JP3493757B2 - Microwave heating apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microwave heating apparatus and method for heating an object to be heated by high frequency dielectric heating using microwaves.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a microwave heating apparatus 1 used for continuous vulcanization of rubber, for example, as shown in FIG.
0 is a plurality of microwave oscillators 20 and 22 arranged in a housing 11 having a predetermined space volume called one cavity, and irradiation ports 21a of the waveguides 21 and 23 at a plurality of locations.
Microwaves are introduced from 23a, respectively, to heat the object W to be heated which is conveyed on the roller conveyor 14.
Reference numerals 18 and 19 denote radio wave filters installed at the entrance and the exit of the roller conveyor 14 of the housing 11 so that microwaves do not leak to the outside of the housing 11. Reference numeral 15 is a warm air generator for circulating the air in the housing 11 through the air passages 16 and 17 to make the atmosphere temperature in the housing 11 uniform.

[0003]

By the way, in order to improve the working efficiency, the microwave output of the microwave oscillators 20 and 22 of the microwave heating device 10 is simply increased and the object to be heated W is heated.
When the temperature is rapidly raised, the object W to be heated is likely to be locally heated, and even if the atmospheric air in the housing 11 is circulated using the hot air generator 15, uniform heating is not performed. Not only the quality deteriorates, but if it deteriorates, the object W to be heated may be damaged.

In order to solve such a problem, as shown in FIG. 4, there is also a microwave heating apparatus in which a plurality of microwave heating apparatuses 10A and 10B are arranged in series to continuously heat an object W to be heated. Although it has been proposed, it is not preferable because it causes a large price increase of the device itself and an increase in installation area.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, and abrupt temperature increase without increasing the installation area of the apparatus and without adversely affecting the quality of the object to be heated. It is an object of the present invention to provide a microwave heating apparatus and a method therefor capable of performing the above-mentioned operation and improving work efficiency.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a microwave heating device, wherein a plurality of microwave oscillators for generating microwaves, a housing having a predetermined space volume, and one surface of the housing facing the other surface. Conveyor for conveying an object to be heated through the inside of the housing, and is arranged in parallel to the conveying direction of the conveyor and facing the symmetrical position in the housing,
An irradiation port of a waveguide connected to the microwave oscillator,
The conductor is formed of at least a conductor having a mesh or a plurality of holes with a shorter interval than the wavelength of the microwave, and the space volume of the casing is divided so as to include the irradiation ports arranged in the casing. And a lattice member arranged substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyor.

The microwave heating method according to claim 2 is
The object to be heated is conveyed through the inside of the housing from one surface of the housing having a predetermined space volume toward the opposite surface, and at an interval shorter than the wavelength of the microwave used at least approximately perpendicular to the transportation direction. A lattice member formed of a conductor having a mesh or a plurality of holes is arranged to divide the space volume of the casing, and the lattice is arranged in parallel to the carrying direction and facing a symmetrical position in the casing. The microwave is emitted from the microwave oscillator to heat the object to be heated.

[0008]

In the microwave heating apparatus of the first aspect, the object to be heated is conveyed by the conveyor from one surface of the housing having a predetermined space volume to the opposite surface. In this case,
The irradiation port of the waveguide connected to the microwave oscillator is arranged parallel to the conveying direction of the conveyor and opposite to the symmetrical position in the housing. Then, a grid formed of a conductor composed of a mesh or a plurality of holes at intervals shorter than the wavelength of the microwave generated by at least a microwave oscillator so as to divide the space volume including the irradiation ports in the housing, respectively. The members are arranged substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyor.

In the microwave heating method of the second aspect, the object to be heated is conveyed by the conveyor from one surface of the housing having a predetermined space volume to the opposite surface. The space volume of the housing is divided by arranging a lattice member formed of a mesh or a plurality of holes of conductors at intervals shorter than the wavelength of the microwave used at least approximately perpendicular to the transport direction. To be done. Further, microwaves are emitted from a microwave oscillator that is arranged parallel to the conveying direction of the conveyer and opposite to each other at a symmetrical position in the housing, and the object to be heated is heated.

[0010]

EXAMPLES The microwave heating apparatus and method of the present invention will be described below based on specific examples.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a microwave heating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that the same reference numerals and symbols are given to those having the same configuration or corresponding portions as those of the above-described conventional apparatus.

Referring to FIG. 1, a microwave heating apparatus 10 used for continuous vulcanization of rubber includes two microwave oscillators 20 on the upper surface side of a casing 11 having a predetermined space volume.
22 are provided. In the case 11, a waveguide 21 connected to the microwave oscillators 20 and 22 for guiding microwaves,
The irradiation ports 21a and 23a of 23 are arranged. The roller conveyors 14 are installed at predetermined intervals inside and outside the housing 11 so as to continuously convey the article W to be heated from the left to the right in FIG.

