WO2013021285A1 - Contrôle des conditions aux limites imposées aux champs électromagnétiques - Google Patents

Contrôle des conditions aux limites imposées aux champs électromagnétiques Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2013021285A1
WO2013021285A1 PCT/IB2012/002006 IB2012002006W WO2013021285A1 WO 2013021285 A1 WO2013021285 A1 WO 2013021285A1 IB 2012002006 W IB2012002006 W IB 2012002006W WO 2013021285 A1 WO2013021285 A1 WO 2013021285A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
energy
processor
feedback
energy application
application zone
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IB2012/002006
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Michael Sigalov
Yishai BRILL
Eliezer Gelbart
Steven Robert ROGERS
Eyal Torres
Herzel YEHEZKELY
Yuval BEN-HAIM
Yuval BLUM
Original Assignee
Goji Ltd.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Goji Ltd. filed Critical Goji Ltd.
Publication of WO2013021285A1 publication Critical patent/WO2013021285A1/fr

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B6/00—Heating by electric, magnetic or electromagnetic fields
    • H05B6/64—Heating using microwaves
    • H05B6/70—Feed lines
    • H05B6/705—Feed lines using microwave tuning
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q3/00—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system
    • H01Q3/44—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system varying the electric or magnetic characteristics of reflecting, refracting, or diffracting devices associated with the radiating element
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B6/00—Heating by electric, magnetic or electromagnetic fields
    • H05B6/64—Heating using microwaves
    • H05B6/66—Circuits
    • H05B6/68—Circuits for monitoring or control
    • H05B6/688—Circuits for monitoring or control for thawing
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02B—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
    • Y02B40/00—Technologies aiming at improving the efficiency of home appliances, e.g. induction cooking or efficient technologies for refrigerators, freezers or dish washers

Definitions

  • Electromagnetic waves have been used in various applications to supply energy to objects.
  • electromagnetic energy may be supplied using a magnetron, which is typically tuned to a single frequency for supplying electromagnetic energy only in that frequency.
  • RF radio frequency
  • One example of a commonly used device for supplying electromagnetic energy is a microwave oven. Typical microwave ovens supply electromagnetic energy at a single frequency of about 2.45 GHz.
  • Some exemplary aspects of the disclosure include apparatuses and methods for applying electromagnetic energy to an object in an energy application zone. More particularly, exemplary aspects of the disclosure may include apparatus and methods for controlling the application of electromagnetic energy to an energy application zone by controlling various properties associated with the energy application zone.
  • Some exemplary aspects of the invention may be directed to a method and an apparatus for applying EM energy to an energy application zone having stationary walls via at least one radiating element.
  • the apparatus may include one or more adjustable components (e.g., electric/ electromagnetic adjustable component or mechanical adjustable component), designed to alter the boundary conditions of a field pattern excited in the energy application zone.
  • An adjustable boundary condition parameter (“ABC parameter"), for example - electrical adjustable boundary condition parameters (EABC parameter) may be selected from a plurality of EABC parameters, for example, by a processor that may further be configured to set the adjustable component according to the selected parameter.
  • the processor may be configured to receive feedback from the energy application zone and to select the ABC parameters according to the feedback.
  • the received feedback may correspond to one or more EABC parameters.
  • the use of one or more adjustable components may facilitate the ability to apply different field patterns or may expand the available field patterns when working with a power source of a single frequency (e.g., magnetron).
  • Another aspect of some embodiments may be directed an apparatus and method for applying RF energy from a source of RF energy ("RF source”) to an object placed in an energy application zone via one or more radiating elements.
  • the EM energy application may be adjusted by one or more static conductive elements, optionally located in the energy application zone, each having at least two states.
  • the static conductive elements may be an example of electric adjustable component.
  • a processor may be configured to choose a state for each of the static conductive elements and cause each of the static conductive elements to be in the chosen state.
  • RF energy applied to the energy application zone by one or more of the radiating elements may result in excitation of an electromagnetic field pattern in the energy application zone, where the excited field pattern depends on the state of the static conductive elements.
  • a state of the static conductive elements may be an example of EABC.
  • Some embodiments of the invention may be related to an apparatus and method for applying RF energy from a source of RF energy to an object placed in an energy application zone via one or more radiating elements.
  • the apparatus may include one or more magnetizable elements having a controllable magnetic permittivity.
  • the magnetizable element may be an electromagnetic adjustable component.
  • a processor may be configured to control the magnetic permittivity of the one or more magnetizable elements by selecting one or more EABC parameters.
  • Other exemplary aspects of the invention may include an apparatus and method for applying RF energy from a source of RF energy to an object placed in an energy application zone via one or more radiating elements.
  • One or more shutters may be installed in the energy application zone.
  • the shutters may be a mechanical adjustable component.
  • a processor may be configured to control a rotational angle of the one or more shutters by selecting one or more mechanical adjustable boundary condition parameters (MABC parameters).
  • MABC parameters mechanical adjustable boundary condition parameters
  • Some exemplary aspects of the invention may include an apparatus and method for applying RF energy from a source of RF energy to an object placed in an energy application zone via one or more radiating elements.
  • One or more shafts may be installed in the energy application zone.
  • the shafts may be a mechanical adjustable component.
  • a processor may be configured to control a rotational angle of the one or more shafts by selecting one or more MABC parameters.
  • An example of a shaft may be a conductive stirrer.
  • FIG. 1 includes a diagrammatic representation of an apparatus for applying electromagnetic energy to an object, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the present invention
  • FIGs. 2 and 3 include diagrammatic representations of a cavity, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the present invention.
  • FIG. 4 includes a diagrammatic representation of an apparatus for applying electromagnetic energy to an object, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the present invention
  • Fig. 5 includes a flow chart of a method for applying electromagnetic energy to an energy application zone in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention
  • Fig. 6A includes a diagrammatic representation of an apparatus for applying EM energy to an object placed in a cavity in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention
  • Fig 6B includes a diagrammatic representation of a rotational shaft element having wings in accordance with some embodiments of the invention.
  • Fig. 7 includes a diagrammatic representation of an apparatus for controlling EM energy application to an object placed in a cavity including movable adjustable element(s) in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention
  • FIGs 8A and 8B include diagrammatic representations of an apparatus for applying EM energy to an object placed in a cavity, by altering EM field pattern excited in the cavity, using magnetizable element(s) in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention
  • Fig. 9 provides a graph of a dissipation ratio and corresponding power as a function of an electromagnetic coil current in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.
  • Figs. 10A and 10B include simulated field patterns excited in a cavity having magnetizable element(s) in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention
  • Fig. 1 1 includes a diagrammatic illustration of an apparatus for applying EM energy to an object placed in a cavity and for controlling the EM field patterns excited in the cavity in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention
  • Fig. 12A includes simulated field patterns excited in a cavity in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.
  • Figs. 12B and 12C include simulated field patterns excited in a cavity installed with conductive rod adjustable components in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.
  • An aspect of some embodiments of the invention includes applying RF energy to an energy application zone via one or more radiating elements.
  • Each radiating element may be operated according to its own operation parameters. For example, each radiating element may apply energy at a particular frequency, at a particular phase, and/or at particular amplitude.
  • the radiating elements may apply energy simultaneously, e.g., two or more elements may radiate at the same or different frequency simultaneously.
  • the set of operation parameters, at which each of the radiating elements is operated to apply energy to the zone may dictate the shape of a field pattern excited in the zone.
  • the field pattern may include a spatial energy intensity distribution in the zone, characterized by regions in the zone with different field intensity (strength) level, e.g., regions in which the field intensity is higher than a threshold and regions in which the field intensity are lower than the threshold. The location of these regions may differ, for example, depending on the operational parameters of the radiating elements.
  • Some embodiments of the invention may include expansion of the variety of field patterns that may be excited in a resonant cavity for a particular set of available operational parameters of the radiating elements. Such expansion of the available field patterns may allow exciting additional different field patterns in the cavity while using a limited number of frequencies, phases, and amplitudes. Expanding the number of available field patterns may facilitate control of the average field intensity distribution in the cavity, and, thus, may also facilitate control of the energy distribution in the cavity. Expanding the number of available field patterns may increase the overall uniformity of field intensity distribution in the cavity (e.g., by summing overtime a plurality of field patterns).
  • two or more field patterns may be excited with a single radiating element operating at a single frequency, and amplitude.
  • this may be achievable by imposing two or more different boundary conditions on the excited field pattern.
  • a conductive element may be positioned in one location within the cavity to obtain a first field pattern and may be positioned in a second location to obtain a second field pattern, different from the first.
  • the location of the conductive element may serve as an example for an adjustable boundary condition parameter (also referred herein as ABC parameter or ABCP).
  • An ABC parameter may include any parameter associated with one or more aspects, components, parts, assemblies, etc. of the presently disclosed embodiments that may have an affect on the field pattern excited in the cavity.
  • the ABC parameters may be divided into two groups: electrical ABC parameters (EABC parameters) and mechanical ABC parameters (MABC parameters).
  • EABC parameters may be any operating parameter that may control electric or electromagnetic adjustable component, for example: current, potential, voltage etc.
  • MABC may be any operating parameter that may control mechanical adjustable component, for example: rotating angle, speed (angular or other), acceleration, shift in position etc. Changing any of these parameters may, in at least some cases, alter one or more field patterns capable of being excited in the cavity.
  • Each conductive element itself may serve as an example of an electrical adjustable component. While conductive elements have been described as an example that may be included in the presently disclosed embodiments, other types of adjustable components may also be used. For example, any type of component, assembly, part, or device having at least one electrical property, electrical aspect, electrical part, or electrical characteristic that may be selectively changed, altered, etc. may be included in or associated with embodiments of the present invention. In such embodiments, changing, altering, modifying, etc. of the at least one electrical or electromagnetic: property, aspect, part, or characteristic of these electrical adjustable component may result in a new or changed EABC parameter.
  • mechanical adjustable component may be installed in the energy application zone as well.
  • Mechanical adjustable component may include in the presently disclosed embodiments, different types of mechanical adjustable component.
  • any type of component, assembly, part, or device having at least one mechanical property, mechanical aspect, mechanical part, or mechanical characteristic that may be selectively changed, altered, moved, rotate, flow, shift, etc. may be included in or associated with embodiments of the present invention.
