a sandwiched between the belts 32a. The belts 32 move in the moving direction of the adjacent moving path 2a, for example, by rotating the rollers 33 by a motor or the like. Note that the belts 32a may be a belt that generates heat as a whole by microwaves. For example, a material containing the heating medium or the like as described above may be used as the material of the belts 32a. Heat-resistant resin, graphite fiber, or the like can be used as the material of the belts 32a. The heating medium on the surface of the belt 32a may be a heat source such as carbon, SiC, a carbon fiber composite material, a metal silicide such as molybdenum silicide or tungsten silicide, or a ceramic material containing powder of such a heat source.

[0099] In the cavity 110b, a plurality of belts 32b are hung on rollers 33 so as to sandwich and contact the processing target 2 moving along the moving path 2a from above and below. The material of the belts 32b is a material with high microwave permeability. The belts 32b do not have the above-mentioned heating medium on their surfaces. The above-mentioned second irradiator 202 is provided so as to irradiate microwaves to the portion of the moving path 2a sandwiched between the belts 32b. The belts 32b move in the moving direction of the adjacent moving path 2a, for example, by rotating the rollers 33 by a motor or the like.

[0100] The belts 32a and 32b are provided so that the portions sandwiching the object 2 are in contact with the object 2 except for the portions near the roller 33. However, there may be some portions that are not in contact.

[0101] Belt 32a assists in the transportation of the processing object 2 by contacting the processing object 2, and prevents the processing object 2 from becoming slack during processing, which may result in breakage of the processing object 2 or uneven heating. In addition, within cavity 110a, the surface of belt 32a generates heat due to microwave irradiation, and the processing object near belt 32 is heated by radiant heat generated by the heat generation, so that the first microwave irradiation as described above is performed by first irradiator 201, and the portion of processing object 2 that is in contact with belt 32 can be efficiently heated by thermal conduction.

[0102] Similarly to belt 32a, belt 32b assists in the transportation of object 2 by contacting it, preventing sagging of object 2 during processing, which may result in breakage of object 2 or uneven heating. The surface of belt 32b in cavity 110b generates almost no heat when irradiated with microwaves, and object 2 is directly heated by microwaves transmitted through belt 32b, so that second microwave irradiation as described above can be performed by second irradiator 202.

[0103] Instead of using the belt 32b, the belt 32b may be omitted, and the second microwave irradiation may be performed by irradiating the portion where the belt 32b is omitted with microwaves.

[0104] Here, the case where the container 10 has two cavities 110a and 110b has been described, but the number of cavities that the container 10 has may be one or more than one, and the number is not limited. The size of each cavity is not limited. The number of cavities irradiated with microwaves by the first irradiating unit 201 and the number of cavities irradiated with microwaves by the second irradiating unit 202, and the order of arrangement along the moving path 2a are not limited. The multiple cavities in the container 10 may be connected to each other or may be separately arranged. For example, multiple cavities connected to each other to perform the above-mentioned processing on the same processing object 2, or multiple cavities separately arranged, may be considered as one container 10. The processing object 2 moved from one cavity to the outside may be returned to the same cavity again. The fact that the container 10 may have two or more cavities is the same for microwave processing devices other than the microwave processing device shown in FIG. 4(a).

[0105] In addition, in the microwave processing device 1 shown in Figure 4 (a), a container that is not divided into multiple cavities may be used as the container 10, and one or more belts 32a and 32b as described above may be provided within this container 10, with the first microwave irradiation being performed from one or more first irradiation sections 201 to the belt 32a, and the second microwave irradiation being performed from one or more second irradiation sections 202 to the belt 32b.

[0106] The shape of the container 10a and the movement path 2a are merely examples, and the shape of the container 10 and the movement path of the object to be treated 2 may be any shape or movement path.

[0107] Also, for example, as shown in FIG. 4(b), a plurality of rollers 31a having a heating medium on the surface are arranged so that the surface of the rollers 31a contacts the object 2 moving along the moving path 2a, and a plurality of rollers 31b having no heating member on the surface and hardly absorbing microwaves are arranged in a region different from the region where the plurality of rollers 31a are arranged so that the surface of the rollers 31a contacts the object 2 moving along the moving path 2a. A first irradiation unit 201 that irradiates microwaves to the region of the moving path 2a where the rollers 31a are arranged is provided, and a second irradiation unit 202 that irradiates microwaves to the region of the moving path 2a where the rollers 31b are arranged is provided, and microwaves are irradiated from the first irradiation unit 201 and the second irradiation unit 202. Note that the roller 31a may be a roller that generates heat by microwaves as a whole. For example, a material containing the heating medium or the like as described above may be used as the material of the roller 31a. Heat-resistant resin, ceramics, glass, graphite, etc. can be used as the material of the roller 31a. The heating medium on the surface of the belt 32a may be a heat source such as carbon, SiC, a carbon fiber composite material, a metal silicide such as molybdenum silicide or tungsten silicide, or a ceramic material containing powder of such a heat source.

[0108] 4(b), for example, the moving path 2a is a path folded back in multiple layers by a plurality of rollers 11 provided on the outside of the container 10a, and the container 10a has a shape that covers the moving path 2a except for the folded back parts, and a plurality of inlets 101a and outlets 101b are provided near the folded back parts of the moving path 2a for the input and output of the objects to be treated 2. The size of the rollers 11 is not important.

[0109] The rollers 31a assist in the transportation of the processing object 2 by contacting the processing object 2, and prevent the processing object 2 from becoming slack during processing, which may result in the processing object 2 being cut or being heated unevenly. The rollers 31a are also used as the heating members described above, and the surfaces of the rollers 31a are heated by microwave irradiation, and the processing object near the rollers 31 are heated by radiant heat generated by the heat generation, while the portion of the processing object 2 that the rollers 31 contact can be efficiently heated by thermal conduction. As a result, the microwave irradiation performed by the first irradiating unit 201 becomes the first microwave irradiation.

[0110] The rollers 31b assist in the transportation of the processing object 2 by contacting the processing object 2, and prevent the processing object 2 from becoming slack during processing, which may result in breakage of the processing object 2 or uneven heating. Furthermore, the rollers 31b hardly generate heat when irradiated with microwaves, and the processing object 2 is directly heated by the microwaves that have passed through the rollers 31b, so that the second irradiating unit 202 can perform the second microwave irradiation as described above.

[0111] The rollers 31a and 31b may be ones that rotate on their own axes by being connected to a motor (not shown) or the like, or they may not be ones that rotate on their own axes. The number of the rollers 31a and 31b may be one or more.

[0112] Instead of using the roller 31b, the roller 31b may be omitted, and the second microwave irradiation may be performed by irradiating the portion where the roller 31b is omitted with microwaves. The arrangement and order of the rollers 31a and 31b may be other than those described above. Also, the number of rollers 31a and 31b is not important.

[0113] Also, instead of the container 10b as shown in Fig. 4(b), a container having a plurality of cavities as shown in Fig. 4(a) may be used. Then, for example, the first irradiation unit 201 or the second irradiation unit 202 may be attached to each cavity, and the roller 31a may be arranged in the cavity to which the first irradiation unit 201 is attached, and the roller 31b may be arranged in the cavity to which the second irradiation unit 202 is attached.

[0114] (Embodiment 2) 5A and 5B are a cross-sectional view parallel to the movement direction of the object to be processed (FIG. 5(a)), a schematic cross-sectional view perpendicular to the longitudinal direction passing through point A in FIG. 5(a) of the heat generating member of the microwave processing device (FIG. 5(b)), and a schematic cross-sectional view perpendicular to the longitudinal direction passing through point B of the heat generating member of the microwave processing device (FIG. 5(c)), for explaining the microwave processing device of this embodiment. The microwave processing device 1a of this embodiment performs first microwave irradiation and second microwave irradiation by controlling the phases of multiple microwaves output from different positions by microwave irradiation means 21.

[0115] The microwave processing device 1a includes a container 10c, a microwave irradiation means 21, a heat generating member 30, one or more sensors 40, a control means 51, and a transport means 60.

[0116] 1 in the above embodiment, except that the container 10c is equipped with two or more irradiation units 203, which will be described later, of the microwave irradiation means 21. As the container 10c, the containers described in the above embodiment can be used, and for example, a container having a plurality of cavities can also be used.

[0117] In the following description, a single cylindrical heat generating member 30 is provided in the container 10c along the moving path 2a of the object 2 to be treated. However, there may be a plurality of heat generating members 30. The heat generating member 30 may be the same as the heat generating member 30 described in the above embodiment.

[0118] The microwave irradiation means 21 includes two or more irradiation units 203 that irradiate microwaves from different positions. The microwave irradiation means 21 includes two or more irradiation units 203 that are attached to, for example, openings 102 provided at different positions on the wall surface of the container 10c and irradiate microwaves into the container 10c. At least a part of the two or more irradiation units 203 is an irradiation unit 203 that can control the phase of the microwaves to be irradiated. The phase-controllable irradiation unit 203 is, for example, an irradiation unit 203 that includes the microwave oscillator 2001 and the transmission unit 2002 described in the above embodiment, and further includes a phase shifter (not shown) that can control the phase. As the microwave oscillator 2001 included in the phase-controllable irradiation unit 203, a semiconductor-type oscillator is preferably used. For the irradiation unit 203 that does not control the phase, an irradiation unit similar to the first irradiation unit 201 and the second irradiation unit 202 in the above embodiment can be used. However, the irradiating unit 203 capable of controlling the phase of the irradiated microwave may have any configuration as long as the phase is controllable. The control of the phase here may be considered to include setting the phase to a specific phase.