Here, the irradiation ports 21a and 23a are the housing 11
The roller conveyors 14 are arranged parallel to the conveyance direction of the inner roller conveyor 14 and are opposed to each other at symmetrical positions. In addition, microwaves are introduced into the entrance and exit of the roller conveyor 14 of the housing 11 from the housing 1.
Radio wave filter 1 that shields 1 from leaking to the outside
8 and 19 are installed. Then, on the lower surface side of the casing 11, a warm air generator 1 that circulates the air inside the casing 11 through the air passages 16 and 17 to make the ambient temperature inside the casing 11 uniform.
5 are provided.

Further, an irradiation port 21 arranged in the housing 11
The lattice member 30 is arranged substantially perpendicular to the conveyor conveying direction so as to divide the space volume into two by including a and 23a. As shown in FIG. 2, the grid member 30 is formed of a grid-shaped conductor 31 made of aluminum, stainless steel, or the like with a mesh size shorter than the wavelength of the microwave used (about 12 cm at 2450 MHz). An opening 32 through which the article to be heated W can pass is provided in the approximate center thereof.

Next, the operation will be described.

The housing 11 of the microwave heating apparatus 10 of FIG.
The object W to be heated, which is a rubber material, is continuously supplied from the left side of FIG. 1 from a feeding device (not shown), and is placed on the roller conveyor 14 and arranged in the casing 11 in the lattice member 3.
After passing through the opening 32 of 0, the rubber is continuously vulcanized, and then sent to the right (in the direction of the arrow) and wound on a receiving device (not shown). The microwave oscillators 20 and 22 are operated to raise the temperature of the object W to be heated, and microwaves are irradiated into the housing 11 through the waveguides 21 and 23 and the irradiation ports 21a and 23a. At this time, the warm air generator 15 arranged on the lower surface side of the housing 11 is also operated, and the air inside the housing 11 is circulated through the ventilation paths 16 and 17 so that the atmospheric temperature inside the housing 11 becomes uniform. Is adjusted.

At this time, in the microwave heating device 10, the space volume in the housing 11 is microwave irradiation ports 21a and 23a.
Is divided into two by the grid-shaped conductor 31 of the grid member 30 and the space volume to be controlled and shared by the microwave oscillators 20 and 22 is divided, so that the object W to be heated during continuous rubber vulcanization is divided. The microwave energy can be effectively and freely controlled. Therefore, the temperature rising characteristics can be appropriately selected for the object W to be heated in the housing 11, and the optimum vulcanization condition can be set. Note that the conductor 31 of the lattice member 30 that divides the space volume in the housing 11 of the microwave heating device 10 into two has a mesh shape, and the air in the housing 11 can freely pass therethrough. The temperature control can be carried out in the conventional manner without causing any inconvenience.

As described above, the microwave heating apparatus according to this embodiment has a plurality of microwave oscillators 2 for generating microwaves.
0 and 22, a housing 11 having a predetermined space volume, a roller conveyor 14 that conveys the object W to be heated through the housing 11 from one surface of the housing 11 to the opposite surface, and the roller conveyor 14. Irradiation ports 21a and 23a of the waveguides 21 and 23, which are arranged parallel to the transport direction and are opposed to each other at symmetrical positions in the housing 11, and are connected to the microwave oscillators 20 and 22.
And a conductor 31 having a mesh or a plurality of holes at least shorter than the wavelength of the microwave.
A grid member 30 is disposed substantially perpendicular to the transport direction of the roller conveyor 14 so as to divide the space volume of the housing 11 into two, including the irradiation ports 21a and 23a disposed therein.
And is provided, which can be an embodiment of claim 1.

Therefore, the object W to be heated is conveyed by the roller conveyor 14 from one surface of the housing 11 having a predetermined space volume to the opposite surface. The housing 11 includes waveguides 21, 23 connected to the microwave oscillators 20, 22.
The irradiation ports 21a and 23a are arranged parallel to the conveyance direction of the roller conveyor 14 and opposite to each other at symmetrical positions in the housing 11. Then, at least the lattice member 30 formed of the conductor 31 formed of the mesh or the plurality of holes having a shorter interval than the wavelength of the microwaves generated by the microwave oscillators 20 and 22 is substantially in the transport direction of the roller conveyor 14. Irradiation ports 21a and 23 in the housing 11 are arranged vertically.
The space volume is divided into two, each containing a.