  • changing, altering, moving, rotating, shifting, flowing, etc. of the at least one mechanical: property, aspect, part, or characteristic of these mechanical adjustable component may result in a new or changed MABC parameter.
  • An example for mechanical adjustable component may be a rotating shaft comprising at least one wing-like element attached to a shaft.
  • a plurality of EABC or MABC parameter values may be available to an RF oven, and the oven may include a processor configured to select between the pluralities of EABC or MABC parameters, set EABC(s) according to the selection, and cause energy application at the selected EABC(s) or MABC(s).
  • such a sequence of selecting EABC or MABC parameters, setting an adjustable component and applying energy may be repeated in a sequence.
  • a different EABC or MABC parameter may be selected. This may result in an ABC sweep.
  • an EABC or MABC sweep may be carried out to monitor or measure the interaction of the object with an EM field excited at each of the ABC parameters (e.g., to obtain a feedback from the object), and then another EABC or MABC sweep may be carried out, in which the amount of energy applied at each ABCP may depend on the interaction observed (e.g., the measured feedback).
  • Some aspects of the present invention relate to apparatuses and methods for controlling electromagnetic (EM) energy application to an energy application zone and its distribution within the zone.
  • the energy application zone may include stationary walls (i.e., the location and positions of the zone's walls may be fixed, for example, such as in the example of a cooking oven cavity with fixed dimensions).
  • EM energy may be applied to the energy application zone by exciting EM field patterns in the zone.
  • Different EM field patterns may have different spatial high and low field intensities in the zone.
  • Installing and controlling different adjustable components in the energy application zone may allow changing the field patterns excited in the zone by altering the boundary conditions applied on the field patterns (applied EM energy). By altering the boundary conditions, it may be possible to adjust the EM energy applied to the zone by controlling the location of the high and low field intensities in the zone.
  • the invention may include apparatus and methods for applying electromagnetic energy (EM).
  • electromagnetic energy includes any or all portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, including but not limited to, radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR), near infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, etc.
  • applied electromagnetic energy may include RF energy with a wavelength in free space of 100 km to 1 mm, which corresponds to a frequency of 3 KHz to 300 GHz, respectively.
  • the applied electromagnetic energy may fall within frequency bands between 500 MHz to 1500 MHz or between 700 MHz to 1200 MHz or between 800 MHz - 1 GHz.
  • the applied electromagnetic energy may fall only within one or more Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) frequency bands, for example, between 433.05 MHz and 434.79 MHz, between 902 MHz and 928 MHz, between 2400 MHz and 2500 MHz, and/or between 5725 MHz and 5875 MHz.
  • ISM Industrial, Scientific and Medical
  • UHF ultra high frequency
  • the application of electromagnetic energy may occur in an "energy application zone", such as energy application zone 9, as shown in Fig. 1.
  • Energy application zone 9 may include any void, location, region, or area where electromagnetic energy may be applied.
  • Energy application zone 9 may have stationary walls, such that the position of the walls defining the energy application zone is fixed during energy application. In some embodiments, the positions of the walls are fixed both before and after energy application. It may be hollow, or may be filled or partially filled with liquids, solids, gases, or combinations thereof.
  • energy application zone 9 may include an interior of an enclosure, interior of a partial enclosure, open space, solid, or partial solid that allows existence, propagation, and/or resonance of electromagnetic waves.
  • Zone 9 may include a conveyor belt or a rotating plate.
  • all such energy application zones may alternatively be referred to as cavities. It is to be understood that an object is considered “in” the energy application zone if at least a portion of the object is located in the zone or if some portion of the object receives applied electromagnetic radiation.
  • an apparatus or method may involve the use of at least one source configured to supply or apply electromagnetic energy to the energy application zone (e.g., supply EM energy to the radiating elements).
  • a “source” may include any component(s) that are suitable for generating and delivering electromagnetic energy.
  • electromagnetic energy may be applied to the energy application zone in the form of propagating electromagnetic waves at predetermined wavelengths or frequencies (also known as electromagnetic radiation).
  • propagating electromagnetic waves may include resonating waves, evanescent waves, and waves that travel through a medium in any other manner.
  • Electromagnetic radiation carries energy that may be imparted to (or dissipated into) matter with which it interacts.
  • electromagnetic energy may be applied to an object 11.
  • references to an "object” (or “object to be heated") to which electromagnetic energy is applied is not limited to a particular form.
  • An object may include a liquid, semi-liquid, solid, semi-solid, or gas, depending upon the particular process with which the invention is utilized.
  • the object may also include composites or mixtures of matter in differing phases.
  • the term "object” encompasses such matter as food to be defrosted or cooked; clothes or other wet material to be dried; frozen organs to be thawed; chemicals to be reacted; fuel or other combustible material to be combusted; hydrated material to be dehydrated, gases to be expanded; liquids to be heated, boiled or vaporized, or any other material for which there is a desire to apply, even nominally, electromagnetic energy.
  • a portion of electromagnetic energy applied to energy application zone 9 may be absorbed by object 1 1.
  • another portion of the electromagnetic energy applied to energy application zone 9 may be absorbed by various elements (e.g., food residue, particle residue, additional objects, structures associated with zone 9, or any other electromagnetic energy-absorbing materials found in zone 9) associated with energy application zone 9.
  • Energy application zone 9 may also include loss constituents that do not, themselves, absorb an appreciable amount of electromagnetic energy, but otherwise account for electromagnetic energy losses. Such loss constitutes may include, for example, cracks, seams, joints, doors, or any other loss mechanisms associated with energy application zone 9.
  • Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of an apparatus 100 for applying electromagnetic energy to an object.
  • Apparatus 100 may include a controller 101, an array 102A of antennas 102 including one or more antennas, one or more adjustable components 104, and energy application zone 9.
  • Controller 101 may be electrically coupled to one or more antennas 102.
  • the term "electrically coupled” refers to one or more either direct or indirect electrical connections.
  • Controller 101 may include a computing subsystem 92, an interface 130, and an electromagnetic energy application subsystem 96. Based on an output of computing subsystem 92, energy application subsystem 96 may respond by generating one or more radio frequency signals to be supplied to antennas 102.
  • the one or more antennas 102 may radiate electromagnetic energy into energy application zone 9. In certain embodiments, this energy can interact with object 11 positioned within energy application zone 9.
  • computing subsystem 92 may include a general purpose or special purpose computer.
  • Computing subsystem 92 may be configured to generate control signals for controlling electromagnetic energy application subsystem 96 via interface 130.
  • Computing subsystem 92 may further receive measured signals from electromagnetic energy application subsystem 96 via interface 130.
  • controller 101 is illustrated for exemplary purposes as having three subcomponents, control functions may be consolidated in fewer components, or additional components may be included consistent with the desired function and/or design of a particular embodiment.
  • Exemplary energy application zone 9 may include locations where energy is applied in an oven (e.g., a cooking oven), chamber, tank, dryer, thawer, dehydrator, reactor, engine, filter, chemical or biological processing apparatus, furnace, incinerator, material shaping or forming apparatus, conveyor, combustion zone, cooler, freezer, etc.
  • the energy application zone may be part of a vending machine, in which objects are processed once purchased.
  • energy application zone 9 may include an electromagnetic resonator 10 (also known as cavity resonator, or cavity) (illustrated for example in Fig. 2). At times, energy application zone 9 may be congruent with the object or a portion of the object (e.g., the object or a portion thereof, is or may define the energy application zone).
  • zone 9 may include at least one adjustable component 104 designed to alter (or affect in any manner) an EM field pattern excited in the zone by altering the boundary conditions imposed on the EM field, as described below.
  • Adjustable component 104 may be an electric adjustable component or a mechanical adjustable component.
  • Adjustable components 104 provided in zone 9 may be of the same type or of different types. Adjustable components 104 of the same type may be similar or may be different (e.g., may have different dimensions, made of different type etc.).
  • EM waves that propagate or resonate in a cavity defined by one or more walls may interact with the walls. This interaction may impose boundary conditions on the EM field, such that a field pattern is obtained (generated) in the cavity.
  • one or more adjustable components may be installed (or other way provided) in the cavity to controllably change the boundary conditions imposed on the field, for example, by changing characteristics of the zone's walls, for instance, by changing the magnetic permittivity of one or more of the walls.
  • the adjustable component may include one or more movable elements located in the energy application zone, for example, in proximity to a zone's edge or cavity's wall.
  • the moveable elements may be electrically conductive or interact with the EM field in any other manner, for example, the moveable elements may be configured to absorb RF.
  • the location, position, and/or orientation of a moveable element may be controlled to adjust the boundary conditions imposed on the EM field.
  • the movable element may be configured to change the structure of the energy application zone in order to, among other things, change the EM energy distribution in the zone. Controlling and adjusting the movement of the movable elements may include, rotating, shifting, sliding, translating, vibrating, changing the movement speed or pace and/or a combination of two or more of these or other suitable movements.
  • the movable elements may include a rotating shaft comprising at least one wing-like element attached to a shaft. Rotating shaft movement may be controlled by changing the rotational angle of the shaft, by rotating the central axis of the shaft, as discussed below in reference to Figs. 6A and 6B.
  • the wing-like element may include a conductive material.
  • the conductive material may change the structure of the energy application zone wall.
  • the wing-like element may be adjusted by changing the angle between the wing-like element and any reference line or plane, for example, a wall of the zone or the axis of the shaft.
  • Changing the structure of the energy application zone wall may adjust (e.g., change, alter or affect) the boundary conditions imposed on an EM field excited in the zone.
  • Some rotating shafts may include or be in the form of a stirrer having a weather vane shape, for example.
  • the stirrer may include two or more wing-like elements comprising conductive material (e.g., metals or alloys).
  • the stirrer may be controlled in two different ways. A first way may the stirrer may be controlled includes adjusting the rotational angle of the stirrer, as discussed above. A second way the stirrer may be controlled is by adjusting the angular velocity of the stirrer.
  • any movable element may be controlled by changing the velocity of the movable element (e.g., angular velocity or linear velocity).
  • the movable elements may include one or more shutters.
  • the shutters may include a conductive material.
  • One or more of the shutters may be located, for example, in proximity to an edge of the zone, e.g., a wall of the cavity.
  • the shutters may be adjusted by changing the angle of the shutter surface with respect to the zones edges, for example a zone's bottom plane (e.g., cavity floor).
