阅读说明：本技术 微波处理装置 (Microwave processing apparatus ) 是由 前田和树 细川大介 大森义治 吉野浩二 小笠原史太佳 夘野高史 于 2020-07-28 设计创作，主要内容包括：本公开的微波处理装置具备：加热室(1),其容纳被加热物(2)；微波产生部(3)；加热部(7)；供电部(4)；检测部(5)；以及控制部(6)。微波产生部(3)产生微波。加热部(7)具有微波以外的加热源,对加热室(1)的内部进行加热。供电部(4)将微波供给至加热室。检测部(5)检测来自供电部(4)的反射电力。控制部(6)对加热部(7)和微波产生部(3)进行控制。控制部(6)在通过加热部(7)加热时,使微波产生部(3)产生使具有能够由检测部(5)检测出的水平的反射电力返回那样的输出功率的微波。根据本公开,通过掌握烹调的进展,能够适当地烹调被加热物。(The disclosed microwave processing device is provided with: a heating chamber (1) for accommodating an object (2) to be heated; a microwave generating unit (3); a heating unit (7); a power supply unit (4); a detection unit (5); and a control unit (6). The microwave generating unit (3) generates microwaves. The heating unit (7) has a heating source other than microwaves and heats the inside of the heating chamber (1). The power supply unit (4) supplies microwaves to the heating chamber. The detection unit (5) detects the reflected power from the power supply unit (4). The control unit (6) controls the heating unit (7) and the microwave generation unit (3). When heated by the heating unit (7), the control unit (6) causes the microwave generation unit (3) to generate microwaves having an output power such that reflected power at a level detectable by the detection unit (5) is returned. According to the present disclosure, by grasping the progress of cooking, the object to be heated can be appropriately cooked.)

1. A microwave processing apparatus, wherein,

the microwave processing device is provided with:

a heating chamber configured to accommodate an object to be heated;

a microwave generating unit configured to generate microwaves;

a heating unit having a heating source other than the microwave and configured to heat the inside of the heating chamber;

a power supply unit configured to supply the microwaves to the heating chamber;

a detection unit configured to detect reflected power from the power supply unit; and

a control unit configured to control the heating unit and the microwave generation unit,

the control unit is configured to cause the microwave generating unit to generate the microwaves having the following output powers when heated by the heating unit: the output power returns the reflected power at a level detectable by the detection unit.

2. The microwave processing apparatus according to claim 1,

the control unit is configured to control the microwave generating unit so that the output power of the microwave is set to a predetermined output power smaller than the output power of the heating unit.

3. The microwave processing apparatus according to claim 1,

the control unit is configured to control the microwave generating unit so that the output power of the microwaves is set to be less than 500W per predetermined time.

4. The microwave processing apparatus according to claim 1,

the control unit is configured to control the microwave generation unit so as to continuously generate the microwaves.

5. The microwave processing apparatus according to claim 1,

the control unit is configured to control the microwave generation unit to intermittently generate the microwaves.

6. The microwave processing apparatus according to claim 5,

the control unit is configured to control the microwave generating unit such that a time interval of the intermittently supplied microwaves changes according to progress of cooking.

7. The microwave processing apparatus according to claim 2,

the control unit is configured to control the microwave generation unit as follows: setting the output power of the microwave to be greater than the predetermined output power.

8. The microwave processing apparatus according to claim 1,

the control unit is configured to control the heating unit based on the reflected power detected by the detection unit.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a Microwave processing Device (Microwave Treatment Device) including a Microwave generating unit.

Background

Among conventional microwave processing apparatuses, there is known an apparatus for cooking an object to be heated by using radiant heating by a tube heater or the like and microwave heating by microwaves (for example, patent document 1). As a prior art, the following techniques are known: the progress of cooking is grasped by detecting the amount of reflected power returned from the heating chamber without being absorbed in the heating chamber, and the timing of completion of cooking is determined (for example, patent document 2).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 59-37697

Patent document 2: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 11-83325

Disclosure of Invention

In the conventional microwave processing apparatus, cooking by microwaves and cooking progress by reflected power detection are performed substantially simultaneously. Microwave heating has an advantage that it can heat the inside of the food material in a short time, and on the other hand, has a disadvantage that the heating is locally concentrated or the food material is dried due to overheating. When microwaves are used in combination with a heating source such as a tube heater or convection, microwave heating may cause excessive heating depending on the type and amount of food.