[0119] The microwave processing device 1a of this embodiment controls the phases of the microwaves irradiated by two or more irradiating units 203 to perform a first microwave irradiation in which the microwaves irradiated by the two or more irradiating units 203 are constructive with each other at the heat generating member 30, and a second microwave irradiation in which the microwaves irradiated by the two or more irradiating units 203 are constructive with each other at the processing target 2. For example, the microwave processing device 1a performs the first microwave irradiation and the second microwave irradiation by controlling the phases of the microwaves irradiated by the individual irradiating units 203 using a control means 51 or the like described later. The fact that the microwaves are constructive with each other means, for example, that the intensities of the microwaves are constructive with each other. For example, the fact that the microwaves are constructive with each other may mean that the electric field intensities of the microwaves are constructive with each other, or that the magnetic field intensities are constructive with each other, or both. For example, the microwave processing device 1a uses the control means 51 or the like to control the phases of microwaves irradiated by two or more irradiating units so that the phases of the microwaves irradiated from each of them are reinforced by interference at a desired position. For example, the microwave processing device 1a uses the control means 51 or the like to control the phases of microwaves irradiated by two or more irradiating units so that the phases of the microwaves irradiated from each of them are in phase at a desired position, thereby reinforced the microwaves. Making the microwaves reinforce each other at a desired position may be considered as concentrating the microwaves at a desired position. In addition, the microwave processing device 1a does not reinforce the microwaves by preventing them from being reinforced by interference at a desired position. In addition, the microwave processing device 1a does not reinforce the microwaves by preventing them from being in phase at a desired position, for example, by causing them to be inversely phase shifted. In order to make the microwaves irradiated from a plurality of positions reinforce each other at a desired position, when the microwaves irradiated by the irradiating unit 203 have the same frequency, for example, the distance between the desired position and each position to which the microwave is irradiated may be divided by the wavelength of the microwave, the remainder is divided by the wavelength of the microwave, and the result is multiplied by 2π to set the phase to be advanced from the reference phase by a value. However, it does not matter how the phase of the microwave is controlled to be the same at the desired position.Note that processes such as controlling the phase of microwaves to increase the intensity of microwaves at desired positions are publicly known, for example from JP 2017-212237 A, and therefore will not be described in detail here.

[0120] The first microwave irradiation, which is performed by controlling the phase of the microwaves irradiated by the two or more irradiating units 203, is, for example, irradiation from multiple positions in the container 10c with microwaves whose phases are controlled so that the microwaves do not reinforce each other at a desired position of the object 2 to be treated, but reinforce each other at one or more parts of the heat generating member 30 around the desired position. The one or more parts around the desired position of the object 2 to be treated are one or more parts located in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the object 2 to be treated or the moving direction of the object 2 to be treated. The desired position of the object 2 to be treated is, for example, a desired position on the moving path 2a of the object 2 to be treated. The same applies below. The first microwave irradiation here may be, for example, irradiation from multiple positions in the container 10c with microwaves whose phases are controlled so that the microwave intensity at one or more parts around the desired position of the heat generating member 30 is higher than the microwave intensity at the desired position of the object 2 to be treated. The one or more parts around the desired position are, for example, one or more parts of the heat generating member 30 intersecting with a virtual plane perpendicular to the moving direction of the moving path 2a at a desired position on the moving path 2a of the processing object 2. The first microwave irradiation here may be, for example, irradiating phase-controlled microwaves from multiple positions in the container 10c so that the microwaves are constructively intersecting at the desired position of the processing object 2, irradiating phase-controlled microwaves from multiple positions different from the multiple positions in the container 10c so that the microwaves are constructively intersecting at one or more parts around the desired position of the heat generating member 30, and setting the output of the microwaves output by controlling the phase so that they are constructively intersecting at the heat generating member 30 higher than the output of the microwaves output by controlling the phase so that they are constructively intersecting at the processing object 2.

[0121] The second microwave irradiation performed by controlling the phase of the microwaves irradiated by two or more irradiators 203 is, for example, irradiation from a plurality of positions in the container 10c with microwaves whose phases are controlled so that the microwaves are reinforced at a desired position on the processing object 2 and are not reinforced around the desired position on the heat-generating member 30. The first microwave irradiation here may be, for example, irradiation from a plurality of positions in the container 10c with microwaves whose phases are controlled so that the microwave intensity at a desired position on the processing object 2 is higher than the microwave intensity at one or more parts around the desired position on the heat-generating member 30. In addition, the second microwave irradiation here may involve, for example, irradiating phase-controlled microwaves from multiple positions in the container 10c so that the microwaves reinforce each other at a desired position on the object to be treated 2, and irradiating phase-controlled microwaves from multiple positions different from the multiple positions in the container 10c so that the microwaves reinforce each other in one or more parts around the desired position of the heat-generating member 30, and making the output of the microwaves output by controlling the phase so that they reinforce each other at the object to be treated 2 higher than the output of the microwaves output by controlling the phase so that they reinforce each other at the heat-generating member 30.

[0122] In addition, the position and the number of the positions where the microwaves are strengthened by the first microwave irradiation and the position and the number of the positions where the microwaves are strengthened by the second microwave irradiation are not limited. These positions and the number of the positions may be appropriately set according to the results of an experiment or a simulation performed for the object 2 to be treated, etc.

[0123] Furthermore, the two or more irradiating units 203 performing the first microwave irradiation and the two or more irradiating units 203 performing the second microwave irradiation may be the same irradiating unit 203, may be different irradiating units 203, or may be partially the same irradiating units 203. The microwaves irradiated by the two or more irradiating units 203 performing the first microwave irradiation and the microwaves irradiated by the two or more irradiating units 203 performing the second microwave irradiation may be of the same frequency or may be of different frequencies.

[0124] The one or more sensors 40 are, for example, similar to the sensors in the above embodiment. Each sensor 40 is installed, for example, in the container 10c near a location where the first microwave irradiation is performed or near a location where the second microwave irradiation is performed.

[0125] The conveying means 60 is the same as in the above embodiment, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0126] The control means 51 controls the phases of the microwaves irradiated from the multiple positions by the microwave irradiating means 21. Controlling the phases of the microwaves irradiated from multiple positions may be considered as a concept including not controlling the phase of one or more reference microwaves but controlling the phases of other microwaves. As described above, the control means 51 controls the phases of the microwaves irradiated by the microwave irradiating means 21 so that the first microwave irradiation is performed at one or more desired positions on the moving path 2a of the processing object 2, and the second microwave irradiation is performed at one or more desired positions on the moving path 2a of the processing object 2 excluding the position where the first microwave irradiation is performed. For example, the control means 51 controls the phases of the microwaves irradiated by the multiple irradiating units 203 so that such first microwave irradiation and second microwave irradiation are performed. In addition, the control means 51 may individually control the output of the microwaves irradiated from the multiple positions by the microwave irradiating means 21. For example, the control means 51 may individually control the output of the microwaves irradiated by each irradiating unit 203. For example, the control means 51 feedback-controls the output of the irradiation unit 203 that irradiates the first microwave to the desired position in accordance with temperature information output by the sensor 40 arranged in the vicinity of the desired position. Also, for example, the control means 51 feedback-controls the output of the irradiation unit 203 that irradiates the second microwave to the desired position in accordance with temperature information output by the sensor 40 arranged in the vicinity of the desired position. However, control other than feedback control may be performed.

[0127] In addition, in cases where the phase of each irradiation section 203 is once set so that the microwaves reinforce each other at one or more desired positions and no change is required, or where the phase of each irradiation section 203 is set manually, the phase irradiated by the irradiation section 203 may not be controlled by the control means 51, and a control means for controlling the phase may not be provided.

[0128] Next, the operation of the microwave processing device 1a of the present embodiment will be described with a specific example. Here, the case where the microwave processing device 1a is used to perform flame retardant treatment on the PAN precursor fiber, which is the object to be processed 2, will be described as an example. Note that, in order to simplify the description, the microwave processing device 1a shown in FIG. 5(a) will be used for the description.

[0129] Here, it is assumed that the processing object 2 is moved along the moving path 2a by the conveying means 60, and the first microwave irradiation is performed at point A on the moving path 2a of the processing object 2 shown in FIG. 5, and the second microwave irradiation is performed at point B. Specifically, the control means 51 controls the multiple irradiating units 203 to irradiate the multiple irradiating units 203 with microwaves whose phases are controlled so that the microwaves do not constructively interfere with each other at point A on the moving path 2a of the processing object 2, but do constructively interfere with each other at one or more parts of the heat generating member 30 around point A. Here, for example, it is assumed that microwaves are irradiated from half of the multiple irradiating units 203 attached to the entrance 101a side at point A so as to constructively interfere with each other. In other words, it is assumed that the first microwave irradiation is performed by half of the multiple irradiating units 203 attached to the entrance 101a side. The control means 51 also controls the multiple irradiation units 203 to irradiate the multiple irradiation units 203 with microwaves whose phases are controlled so that the microwaves are strengthened at point A on the moving path 2a of the processing target 2 and are not strengthened at one or more parts of the heat generating member 30 around point A. Here, for example, it is assumed that half of the multiple irradiation units 203 attached to the exit 101b side irradiate microwaves so that they are strengthened at point B. In other words, it is assumed that the second microwave irradiation is performed by half of the multiple irradiation units 203 attached to the exit 101b side. The first microwave irradiation and the second microwave irradiation may also be performed at parts other than the above-mentioned points A and B.