  • the adjustable component may be electrically or magnetically adjusted.
  • the adjusting may be done by changing electric and/or magnetic properties of the adjustable component.
  • the adjustable component may be substantially stationary in the zone or may be designed to move.
  • the adjustable component may include a magnetizable element.
  • a magnetizable element may include an element that may be magnetized upon exposure to an external magnetic field. Changing the magnetizable characteristics of the magnetizable element may change the magnetic permittivity of the element.
  • the magnetizable element may be magnetized by an adjustable magnet configured to control the magnetic permittivity of the magnetizable element.
  • a magnetized magnetizable element When placed in or near the energy application zone, a magnetized magnetizable element may change the shape of a field pattern excited in the energy application zone, by imposing different boundary conditions on the EM field, due to changes in the magnetic permittivity.
  • the magnitude of the change may be affected by or may vary as a function of the magnitude of the magnetic field applied to the magnetizable element, for example, by controlling a current magnitude that flows in an electromagnetic coil (electromagnet).
  • the magnitude of the magnetic field may change as a function of the magnitude of the electric current flowing in the coil.
  • the orientation of the magnetic field created by the electromagnet may be determined by the direction of the electric current flowing in the coil. Supplying DC electric current to the coil in a predetermined direction may result in a magnetic field having a defined direction. Changing the DC current supplied to the magnetic coil may change the magnetic field applied by the magnetic coil and, thus, may change the magnetization of the magnetizable element and the EM field excited in the zone.
  • EM adjustable materials include materials for which an exposure to an electric and/or magnetic field may change at least one magnetic and/or electric property of the material.
  • the changed at least one magnetic and/or electric property may include: the dielectric constant, permittivity, conductivity, permeability, etc.
  • the EM adjustable elements may be controlled to alter an EM field pattern excited in the energy application zone by applying external (e.g., from outside of the energy application zone) electric and/or magnetic field to the EM adjustable elements located in the energy application zone, for example, at at least one of the zone's walls.
  • the change in the at least one electric or magnetic property of the element may change the EM field pattern excited in the energy application zone.
  • the adjustable component may include one or more electrically conductive elements.
  • the one or more conductive elements may have two states.
  • the one or more conductive elements may be electrically connected to or electrically disconnected (also known as floating state) from a wall of the cavity (e.g., shorted state or parasitic state, respectively).
  • a rod in a floating state may be electrically isolated from a source of electrical potential.
  • a rod in a connected state may be electrically connected to one or more sources of electrical potential (e.g., ground or various voltage levels - for example: connected to a grounded cavity wall).
  • a state of each rod (e.g., connected and disconnected) may change (or otherwise affect) an EM field excited in the zone.
  • each state may result in a different field pattern (spatial pattern) excited in the zone.
  • switching from one state to another may alter the pattern of the excited EM field pattern.
  • two or more conductive elements may also be connected to or disconnected from each other (i.e., be in a connected or disconnected state with respect to one another).
  • the adjustable component may include a passive radiating element (e.g., a passive antenna).
  • a passive radiating element may be any element comprising a conductive material that may be configured to apply EM energy (radiation) to the energy application zone, but is not connected to an EM power supply (e.g., an RF source, magnetron, etc.).
  • the passive radiating element may be connected to an element configured to change the impedance of the radiating element.
  • Such element may be a PIN diode.
  • the PIN diode P-type semiconductor, Insulator, N-type semiconductor
  • the current applied to the diode or the impedance may be considered as EABC parameters.
  • an impedance of the antenna may be changed, which may in result change the current on the antenna thus affecting the field pattern excited in the cavity due to EM energy application from a transmitting antenna.
  • the adjustable component e.g., component 104
  • the adjustable component may be controlled by controller 101.
  • Component 104 may be connected to controller 101 via interface 130, via computation system 92 or by any other way that may allow the controller to control adjustable component 104.
  • controller 101 may adjust the rotational angle(s) of a shaft or several shafts, by for example controlling an electric motor that rotates each shaft.
  • controller 101 may adjust the magnitude of a magnetic field applied to a magnetizable element by adjusting the current (e.g., DC current) applied to an electromagnetic coil in the vicinity of the magnetizable element.
  • a plurality of adjustable components may be installed or provided in the energy application zone.
  • Controller 101 may be configured to determine the identity (e.g., location in the zone, type of component etc.) of each component 104 and to control each component independently from the other components.
  • the location of one or more components 104 may be programmed into the controller in advance (e.g., at a manufacturing site) or may be provided to the controller through a Graphical User Interface (GUI) associated with apparatus 100.
  • GUI Graphical User Interface
  • the controller may control only some of the components (a sub-group) from the plurality of components installed in the energy application zone. For example, controller 101 may select a sub-group of magnetizable elements by applying DC electric currents to the coil of each element in the sub-group.
  • the EM field patterns may be excited at a plurality of frequencies, for example any number of frequencies within the RF range.
  • the controller may be configured to control the EM energy application to the zone by sweeping the frequencies over a band of frequencies, for example a band from 800 MHz to 1 GHz.
  • two frequencies, or three, or four, or more frequencies may be used to excite EM field patterns in the zone, and the changes in the field pattern may be caused by switching from one frequency to the other and by controlling one or more adjustable component(s).
  • the EM field patterns may all be excited at a single frequency, optionally within the ISM band, and changes in the field pattern may be caused only by the one or more adjustable component(s).
  • narrow frequency band e.g., ISM band
  • EM energy applied to the zone may be generated by a magnetron (an exemplary RF source) and the changes in the field pattern(s) may be caused or otherwise facilitated by controlling one or more adjustable component(s).
  • EM energy applied to the zone may be at a single frequency (e.g., may be generated by a magnetron) and the one or more adjustable component(s) provided in the zone may increase the number of available field patterns to the apparatus.
  • Electromagnetic waves propagating or resonating in an energy application zone may excite an electromagnetic field pattern(s) in the zone.
  • the field pattern may have areas with high values of the field intensities and areas with low values of the field intensities.
  • special field patterns known as "modes”
  • a mode may correspond to a solution of the wave equation for a particular set (group) of boundary conditions. For example, on the boundary between a dielectric medium and a perfect electric conductor (PEC), the tangential component of the electric field and the normal component of the magnetic field are both zero.
  • PEC perfect electric conductor
  • Fig. 2 shows a sectional view of a cavity 10, which is one exemplary embodiment of energy application zone 9.
  • Cavity 10 may be cylindrical in shape (or any other suitable shape, such as semi-cylindrical, rectangular, elliptical, cuboid, symmetrical, asymmetrical, irregular, regular, among others) and may include a conductor, such as aluminum, stainless steel or any suitable metal or other conductive material.
  • Cavity 10 may be made of or at least partially coated by a conductive material.
  • cavity 10 may include walls at least partially coated and/or covered with a protective coating, for example, made from materials transparent to EM energy, e.g., metallic oxides or others.
  • cavity 10 may have a spherical shape or hemispherical shape (for example as illustrated in Fig. 2).
  • cavity 10 may include at least one adjustable component 104, located for example in proximity to the cavity walls.
  • adjustable component 104 may be configured to alter the boundary conditions imposed on the EM energy field in cavity 10, thus may change the location of the high and low EM field intensity areas in the energy application zone.
  • Some exemplary adjustable components are discussed in grater details with respect to Figs. 6-8 and 1 1.
  • Cavity 10 may be resonant in a predetermined range of frequencies (e.g., within the UHF or microwave range of frequencies, such as between 400 MHz and 1 GHZ).
  • cavity 10 may be closed, e.g., completely enclosed (e.g., by conductor materials), bounded at least partially, or open, e.g., having non-bounded openings.
  • the general methodology of the invention is not limited to any particular cavity shape or configuration, as discussed earlier.
  • sensor 20 may be provided in cavity 10.
  • FIG. 3 shows a top sectional view of a cavity 200 according to another exemplary embodiment of energy application zone 9.
  • Fig. 3 shows antennas 210 and 220 (as examples of antennas 102 shown in Fig. 1) and adjustable component 222 and 223 (as an example of adjustable component 104 shown in Fig. 1).
  • Cavity 200 comprises a space 230 for receiving object 1 1 (not shown).
  • Space 230 as shown between the dotted lines in Fig. 3, has an essentially rectangular cross section, which may be adapted for receiving a tray on top of which object 11 may be placed.
  • one or more sensor(s) may be used to sense (or detect) information (e.g., feedback signals) relating to object 1 1 and/or to the energy application process and/or the energy application zone.
  • one or more radiating elements e.g., antenna 102, 210 or 220, may be used as sensors.
  • the sensors may be used to supply a feedback or to sense any information, including electromagnetic power, temperature, weight, humidity, volume, PH, spectroscopic measurements, pressure, motion, or any other signal that may indicate a change in the object or the cavity due to the EM energy application.
  • the sensed information may be sent to controller 101 (e.g., through interface 130) for further use (e.g., may be used to adjust heating parameters).
  • the sensed information may be used for any purpose, including process verification, automation, authentication, safety, etc.
  • Automation may be affected, for example, by adjusting heating parameters in accordance with feedback on the processed object received by the sensor(s). For example, stopping or adjusting the processing (e.g., heating) may occur once the sensor(s) indicate that certain stopping or adjusting criteria are met. For example, once a sufficient amount of energy is absorbed in the object, once one or more portions of the object are at a predetermined temperature, once time derivatives of absorbed power change, etc., the processing may be stopped, adjusted, etc.
  • Such automatic processing adjustment or stoppage may be useful, for instance, in vending machines or other applications, where food products may be kept cooled or at room temperature until purchase or at such time that the food products are ready for consumption.
  • a plurality of radiating elements may be provided.
  • the radiating elements may be located on one or more surfaces of, e.g., an enclosure defining the energy application zone. Alternatively, radiating elements may be located inside or outside the energy application zone. One or more of the radiating elements may be near to, in contact with, in the vicinity of or even embedded in object 11 (e.g., when the object is a liquid).
  • the orientation and/or configuration of each radiating element may be distinct or the same, based on the specific energy application, e.g., based on a desired target effect.