When a food material is cooked by a heating source other than microwaves, microwaves of a degree that does not affect the cooking are supplied to a heating chamber, and the amount of reflected power returned from the heating chamber is detected. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a microwave processing apparatus capable of grasping progress of cooking.

A microwave processing device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a heating chamber for accommodating an object to be heated, a microwave generating unit, a heating unit, a power supply unit, a detection unit, and a control unit. The microwave generating unit generates microwaves. The heating unit has a heating source other than microwaves and heats the inside of the heating chamber. The power supply unit supplies microwaves to the heating chamber. The detection unit detects the reflected power from the power supply unit. The control section controls the heating section and the microwave generating section.

The control unit causes the microwave generating unit to generate microwaves having an output power capable of returning the reflected power at the level detected by the detecting unit when the heating unit heats the object.

The microwave processing device of the present disclosure can appropriately cook an object to be heated by suppressing adverse effects due to microwaves, such as overheating of the object to be heated, and grasping progress of cooking.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a microwave processing apparatus according to embodiment 1 of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2A is a graph showing a temporal change in output power of microwaves in embodiment 1.

Fig. 2B is a diagram showing a temporal change in reflected power in embodiment 1.

Fig. 3A is a diagram showing an example of a temporal change in output power of microwaves in embodiment 2.

Fig. 3B is a diagram showing an example of a temporal change in reflected power in embodiment 2.

Fig. 4A is a diagram showing another example of temporal changes in the output power of microwaves in embodiment 2.

Fig. 4B is a diagram showing another example of temporal changes in reflected power in embodiment 2.

Fig. 5 is a graph showing a temporal change in output power of microwaves in embodiment 3.

Fig. 6A is a flowchart showing a flow of cooking control in embodiment 3.

Fig. 6B is a flowchart showing details of the reflected power detection process in embodiment 3.

Detailed Description

A microwave processing device according to a first aspect of the present disclosure includes: a heating chamber for accommodating an object to be heated; a microwave generating section; a heating section; a power supply unit; a detection unit; and a control section. The microwave generating unit generates microwaves. The heating unit has a heating source other than microwaves and heats the inside of the heating chamber. The power supply unit supplies microwaves to the heating chamber. The detection unit detects the reflected power from the power supply unit. The control section controls the heating section and the microwave generating section.

The control unit causes the microwave generating unit to generate microwaves having an output power that allows the reflected power at the level detected by the detection unit to be returned when the heating unit heats the object.

In the microwave processing device according to the second aspect of the present disclosure, based on the first aspect, the control unit controls the microwave generating unit so that the output power of the microwaves is set to a predetermined output power smaller than the output power of the heating unit.

In the microwave processing device according to the third aspect of the present disclosure, based on the first or second aspect, the control unit controls the microwave generating unit so that the output power of the microwaves is set to be less than 500W per predetermined time.

In a microwave processing device according to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, the control unit controls the microwave generation unit to continuously generate microwaves in accordance with any one of the first to third aspects.

In a microwave processing device according to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, the control unit controls the microwave generation unit to intermittently generate microwaves in accordance with any one of the first to third aspects.

In a microwave processing device according to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, based on the fifth aspect, the control unit controls the microwave generating unit such that a time interval of the intermittently supplied microwaves changes according to progress of cooking.

In a microwave processing device according to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, based on the second aspect, the control unit controls the microwave generation unit as follows: a time zone is set in which the output power of the microwave is set to be greater than a predetermined output power.

In a microwave processing device according to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, in accordance with any one of the first to seventh aspects, the control unit controls the heating unit based on the reflected power detected by the detection unit.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described below with reference to the drawings.