[0130] By irradiating the first microwave, at point A, as shown in FIG. 5(b), points 35 where microwaves reinforce each other are generated at multiple points (four points here as an example) of the heat generating member 30. The constructive microwaves at these points 35 cause the heat generating member 30 to generate heat, and the object 2 to be treated is heated from the outside by the radiant heat of the heat generating member 30. At point A, the object 2 to be treated is also directly heated by the microwaves, unless the multiple microwaves irradiated from the multiple irradiators 203 completely cancel each other out and become "0". However, since this is not a point where multiple microwaves reinforce each other, the amount of heat generated is small.

[0131] Furthermore, by irradiating the second microwaves, a point 35 where the microwaves reinforce each other is generated in the processing object 2 at point B, as shown in FIG. 5(c). The processing object 2 is directly heated by the constructive microwaves at this point 35. Note that the heat generating member 30 around point B also generates heat due to the microwaves, unless the multiple microwaves irradiated from the multiple irradiating units 203 completely cancel each other out and become "0", and the processing object 2 is also heated from the outside by this heat generation. However, since this is not a point where the multiple microwaves reinforce each other, the amount of heat generated is small.

[0132] Depending on the temperature acquired by the sensor 40 arranged near point A, the control means 51 feedback-controls the output of the multiple irradiating units 203 that irradiate the first microwave to point A, thereby increasing or decreasing the output of the constructive microwaves in the heat generating member 30 around point A, and the object 2 to be treated can be heated to a desired temperature at point A. Also, depending on the temperature acquired by the sensor 40 arranged near point B, the control means 51 feedback-controls the output of the multiple irradiating units 203 that irradiate the first microwave to point B, thereby increasing or decreasing the output of the constructive microwaves at point B of the object 2 to be treated, and the object 2 to be treated can be heated to a desired temperature at point B.

[0133] For example, as described in the above embodiment, at or near the position where the heat generation of the object 2 reaches its peak, the first microwave irradiation is performed by controlling the phase so that the microwaves are strengthened in the surrounding heat generating member 30 and are not strengthened in the object 2, as in the above point A, thereby making it possible to appropriately treat the object 2 while avoiding rapid heating when the object 2 reaches its heat generation peak. Also, at other positions, for example, by irradiating the object 2 with microwaves so that the microwaves are strengthened, the object 2 can be efficiently heated mainly by direct heating with microwaves, and the processing speed can be improved. Also, at other positions, for example, by making the microwaves strengthen in the object 2 or making the microwaves strengthen in the heat generating member 30, the first microwave irradiation and the second microwave irradiation can be appropriately switched for the moving object 2 to heat the object 2 evenly or as desired.

[0134] It should be noted that the arrangement of the multiple irradiating units 203 in this specific example is merely an example, and the arrangement and number of the multiple irradiating units 203 are not important. Furthermore, there is no restriction on the number and arrangement of points such as point A where microwaves are strengthened in the heat generating member 30, point B where microwaves are strengthened in the object 2 to be treated, and point C where microwaves are strengthened in both the heat generating member 30 and the object 2 to be treated, set on the movement path 2a of the object 2 to be treated in the container 10c. In the microwave processing device 1a, for example, at least one point each of the points where microwaves are strengthened in the heat generating member 30 and the points where microwaves are strengthened in the object 2 to be treated may be set on the movement path 2a.

[0135] As described above, according to this embodiment, the microwave irradiation means 21 controls the phases of multiple microwaves irradiated from different positions to perform a first microwave irradiation in which two or more microwaves reinforce each other at the heat-generating member 30 and a second microwave irradiation in which two or more microwaves reinforce each other at the treatment object 2, thereby making it possible to appropriately treat the treatment object 2 using microwaves. For example, appropriate heating can be performed by controlling the combination and ratio of heating from the outside of the treatment object by a heat-generating member generated by microwaves and direct heating of the treatment object by microwaves.

[0136] In the above, the output of the irradiated microwaves is feedback-controlled in response to temperature information acquired by the sensor 40, but the phase of the microwaves irradiated by the microwave irradiating means 21 may be controlled in response to temperature information acquired by one or more sensors 40 to move the position where the microwaves are intensified by the first microwave irradiation or the second microwave irradiation along the movement path 2a of the treatment object 2, thereby controlling the heating of the treatment object 2. For example, in the above, when the temperature acquired by the sensor 40 at point B is high, the position of point B may be moved toward the exit side to delay the timing of heating by the second microwave irradiation.

[0137] In the above, a first microwave irradiation for irradiating microwaves so as to constructively interfere with each other at the heat generating member 30 and a second microwave irradiation for irradiating microwaves so as to constructively interfere with each other at the same position on the moving path 2a of the processing object 2 may be performed simultaneously. In this case, the microwave output of the first microwave irradiation and the microwave output of the second microwave irradiation may be different.

[0138] In the above embodiment, the case where the processing object 2 is moved in the container 10c has been described as an example, but the processing object 2 may be immobilized in the container 10c and the phase of the multiple microwaves irradiated into the container 10c may be controlled to move the position where the microwaves are strengthened by the first microwave irradiation in the heat generating member 30 and the position where the microwaves are strengthened by the second microwave irradiation in the processing object 2 over time, thereby changing the position where the heat generating member 30 is heated and the position where the processing object 2 is directly heated over time. In this way, for example, the processing object 2 can be appropriately heated.

[0139] In the above embodiment, when the microwave irradiation means 21 controls the phase of the microwaves irradiated from the multiple irradiation sections 203, it is preferable to design the container 10c so that a first microwave irradiation position where the intensity of the microwaves irradiated by the irradiation section 203 is stronger at the heat-generating member 30 and a second microwave irradiation position where the intensity of the microwaves irradiated by the irradiation section 203 is stronger at the object to be treated 2 are provided along the movement path 2a of the object to be treated 2.

[0140] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the microwave irradiation means 21 may not control the phases of the microwaves irradiated from the multiple irradiation units 203. For example, in a case where the microwave irradiation means 21 includes one or more irradiation units 203 that irradiate microwaves, instead of controlling the phases of the microwaves irradiated by each irradiation unit 203, the container 10c may be designed so that a first microwave irradiation position where the intensity of the microwaves irradiated by the irradiation unit 203 is strong at the heat-generating member 30 and a second microwave irradiation position where the intensity of the microwaves irradiated by the irradiation unit 203 is strong at the treatment object 2 are provided along the movement path 2a of the treatment object 2.

[0141] (Modification) In the microwave processing apparatus 1a of the above-mentioned embodiment 2, one or more heat-generating members 30 may be provided partially along the movement path 2a of the object to be treated 2 within the container 10c as in the above-mentioned embodiment 1, and the phases of the microwaves irradiated by two or more irradiation units 203 that irradiate microwaves from different positions may be controlled by a control means 51 or the like to provide a first microwave irradiation position where the intensity of the microwaves irradiated by the irradiation unit 203 is stronger at the heat-generating member 30, a second microwave irradiation position where the intensity of the microwaves irradiated by the irradiation unit 203 is stronger in a portion of the object to be treated where the heat-generating member is not provided, and a third microwave irradiation position where the intensity of the microwaves irradiated by the irradiation unit 203 is stronger in a portion of the object to be treated 2 where the heat-generating member is provided.

[0142] FIG. 7(a) is a schematic cross-sectional view parallel to the moving direction of the object to be treated, for explaining an example of a modified example of such a microwave processing device 1a. In this microwave processing device 1a, two heat generating members 30d and 30e are installed at a predetermined interval in the container 10c along the moving path 2a of the object to be treated 2 so as to partially cover the object to be treated 2 in the microwave processing device 1a of the second embodiment, and the microwave irradiation means 21 includes three irradiation units 203a, three irradiation units 203b, and three irradiation units 203c that irradiate microwaves from different positions as two or more irradiation units 203. Each of the three irradiation units 203a, three irradiation units 203b, and three irradiation units 203c is attached to the container 10c in the same manner as the irradiation unit 203. It may be considered that the heat generating members 30d and 30e are arranged on either side of an area where no heat generating member is provided. Here, an example is shown in which three irradiation units 203a, three irradiation units 203b, and three irradiation units 203c are arranged along the moving path of the processing object 20 in order from the inlet side of the container 10c, but the arrangement is not limited to the above arrangement. For example, each irradiation unit 203 is located at a position where the intensity of the microwave can be reinforced at one or more desired positions by controlling the phase. Note that sensors and control means are omitted in the figure.

[0143] 7(b) to 7(d) are schematic diagrams showing heat generating members 30d and 30e of the microwave processing device shown in FIG. 7(a) and their vicinity, for explaining positions where microwave intensity is high.

[0144] For example, in the microwave processing device 1a shown in Fig. 7(a), the phases of the microwaves irradiated by the three irradiating units 203a are controlled so that the microwave intensity is strong at the position 400a where the heat generating member 30d is provided in the moving direction of the object 2 to be processed, the phases of the microwaves irradiated by the three irradiating units 203b are controlled so that the microwave intensity is strong at the object 2 to be processed at the position 400b between the heat generating members 30d and 30e where the heat generating member 30e is not provided in the moving direction of the object 2 to be processed, and the phases of the microwaves irradiated by the three irradiating units 203c are controlled so that the microwave intensity is strong at the part of the object to be processed located inside the heat generating member 30 at the position 400c where the heat generating member 30d is provided in the moving direction of the object 2 to be processed. Here, it is assumed that the positions 400a and 400c are different positions in the direction along the moving path 2a of the object 2 to be processed. In addition, here, the phase is controlled so that the position 400c is located on the member 30e side with respect to the position 400a, but the phase may be controlled so that the position 400a is located on the member 30e side with respect to the position 400c. The phase control is performed, for example, using a control means similar to the control means 51.