  • Each radiating element may be positioned, adjusted, and/or oriented to transmit (emit) electromagnetic waves along a same direction, or various different directions. Furthermore, the location, orientation, and configuration of each radiating element may be predetermined before applying energy to the object. Alternatively or additionally, the location, orientation, and configuration of each radiating element may be dynamically adjusted, for example, by using a processor, during operation of the apparatus and/or between rounds of energy application.
  • the invention is not limited to radiating elements having particular structures or locations within the apparatus.
  • apparatus 100 may include at least one radiating element in the form of at least one antenna 102 for applying electromagnetic energy to energy application zone 9.
  • One or more of the antenna(s) may also be configured to receive electromagnetic energy from energy application zone 9.
  • an antenna as used herein may function as a transmitter, a receiver, or both, depending on a particular application and configuration.
  • the antenna may receive electromagnetic energy (e.g., reflected electromagnetic waves) from the energy application zone.
  • a radiating element and “antenna” may broadly refer to any structure from which electromagnetic energy may radiate and/or be received, regardless of whether the structure was originally designed for the purposes of radiating or receiving energy, and regardless of whether the structure serves any additional function.
  • a radiating element or an antenna may include an aperture/slot antenna, or an antenna which includes a plurality of terminals transmitting in unison, either at the same time or at a controlled dynamic phase difference (e.g., a phased array antenna).
  • antennas 102 may include an electromagnetic energy transmitter (referred to herein as “a transmitting antenna” or “transmitter”) that applies (radiates or emits or feeds) energy into energy application zone 9, an electromagnetic energy receiver (referred herein as “a receiving antenna” or “receiver”) that receives energy from zone 9, or a combination of both a transmitter and a receiver.
  • a transmitting antenna or “transmitter”
  • a receiving antenna or “receiver”
  • a first antenna may be configured to apply electromagnetic energy to zone 9, and a second antenna may be configured to receive energy from the first antenna.
  • one or more antennas may each serve as both receivers and transmitters.
  • one or more antennas may serve a dual function while one or more other antennas may serve a single function.
  • a single antenna may be configured to both apply electromagnetic energy to the zone 9 and to receive electromagnetic energy via the zone 9; a first antenna may be configured to apply electromagnetic energy to the zone 9, and a second antenna may be configured to receive electromagnetic energy via the zone 9; or a plurality of antennas could be used, where at least one of the plurality of antennas may be configured to both apply electromagnetic energy to zone 9 and to receive electromagnetic energy via zone 9.
  • an antenna may also be adjusted to affect the field pattern. For example, various properties of the antenna, such as position, location, orientation, temperature, etc., may be adjusted. Different antenna property settings may result in differing electromagnetic field patterns within the energy application zone thereby affecting energy absorption in the object. Therefore, antenna adjustments may constitute one or more variables that can be varied in an energy application process.
  • energy may be supplied and/or provided to one or more transmitting antennas.
  • Energy supplied to a transmitting antenna may result in energy emitted by the transmitting antenna (referred to herein as "incident energy”).
  • the incident energy may be applied to zone 9, and may be in an amount equal to an amount of energy supplied to the transmitting antenna(s) by a source (e.g., a power supply).
  • a portion of the incident energy may be dissipated in the object or absorbed by the object (referred to herein as “dissipated energy” or “absorbed energy”). Another portion may be reflected back to the transmitting antenna (referred to herein as "reflected energy").
  • Reflected energy may include, for example, energy reflected back to the transmitting antenna due to mismatch caused by the object and/or the energy application zone, e.g., impedance mismatch. Reflected energy may also include energy retained by a port of the transmitting antenna (e.g., energy that is emitted by the antenna but does not flow into the zone). The rest of the incident energy, other than the reflected energy and dissipated energy may be coupled to one or more receiving antennas other than the transmitting antenna (referred to herein as "coupled energy.”). Therefore, the incident energy (“I") supplied to the transmitting antenna may include all of the dissipated energy ("D"), reflected energy ("R”), and transmitted energy (“T”), and may be expressed according to the relationship :
  • the one or more transmitting antennas may deliver electromagnetic energy into zone 9.
  • Adjustable components e.g., components 104 or 222 or 223, may be configured to alter the field pattern excited in the zone by adjusting different adjustable parameters in each component (e.g., the angle of the shutters, or the state of the conductive elements, among others).
  • Adjustable Boundary Condition Parameters referred to herein as ABCPs, are defined as all the possible combinations of different parameters that can be adjusted in all different adjustable components installed in the energy application zone. Such parameters may optionally be chosen and controlled by controller 101.
  • EM energy application parameters may include all the parameters (e.g., the number and location of the radiating elements; the frequencies, the power and duration at which each of the radiating elements emits energy to the zone; a phase difference between two EM waves or radiating elements; etc.) defined and controlled by the EM energy application system.
  • the EM energy application system may include power supply 2012, modulator 2014 and amplifier 2016, as illustrated in Fig. 4.
  • the EM energy application system may be configured to excite at least one predetermined (e.g., desired or targeted) field pattern in the energy application zone.
  • the EM energy application system may be configured to excite more than one field pattern in the energy application zone.
  • the "ABC” may include all possible adjustable components that may be used and their potential settings (absolute and/or relative to others) and adjustable parameters associated with the components.
  • ABC may include electrical ABC (EABC) comprising all possible electrical and/or magnetic and/or electromagnetic adjustable parameters that may affect the boundary conditions that may be imposed on a field in an energy application zone and mechanical ABC (MABC) comprising all possible mechanical adjustable parameters that may affect the boundary conditions that may be imposed on a field in an energy application zone.
  • EABC electrical ABC
  • MABC mechanical ABC
  • the "MABC” may include a plurality of variable parameters, the number of shutters or wing-like elements in the cavity wall and their angle (if modifiable), the position and rotation angle of the rotating shafts and the number and angle of the wings on each rotating shafts, the rotating speed of a stirrer, a speed (e.g., a linear speed) of mechanical adjustable components, etc.
  • "EABC” may include the position and potential of the conductive elements, the electric currents that controls magnitude of the magnetic field that magnetizes each of magnetizable element optionally in a sub-group of elements selected from a plurality of elements installed in the zone, the intensity of a current supplied to a passive radiating element, etc.
  • the ABC may have any number of possible variable parameters, ranging between one parameter only (e.g., a one dimensional ABC, which may be limited, for example, to the number of shorted conductive elements, or the magnitude of the magnetic field magnetizing a single magnetizable element located in the cavity), two or more dimensions (e.g., the number of magnetizable elements selected and their respective magnitude of magnetic fields), or many more.
  • one parameter only e.g., a one dimensional ABC, which may be limited, for example, to the number of shorted conductive elements, or the magnitude of the magnetic field magnetizing a single magnetizable element located in the cavity
  • two or more dimensions e.g., the number of magnetizable elements selected and their respective magnitude of magnetic fields
  • Each variable parameter associated with the ABC may be referred to as an ABC dimension.
  • two dimensions MABC parameter may be designated as shutter identity (N), and the angle of this particular shutter ( ⁇ ).
  • N shutter identity
  • ⁇ angle of this particular shutter
  • Each shutter may have a fixed position within the cavity. That is, two parameters that affect the boundary condition of the field pattern may be adjusted (the selection of which shutter to rotate and the rotation of each of the selected shutters) during energy application, while all the other parameters may be predetermined and fixed, e.g., the location of the shutters and/or the frequency at which the EM is applied.
  • the energy application (the excitation of EM field patterns in the zone by EM waves) may be stopped during the ABC parameter(s) adjustment process. Alternatively, the energy application may continue during the ABC parameter(s) adjustment process.
  • the ABC may have any number of dimensions, e.g., one dimension, two dimensions, four dimensions, n dimensions, etc.
  • a one dimensional ABCP oven may provide ABCPs that differ one from the other only by one parameter, e.g., the number of conductive rods connected to the cavity.
  • ABC parameter may refer to a specific set of values of the variable parameters in the ABC. Therefore, the ABC may also be considered to be a collection of all possible ABCPs for a specific configuration of the energy application zone.
  • An energy application zone having a specific configuration may include a cavity or a zone with fixed dimensions or stationary walls, a fixed number of radiating elements placed in a known location, and a predetermined number and types of adjustable elements installed or provided in the energy application zone.
  • two mechanical ABCPs may differ one from another in the relative angle of two shutters.
  • the activation of a specific number of shutters [Ni] (all belonging to a sub group), having a common opening angle [cpi]. If even one of these MABCP variables changes, then the new set defines another MABCP. For example, the same number of shutters Ni having a different opening angle, (p j , defines a different MABC parameter.
  • ABCPs or ABCP combinations may be used in embodiments of the invention.
  • Various ABCP combinations may be used depending on the configuration of a particular energy application zone (the types and number of adjustable components (electric, electromagnetic or mechanical) installed in the zone) and/or on a desired energy transfer profile, and/or given adjustable components, e.g., magnetizable elements as an example for electromagnetic adjustable component.
  • the number of options that may be employed could be as few as two or as many as the designer desires, depending on factors such as intended use, level of desired control, hardware or software resolution and cost.
  • processors may include an electric circuit that performs a logic operation on input or inputs.
  • a processor may include one or more integrated circuits, microchips, microcontrollers, microprocessors, all or part of a central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), digital signal processors (DSP), field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other circuit suitable for executing instructions or performing logic operations.
  • the at least one processor may be coincident with or may be part of controller 101.
  • the instructions executed by the processor may, for example, be pre-loaded into the processor or may be stored in a separate memory unit such as a RAM, a ROM, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magnetic medium, a flash memory, other permanent, fixed, or volatile memory, or any other mechanism capable of storing instructions for the processor.
  • the processor(s) may be customized for a particular use, or can be configured for general-purpose use and can perform different functions by executing different software.
  • processors may be of similar construction, or they may be of differing constructions electrically connected or disconnected from each other. They may be separate circuits or integrated in a single circuit. When more than one processor is used, they may be configured to operate independently or collaboratively. They may be coupled electrically, magnetically, optically, acoustically, mechanically or by other means permitting them to interact.
  • the at least one processor may be configured to cause electromagnetic energy to be applied to zone 9, and the excitation of at least one field pattern via one or more antennas.
  • the at least one processor may be further configured to control the boundary conditions imposed on the at least one field pattern, for example, by adjusting the adjustable component over a series of ABCPs, in order to alter the boundary conditions of the applied EM energy at each such ABCP.