(embodiment mode 1)

Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a microwave processing apparatus according to embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 1, the microwave processing device of the present embodiment includes a heating chamber 1, a microwave generating unit 3, a power supply unit 4, a detection unit 5, a control unit 6, a heating unit 7, and a storage unit 8.

The heating chamber 1 has a metal wall and houses an object 2 to be heated as a load. The heating unit 7 is a heating source other than microwaves. In the present embodiment, the heating unit 7 is a tube heater disposed on the ceiling of the heating chamber 1 for radiation heating.

The heating unit 7 may further include a convection heater and a circulation fan (not shown) disposed outside the heating chamber 1. In this case, the heating unit 7 performs convection heating for circulating hot air in the heating chamber 1 by a pipe heater, a convection heater, and a circulation fan.

The microwave generating unit 3 includes an oscillator and an amplifier made of a semiconductor. The microwave generating unit 3 generates microwaves of a frequency selected by the control unit 6 from a predetermined frequency band. The microwave generator 3 amplifies the generated microwaves in accordance with an instruction from the controller 6, and outputs microwaves of a desired frequency and output power. The microwave generated by the microwave generating unit 3 propagates through a transmission path such as a coaxial line to the power feeding unit 4.

The feeding unit 4 is constituted by an antenna, and supplies the microwave output from the microwave generating unit 3 to the heating chamber 1 as incident power. Of the incident power, the power not consumed by the object 2 to be heated and the like becomes reflected power returned from the heating chamber 1 to the microwave generating unit 3 via the power feeding unit 4.

The detection unit 5 is configured by, for example, a directional coupler, detects incident power and reflected power, and notifies the control unit 6 of the amounts of the incident power and the reflected power detected. That is, the detection unit 5 functions as both the incident power detection unit and the reflected power detection unit. The storage unit 8 is configured by a memory or the like, stores data from the control unit 6, reads the stored data, and transmits the read data to the control unit 6.

The control unit 6 is constituted by a microcomputer on which a CPU is mounted. The control unit 6 controls the microwave generating unit 3 and the heating unit 7 based on information from the detecting unit 5 and the storage unit 8, and executes cooking control in the microwave processing device.

In the present embodiment, the heating object 2 is heated and cooked using only the heating unit 7. The microwave is not used for heating the object 2, and the controller 6 grasps the progress of cooking based on the reflected power detected by the detector 5. The control unit 6 controls the heating unit 7 according to the progress of cooking.

Fig. 2A shows a temporal change in output power of microwaves in the present embodiment. Fig. 2B shows a temporal change in reflected power in the present embodiment.

In general, the reflected power increases as the incident power, which is the output power of the microwaves radiated from the power feeding unit 4, increases. In the present embodiment, the output power of the microwave is set so that the magnitude of the reflected power falls within the range detectable by the detection unit 5.

As shown in fig. 2A, the output power Pm of the microwaves is set smaller than the output power Ph of the heating unit 7 so that the object 2 is mainly heated by the heating unit 7.

In the example shown in fig. 2A, microwaves are continuously supplied from the power supply unit 4. Fig. 2B shows a temporal change of the reflected power with respect to the incident power of an arbitrary frequency in this case. The electric power absorbed by the object 2 to be heated and the resonance mode in the heating chamber 1 change for each frequency.

For example, as cooking progresses, the temperature and moisture content of the object 2 change, and the electric power absorbed by the object 2 changes. When the heating chamber 1 is filled with steam from the object 2, the dielectric constant in the heating chamber 1 changes, and the resonance mode also changes. The reflected power also changes according to a change in power consumed in the heating chamber 1. By detecting the minimum value (time t1 in fig. 2B) and the maximum value (time t2 in fig. 2B) of the time change of the reflected power accompanying the progress of cooking, the progress of cooking can be grasped.

In general, when lunch boxes, bread, home dishes, and the like sold in supermarkets, convenience stores, and the like are heated by a microwave processing device such as a microwave oven, the output power of microwaves is set to 500W or 600W. That is, in order to sufficiently heat the object 2, the minimum output of 500W is required.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 6 sets the output of the microwaves supplied during heating by the heating unit 7 to be less than 500W per predetermined time so that the microwaves supplied to the heating chamber 1 do not contribute to heating of the object 2.