[0145] When the microwave irradiation means 21 irradiates microwaves as described above, as shown in FIG. 7(b), positions 400a, 400b, and 400c are positions where the microwave intensity is high. As a result, the heat generating member 30d is heated strongly at position 400a, and the object to be treated 2 is heated strongly at positions 400b and 400c. Note that position 400b is a position inside the heat generating member 30d that overlaps with the object to be treated 2. Here, position 400a corresponds to the first microwave irradiation position, position 400b corresponds to the second microwave irradiation position, and position 400c and its vicinity correspond to the third microwave irradiation position. Note that the positions here may be considered as regions.

[0146] In this way, by setting the positions where the microwave intensity is high at the portion where the heat generating member 30 is provided, the portion of the object to be treated 2 where the heat generating member 30 is not provided, and the portion of the object to be treated 2 where the heat generating member 30 is provided (for example, the portion of the object to be treated 2 located inside the heat generating member 30), it is possible to perform the desired heating on the object to be treated 2, for example.

[0147] In the above, by controlling the phase of the microwaves irradiated by each of the three irradiating sections 203a and the phase of the microwaves irradiated by each of the three irradiating sections 203c, respectively, microwaves may be irradiated so that the first microwave irradiation position, position 400a, and the third microwave irradiation position, position 400c, are positioned at the same position in the direction along the movement path 2a of the object to be processed, as shown in Figure 7(c).

[0148] In the above, by controlling the phases of the microwaves irradiated by the three irradiators 203 and the phases of the microwaves irradiated by the three irradiators 203c, the first microwave irradiating position 400a and the third microwave irradiating position 400c may be located in portions where different heat generating members 30 are provided. For example, as shown in Fig. 7(d), the first microwave irradiating position 400a may be located on the heat generating member 30d, and the second microwave irradiating position 400c may be located on the heat generating member 30e.

[0149] In the above, an example was described in which there are two heat generating members 30, but as in Figures 7(b) and 7(c), when the first microwave irradiation position and the third microwave irradiation position are disposed in a portion where the same heat generating member 30 is provided, there may be one or more heat generating members 30. Furthermore, the lengths, materials, etc. of at least some of the two or more heat generating members 30 may be the same or different.

[0150] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7(c), when the first microwave irradiation position and the third microwave irradiation position are disposed in portions where different heat generating members 30 are provided, the number of heat generating members 30 may be two or more.

[0151] Furthermore, the heat-generating member 30 in which the first microwave irradiation position is located and the area of ​​the object to be treated 2 in which the second microwave irradiation position is located and no heat-generating member is provided may or may not be adjacent to each other, as shown in Figure 7(b).

[0152] Furthermore, when position 400a, which is the first microwave irradiation position, and position 400c, which is the third microwave irradiation position, are located in portions where different heat-generating members 30 are provided, the first microwave irradiation position and the third microwave irradiation position may be adjacent heat-generating members 30 separated by only one area where no heat-generating member is provided, or may be adjacent heat-generating members 30 separated by two or more areas where no heat-generating member is provided.

[0153] The number of the irradiation units 203a is not limited as long as it is two or more. The same applies to the irradiation units 203b and 203c. The two or more irradiation units 203a and at least a part of the two or more irradiation units 203b may be realized by the same irradiation unit. That is, at least a part of the two or more irradiation units 203a may be used as at least a part of the two or more irradiation units 203b, so that at least a part of the irradiation unit 203a and at least a part of the irradiation unit 203b may be shared. The same applies to at least a part of the two or more irradiation units 203a and at least a part of the two or more irradiation units 203c, and at least a part of the two or more irradiation units 203b and at least a part of the two or more irradiation units 203c. Similarly, the two or more irradiation units 203a, the two or more irradiation units 203b, and at least a part of the two or more irradiation units 203c may be realized by the same irradiation unit. That is, at least a part of the two or more irradiating sections 203a may be used as at least a part of the two or more irradiating sections 203b and as at least a part of the two or more irradiating sections 203c. The microwave irradiating means 21 may have a plurality of sets each consisting of two or more first irradiating sections 203a. The same applies to the second irradiating section 203b and the third irradiating section 203c.

[0154] Moreover, the microwave irradiation means 21 may irradiate microwaves with a controlled phase so that a plurality of first microwave irradiation positions are arranged in the microwave processing device 1b. The same applies to the second microwave irradiation position and the third microwave irradiation position. Moreover, the microwave irradiation means 21 may irradiate microwaves with a controlled phase so that a plurality of first microwave irradiation positions are arranged on one heat-generating member 30. The same applies to the second microwave irradiation position and the third microwave irradiation position.

[0155] In the above, the first to third microwave irradiation positions are arranged by controlling the phase of the microwaves irradiated by the irradiating unit 203, but the first to third microwave irradiation positions may be arranged as described above by designing the container 10c, etc. In this case, the microwave irradiating means 21 may have one or more irradiating units 203. The design of the container 10c, etc. may be considered as a cavity design into which microwaves are irradiated. The design of the container 10c, etc. may be considered as a design including the arrangement of the irradiating unit 203, etc.

[0156] (Embodiment 3) 6A and 6B are a cross-sectional view parallel to the moving direction of the object to be processed (FIG. 6(a)), a schematic cross-sectional view perpendicular to the longitudinal direction passing through point A in FIG. 6(a) (FIG. 6(b)), a schematic cross-sectional view perpendicular to the longitudinal direction passing through point B (FIG. 6(c)), and a schematic cross-sectional view perpendicular to the longitudinal direction passing through point C (FIG. 6(d)), for explaining the microwave processing device in this embodiment. In the microwave processing device 1b in this embodiment, the microwave irradiation means 22 irradiates microwaves of different frequencies, thereby performing a first microwave irradiation and a second microwave irradiation.

[0157] The microwave processing device 1b includes a container 10d, a microwave irradiation means 22, a heat generating member 30, one or more sensors 40, a control means 52, and a transport means 60.

[0158] 1 in the above embodiment, except that the container 10d is equipped with an irradiation unit of the microwave irradiation means 22. In addition, as the container 10d, the containers described in the above embodiment can be used, and for example, a container having multiple cavities can also be used.

[0159] A case will be described in which a single cylindrical heat generating member 30 is provided inside the container 10d along the movement path 2a of the object 2 to be treated. However, there may be a plurality of heat generating members 30. The heat generating member 30 may be the same as the heat generating member 30 described in the above embodiment.

[0160] The microwave irradiation means 22 can irradiate microwaves of different frequencies, and performs the first microwave irradiation and the second microwave irradiation as described above by irradiating microwaves of different frequencies. For example, the microwave irradiation means 22 performs the first microwave irradiation of irradiating microwaves of a frequency at which the heat generated by the heat generating member 30 is greater than that of the object 2 to be treated, and the second microwave irradiation of irradiating microwaves of a frequency at which the heat generated by the object 2 to be treated is greater than that of the heat generating member 30. For example, the microwave irradiation means 22 performs the first microwave irradiation of irradiating microwaves of a frequency at which the microwaves absorbed by the heat generating member 30 are greater than those transmitted through the heat generating member 30, and the second microwave irradiation of irradiating microwaves of a frequency at which the microwaves absorbed by the heat generating member 30 are smaller than those transmitted through the heat generating member 30. The frequency of the microwaves irradiated by the microwave irradiation means 22 in such a first microwave irradiation is hereinafter referred to as the first frequency. Moreover, the frequency of the microwaves irradiated by the microwave irradiation means 22 in such second microwave irradiation will hereinafter be referred to as a second frequency.

[0161] For example, the microwaves that pass through the heat generating member 30 depend on the frequency of the microwaves that are irradiated. For example, when a heat generating member 30 having a complex dielectric constant of ε'=100 and ε"=10 is used, the power half-depth at which the power of the microwaves that penetrate into the heat generating member 30 is reduced to half is 36.3 mm for 915 MHz and 13.6 mm for 2.45 GHz. Therefore, if the thickness of the heat generating member 30 is set to an appropriate thickness, when microwaves of, for example, 2.45 GHz are irradiated, more than half, preferably most of the microwaves are absorbed by the heat generating member 30, and the microwaves do not reach the processing target 2 such as precursor fibers of carbon fibers. On the other hand, when microwaves of 915 MHz are irradiated, more than half, preferably most of the irradiated microwaves are transmitted through the heat generating member 30, and the microwaves can be irradiated to the precursor fibers of carbon fibers. Note that, in this case, when the heat generating member 30 is irradiated with microwaves of 2.45 GHz, the microwaves are absorbed by the heat generating member 30, and the processing target 2 such as precursor fibers of carbon fibers is not reached. The thickness of the heating medium 301 may be considered as the thickness of the heating member 30. For this reason, in the first microwave irradiation, the heating member 30 is irradiated with microwaves having a frequency at which the microwaves absorbed by the heating member 30 are greater than the microwaves transmitted through the heating member 30, thereby heating the heating member 30 by the first microwave irradiation, and in the second microwave irradiation, the heating member 30 is irradiated with microwaves having a frequency at which the microwaves absorbed by the heating member 30 are less than the microwaves transmitted through the heating member, thereby heating the processing object 2 inside the heating member by the second microwave irradiation.