  • the at least one processor may be configured to regulate one or more ferrite elements and their respective magnetic coils in order to cause the energy to be applied in desired field patterns.
  • two or more different processors may be configured to control the EM energy application.
  • one processor may control the EM energy application parameters
  • another processor may be configured to control the ABC parameters.
  • each ABC parameter may be controlled by a different processor, for example magnetizable element(s) may be controlled by a first controller 101 (e.g., processor 2030) and rotating shaft(s) may be controller by a second controller 101 (e.g., processor 2030).
  • a single processor may be configured to control both the energy application parameters and the ABC parameters.
  • the processor may be configured to select different weights for applying different corresponding ABCPs (e.g., EABC parameters).
  • the different weights may allow for supplying different amounts of energy to the energy application zone at various ABCPs.
  • the processor may be configured to adjust the EM energy application when various field patterns are excited in the zone due to the application of a selected sub-set of ABCPs. Such an adjustment may enable uniform heating of the entire volume of the energy application zone and/or uniform heating of all the objects placed in the energy application zone. Such an adjustment may also be used to provide controlled, non-uniform heating. Selection of the weights may be done by assigning different time durations and/or different amplitudes and/or different phases etc.
  • the weight for applying EM energy at each ABCP may be selected based on feedback received from the energy application zone at that ABCP. In some embodiments, selection of sub-set of ABCPs may be based on feedback received from the energy application zone, e.g., when applying EM energy at a plurality of ABCPs.
  • the at least one processor may be configured to determine a value indicative of energy absorbable by the object at each of a plurality of ABCPs. This may occur, for example, using one or more lookup tables, by pre-programming the processor or memory associated with the processor, and/or by testing an object in an energy application zone to determine its absorbable energy characteristics.
  • One exemplary way to conduct such a test is through a sweep.
  • a sweep may include, for example, the transmission over time of energy at more than one ABCP.
  • a sweep may include the sequential transmission of energy at multiple ABCPs in one or more contiguous ABCP group, e.g., a sequential rotation of the shutters located in the energy application zone, from close position (when the shutter in parallel to the energy application zone) to a predetermined opening angle, one shutter after the other, wherein only one shutter is in opening position at each energy application.
  • the sequential transmission of energy at multiple ABCPs is in more than one noncontiguous ABCP group, e.g., applying current at a first amount to a first group of the magnetizable elements located in the energy application zone, following by applying current at a second amount sequentially to a second group of the magnetizable elements, wherein the first group may be different from the second group or may include at least some of the elements included in the second group.
  • the sequential transmission of energy may be at individual non-contiguous ABCPs.
  • the ABCP groups may be contiguous or noncontiguous.
  • the at least one processor may regulate at least one adjustable component to sequentially alter the field pattern at various ABCPs, excited in zone 9, and to receive feedback which may serve as an indicator of the energy absorbable by object 1 1, during the field pattern altering. While the invention is not limited to any particular measure of feedback indicative of energy absorbable in the object, various exemplary indicative values are discussed below.
  • electromagnetic energy application subsystem 96 may be regulated to receive electromagnetic energy reflected and/or coupled at antenna(s) 102 and to communicate the measured energy information (e.g., information pertaining to and/or related to and/or associated with the measured energy) back to computing subsystem 92 via interface 130, as illustrated for example in Fig. 1.
  • Computing subsystem 92 may then be regulated to determine a value indicative of energy absorbable by object 1 1 at each of a plurality of ABCPs based on the received information.
  • a value indicative of the absorbable energy may include a dissipation ratio (referred to herein as "DR") associated with each of a plurality of ABCPs.
  • DR dissipation ratio
  • a “dissipation ratio” (or “absorption efficiency” or “power efficiency”), may be defined as a ratio between electromagnetic energy absorbed by object 1 1 (or dissipated in object 1 1) and electromagnetic energy supplied to the antenna at each ABCP.
  • absorbable energy Energy that may be dissipated or absorbed by an object is referred to herein as "absorbable energy” or “absorbed energy”, the terms absorption and absorbed are used herein interchangeably with the terms dissipation and dissipated.
  • Absorbable energy may be an indicator of the object's capacity to absorb energy or the ability of the apparatus to cause energy to dissipate in a given object (for example - an indication of the upper limit thereof).
  • absorbable energy may be calculated as a product of the incident energy (e.g., maximum incident energy) supplied to the at least one antenna and the dissipation ratio.
  • Reflected energy may, for example, be a value indicative of energy absorbed by the object.
  • a processor might calculate or estimate absorbable energy based on the portion of the incident energy that is reflected and the portion that is coupled. That estimate or calculation may serve as a value indicative of absorbed and/or absorbable energy.
  • the at least one processor may be configured to control a source of electromagnetic energy such that energy is sequentially applied to an object at a series of ABCPs.
  • the at least one processor might then receive a signal indicative of energy reflected at the transmitting antenna at each ABCP and, optionally, also a signal indicative of the energy coupled to other receiving antennas at each ABCP.
  • an absorbable energy indicator may be calculated or estimated.
  • a dissipation ratio may be calculated using formula (1):
  • Pj n represents the electromagnetic energy and/or power supplied to antennas 102
  • P r f represents the electromagnetic energy reflected/returned at those antennas that function as transmitters
  • P cp represents the electromagnetic energy coupled at those antennas that function as receivers.
  • DR may be a value between 0 and 1, and thus may be represented by a percentage number.
  • the value indicative of the absorbable energy may further involve the maximum incident energy associated with a power amplifier (not illustrated) of subsystem 96 at the given ABCP.
  • a "maximum incident energy” may be defined as the maximal power that may be supplied to the antenna (at a given frequency, if more than one frequency is used) throughout a given period of time.
  • one alternative value indicative of absorbable energy may be the product of the maximum incident energy and the dissipation ratio.
  • the at least one processor may also be configured to cause energy to be supplied to the at least one radiating element in at least a subgroup of a plurality of ABCPs.
  • Energy transmitted to the zone at each of the subgroups of ABCPs may be a function of the absorbable energy value at the corresponding ABCP.
  • energy transmitted to the zone at ABCP (i) may be a function of the absorbable energy value at ABCP (i).
  • the energy supplied to at least one radiating element at each of the subset of ABCPs may be determined as a function of the absorbable energy value at each ABCP (e.g., as a function of a dissipation ratio, maximum incident energy, a combination of the dissipation ratio and the maximum incident energy, or some other indicator).
  • the subgroup of the plurality of ABCPs and/or the energy transmitted to the zone at each of the subgroup of ABCPs may be determined based on or in accordance with a result of absorbable energy information (e.g., absorbable energy feedback) obtained during an ABCP sweep (e.g., at the plurality of ABCPs) .
  • the at least one processor may adjust energy supplied at each ABCP such that the energy at a particular ABCP may in some way be a function of an indicator of absorbable energy at that ABCP.
  • the functional correlation may vary depending upon application and/or a desired target effect, e.g., a more uniform energy distribution profile may be desired across object 11.
  • the invention is not limited to any particular scheme, but rather may encompass any technique for controlling the energy supplied by taking into account an indication of absorbable energy.
  • the at least one processor may be configured to cause the altering (adjusting) of the boundary conditions which as a result may change the EM energy field patterns excited in the energy application zone by applying a plurality of ABCPs, wherein the amount of EM energy applied to the zone at each of the ABCPs is inversely related to the absorbable energy value at the corresponding ABCP.
  • Such an inverse relationship may involve a general trend ⁇ e.g., when an indicator of absorbable energy in a particular ABCP subgroup (i.e., one or more ABCPs) tends to be relatively high, the supplied or applied energy at that ABCP subgroup may be relatively low.
  • the incident energy may be relatively high.
  • This substantially inverse relationship may be even more closely correlated.
  • the transmitted energy may be set such that its product with the absorbable energy value (i.e., the absorbable energy by object 1 1) is substantially constant across the ABCPs applied.
  • spatial uniformity may refer to a condition where the absorbed energy across the object or a portion (e.g., a selected portion) of the object that is targeted for energy application is substantially constant (for example per volume unit or per mass unit).
  • the energy absorption is considered “substantially constant” if the variation of the dissipated energy at different locations of the object is lower than a threshold value.
  • a deviation may be calculated based on the distribution of the dissipated energy in the object, and the absorbable energy is considered “substantially constant” if the deviation between the dissipation values of different parts of the object is less than 50%.
  • spatially uniform energy absorption may result in spatially uniform temperature increase, consistent with the presently disclosed embodiments, "spatial uniformity" may also refer to a condition where the temperature increase across the object or a portion of the object that is targeted for energy application is substantially constant. The temperature increase may be measured by a sensing device, for example a temperature sensor provided in zone 9.
  • spatial uniformity may be defined as a condition, where a given property of the object is uniform or substantially uniform after processing, e.g., after a heating process.
  • properties may include temperature, readiness degree (e.g., of food cooked in the oven), mean particle size or density (e.g., in a sintering process), etc.
  • controller 101 may be configured to hold substantially constant the amount of time at which energy is applied to a field pattern excited at each ABCP, while varying the amount of power (the incident power) supplied to the radiating element at each field pattern excited by applying each ABCP as a function of the absorbable energy value.
  • controller 101 may be configured to cause the energy to be applied by a particular field pattern excited using a particular ABCP or ABCPs at a power level substantially equal to a maximum power level of the device and/or the amplifier.
  • controller 101 may be configured to vary the period of time during which energy is applied to each ABCP, e.g., as a function of the absorbable energy value. At times, both the duration and power at which each ABCP is applied may vary as a function of the absorbable energy value. Varying the power and/or duration of energy supplied at each ABCP may be used to cause substantially uniform energy absorption in the object or to have a controlled spatial pattern of energy absorption, for example, based on feedback from the object (e.g., the absorbable energy value) at each applied ABCP.
  • controller 101 may be configured to cause the RF source to supply no energy at all at particular ABCP(s).
  • energy application and/or the control of ABCPS may be regularly updated during the object processing. Because absorbable energy can change based on a host of factors including object temperature, in some embodiments, it may be beneficial to regularly update absorbable energy values and adjust energy application based on the updated absorbable values. These updates can occur multiple times a second, or can occur every few seconds or longer, depending on the requirements of a particular application.