In the case of using microwave heating and radiation heating or convection heating in combination, it is necessary to change a cooking program by radiation heating or convection heating to a cooking program to which microwave heating is applied. However, in the present embodiment, the control unit 6 sets the output power of the microwave so that the reflected power falls within the range detectable by the detection unit 5. This can save the trouble of changing the cooking program.

(embodiment mode 2)

A microwave processing apparatus according to embodiment 2 of the present disclosure will be described with reference to fig. 3A to 4B. Fig. 3A shows an example of a temporal change in the output power of the microwave in the present embodiment. Fig. 3B shows an example of a temporal change in reflected power in the microwave processing device according to the present embodiment. The microwave processing apparatus of the present embodiment has the same configuration as that of embodiment 1 shown in fig. 1.

As shown in fig. 3A, in the present embodiment, the control unit 6 controls the microwave generating unit 3 to intermittently generate microwaves such that the output power of the microwaves is less than 500W on average every 10 seconds. For example, the control unit 6 repeatedly executes the following program: after the microwave generating unit 3 generates microwaves at an output of 900W for 5 seconds, the microwaves are stopped for 5 seconds.

Depending on the performance of the detection unit 5, the change in the reflected power may not be sufficiently detected. In this case, the control unit 6 controls the microwave generation unit 3 so as to increase the output power of the intermittently supplied microwaves, so that the level of the detected reflected power increases.

When microwaves are supplied at predetermined time intervals, the reflected power is also detected at the same time intervals as the supply of microwaves. Therefore, as shown in fig. 3B, it is necessary to set the time interval of microwave output to capture the characteristic point in the temporal change of the reflected power.

Fig. 4A shows another example of the temporal change in the output power of the microwave in the microwave processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. Fig. 4B shows another example of the temporal change in the reflected power in the present embodiment.

In the cooking step, the power consumption in the heating chamber 1 may change rapidly. Particularly, in the cooking completion stage, the cooking of dishes is affected by the steps of sufficient heating, scorching, and the like. Therefore, the reflected power needs to be detected with high accuracy. For high-precision detection, it is necessary to set the time interval of microwave output to be narrow, that is, to increase the output frequency of the microwave.

As shown in fig. 4A, the time interval T2 in the end stage of cooking is set to be narrower than the time interval T1 in the initial stage of cooking. This makes it possible to detect a maximum value and a minimum value even when the reflected power changes slightly. Therefore, the microwave processing device of the present embodiment can appropriately recognize the progress of cooking and end the cooking.

In this way, the control unit 6 may change the time interval of the intermittently supplied microwaves according to the progress of cooking. In the example shown in fig. 4A, the output power of the microwaves at the end of cooking is smaller than the output power of the microwaves at the initial stage of cooking. However, the output of the microwave may be set to the same value in the end stage and the initial stage of cooking.

For example, when the temporal change of the reflected power is small or the reflected power continues to monotonously change in the middle stage of cooking, the output power and the output frequency of the microwave are reduced. This also enables energy saving.

(embodiment mode 3)

A microwave processing apparatus according to embodiment 3 of the present disclosure will be described with reference to fig. 5 to 6B. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a temporal change in output power of microwaves in the present embodiment. The microwave processing apparatus of the present embodiment has the same configuration as that of embodiment 1 shown in fig. 1.

Depending on the type and state of the object 2 to be heated, microwave heating may be effectively applied to the finished food. Therefore, as in embodiments 1 and 2, not only the progress of cooking can be grasped by microwaves, but also microwave heating can be performed simultaneously.

Examples of food materials effective in microwave heating include croissants, steamed bread, and the like. The croissant is heated by a heating part (7) and is heated by microwave at the initial stage of cooking. Thereby, the bread dough is well expanded, and can be uniformly heated to the inside of the bread dough. As a result, improvement in the product quality and reduction in time can be expected.