[0162] For example, if the electrical resistivity is 2.8×10 -8When aluminum or the like having a dielectric constant of Ωm is used as the heat generating member 30 (for example, the heating medium 301 of the heat generating member 30), the skin depth at which the electric field intensity of the microwaves penetrating into the heat generating member 30 becomes 1 / e is 2.2 μm if the frequency is 915 MHz, and 1.3 μm if the frequency is 2.45 GHz. Therefore, if the thickness of the heat generating member 30 (for example, the thickness of the heating medium 301 of the heat generating member 30) is controlled, for example, in units of about 100 nm, most of the microwaves are absorbed by the heat generating member 30 in the first microwave irradiation with a first frequency of 2.45 GHz, and it is possible to prevent the microwaves from reaching the processing object 2 such as a precursor of carbon fiber, while it is possible to irradiate the processing object 2 with microwaves so that most of the microwaves are not absorbed by the heat generating member 30 in the second microwave irradiation with a second frequency of 915 MHz, thereby heating the processing object 2. The imaginary part ε″ of the complex dielectric constant described above may also be called the relative dielectric loss.

[0163] For example, when the processing target 2 is moving, the microwave irradiation means 22 may perform the first microwave irradiation and the second microwave irradiation on different positions on the movement path 2a of the processing target 2. The microwave irradiation means 22 may simultaneously perform the first microwave irradiation and the second microwave irradiation on the same position on the movement path 2a of the processing target 2. The microwave irradiation means 22 may switch between the first microwave irradiation and the second microwave irradiation on the same position on the movement path 2a of the processing target 2. The microwave irradiation means 22 may change the output of the microwaves of each frequency to be irradiated.

[0164] The microwave irradiation means 22 may have, for example, one or more irradiation units (not shown) capable of changing the frequency of the microwave to be irradiated, and may switch between the first microwave irradiation and the second microwave irradiation by changing the output frequency. The microwave irradiation means 22 may have one or more irradiation units (hereinafter referred to as the first frequency irradiation unit 204) that irradiate microwaves of a first frequency for the first microwave irradiation, and one or more irradiation units (hereinafter referred to as the second frequency irradiation unit 205) that irradiate microwaves of a second frequency different from the first frequency for the second microwave irradiation, and may perform the first microwave irradiation and the second microwave irradiation by irradiating microwaves of different frequencies irradiated by these units. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, a case in which the first microwave irradiation is performed using one or more first frequency irradiation units 204 and the second microwave irradiation is performed using one or more second frequency irradiation units 205 will be described as an example.

[0165] The first frequency irradiating unit 204 and the second frequency irradiating unit 205 are attached to, for example, openings 102 provided at different positions on the wall surface of the container 10d, and irradiate microwaves into the container 10d. The first frequency irradiating unit 204 and the second frequency irradiating unit 205 may be arranged to irradiate microwaves to different positions on the movement path of the treatment object 2, or may be arranged to irradiate microwaves to the same position.

[0166] 6, an example is described in which one of the first frequency irradiation units 204 is attached to the container 10d so that the microwaves of the first frequency to be irradiated are irradiated to an area including point A, one of the second frequency irradiation units 205 is attached to the container 10d so that the microwaves of the first frequency to be irradiated are irradiated to an area including point B, and one of the first frequency irradiation units 204 and one of the second frequency irradiation units 205 are attached so as to irradiate the microwaves of the first frequency and the microwaves of the second frequency, respectively, to an area including point C. For example, an example is shown in which the first frequency irradiation unit 204 is disposed at points A and C, and the second frequency irradiation unit 205 is disposed above and below point B. However, the positions at which the first frequency irradiation unit 204 and the second frequency irradiation unit 205 are disposed, the number of each, etc. are not limited.

[0167] As described in the above embodiment, the first frequency irradiating unit 204 and the second frequency irradiating unit 205 include, for example, a microwave oscillator 2001 and a transmitting unit 2002. However, the first frequency irradiating unit 204 and the second frequency irradiating unit 205 have different frequencies of microwaves oscillated by the microwave oscillator 2001. It is preferable to use a semiconductor type oscillator as the microwave oscillator 2001 of the irradiating unit 203. The first frequency irradiating unit 204 and the second frequency irradiating unit 205 may have a structure other than the above.

[0168] The one or more sensors 40 are, for example, similar to the sensors in the above embodiment. Here, an example is shown in which three sensors 40 are disposed at positions near points A, B, and C of the container 10d, for example, above and near points A, B, and C of the container 10d.

[0169] The conveying means 60 is the same as in the above embodiment, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0170] The control means 52 controls the output of microwaves irradiated by the first frequency irradiating section 204 and the second frequency irradiating section 205 of the microwave irradiating means 22. For example, the control means 52 feedback-controls the output of the first frequency irradiating section 204 and the second frequency irradiating section 205 that irradiate microwaves to points A, B, and C, respectively, in accordance with the information on the temperature of the processing target 2 acquired by the above-mentioned three sensors 40. However, the control does not have to be feedback control. In addition, when the microwave irradiating means 22 has a plurality of irradiating sections (not shown) that can control the phase of the irradiated microwaves, the control means 52 may control the frequency of the microwaves irradiated by each irradiating section of the microwave irradiating means 22.

[0171] Next, the operation of the microwave processing device 1b of this embodiment will be described with a specific example. Here, the case where the microwave processing device 1b is used to perform flame retardant treatment of the PAN precursor fiber, which is the object to be processed 2, will be described as an example. In order to simplify the description, the microwave processing device 1b shown in FIG. 6 will be used for the description. The microwaves irradiated by the first frequency irradiating unit 204 here are microwaves of a first frequency at which the microwaves absorbed by the heat generating member 30 are greater than the microwaves transmitted through the heat generating member 30, and the microwaves irradiated by the second frequency irradiating unit 205 are microwaves of a second frequency at which the microwaves absorbed by the heat generating member 30 are smaller than the microwaves transmitted through the heat generating member 30. In addition, the heat generating member 20 here has a thickness that absorbs more than half, preferably most of the irradiated microwaves of the first frequency and transmits more than half, preferably most of the irradiated microwaves of the second frequency without absorbing them.

[0172] For example, in a state in which the processing target 2 is being transported by the transport means 60, the first frequency irradiating unit 204 constantly irradiates microwaves 16 of the first frequency, and the second frequency irradiating unit 205 constantly irradiates microwaves 17 of the second frequency. Note that here, the output of the microwaves 16 irradiated by the first frequency irradiating unit 204 and the output of the microwaves 17 irradiated by the second frequency irradiating unit 205 are feedback-controlled in response to temperature information acquired by sensors 40 arranged in the vicinity of each.

[0173] At point A, microwaves 16 of the first frequency are irradiated from the first frequency irradiation unit 204 to perform the first microwave irradiation, so that the microwaves are easily absorbed by the heat-generating member 30 and the microwaves 16 are not easily irradiated to the processing object 2, and as shown in Fig. 6(b), the heat generated by the heat-generating member 30 becomes higher than the heat generated by the processing object 2. As a result, the processing object 2 is heated from the outside by the radiant heat from the heat-generating member 30. Although the heat generated by the heat-generating member 30 is smaller than that of the heat-generating member 30, the processing object 2 is also directly heated by a portion of the irradiated microwaves 16.

[0174] At point B, microwaves 17 of the second frequency are irradiated from second frequency irradiating section 205 to perform second microwave irradiation, so that microwaves are not easily absorbed by heat-generating member 30, and the transmitted microwaves 17 are irradiated to processing object 2, so that the heat generated by processing object 2 becomes higher than the heat generated by heat-generating member 30, as shown in Fig. 6(c). As a result, processing object 2 is directly heated by irradiated microwaves 17. Note that heat-generating member 30 is also heated by a portion of irradiated microwaves 17, and is therefore heated from the outside by radiant heat from heat-generating member 30.

[0175] At point C, the microwave 16 of the first frequency is irradiated from the first frequency irradiating section 204 to perform the first microwave irradiation, and the microwave 17 of the second frequency is irradiated from the second frequency irradiating section 205 to perform the second microwave irradiation. The microwave 16 of the first frequency causes the heat generation member 30 to be higher than the heat generation of the processing object 2. On the other hand, the microwave 17 of the second frequency causes the heat generation of the processing object 2 by the microwave 17 of the second frequency to be higher than the heat generation of the heat generation member 30. As a result, the processing object 2 is heated from the outside by radiant heat from the heat generation member 30 in response to the irradiation of the microwave 16 of the first frequency, and is also directly heated in response to the irradiation of the microwave 17 of the second frequency, as shown in FIG. 6(d).

[0176] The output of the microwaves 16 and 17 irradiated to each of the points A to C is feedback-controlled, for example, by the control means 52 controlling the output of the first frequency irradiation unit 204 and the second frequency irradiation unit 205 that irradiate the microwaves to each of the points, in accordance with information on the temperature of the object to be treated 2 acquired by a sensor 40 provided near each of the points.

[0177] In addition, by individually changing the outputs of the first frequency irradiating unit 204 and the second frequency irradiating unit 205 that irradiate point C with microwaves 16 and 17 of different frequencies, it is possible to control the ratio between the amount of heat generated by the heat generating member 30 and the amount of heat generated by the object to be treated 2 at point C. For example, by increasing only the output of the microwaves 16 of the first frequency output by the first frequency irradiating unit 204, it is possible to increase the amount of heat generated by the heat generating member 30 relative to the amount of heat generated by the object to be treated 2, and by increasing only the output of the microwaves 17 of the second frequency output by the second frequency irradiating unit 205, it is possible to increase the amount of heat generated by the object to be treated 2 relative to the amount of heat generated by the heat generating member 30.