  • the at least one processor may be configured to determine a desired and/or target energy absorption level at each of a plurality of ABCPs and adjust the boundary conditions applied by the adjustable component (e.g., component 104 or 2022) at each ABCP in order to obtain the target energy absorption level at each ABCP.
  • controller 101 may be configured to target a desired energy absorption level at each ABCP in order to achieve or approximate substantially uniform energy absorption across a range of ABCPs.
  • controller 101 may be configured to provide a target energy absorption level at each of a plurality of object portions, which collectively may be referred to as an energy absorption profile across the object.
  • An absorption profile may include uniform energy absorption in the object, non-uniform energy absorption in the object, differing energy absorption values in differing portions of the object, substantially uniform absorption in one or more portions of the object, or any other desirable pattern of energy absorption in an object or portion(s) of an object.
  • apparatus 100 may include a processor 2030 which may regulate modulations performed by modulator 2014.
  • modulator 2014 may include at least one of a phase modulator, a frequency modulator, and an amplitude modulator configured to modify the phase, frequency, and amplitude of the AC waveform, respectively.
  • Processor 2030 may alternatively or additionally regulate at least one of location, orientation, and configuration of each radiating element 2018, for example, using an electro-mechanical device.
  • Such an electromechanical device may include a motor or other movable structure for rotating, pivoting, shifting, sliding or otherwise changing the orientation and/or location of one or more of radiating elements 2018.
  • processor 2030 may be configured to adjust one or more adjustable components 2022 thus altering the boundary conditions imposed on the electromagnetic field excited in the energy application zone. Imposing different boundary conditions on electromagnetic fields excited in the energy application zone may result in different field pattern at each different boundary condition.
  • apparatus 100 may involve the use of at least one source configured to deliver electromagnetic energy to the energy application zone (e.g., an RF energy source configured to supply EM energy in the RF range to at least one radiating element).
  • the source may include one or more of a power supply 2012 configured to generate electromagnetic waves that carry electromagnetic energy.
  • power supply 2012 may include a magnetron configured to generate high power microwave waves at a predetermined wavelength or frequency.
  • power supply 2012 may include a semiconductor oscillator, such as a voltage controlled oscillator, configured to generate AC waveforms (e.g., AC voltage or current) with a constant or varying frequency.
  • AC waveforms may include sinusoidal waves, square waves, pulsed waves, triangular waves, or another type of waveforms with alternating polarities.
  • a source of electromagnetic energy may include any other power supply, such as electromagnetic field generator, solid state amplifier, electromagnetic flux generator, or any mechanism for generating vibrating electrons.
  • Processor 2030 may be configured to regulate an oscillator (not illustrated) to sequentially generate AC waveforms oscillating at various frequencies within one or more predetermined frequency bands.
  • a predetermined frequency or frequency band may include a working frequency band, and the processor may be configured to cause the transmission of energy at frequencies within a sub-portion of the working frequency band.
  • processor 2030 may be further configured to regulate amplifier 2016 to adjust amounts of energy applied via radiating elements 2018, e.g., based on feedback signal.
  • detector 2040 may detect an amount of energy reflected from the energy application zone and/or energy coupled at a particular ABCP, and processor 2030 may be configured to adjust the amount of energy applied at that ABCP.
  • the apparatus may include more than one EM energy generating component (e.g., power suppliers).
  • more than one oscillator may be used for generating AC waveforms of differing frequencies.
  • the separately generated AC waveforms may be amplified by one or more amplifiers.
  • radiating elements 2018 may be caused to simultaneously transmit electromagnetic waves at, for example, two differing frequencies to cavity 10.
  • EM energy may be supplied by a plurality of magnetrons.
  • the EM energy may be applied to the zone via a waveguide and an opening to the cavity.
  • Processor 2030 may be configured to regulate or control adjustable component 2022 to alter the boundary conditions imposed on an EM field in the zone.
  • the field may be excited by applying EM energy from radiating element 2018 to the zone (e.g., to cavity 10).
  • the field may be excited by applying EM energy through an opening in a waveguide (e.g., connected to a magnetron).
  • Processor 2030 may be configured to adjust at least one adjustable boundary condition parameter (ABC Parameter) in component(s) 2022, thus altering the field pattern excited in the zone.
  • ABS Parameter adjustable boundary condition parameter
  • processor 2030 may control the EM field intensity pattern for example - by sweeping a plurality of ABCPs, the processor may cause a shift in the location of intensity maxima (e.g., areas with high values of the field intensities) in the energy application zone. Since the field pattern excited in the zone at each ABC parameter may be distinguished from a field pattern excited at other ABC parameters , processor 2030 may be configured to choose at least one ABC parameter to excite a desired field pattern in the energy application zone. In some embodiments, processor 2030 may be configured to select a plurality of ABC parameters to excite a plurality of different field patterns in the energy application zone.
  • intensity maxima e.g., areas with high values of the field intensities
  • processor 2030 may be configured to choose (select) one or more desired ABC parameters based on feedback received from the energy application zone.
  • an image acquiring device such as an optical or IR camera (not illustrated), may be used to acquire an image of object 1 1 in the energy application zone.
  • Processor 2030 may be configured to determine the location of object 1 1 in the zone, based on the acquired image, and adjust the energy application such that one or more field patterns having high intensity areas substantially overlapping with the location of the object in the energy application zone may be excited.
  • processor 2030 may be configured to choose (select) one or more of desired ABCPs based on a feedback received from the energy application zone, e.g., a signal detected from or at detector 2040.
  • detector may be a directional coupler associated or connected to a radiating element.
  • the feedback may include, for example: temperature measurements of at least a portion of the object, power levels that may be measured in the radiating elements (e.g., reflected power, incident power, and coupled power)), as discussed in greater detail above, and/or an image of the object in the cavity.
  • the received feedback may indicate the EM energy absorbable in the object, for example the rise in temperature of at least a portion of the object or the value of the dissipation ratio.
  • processor 2030 may be configured to perform ABCP sweeping over a plurality of ABCPs and determine the EM energy absorbable in the object, at each ABCP, and to choose to excite field patterns at the selected ABCPs, for example: at ABCP having an amount of energy absorbable in the object higher than a predetermined threshold.
  • FIG. 4 and Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate circuits including two radiating elements (e.g., antennas 102; 210, 220; or 2018), it should be noted that any number of radiating elements may be employed.
  • Fig. 5 represents a method for applying electromagnetic energy to an object in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. Electromagnetic energy may be applied to an object, for example, through at least one processor implementing a series of steps of method 500 of FIG. 5.
  • method 500 may involve controlling a source of electromagnetic energy to apply EM energy (step 505).
  • a "source” of electromagnetic energy may include any components that are suitable for generating electromagnetic energy (e.g., an RF source).
  • the at least one processor may be configured to control electromagnetic energy application subsystem 96 or power supply 2012.
  • the source may be controlled to supply electromagnetic energy of at least one predetermined frequency to at least one radiating element, to excite at least one EM field pattern in the energy application zone.
  • At least one adjustable component may be controlled in order to adjust the boundary conditions, as indicated in step 10.
  • Various ways of exciting field patterns at various ABC (e.g., EABC or MEBC) parameters, including sweeping, as discussed earlier, may be implemented in step 520.
  • other schemes for controlling the source or the adjustable component(s) may be implemented so long as that scheme results in the supply of energy at a plurality of ABC parameters.
  • the at least one processor may regulate component 104 or 2022 to apply a plurality of ABC (e.g., EABC or MEBC) parameters to alter (or otherwise affect) the EM field pattern.
  • one or more processing instructions e.g., a plurality of ABCPs chosen to be applied to excite EM energy field patterns to a certain object or group of objects in order to achieve a certain heating pattern
  • processing instructions e.g., a plurality of ABCPs chosen to be applied to excite EM energy field patterns to a certain object or group of objects in order to achieve a certain heating pattern
  • other information may be obtained from a machine readable element (e.g., barcode or RFID tag).
  • the machine readable element may be read by a machine reader (e.g., a barcode reader, an RFID reader) and the information may be provided to the processor and/or the controller by an interface.
  • a user may provide one or more processing instructions and/or may provide other information relating to the object (e.g., an object type and/or weight) through an interface, e.g., a GUI, a touch screen etc.
  • the method may further involve receiving a feedback related to the EM energy application (e.g., an absorbable energy value or a value indicative of energy absorbable by the object), optionally at each of the plurality of ABCPs (e.g. EABC or MEBC parameters), in step 530.
  • the absorbable energy value may be an example for a feedback received from the energy application zone in the presence of the object.
  • the feedback and/or the value indicative of energy absorbable by the object may be received or determined (or calculated in any manner) at each of the plurality of ABCPs supplied in step 520.
  • a feedback may be received, for example, from the energy application zone (e.g., cavities 10, 200, 600, 700 and 800) using for example detector 2040 or other sensors (e.g., sensor 20).
  • the feedback e.g., absorbable energy value
  • the feedback may include any signal related to energy applied to the zone and/or energy reflected from the zone.
  • the feedback may include: the EM energy supplied from the RF source to a first radiating element (acting as transmitter), the EM energy reflected back from the energy application zone to the first radiating element, the energy coupled to at least a second radiating element located in the zone (acting as a receiver), the S parameters, the input impedance measured on one or more of the radiating elements, etc.
  • the feedback may include any value calculated based on at least one of the received signals, for example a dissipation ration (DR).
  • the Feedback may be received during the EM energy application for each of the ABCPs available in an apparatus, or for a sub-group of the available ABCPs.
  • the feedback may be received (e.g., calculated based on received signals) during sweeping over a plurality of ABCPs.
  • the feedback may be received during the application of low level EM energy (e.g., application of EM energy at a lower power level or for shorter duration than EM energy applied in step 550) .
  • Low level EM energy may be defined as an amount of EM energy not capable of processing (e.g., heating) the object.
  • the low level EM energy may be applied for acquiring (receiving) the feedback.
  • the feedback may be received during application of EM at levels capable of processing the object.
  • An absorbable energy value may include any indicator (e.g., a feedback)- whether calculated (based on measurements and/or signals received from the energy application zone, for example from detector(s) 2040) , measured, derived, estimated or predetermined - of an object's capacity to absorb energy.
  • computing subsystem 92 or processor 2030 may be configured to determine an absorbable energy value, such as a dissipation ratio associated with each ABCP.