Specifically, in the initial stage of cooking, the output power of the microwave is set to be greater than the output power of the microwave in embodiment 1 and greater than the output power Ph of the heating unit 7. The output power of the microwave in embodiment 1 is an output power of less than 500W per predetermined time. The microwave processing device of the present embodiment performs microwave heating and simultaneously grasps the progress of cooking based on the detection of reflected power.

However, in the process of coloring croissants at the end of cooking, moisture may be excessively dehydrated by microwave heating, and the finished product may be deteriorated. Therefore, at the cooking completion stage, the output of the microwave may be set to the output in embodiment 1, and the output of the microwave may be used only for the grasping of the progress of cooking.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the control unit 6 may control the microwave generation unit 3 as follows: a time zone is provided in which the output power of the microwave is set to be larger than the predetermined output power in embodiment 1.

(flow of cooking control and detection processing of reflected Power)

According to the cooking menu, it is necessary to change the output power according to the progress of cooking of the object 2 to shift the cooking process, instead of continuing the same output power from the start to the end of cooking.

For example, when cooking a roast chicken using the heating unit 7, the temperature in the heating chamber 1 is first raised to, for example, 200 ℃ to burn the surface of the object 2 to be heated. Next, the temperature in the heating chamber 1 is lowered to, for example, 170 ℃, and the object 2 is heated. In such a case, it is useful to grasp the progress of cooking based on the detection result of the reflected power and determine whether or not to shift the cooking process.

Fig. 6A is a flowchart showing a flow of cooking control in the microwave processing device according to the present embodiment. When the user instructs the microwave processing device to start cooking (step S1), the control unit 6 performs a detection process after the heating unit 7 starts heating (step S2).

Fig. 6B is a flowchart showing details of the detection process (step S2). When the detection process is started (step S11), the microwave generating unit 3 generates microwaves while sequentially changing the frequency in a predetermined frequency band (for example, 2.40GHz to 2.50GHz) at predetermined intervals (step S12). Hereinafter, an operation of sequentially changing the frequency at predetermined intervals over a predetermined frequency band is referred to as frequency sweep.

The microwave generating unit 3 generates microwaves while performing frequency sweep, and the detecting unit 5 detects reflected power for each frequency. Thus, the control unit 6 measures the frequency characteristic of the reflected power, and obtains the frequencies of the minimum point, the maximum point, and the minimum point in the frequency characteristic (step S13). The controller 6 stores the amount of reflected power, the minimum point, the maximum point, the frequency of the minimum point, and the elapsed time from the start of heating, which are obtained in step S13, in the storage 8 (step S14), and ends the detection process (step S15).

The process returns to fig. 6A, and the control unit 6 grasps the progress of cooking based on the temporal change of the obtained information (step S3). The control unit 6 determines the shift of the cooking process based on the progress of cooking (step S4). If the determination result is "continue", the control section 6 returns the process to the detection process (step S2).

If the determination result is "transition", the control unit 6 switches the output of the heating unit 7 (step S5). The switching of the output of the heating unit 7 includes changing the output of the heating unit 7 and changing the heating source from the heating unit 7 to the microwave generating unit 3. The controller 6 updates the determination criterion for shifting to the next cooking step (step S6), and returns the process to the detection process (step S2). If the determination result in step S4 is "end", control unit 6 ends the cooking (step S7).

As described above, in the present embodiment, one power supply unit 4 is disposed. However, a plurality of power feeding portions 4 may be arranged. In the present embodiment, the microwave generating unit 3 has an oscillator made of a semiconductor. However, the microwave generating unit 3 may be formed of another oscillator such as a magnetron.

Industrial applicability of the invention

As described above, the microwave treatment apparatus of the present disclosure can be applied to not only a heating cooker for induction-heating food, but also a microwave heating apparatus for industrial use such as a drying apparatus, a ceramic heating apparatus, a household garbage disposer, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and a chemical reaction apparatus.

Description of the reference symbols

1: a heating chamber; 2: an object to be heated; 3: a microwave generating section; 4: a power supply unit; 5: a detection unit; 6: a control unit; 7: a heating section; 8: a storage section.