[0178] For example, as described in the above embodiment, at or near the position on the moving path 2a where the heat generation of the processing object 2 reaches its peak, microwave irradiation of the first frequency at which the heat generating member 30 generates more heat than the processing object 2 is performed, as in the above point A, thereby making it possible to avoid rapid heating when the processing object 2 reaches its peak heat generation and appropriately process the processing object 2. In addition, for other positions on the moving path 2a, for example, microwave irradiation of the first frequency, microwave irradiation of the second frequency, or both microwaves of the first frequency and the second frequency can be appropriately combined to perform the first microwave irradiation and the second microwave irradiation on the moving processing object 2, and the processing object 2 can be heated as desired.

[0179] The arrangement of the first frequency irradiating unit 204 and the second frequency irradiating unit 205 in this specific example is merely an example, and the arrangement and the number of the first frequency irradiating unit 204 and the second frequency irradiating unit 205 are not important. The microwave processing device 1b may have at least one each of the first frequency irradiating unit 204 and the second frequency irradiating unit 205. For example, a plurality of the first frequency irradiating units 204 and the second frequency irradiating units 205 may be attached to the container 10.

[0180] In the above specific example, similarly to the point C, the first frequency irradiating unit 204 and the second frequency irradiating unit 205 may be provided as irradiating units that irradiate microwaves to each of a plurality of points, and microwaves of different frequencies may be irradiated to one or more of the plurality of points. In this case, a single point may be irradiated with microwaves from only one of the first frequency irradiating unit 204 and the second frequency irradiating unit 205, so that only one of the microwaves of either frequency may be irradiated, or the frequency of the microwaves irradiated to a single point may be changed by switching between the first frequency irradiating unit 204 and the second frequency irradiating unit 205 as the irradiating unit that irradiates microwaves to a single point.

[0181] Further, in the above specific example, instead of providing the first frequency irradiating unit 204 and the second frequency irradiating unit 205, a plurality of irradiating units (not shown) capable of changing the frequency may be provided, for example, along the moving path 2a, and each of them may irradiate a microwave of a frequency suitable for each position. For example, a plurality of irradiating units capable of changing the frequency may be arranged above points A to C as shown in FIG. 6, and a microwave of a first frequency may be irradiated from the irradiating units above points A and C, and a microwave of a second frequency may be irradiated from the irradiating unit above point B. In this way, one irradiating unit that irradiates a microwave of a first frequency and one irradiating unit that irradiates a microwave of a second frequency may be realized by one irradiating unit.

[0182] In this case, the frequency of the microwaves irradiated from each irradiation unit may be changed as appropriate. For example, the frequency of the microwaves irradiated from the irradiation unit above point B may be changed from the second frequency to the first frequency depending on the material, thickness, moving speed, etc. of the processing target 2, and the frequency of the microwaves irradiated from the irradiation unit above point C may be changed from the first frequency to the second frequency. Also, the frequency of the microwaves irradiated by each irradiation unit may be changed depending on the temperature information acquired by the sensor 40, etc.

[0183] Also, a plurality of irradiation units (not shown) that irradiate microwaves to one or more respective points may be provided, and each irradiation unit may be an irradiation unit capable of changing the frequency of the irradiated microwave, and the microwave frequencies of the plurality of irradiation units that irradiate microwaves to each point may be set to different frequencies, so that microwaves of different frequencies can be irradiated to each point. In this case, the microwaves of the plurality of irradiation units that irradiate microwaves to one point may be set to microwaves of the same frequency, or only one irradiation unit may irradiate microwaves, so that only microwaves of one frequency can be irradiated to a point that does not need to be irradiated with microwaves of a different frequency.

[0184] As described above, in this embodiment, the first microwave irradiation and the second microwave irradiation are performed by irradiating the inside of the container with microwaves of different frequencies, so that the object to be treated can be appropriately treated using microwaves. For example, appropriate heating can be performed by controlling the combination and ratio of heating from the outside of the object to be treated by a heat-generating member generated by microwaves and direct heating of the object to be treated by generating heat in the object to be treated by microwaves.

[0185] In the third embodiment, the microwave irradiation means 22 may perform a first microwave irradiation in which microwaves having a frequency at which the microwave loss to the heat-generating member 30 is greater than the loss to the object 2 to be treated, and a second microwave irradiation in which microwaves having a frequency at which the microwave loss to the heat-generating member 30 is smaller than the loss to the object 2 to be treated, instead of the first microwave irradiation and the second microwave irradiation. The microwave loss here may be considered as heat generation by the heat-generating member 30 or the object 2 to be treated due to the microwaves. The microwave loss can be expressed, for example, by a dielectric loss or the like. The dielectric loss is the imaginary part ε" of the complex dielectric constant. Usually, as the dielectric loss increases, the heat generation due to microwave irradiation increases, and as the dielectric loss decreases, the heat generation due to microwave irradiation decreases. The frequency of the microwave irradiated in such a first microwave irradiation may be considered as the above-mentioned first frequency. Also, the frequency of the microwave irradiated in such a second microwave irradiation may be considered as the above-mentioned second frequency. Here, the dielectric loss of the heat-generating member 30 may be considered as the dielectric loss of the heating medium 301 of the heat-generating member 30.

[0186] In the above, the container 10d may have a plurality of cavities, and for each cavity, for example, one or more of either the first frequency irradiation unit 204 or the second frequency irradiation unit 205 may be attached, so that microwaves of different frequencies are irradiated into each cavity. With such a configuration, microwaves of different frequencies can be irradiated into the processing object 2 in each cavity, and the output of microwaves of different frequencies to be irradiated can be easily controlled.

[0187] In addition, in the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the object to be treated is moved within the container, but by preventing the object to be treated 2 from moving within the container 10d and changing the frequency of the microwaves irradiated into the container 10d over time, it is also possible to switch between a first microwave irradiation for heating the heat generating member 30 and a second microwave irradiation for heating the object to be treated 2 on an hourly basis, thereby switching between heating the object to be treated 2 from the heat generating member 30 and direct heating of the object to be treated 2 by microwaves on an hourly basis.

[0188] In the above embodiment 3, the microwave irradiating means 22 irradiates microwaves of two different frequencies. However, the microwave irradiating means 22 may irradiate microwaves of three or more different frequencies. For example, the microwave irradiating means 22 may have three or more irradiating units each having a different microwave frequency. The microwave irradiating means 22 may have three or more irradiating units capable of changing the frequency of the microwaves irradiated, and three or more of these irradiating units may control the frequency of the microwaves irradiated so as to irradiate microwaves of different frequencies. In the above embodiment, a portion of a plurality of irradiating units that can be shared may be made to be shared.

[0189] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment 2, as described in the above-mentioned embodiment 3, two or more irradiating units 203 performing the first microwave irradiation may be configured to irradiate microwaves of a first frequency, and two or more irradiating units 203 performing the second microwave irradiation may be configured to irradiate microwaves of a second frequency.

[0190] (Variation 1) In the microwave processing device 1b of the third embodiment, one or more heat generating members 30 may be provided partially along the moving path 2a of the object 2 to be treated in the container 10d as in the first embodiment, and the microwave irradiating means 22 may perform a first microwave irradiation in which microwaves are irradiated to the part of the moving path 2a where the heat generating members 30 are provided to heat the heat generating members 30, and a second microwave irradiation in which microwaves of a frequency different from the first microwave irradiation are irradiated to one or more parts of the moving path 2a where the heat generating members 30 are not provided to heat the object to be treated. In other words, the microwave irradiating means 22 may irradiate microwaves of different frequencies to the part of the moving path 2a where the heat generating members 30 are provided and one or more parts of the moving path 2a where the heat generating members 30 are not provided.

[0191] In this case, the frequency of the microwaves used in the first microwave irradiation is preferably set to a frequency at which the relative dielectric loss for the heat-generating member 30 is greater than the relative dielectric loss for the processing target 2. In addition, the frequency of the microwaves used in the second microwave irradiation is preferably set to a frequency at which the relative dielectric loss for the processing target 2 is greater than the relative dielectric loss for the heat-generating member 30. However, the frequency of the microwaves used in the second microwave irradiation may be a frequency at which the relative dielectric loss for the processing target 2 is not greater than the relative dielectric loss for the heat-generating member 30.

[0192] FIG. 8(a) is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of such a modified microwave processing device 1b. In this microwave processing device 1b, in the microwave processing device 1b of the third embodiment, two heat generating members 30d and 30e, which are the two heat generating members 30 described in the modified embodiment of the second embodiment, are installed at a predetermined interval in a container 10d partially along the moving path 2a of the processing object 2, and the microwave irradiating means 22 is provided with two irradiating units 206a and 206b that irradiate microwaves of different frequencies from different positions instead of the irradiating units 204 and 205. Note that in FIG. 8(a), the container, the sensor, the control means, and the like are omitted. The solid line arrows in the figure show the microwaves irradiated by the irradiating units 206a and 206b.

[0193] As shown in FIG. 8(a), the irradiation unit 206a is attached to a position where microwaves can be irradiated to the heat generating member 30d (for example, a position facing the side surface of the heat generating member 30d of a container not shown), and emits microwaves of a frequency at which the relative dielectric loss for the heat generating member 30d is greater than the relative dielectric loss for the processing target 2, thereby performing the first microwave irradiation. As shown in FIG. 8(a), the irradiation unit 206b is attached to a position where microwaves can be irradiated to the processing target 2 located in a portion between the heat generating member 30d and the heat generating member 30e where the heat generating member 30 is not provided (for example, a position facing the region between the heat generating member 30d and the heat generating member 30e of a container not shown where the heat generating member 30 is not provided), and performs the second microwave irradiation by emitting microwaves of a frequency different from the first microwave irradiation. The irradiation units 206a and 206b can use irradiation units similar to the irradiation units 204 and 205, etc., which can irradiate microwaves of the above-mentioned frequencies.

