2. Such a thermometer would solve the
problem of wasted energy in microwave
operation.
3.
4. Such a thermometer would
solve the problem of wasted
energy in microwave
operation.
Baking ovens with built-in
thermometers for
measuring cooked product
temperature
5. 2011 2012 2013 2014
million a year 8775 8979 7346 8571
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Efforts to design a thermometer capable of measuring temperature in high-frequency (HF) and ultrahigh-frequency (UHF, microwave) environments began in the 1970's. In 1992, a patent was obtained for a prototype thermometer by Cand. Sc. (physics and mathematics) Goncharov V.A.. In 1999, an application was made for designing prototypes for the N.N. Alexandrov Oncology and Medical Radiology Institute in Minsk. A trial lot of devices was put into operation and received many positive responses from leading doctors of the clinic. In 2007, the previous model was upgraded by Arbuzov A.A. and a new patent was obtained for the upgraded thermometer. This invention will solve the main problems of its analog, such as reduced reliability of the device due to mechanical moving parts; significant effects of ambient temperature on medium part of the temperature probe; design complexity; low coordinate resolution, etc.
The project is aimed at development of a prototype thermometer designed to measure, monitor and adjust the temperature (temperature distribution, to be more precise) of a heated object exposed to high- frequency (HF) and ultrahigh-frequency (UHF, or microwave) fields. Such a thermometer would solve the problem of wasted energy in microwave operation. The root cause of the wasted energy problem is failure to measure the temperature when microwave oven is in operation. This thermometer allows exact temperature measurements while the food is being heated, spending as little time as possible. Thus, the introduction of the new thermometer would save a significant amount of energy resources (100 MR/hour) spent on heating food in microwave ovens.
An object to be defrosted, warmed up or cooked is placed on the oven tray. The maximum allowable temperature is set to prevent object surface layers from being heated to higher temperatures, and the minimum temperature limit is set, i.e. the minimum allowable temperature at which food reaches the required condition at any point inside. Also, the time is set during which the food will be exposed to the selected temperature. When the microwave oven is turned on, a temperature probe is lowered by a micro-lift and inserted into the food which is rotated on the tray. The controller adjusts microwave oscillator output power so that the desired temperature is achieved as fast as possible and maintained during the chosen time. The microwave oven is turned off automatically when the process is completed.
1 – lamp; 2 – ventilation; 3 – magnetron; 4 – antenna; 5 – waveguide; 6 – capacitor; 7 – transformer; 8 - control panel; 9 – drive; 10 – tray; 11 - separator roller; 12 - door latch; 13 - thermometer
In the Russian Federation alone, the market size for microwave ovens is about 4,000,000 per year. Average price of inexpensive microwave oven is 3,000 rubles. Installing a thermometer can increase the price by 10-15%, with thermometer cost of about 50 rubles. If 10% of microwave ovens are fitted with the proposed thermometers, it will make 120 million rubles even on this not underdeveloped market. The global market for microwave ovens is about 50-70 times as much, which would make about 7.2 billion rubles