Therefore, the space volume in the housing 11 is divided into two parts including the irradiation ports 21a and 23a of the waveguides 21 and 23 connected to the microwave oscillators 20 and 22, respectively, and the object W to be heated is heated. Since it is easier to control the energy to
Even if the microwave output is rapidly increased, local heating is less likely to occur, and work efficiency can be improved.

Further, the microwave heating method which can be achieved by the respective constituents of the microwave heating apparatus of this embodiment can be the embodiment of claim 2.

By the way, the microwave heating apparatus according to the present invention can be applied not only to the continuous rubber vulcanization treatment but also to the production of sponge products. At this time, the foaming state is adjusted by the optimum control of the temperature rising characteristics. It will be possible.

[0023]

As described above, according to the microwave heating apparatus of the first aspect, the object to be heated is conveyed by the conveyor from one surface of the housing having a predetermined space volume to the opposite surface, and The irradiation port of the waveguide connected to the microwave oscillator is arranged in parallel with the conveying direction of the conveyor and at a symmetrical position in the casing, and the space including the irradiation port in the casing is included. A grid member formed of a conductor composed of a mesh or a plurality of holes at intervals shorter than the wavelength of the microwave generated by at least the microwave oscillator so as to divide the volume is arranged substantially perpendicular to the convey direction of the conveyor. It is set up. In this way, by dividing the space volume with the lattice member including the irradiation port in the housing, it is possible to perform heat treatment according to the divided space volume, and it is possible to perform heat treatment in a predetermined pattern. Further, the predetermined pattern can be arbitrarily selected or changed depending on the object to be heated.

Therefore, in each space volume in the housing divided by including the irradiation port of the waveguide connected to the microwave oscillator, it is easy to uniformly control the energy for heating the object to be heated. Even if the microwave output is rapidly increased, local heating is less likely to occur, and work efficiency can be improved.

According to the microwave heating method of claim 2,
The object to be heated is conveyed from one surface of the housing having a predetermined space volume to the opposite surface by a conveyor, and a mesh or a plurality of holes at intervals substantially shorter than the wavelength of the microwave used at least substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction. A space member of the housing is divided by disposing a lattice member formed of a conductor made of, and the micros are arranged in parallel to the conveying direction of the conveyor and facing each other at symmetrical positions in the housing. The microwave is emitted from the wave oscillator to heat the object to be heated. In this way, by dividing the space volume with the lattice member including the irradiation port in the housing, it is possible to perform heat treatment according to the divided space volume, and it is possible to perform heat treatment in a predetermined pattern. Further, the predetermined pattern can be arbitrarily selected or changed depending on the object to be heated, and it is not necessary to prepare an apparatus having a plurality of characteristics.

Therefore, since the space volume in the housing is divided to include the irradiation ports of the waveguide connected to the microwave oscillator, the energy for heating the object to be heated can be easily controlled uniformly. As a result, local heating is less likely to occur even when the microwave output is rapidly increased, and work efficiency can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a microwave heating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing details of a lattice member used in the microwave heating apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional microwave heating device.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a modified example of a conventional microwave heating apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Microwave heating device 11 housing 14 roller conveyor 20,22 Microwave oscillator 21,23 Waveguide 21a, 23a Irradiation port 30 lattice members W Heated object

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-98411 (JP, A) Actual Development No. 2-19513 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B29C 35/00-35/14 H05B 6/78 H05B 6/80 H05B 6/64

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of microwave oscillators for generating microwaves, a housing having a predetermined space volume, and an object to be heated is conveyed through the housing from one surface of the housing toward an opposite surface. A conveyor, an irradiation port of a waveguide that is arranged parallel to the conveying direction of the conveyor and is opposed to a symmetrical position in the housing, and is connected to the microwave oscillator, and at least from the wavelength of the microwave. Formed by a conductor having a mesh or a plurality of holes at short intervals, with respect to the conveying direction of the conveyor so as to divide the space volume of the housing including the irradiation ports arranged in the housing, respectively. A microwave heating device, comprising: a lattice member arranged substantially vertically. 2. An object to be heated is conveyed from one surface of the housing having a predetermined space volume toward the opposite surface through the housing, and at least the microwave used at least approximately perpendicular to the carrying direction. A lattice member formed of a conductor having a mesh or a plurality of holes at intervals shorter than the wavelength is arranged to divide the space volume of the housing, and the space volume is parallel to the transport direction and symmetrical at a position inside the housing. A microwave heating method characterized in that microwaves are radiated from microwave oscillators arranged facing each other to raise the temperature of the object to be heated.