[0194] In the microwave processing device 1b shown in FIG. 8(a), when the irradiating unit 206a performs the first microwave irradiation, at the position 500a where the irradiated microwaves overlap the heat-generating member 30d, the relative dielectric loss for the heat-generating member 30d becomes larger than the relative dielectric loss for the processing target 2 due to the frequency used for the first microwave irradiation, so that the heating efficiency is higher than that of the processing target 2 located inside the position 500a of the heat-generating member 30d, and the heat-generating member 30d is efficiently heated, and the inner processing target 2 can be efficiently heated from the outside by the heated heat-generating member 30d. In addition, the direct heating of the processing target 2 can be suppressed inside the position 500a of the heat-generating member 30d. In addition, when the irradiating unit 206b performs the second microwave irradiation, at the position 500b where the irradiated microwaves overlap the processing target 2 located in the part where the heat-generating member is not provided, the heat-generating member 30 is not provided, so only the direct heating of the processing target 2 can be performed. Incidentally, by setting the frequency of the microwaves used for the second microwave irradiation irradiated by the irradiating section 206b to a frequency that has a large relative dielectric loss for the treatment object 2, it is possible to improve the heating efficiency of directly heating the treatment object 2. Note that the positions 500a and 500b shown in FIG. 8(a) are positions for the purpose of explanation, and do not strictly indicate the positions where the actual microwaves are irradiated. The same applies to FIGS. 8(b) to 8(d) described later. The same applies to the position 500c described later.

[0195] In this modified example, by irradiating microwaves of different frequencies to the heat generating member 30 and the object 2 located in an area where the heat generating member 30 is not provided, it is possible to perform desired heating on the object 2 at the position where the heat generating member 30 is provided and at the position where the heat generating member 30 is not provided. In particular, by irradiating the heat generating member 30 with a frequency at which the relative dielectric loss for the heat generating member 30d is greater than the relative dielectric loss for the object 2, it is possible to suppress heating of the object 2 at the portion where the heat generating member 30 is provided.

[0196] (Variation 2) In the microwave processing device 1b described in the above variant example 1, the microwave irradiation means 22 may perform, in addition to the above first microwave irradiation and second microwave irradiation, a third microwave irradiation in which microwaves of a frequency such that the relative dielectric loss for the partially provided heat-generating member 30 is smaller than the relative dielectric loss for the object to be processed 2 are irradiated to the portion where the heat-generating member 30 is provided, thereby heating the portion of the object to be processed where the heat-generating member 30 is provided.

[0197] 8(b) to 8(d) are schematic diagrams showing the heat generating member 30d and the heat generating member 30e and their vicinity for explaining a modified example of the microwave processing device 1b that further performs such a third microwave irradiation, and the same reference numerals as in FIG. 8(a) indicate the same or corresponding parts. In the figures, the irradiating unit 206c performs the third microwave irradiation by irradiating the part where the heat generating member 30 is provided with microwaves having a frequency at which the relative dielectric loss for the heat generating member 30 is smaller than the relative dielectric loss for the processing target 2. As the irradiating unit 206c, an irradiating unit similar to the irradiating unit 204, the irradiating unit 205, etc., which can irradiate microwaves of the above-mentioned frequency, can be used. The irradiating unit 206c is attached to a container (not shown). The solid line arrows in the figures typically indicate the microwaves irradiated by the irradiating unit 206a and the irradiating unit 206b, and the dotted line arrows typically indicate the microwaves that have passed through the heat generating member 30. In the drawing, a position 500c, which will be described later, represents a position inside the heat generating member 30d.

[0198] 8(b), the irradiation unit 206c is attached to a position facing the side surface of the heat generating member 30d of a container (not shown) so that the microwaves are irradiated to a position different from the position 500a of the heat generating member 30d where the microwaves irradiated by the first microwave irradiation from the irradiation unit 206a overlap. Note that, here, an example is described in which the irradiation unit 206 is attached so that the position where the microwaves irradiated by the irradiation unit 206c overlap with the heat generating member 30d is closer to the heat generating member 30e than the position 500a, but the irradiation unit 206 may be attached so that the position where the microwaves irradiated by the irradiation unit 206c overlap with the heat generating member 30d is farther from the heat generating member 30e than the position 500a.

[0199] In the microwave processing device 1b shown in Fig. 8(b), similarly to the microwave processing device 1b in Fig. 8(a), when the irradiating unit 206a performs the first microwave irradiation, the heat generating member 30d is efficiently heated at the position 500a where the irradiated microwaves overlap with the heat generating member 30d, and direct heating of the processing object 2 inside the position 500a can be suppressed. Also, when the irradiating unit 206b performs the second microwave irradiation, only direct heating of the processing object 2 can be performed at the position 500b where the irradiated microwaves overlap with the processing object 2 in an area where no heat generating member is provided. Furthermore, when the irradiating unit 206c irradiates the third microwave, the relative dielectric loss of the processing object 2 becomes larger than the relative dielectric loss of the heat-generating member 30d due to the frequency used for the third microwave irradiation, so that the heating efficiency of the processing object 2 becomes high at the position 500c of the processing object 2 located inside the heat-generating member 30d where the microwave irradiated from the irradiating unit 206c overlaps, and the processing object 2 inside can be efficiently heated directly. Also, the heating efficiency of the microwave irradiated from the irradiating unit 206c is low at the portion where the microwave overlaps with the heat-generating member 30d, so that the heating of the heat-generating member 30d on the outside of the processing object 2 due to the microwave irradiation from the irradiating unit 206c can be suppressed, and the heating of the processing object 2 from the outside due to the heated heat-generating member 30d can be suppressed.

[0200] In this manner, in this modified example, the first microwave irradiation, the second microwave irradiation, and the third microwave irradiation are performed, whereby the processing target 2 can be appropriately heated.

[0201] In the microwave processing device 1b described with reference to Fig. 8(b), the microwaves may be irradiated so that the position 500a irradiated with the microwaves by the first microwave irradiation and the position 500c irradiated with the microwaves by the third microwave irradiation are the same in the direction along the moving path 2a of the processing object 2. For example, as shown in Fig. 8(c), in the microwave processing device 1b described with reference to Fig. 8(b), the irradiating unit 206a and the irradiating unit 206c may be attached to a container (not shown) so that the positions at which the microwaves are emitted are opposite to each other via the heat generating member 30d, so that the positions 500a and 500c are the same in the direction along the moving path 2a of the processing object 2. However, the arrangement of the irradiating unit 206a and the irradiating unit 206c is not limited to the above, as long as the first microwave irradiation and the second microwave irradiation can be performed so that the positions where the microwaves are irradiated are the same in the direction along the movement path 2a of the processing object 2. For example, the irradiating unit 206a and the irradiating unit 206c may be attached to the container so that the positions where the microwaves are emitted are the same in the direction along the movement path 2a of the processing object 2 and are not opposed to each other via the heat generating member 30d. In addition, in the above, the microwaves may be irradiated so that the positions 500a where the microwaves are irradiated by the first microwave irradiation and the positions 500c where the microwaves are irradiated by the third microwave irradiation are the same in the width direction of the container 10d. The position 500a irradiated with microwaves by the first microwave irradiation may be considered as the position where the first heat generating member 30 is heated by the first microwave irradiation, and the position 500c irradiated with microwaves by the third microwave irradiation may be considered as the position where the processing target 2 located at the portion where the first heat generating member 30 is provided is heated by the third microwave irradiation. The same applies hereinafter.

[0202] In addition, in the microwave processing device 1b described with reference to FIG. 8(b), the position 500a where microwaves are irradiated by the first microwave irradiation and the position 500c where microwaves are irradiated by the third microwave irradiation may be located in the portion where different heat generating members 30 are provided. For example, as shown in FIG. 8(d), the position 500a where microwaves are irradiated by the first microwave irradiation may be located in the portion where the heat generating member 30d is provided, and the position 500c where microwaves are irradiated by the second microwave irradiation may be located in the portion where the heat generating member 30e is provided. In this case, for example, the irradiating unit 206a may be located in a position facing the side of the heat generating member 30d so that the position 500a where microwaves are irradiated by the first microwave irradiation is located in the portion where the heat generating member 30d is provided, and the irradiating unit 206c may be located in a position facing the side of the heat generating member 30e so that the position 500c where microwaves are irradiated by the second microwave irradiation is located in the portion where the heat generating member 30e is provided. However, as long as microwaves can be irradiated so that position 500a where microwaves are irradiated by the first microwave irradiation and position 500c where microwaves are irradiated by the third microwave irradiation are located in portions where different heat generating members 30 are provided, the arrangement of irradiation section 206a and irradiation section 206c is not limited to the above.

[0203] In the above, the case where there are two heat generating members 30 has been described as an example, but in the case where the third microwave irradiation is not performed as in Fig. 8(a), or in the case where the position irradiated with microwaves by the first microwave irradiation and the position irradiated with microwaves by the third microwave irradiation are located in a portion where the same heat generating member 30 is provided as in Fig. 8(b) and Fig. 8(c), or in the case where there is no need to irradiate microwaves to different heat generating members, there may be one or more heat generating members 30. In addition, the length, material, etc. of at least some of the two or more heat generating members 30 may be the same or different.

[0204] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 8 (c), when the position where microwaves are irradiated by the first microwave irradiation and the position where microwaves are irradiated by the third microwave irradiation are arranged in portions where different heat generating members 30 are provided, the number of heat generating members 30 may be two or more.