  • the method may also involve adjusting the EM energy application - e.g., an amount of electromagnetic energy supplied at each of the plurality of ABCPs (e.g. EABC or MEBC parameters) to one or more radiating elements - based on a feedback received from the energy application zone, e.g., the absorbable energy value at each ABCP (step 540).
  • the method may also involve adjusting the EM energy application such as by choosing (selecting) a sub set of the plurality of ABCPs (e.g. EABC or MEBC parameters) - based on a feedback received from the energy application zone, e.g., the absorbable energy value at the plurality of ABCP (step 540).
  • at least one processor may determine an amount of energy to be applied at each ABCP, as a function of the absorbable energy value associated with that ABCP.
  • the at least one processor may choose not to use all possible ABCPs (e.g. EABC or MABC parameters). For example, a choice may be made not to use all possible angles available for tuning at least one shutter located on the cavity wall (i.e. a MABCP). In another example, a choice may be made to use only some of the available magnetizable elements from a plurality of magnetizable elements installed in the cavity (i.e. an EABCP). The choice may be made in order to excite a plurality of field patterns having high intensity areas that substantially coincide with a location of the object in the energy application zone. In other embodiments, a choice may be made in order to excite a plurality of field patterns associated with high dissipation ratio (e.g., higher than a threshold value).
  • ABCPs e.g. EABC or MABC parameters
  • the at least one processor may determine a weight, e.g., power level, used for supplying the determined amount of energy at each ABCP (e.g., EABC or MABC parameters), e.g., as a function of the feedback received from the energy application zone.
  • the feedback may be indicative of energy absorbable in the object placed in the energy application zone.
  • an amplification ratio of amplifier 2016 may be changed inversely with the energy absorbable value at each ABCP.
  • energy may be supplied for a constant amount of time at each ABCP.
  • the at least one processor may determine varying durations at which the energy is supplied at each ABCP. For example, the duration and power may vary from one ABCP to another, e.g., such that their product inversely correlates with the energy absorbable in the object.
  • the controller may use the maximum available power and change the duration at which power is applied in each ABCP. The duration may be inversely related to the energy absorbable in the object.
  • the at least one processor and/or controller e.g., controller 101
  • the method may also involve applying electromagnetic energy at a plurality of ABCPs (step 550).
  • the EM energy may be applied at the selected sub set of the plurality of ABCPs.
  • Respective weights may be optionally assigned to each of the ABCPs to be transmitted, for example, based on the absorbable energy value (as discussed above).
  • Electromagnetic energy may be applied to cavity 10 via antennas, e.g., antenna 102 or 2018 and may be altered (e.g., to obtain different field patterns) by component 104, or 2022.
  • ABCPs may be swept sequentially, e.g., across a group of ABCPs or, along a portion of the group, e.g., along a part of available shutter conditions.
  • Steps 505-550 may be repeated continually during the object processing, for example, every predetermined amount of time, every time the feedback (e.g., an absorbable energy value) has changed, etc.
  • a new set of ABCP may be determined and at least one adjustable component may be adjusted based on the feedback.
  • the EM energy application may be terminated based on the feedback, or based on a decision made by a user. In some embodiments, the EM energy may be terminated based on a criterion.
  • Energy application may be interrupted periodically (e.g., several times a second) for a short time (e.g., only a few milliseconds or tens of milliseconds, any time duration in between, or any desired time duration depending upon a particular application).
  • a short time e.g., only a few milliseconds or tens of milliseconds, any time duration in between, or any desired time duration depending upon a particular application.
  • Energy application termination criteria may vary depending on a particular application. For example, for a heating application, termination criteria may be based on time, temperature, total energy absorbed, or any other information or parameter values that indicate or may be used to determine that the process at issue is complete. For example, heating may be terminated when the temperature of object 11 rises to a predetermined temperature threshold.
  • step 560 energy transfer may end in step 570.
  • termination criteria may include any information or parameter values that indicate or could be used to determine that the entire object is thawed.
  • step 560 If the criterion or criteria for termination is not met (step 560: no), it may be determined if variables should be changed and reset in step 580. If not (step 580: no), the process may return to step 550 to continue application of electromagnetic energy. Otherwise (step 580: yes), the process may return to step 520 to determine new variables. For example, after a time duration has lapsed, the object properties may have changed; which may or may not be related to the electromagnetic energy application.
  • Such changes may include temperature change, translation of the object (e.g., if placed on a moving conveyor belt or on a rotating plate), change in shape (e.g., mixing, melting or deformation for any reason) or volume change (e.g., shrinkage or puffing) or water content change (e.g., drying), flow rate, change in phase of matter, chemical modification, etc. Therefore, at times and in response, it may be desirable to change the variables of transmission.
  • the new variables that may be determined may include: a new set of ABCPs, an amount of electromagnetic energy supplied at each of the plurality of ABCPs, and/or weight (e.g., power level and/or time duration at which the energy is supplied at each ABCP).
  • less ABCPs may be swept in step 520 performed during the energy application phase than those swept in step 520 performed before the energy application phase, such that the energy application process is interrupted for a minimum amount of time and/or power.
  • Some methods according to the present invention may include selecting one or more electric adjustable boundary condition parameter (EABC parameter) from a plurality of EABC parameters.
  • EABC parameter electric adjustable boundary condition parameter
  • an adjustable component may be set according to the selected EABC parameter.
  • Some embodiments may include selecting a sub-group from a plurality of adjustable components; and adjusting energy application by controlling the ABC parameters corresponding to the selected sub group.
  • Some methods according to the present invention may include receiving a feedback from the energy application zone, optionally in the presence of an object.
  • the feedback may be similar to the feedback broadly discussed with respect to step 530 of method 500, and may be received in a similar manner, for example using a sweeping over a plurality of ABCPs.
  • Controller 101 or processor 2030 may be configured to select at least one ABCP or a sub-group of ABCP from the plurality of ABCPs according to the received feedback. For example, the controller may select all ABCPs associated with an absorbable energy value higher than a threshold value.
  • the controller may than set one or more of the adjustable component (e.g., component 104) to apply the selected ABCP(s).
  • the controller may cause the application of EM energy at the selected ABCP(s). In some embodiments, application of EM energy is application at non-zero power and for non-zero time duration.
  • the controller may change the selection of the ABC parameter from a first selection to a second selection (e.g., during object processing); and may set the adjustable components according to the second selection.
  • the controller may cause application or EM energy, such that energy is applied according to both the first selection and the second selection.
  • the controller may determine the energy application parameters according to the feedback (e.g., frequencies to be transmitted, phase different to be applied between two radiating element, select radiating elements for transmission, power level etc.). In some embodiments, the controller may further adjust the EM energy application by applying different power levels and/or different time durations (i.e., a weight) to the EM energy applied at each ABCP, optionally based to the feedback received at that ABCP.
  • the feedback e.g., frequencies to be transmitted, phase different to be applied between two radiating element, select radiating elements for transmission, power level etc.
  • the controller may further adjust the EM energy application by applying different power levels and/or different time durations (i.e., a weight) to the EM energy applied at each ABCP, optionally based to the feedback received at that ABCP.
  • a first EABC parameter may be applying X magnetic field (e.g., by applying current to an electromagnetic coil) to all four magnetizable elements and a second EABC parameter may be applying Y magnetic field to two of the magnetizable elements.
  • a feedback e.g., a dissipation ratio, may be received during the energy application associated with the first and the second EABC parameters.
  • the controller/processor may cause the application of a first EM energy amount (i.e., weights) when EM energy is applied during the application of the first EABC parameter and a second EM energy amount (i.e., weights) when EM energy is applied during the application of the second EABC parameter.
  • the first and second EM amounts may be determined based on the value of the DR received at the first and the second EABC parameters.
  • Apparatus 600 may include one or more of the elements included in Fig. l and/or Fig. 4 which are not discussed for ease of discussion.
  • the EM energy application may be controlled by controlling mechanical adjustable elements installed in the apparatus in order to change EM field patterns excited in cavity 610.
  • Cavity 610 may be an example of cavities 10, 20 and/or 200, illustrated in Figs. 1-4 and may include one or more of the elements located in cavities 10, 20 and/or 200.
  • Examples of such mechanical adjustable elements may include rotational shaft 630 to which wing-like elements 640 may be attached, as shown via one example in Fig. 6A. Rotational shafts 630 may also constitute examples of adjustable components 104 or 2022.
  • Cavity 610 may have a closed shape, such as a rectangular shape, or may take any other shape that may support at least one EM field pattern to be excited in the cavity.
  • Cavity 610 may include conductive (e.g., metallic) stationary walls 612. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 6A, all 6 walls of rectangular cavity 610 are conductive and stationary. Cavity 610 may form a resonant cavity.
  • Apparatus 600 may include at least one inner partition 620.
  • Inner partition(s) 620 may be positioned to separate the movable elements (e.g., rotational elements such as rotating shafts 630) installed in the cavity from the location of the object in the energy application zone (e.g., the location in which the object is placed for processing, e.g., heating).
  • the separation provided by partitions 620 may protect the movable elements from contact with the object, may hide the movable element (from a decorative visual perspective), or may provide various other functions.
  • cavity 610 may have more than one inner partition installed therein.
  • the cavity may include two parallel inner planar partitions 620, as illustrated in Fig. 6A.
  • Inner partitions 620 may be in symmetrical or asymmetrical positions with respect to the cavity axis of symmetry (if the cavity has an axis of symmetry).
  • the inner partitions may be planer or curved, they may be orthogonal or non orthogonal to any of walls 612, or may be configured with any shape suitable for a particular application.
  • Inner partition 620 may be constructed from a material transparent to EM energy. For example, glass, ceramic materials, polymers, or other materials that are transparent to EM energy in the RF range that may be used in energy application. In some embodiments, EM energy in the RF range that may be excited in cavity 610 may be unaffected by the presence of partitions 620.
  • Apparatus 600 may further include at least one rotational shaft 630.
  • Rotational shaft 630 may be connected to a motor (not illustrated) configured to deliver rotary motion (to rotate) shaft 630.
  • the motor may include an electrical motor (e.g., a step motor or a servo motor), a hydraulic motor or any other motor capable of rotating a shaft.
  • Rotational movement of shaft 630 may be performed continuously at a controlled angular velocity or in a controlled non- continuous manner, for example by stepping from one rotational angle to another (e.g., in a discrete manner).
