Conveyor Microwave Oven Layout With Hot Air Impingement Shielding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing high-speed cooking technologies for military field kitchens require appliances that can handle large volumes of food quickly while minimizing exposure to heat, noise, and microwave energy for personnel, and existing conveyor systems face challenges in achieving high throughput and quality with safe microwave energy usage.
Innovation Solution
A compact, open-ended conveyor cooking appliance combining hot air impingement and microwave energy, with a central microwave chamber surrounded by hot air impingement chambers and solid pins to attenuate microwave energy, allowing continuous food processing and reducing exposure risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If microwave energy is used for high-speed cooking, then cooking speed is improved, but microwave energy leakage and exposure risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces hot air impingement chambers as intermediary structures between the microwave source and the external environment. These chambers contain microwave-absorbing materials that act as mediators to absorb stray microwave energy while allowing hot air to circulate and cook food efficiently, thus maintaining cooking speed while reducing microwave exposure risk
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a nested structure where the conveyor system is positioned within multiple enclosed chambers (microwave chamber, hot air impingement chambers, attenuation chambers). Each chamber is nested within the previous one, creating layered containment that traps microwave energy inside the system while allowing the cooking process to continue at high speed
2Productivity
If hot air impingement is used for high-speed cooking, then heat transfer efficiency is improved, but heat exposure and energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges microwave heating and hot air impingement heating into a single integrated system. The microwave energy provides rapid internal heating while the hot air impingement provides external surface heating, allowing each method to work at lower intensity than would be required separately, thus reducing total energy consumption while maintaining high cooking speed
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements continuous cooking where food moves continuously through the system on conveyors. The hot air impingement and microwave energy are applied continuously throughout the cooking path rather than in intermittent batches, maximizing the efficiency of energy input and maintaining consistent high-speed cooking throughout the process
3Ease of operation
If open-ended conveyor system is used, then accessibility and ease of operation are improved, but microwave energy leakage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the potential harm of open-ended access into a benefit by using the open ends as locations for microwave attenuation chambers. These chambers use microwave-absorbing materials to capture and dissipate microwave energy that would otherwise leak from the open ends, transforming the accessibility feature into an opportunity for enhanced microwave containment while maintaining ease of food loading and unloading
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The appliance achieves high-volume, high-quality food processing with reduced exposure to heat, noise, and microwave energy, suitable for military and commercial kitchens, and can be configured for efficient operation in field environments.
Implementation Method 1
Hot air impingement is based on the transfer of heat from a hot air having a higher temperature to an object having a lower temperature, changing the internal energy of the air and the object in accordance with the first law of thermodynamics. These air columns are carefully arranged to strike the food at right angles from above and below. The columns push heat through the cold air boundary layer surrounding the food, rapidly transferring heat to the product surfaces.
Implementation Method 2
microwave radiation consists of electromagnetic waves having a typical wavelength of 12.24 cm or 4.82 inches and a frequency of 2,450 MHz, which are capable of causing dielectric heating of water, fat and sugar molecules in a food product.
Implementation Method 3
microwave radiation consists of electromagnetic waves having a typical wavelength of 12.24 cm or 4.82 inches and a frequency of 2,450 MHz, which are capable of causing dielectric heating of water, fat and sugar molecules in a food product.
Implementation Method 4
solid pins, the combination of which are configured to function as a microwave energy attenuation system to control microwave energy leakage from said first end portion and said second end portions
Data Source
AI summary
A continuous mode conveyor cooking appliance utilizing hot air jet impingement and microwave energy for cooking prepared foods. The approach envisions a central microwave unit with a hot air jet impingement oven unit on each side of the microwave section and a conveyor system to carry the food items completely through the appliance from one end to the other and with the two hot air jet impingement ovens equipped with a designed combination of hot air jet impingement jets and solid pins to act as a microwave attenuation system to reduce microwave exposure to cooking personnel to completely safe levels.