[0205] Furthermore, the heat-generating member 30 to which microwaves are irradiated by the first microwave irradiation and the area to which microwaves are irradiated by the second microwave irradiation and no heat-generating member is provided may or may not be adjacent to each other, as shown in Figure 8(b).

[0206] Furthermore, when the position where microwaves are irradiated by the first microwave irradiation and the position where microwaves are irradiated by the third microwave irradiation are located in portions where different heat-generating members 30 are provided, the first microwave irradiation position and the third microwave irradiation position may be adjacent heat-generating members 30 separated by only one area where heat-generating member 30 is not provided, or may be heat-generating members 30 located separated by two or more areas where heat-generating member 30 is not provided.

[0207] Furthermore, the number of the irradiating units 206a included in the microwave processing device 1b is not limited as long as it is equal to or greater than 1. The same applies to the irradiating units 206b and 206c.

[0208] In addition, the microwave irradiation means 21 may irradiate microwaves so that positions to be irradiated with microwaves by the first microwave irradiation are arranged at different positions in the microwave processing device 1b. For example, the microwave irradiation means 21 may have a plurality of irradiators 206a that perform the first microwave irradiation at different positions. The same applies to the second microwave irradiation position and the third microwave irradiation position.

[0209] In addition, in each of the above embodiments, the microwave processing device has been described by taking as an example a case where a precursor fiber such as a PAN-based fiber is treated as a treatment object and the treatment object is flame-retardant treated. However, this microwave processing device can also be used for treatment of a treatment object other than a precursor fiber or for treatment other than flame-retardant treatment, and in such cases, the same effects as those of the above embodiments are achieved. For example, the material of the treatment object is not important. For example, the treatment object may be cotton yarn, wool yarn, cashmere yarn, polymer yarn, metal yarn, etc. The polymer yarn may be, for example, nylon yarn, fluorocarbon yarn, polyethylene yarn, etc. For example, the microwave processing device may be used for drying cotton yarn, wool yarn, cashmere yarn, etc. For example, the microwave processing device of each of the above embodiments may be used for heating, baking, sintering, etc. of polymer yarn, metal yarn, etc. Furthermore, the microwave processing device of each of the above embodiments may be used for carbonization of precursor fiber that has been treated with flame-retardant treatment, that is, for manufacturing carbon fiber using precursor fiber that has been treated with flame-retardant treatment. In addition, in the microwave processing apparatus of each of the above-mentioned embodiments, after the precursor fiber is subjected to the flame-proofing treatment as described above, the precursor fiber may be further subjected to carbonization treatment in the same container to produce carbon fiber. The object to be processed 2 is not limited to a fibrous object, and may be, for example, a rod-like, chain-like, sheet-like, film-like, tubular, or other shape. The object to be processed 2 does not necessarily have to have a shape that extends continuously in a predetermined direction or is continuously connected, as long as it can be placed in a heat-generating member or the like or can move within the heat-generating member. For example, the object to be processed 2 may be a discontinuous solid object placed on a belt (not shown) made of a material with high microwave permeability that moves from the inlet side to the outlet side of the container, or may be a fluid such as a liquid or powder that is placed and moves in a tube or a gutter made of a material such as glass with high microwave permeability that extends from the inlet side to the outlet side of the container, or a gel. The number of microwaves irradiated by the microwave irradiation means in the microwave device, the microwave irradiation position, the microwave output strength, the microwave frequency, etc. are appropriately set depending on the object to be treated and the treatment to be performed on the object to be treated.

[0210] In addition, when carbon fibers are produced using precursor fibers that have been subjected to flame retardant treatment in a microwave processing device, it is preferable that the above-mentioned gas supply means 70 supplies gases such as nitrogen necessary for the production of carbon fibers.

[0211] In the above embodiment, an example was described in which a winding section 65 for winding up the treated object was provided behind the microwave treatment device, but the flame-retardant treated object may be supplied to another treatment device (not shown) without being wound up. For example, the precursor fiber that has been flame-retardant treated in the microwave treatment device may be sent directly to a device (not shown) that carbonizes the flame-retardant treated precursor fiber by using a conveying means 60.

[0212] The flame-retardant treatment of the precursor fiber of the carbon fiber described in each of the above embodiments may be considered as one step of the carbon fiber manufacturing method. That is, the carbon fiber manufacturing method including the flame-retardant treatment is a carbon fiber manufacturing method including a step of irradiating microwaves into a container having a heat-generating member inside that absorbs microwaves and generates heat, to heat the precursor fiber of the carbon fiber arranged along the heat-generating member, and in the heating step, a first microwave irradiation for heating the heat-generating member and a second microwave irradiation for heating the precursor fiber are performed.

[0213] In this carbon fiber manufacturing method, when the precursor fiber reaches a temperature at which the exothermic peak occurs during irradiation with the second microwaves, it is preferable to stop the second microwave irradiation and start the first microwave irradiation. Here, the period at which the precursor fiber reaches a temperature at which the exothermic peak occurs is, for example, a period including the time at which the exothermic peak occurs, and preferably the time at which the exothermic peak occurs and the period before and after the time.

[0214] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible, and it goes without saying that these modifications are also included within the scope of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0215] INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, the microwave processing apparatus and the like according to the present invention are suitable as an apparatus for performing a desired processing on an object to be processed by irradiating the object with microwaves, and are particularly useful as an apparatus for performing a heat treatment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0216] 1, 1a, 1b Microwave processing device 2. Materials to be processed 2a Travel route 10, 10a~10d container 20, 21, 22 Microwave irradiation means 30, 30a to 30e Heat generating members 31, 31a, 31b Laura 32, 32a, 32b Belt 40 40a~40f Sensor 50, 51, 52 Control means 60 Means of transport 70 Gas supply means 201, 201a~201c First irradiation section 202, 202a~202c Second irradiation section 203, 203a~203c, 206a~206c Irradiation section 204 First frequency irradiation section 205 Second frequency irradiation section 301 Heating medium 302 Support 303 Non-transparent part 701 Supply section 2001 Microwave Oscillator 2002 Transmission Division

Claims

1. A microwave processing apparatus comprising: a container in which a processing object moves; microwave irradiation means having an irradiation unit that irradiates microwaves into the container; and a heat generating member that is partially provided in the container along a movement path of the processing object so as to cover the processing object and is not provided in other parts along the movement path, and that absorbs microwaves irradiated from the microwave irradiation means and generates heat, The microwave irradiation means is a microwave processing device that irradiates microwaves to a portion of the movement path where the heat-generating member is located to heat the heat-generating member, and irradiates microwaves to a portion of the movement path where the heat-generating member is not located to heat the object to be processed.

2. 2. The microwave processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a first microwave irradiation position where the intensity of the microwaves irradiated by the irradiation unit is stronger at the heat-generating member; a second microwave irradiation position where the intensity of the microwaves irradiated by the irradiation unit is stronger at a portion of the object to be processed where the heat-generating member is not provided; and a third microwave irradiation position where the intensity of the microwaves irradiated by the irradiation unit is stronger at a portion of the object to be processed where the heat-generating member is provided.

3. The microwave processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the one or more first microwave irradiation positions and the one or more third microwave irradiation positions are at the same position in a direction along the movement path.

4. Two or more of the heat generating members are provided along a moving path with a region where no heat generating member is provided therebetween, 3. The microwave processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the one or more first microwave irradiation positions and the one or more third microwave irradiation positions are located in portions where different heat generating members are provided.

5. The irradiation unit is provided in plurality, 5. The microwave processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the phase of the microwave irradiated by the irradiating unit is controlled so that the microwave intensity is increased at the first microwave irradiation position, the second microwave irradiation position, and the third microwave irradiation position.

6. 2. The microwave processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the microwave irradiation means performs a first microwave irradiation for irradiating a portion of the movement path where the heat-generating member is provided with microwaves to heat the heat-generating member, and a second microwave irradiation for irradiating a portion of the movement path where the heat-generating member is not provided with microwaves having a frequency different from that of the first microwave irradiation to heat the object to be processed.

7. 7. The microwave processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a frequency of the microwave used for the first microwave irradiation is a frequency at which a relative dielectric loss with respect to the heat generating member is greater than a relative dielectric loss with respect to the object to be processed.

8. 8. The microwave processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the microwave irradiation means further performs a third microwave irradiation to irradiate the portion where the heat generating member is provided with microwaves having a frequency such that a relative dielectric loss for the heat generating member is smaller than a relative dielectric loss for the object to be processed, thereby heating the portion of the object to be processed where the heat generating member is provided.

9. The microwave processing apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the one or more positions irradiated with microwaves by the first microwave irradiation and the one or more positions irradiated with microwaves by the third microwave irradiation are the same in a direction along the movement path.

10. Two or more of the heat generating members are provided along a moving path with a region where no heat generating member is provided therebetween, The microwave processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the one or more positions to which microwaves are irradiated by the first microwave irradiation and the one or more positions to which microwaves are irradiated by the third microwave irradiation are located in portions where different heat generating members are provided.

11. The object to be treated is a precursor fiber of a carbon fiber, The microwave processing apparatus according to claim 1 , which is used for flame retardant treatment of the precursor fiber.

12. A method for producing carbon fibers, comprising the steps of: irradiating microwaves into a container having a heat generating member therein that absorbs microwaves and generates heat, and heating precursor fibers of carbon fibers that move along the heat generating member, the heat generating member is provided partially along a moving path of the precursor fiber, and is not provided in other portions along the moving path, In the heating step, heating the heat-generating member by irradiating a portion of the moving path where the heat-generating member is provided with microwaves; and heating the object to be treated by irradiating microwaves to a portion of the moving path where no heat-generating member is provided.

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