Re-radiator RF Heating Cavity Field Redistribution
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Microwave and RF heating systems face challenges in achieving uniform heating due to non-uniform electric field distribution within heating cavities, resulting in 'hot spots' and 'cold spots' in loaded materials.
Innovation Solution
The use of re-radiators strategically placed and connected within the heating cavity to redistribute and scatter electromagnetic energy, allowing for customizable electric field redistribution and random scattering, thereby enhancing heating uniformity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional microwave heating is used with standard cavity design, then the heating process is simple and fast, but the electric field distribution is non-uniform causing hot spots and cold spots
Solution Approach 1:
Re-radiator elements are introduced as intermediary components within the heating cavity. These elements absorb electromagnetic energy at high-field regions and re-radiate it to low-field regions, acting as mediators to redistribute energy and achieve more uniform heating without fundamentally redesigning the cavity structure
Solution Approach 2:
The re-radiator elements are strategically positioned at specific locations within the cavity where field redistribution is needed. Each re-radiator operates locally to address specific hot spots or cold spots, allowing targeted modification of the electric field distribution without affecting the entire cavity uniformly
2Manufacturing precision
If susceptors are added to food packaging to improve browning and heating quality, then heating quality improves, but the packaging complexity and material requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The re-radiator elements serve as intermediaries that redistribute electromagnetic energy before it reaches the food and packaging. This reduces the reliance on susceptor materials for achieving uniform heating and browning, thereby simplifying packaging requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful effect of non-uniform field distribution (which causes hot spots and cold spots) into a beneficial redistribution pattern by using re-radiators to intentionally redirect energy from high-field to low-field regions, achieving uniform heating without requiring complex packaging solutions
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
This approach significantly reduces the disparity in electric field magnitudes across different regions, leading to more even heating of loads by redistributing electromagnetic energy within the cavity.
Implementation Method 1
a first re-radiator may be disposed in the heating cavity at a first location. A second re-radiator may be disposed in the heating cavity at a second location... the first re-radiator may absorb electromagnetic energy at the first location and transfer the electromagnetic energy to the second re-radiator... the second re-radiator may emit the electromagnetic energy at the second location
Implementation Method 2
The microwave generation module may be configured to supply radio frequency (RF) energy to the heating cavity, such that an electric field is created in the heating cavity
Data Source
AI summary
A thermal increase system may include re-radiators disposed in a cavity for containing a load. Microwave energy may be generated by one or more microwave generation modules, and directed toward the cavity during operation of the thermal increase system, thereby creating an electromagnetic field in the cavity. A system controller may control switches coupled between the re-radiators and corresponding ground nodes to selectively activate and de-activate the re-radiators. The system controller may control a switch coupled between a pair of re-radiators to re-distribute the electromagnetic field in the cavity. A phase shifter may be disposed between a pair of re-radiators, which may provide a phase shift to energy passed between the re-radiators. The phase shifter may be a variable shifter that applies a variable phase shift to the energy according to commands received from the system controller.