RF Emitter Array for Targeted Microwave Heating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Microwave cooking technologies face challenges in achieving uniform heating and safety due to non-compatible materials and the need for precise control over RF energy distribution, as well as limitations in detecting intrusions and adapting to user-specific cooking requirements.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing an array of separately addressable and controllable RF emitters and sensors for steerable RF signals, thermal imaging, and RF-based motion detection, allowing for targeted heating, avoidance of incompatible materials, and adaptive cooking based on user intent and food properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the entire volume of the cooking space is irradiated by microwaves, then heating coverage is improved, but heating uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single microwave source into multiple independently controllable microwave emitters arranged in an array. Each emitter can be individually controlled to generate microwaves with specific phases and amplitudes, allowing selective irradiation of different regions. This segmentation enables both comprehensive heating coverage and uniform temperature distribution by coordinating the emission from multiple sources.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements local quality control by enabling different regions of the cooking space to receive customized microwave energy. Through electronic phase and amplitude control of each emitter, the system can concentrate energy where needed and reduce it where sufficient heating already exists, achieving uniform heating across the entire volume without overcooking or undercooking specific areas.
2Manufacturing precision
If physical rotation of food is used, then heating uniformity is improved, but device complexity and operation convenience deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical rotation system with an electronic control system. Instead of physically rotating the food through motors and mechanical structures, the system uses electronic phase and amplitude modulation of multiple stationary microwave emitters to achieve uniform heating from all directions. This substitution eliminates mechanical complexity while maintaining heating uniformity.
3Reliability
If materials incompatible with microwaves are excluded, then safety is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates sensors that detect the presence of materials in the cooking space and provide feedback to the control system. The control system processes this information and automatically adjusts microwave emission patterns to avoid incompatible materials such as metals, eliminating the need for manual user checks while ensuring safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs automatic detection and avoidance of incompatible materials without requiring user intervention. The sensor array and control system work together to identify problematic materials and adjust cooking parameters accordingly, allowing users to simply place items in the cooking space without needing to manually verify compatibility.
4Productivity
If RF energy is focused on specific locations, then heating efficiency is improved, but heating coverage deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements dynamic control of microwave emission by independently adjusting the phase and amplitude of each emitter in real-time. This allows the heating pattern to be dynamically adapted - concentrating energy on specific locations when high efficiency is needed, or distributing energy more broadly when comprehensive coverage is required. The dynamic adjustment enables the system to optimize between efficiency and coverage based on the specific cooking requirements.
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
Enables precise, efficient, and safe microwave cooking by focusing RF energy on specific areas, avoiding non-compatible materials, and adjusting cooking parameters in real-time to ensure uniform heating and user safety.
Implementation Method 1
a controller coupled to the array and to the memory. The controller, responsive to executing the instructions, performs operations. The operations comprise detecting an object having a plurality of portions, and analyzing a selected portion of the plurality of portions to determine a volume and a density thereof, thereby determining parameters of radio frequency thermal excitation for the selected portion
Implementation Method 2
Constructive interference of these signals allows energy to be focused on one (or more) predetermined locations within a cooking volume
Implementation Method 3
Thermal imaging of the object provides feedback to a controller that addresses and controls individual sources
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a method including detecting, by a controller coupled to an array of elements, an object having a plurality of portions, and analyzing a selected portion to determine its volume and density, to determine parameters of radio frequency thermal excitation for the selected portion. The method also includes selecting radiation emitters from the array elements according to the parameters; each of the array elements is separately selectable and controllable. The method also includes controlling the radiation emitters according to the parameters to perform the thermal excitation of the selected portion. The controlling includes causing interference of waves emitted from separate radiation emitters. The method also includes forming a three-dimensional thermal image of the selected portion, analyzing the thermal image, adjusting the parameters according to the analyzing, and detecting movement into a space irradiated by the radiation emitters. Other embodiments are disclosed.