  • the motor may be configured to supply different angular velocities to shaft 630.
  • Shaft 630 may further be attached to at least one wing 640.
  • Wing(s) or wing-like element(s) 640 may be constructed from a conductive material, e.g., metal, and may be designed to change the boundary conditions imposed on an EM field excited in the cavity, by for example changing the physical dimensions of the resonant cavity walls. Rotating the wings around shaft 630 may alter (affect) the EM field pattern (e.g., a spatial distribution of the EM field pattern) and may cause changes in location, size, and /or shape of the high and low intensity regions of the excited field pattern. Rotational shaft 630 may be installed behind inner partitions 620, such that an object may be placed in area 615 between two inner partitions 620.
  • the object may be placed in area 615, also in the absence of inner partitions 620.
  • At least one radiating element e.g., 2018, illustrated in Fig. 4
  • radiating element(s) 2018 may be installed in area 615.
  • additional systems may be installed in area 615.
  • a convection heating system, hot air impingement system and/or temperature measurement system may be included in area 615.
  • a plurality of rotational shafts 630 may be provided.
  • the plurality of rotational shafts may be of the same dimension or type (e.g., having the same height, same rod material) or may be of different dimension or type.
  • a plurality of wings or wing-like elements attached to the different rotational shafts may have the same number, size, material etc. or may be different.
  • the plurality of wings attached within a rotational shaft may have the same size, material etc. or may be different.
  • Rotational shaft 630 is represented in more detail in Fig. 6B, in accordance with some embodiments of the invention.
  • shaft 630 may include a central rod 650 designed to rotate in a controllable manner over an angle ⁇ .
  • the angle ⁇ may be controlled in a continuous rotation or controlled non-continuous rotation.
  • Central rod 650 may extend from one cavity wall to the opposite wall (as illustrated) or may be shorter.
  • Central rode 650 may be installed on any one of cavity 610 walls.
  • the angle ⁇ may have any value between 0° to 360° (0 - 2%).
  • the rotation may be performed by a motor (e.g., an electrical motor) controlled by a processor (e.g., processor 2030) to rotate shaft 630 over the angle ⁇ .
  • the angle ⁇ may be one of the ABCPs controlled to alter the boundary conditions imposed on the EM field in cavity 610, thus changing the field pattern in the cavity.
  • the angle ⁇ may be chosen to excite a specific field pattern, for example, a field pattern having high intensity areas coinciding with a location of an object in the cavity. Additionally or alternatively, the angle ⁇ may be chosen according to feedback from the cavity, such as, for example, EM energy absorbable in the object.
  • Central rod 650 may be constructed from a conductive or non conductive material.
  • Wing 640 may be constructed from a conductive or dielectric material and may be pivotally connected to central rod 650 via wing shaft 660.
  • a first wing 640 may comprise a first material (e.g., a dielectric material) and a second wing 640 may comprise a second material (e.g., conductive material).
  • wing 640 may rotate in an angle a between the wing plane and central rod 650.
  • the angle a may have any value between 0° to 180° (0- ⁇ ).
  • the angle a may be predetermined during the installation of shaft 630, determined prior to the EM energy application and/or controlled by the processor before or during the EM energy application.
  • the angle a may be controlled in a continuous rotation or controlled non-continuous rotation. Where the angle a is controlled by the processor, wing shaft 660 may be connected to a motor controlled by the processor.
  • the angle a may be another ABCP and may be used to excite a field pattern according to feedback signals received from the cavity, including, for example, the EM energy absorbable in the object.
  • Other examples of ABCPs that may be predetermined or controlled by the processor include: the number of wings Nj, the angle ai for each wing and/or the number of rotational shafts Mi and their respective rotational angles q>i.
  • the values of the ABC parameters may be arranged in a matrix, which in this case may be a 4 dimensional matrix in the (Mi, (pi, Nj, ai) space.
  • the processor may control the energy application to cavity 610 in accordance with method 500, presented in the flowchart in Fig. 5
  • the rotational shafts may be in the form of a conductive stirrer (e.g., similar to a stirrer used in conventional MW ovens).
  • the stirrer position e.g., its angle or other position with respect to cavity 610 or an object places in cavity 610) and/or the angular velocity of the stirrer may be controlled (e.g., adjusted) in response to a feedback received from the cavity.
  • Apparatus 700 may be an example for apparatuses 100 included in Fig. 1 and Fig 4. Apparatus 700 may include one or more of the elements included in Fig. l and/or Fig. 4 which are not discussed for ease of discussion.
  • the adjustable component includes shutter(s) 730 installed on at least one wall of cavity 710.
  • Cavity 710 may be an example of cavities 10, 20 and/or 200, illustrated in Figs. 1-4 and may include one or more of the elements located in cavities 10, 20 and/or 200.
  • Apparatus 700 may be designed to alter the boundary conditions imposed on an EM field excited in cavity 710 by adjusting the angle of one or more shutter(s) 730.
  • Cavity 710 may constitute an energy application zone.
  • Apparatus 700 may further include at least one shutter 730.
  • Shutter 730 may be constructed from any conductive or dielectric material, for example a metal, designed to interact with and influence an EM field pattern excited in the cavity.
  • Shutter(s) 730 may be installed on at least one wall of cavity 710 via rotational shaft(s) 740.
  • Rotational shaft 740 may be connected to a motor (not illustrated) designed to transfer a rotational movement to shaft 740 and rotate shutter 730 in a controllable angle ⁇ .
  • the motor may be controlled by a processor (e.g., processor 2030) to rotate shutter 730 in any desired angle ⁇ .
  • the angle ⁇ may have any value between 0° to 180° (0- ⁇ ).
  • the angle ⁇ may be one of the MABCPs (mechanical ABC parameters) controlled to alter the boundary conditions imposed on the EM field, thus changing the field pattern in the cavity.
  • More than one shutter e.g., shutter(s) 730 in apparatus 700
  • Shutters may be installed on more than one wall in the cavity.
  • the shutter rotational shaft (e.g., shaft 740) may have different orientations in the cavity.
  • the shafts may be parallel to the cavity floor (shaft 740) or orthogonal to the cavity floor or may be take any other suitable angle.
  • Different shutter rotational shafts installed in a single cavity may have different orientations.
  • Several shutters installed in a single cavity may have substantially the same orientation and may be defined as a sub-group of shutters.
  • the plurality of shutters 730 may be of the same dimension or type (e.g., having the same size, same material) or may be of different dimension or type.
  • the processor may further control the number of active shutters and their respective angles.
  • a shutter is considered activated if the shutter's plane is not parallel to the wall on which the shutter is installed or has angle ⁇ different from 0° or 180° with respect to the plane of the wall.
  • Sutter 730 may also constitute examples of adjustable components 104 or 2022.
  • Processor 2030 may be configured to control all possible MABCPs, including, for example, the number and location of activated shutters, the number and location of shutters in a sub-group and their respective angles.
  • processor 2030 may be configured to control all possible MABCPs based on a feedback from cavity 710, e.g., a feedback detected at each MABCP.
  • the controller is configured to control a controlled continuous movement of the shutter(s).
  • the controller is configured to control a controlled non-continuous movement of the shutter(s).
  • the processor may control the energy application to cavity 710 in accordance with method 500, presented in the flowchart in Fig. 5.
  • the boundary conditions in a cavity may be altered (affected) mechanically, by altering the load loaded into the cavity, for example: by altering the amount of EM that dissipates in other parts of the cavity, rather than the object placed to be processed. That may be achieved by adding at least one pipe to the energy application zone.
  • the pipe may be constructed from an RF transparent material or may include at least one window made from RF transparent material.
  • Different amounts (volumes, flow rates, etc.) of liquids e.g., water, salty water, oil, etc,
  • the introduced liquid may absorb some of the EM energy applied and may change the EM field pattern.
  • more than one pipe may be located in the energy application zone, for example on one or more of the cavities walls.
  • the processor may be configured to control the flow in the pipe, the liquid type to be inserted into the pipe, before and/or during energy application.
  • the processor may be configured to control all possible MABCPs (e.g., flow in each pipe, liquid inserted to each pipe) based on a feedback from the cavity e.g., a feedback detected at each MABCP.
  • Fig. 8A is an illustration of an apparatus 800 in accordance with some embodiments of the invention.
  • Apparatus 800 may be configured to apply EM energy to an object placed in a cavity by controllably altering an EM field pattern(s) excited in the cavity, comprising magnetizable element(s) or other elements comprising electromagnetic (EM) adjustable materials.
  • Apparatus 800 may be an example for apparatuses 100 included in Fig. 1 and Fig 4.
  • Apparatus 800 may include one or more of the elements included in Fig. l and/or Fig. 4.
  • Magnetizable element may be an example for an electromagnetic adjustable component.
  • Apparatus 800 includes cavity 810, which may include any suitable energy application zone ' (e.g., zone 9).
  • Cavity 810 may be an example of cavities 10, 20 and/or 200, illustrated in Figs. 1- 4 and may include one or more of the elements located in cavities 10, 20 and/or 200.
  • Apparatus 800 may further include at least one element 820 installed at a proximity to or embedded within at least one of the walls of cavity 810.
  • Element 820 may be installed at any of the cavity's walls, including, for example, on any of the walls of rectangular cavity 810.
  • Element 820 may include component 830.
  • Component 830 may also include examples of adjustable components 104 or 2022.
  • Component 830 may be constructed from a magnetizable material, including, for example: ferrites, such as pure iron, ferric-oxide, various magnetic substances that consist essentially of ferric oxide alone and/or ferric oxide combined with the oxides of one or more other metals (e.g., the oxides of manganese, nickel, or zinc).
  • Ferrites may include dielectric ferrites, metallic ferrites and combinations thereof.
  • a dielectric ferrite may include non-conductive ferromagnetic ceramic compounds derived from iron oxides such as hematite (Fe203) or magnetite (Fe304) as well as oxides of other metals.
  • a metallic ferrite may include any form of iron, steel, or solid solution with iron as a major constituent, and particularly those with a body centered cubic (BCC) crystal structure.
  • component 830 may be constructed from electromagnetic (EM) adjustable materials for example, non-linear dielectric materials, such as (BaxSrl-x)Ti03.
  • Non linear dielectric materials are defined as materials that have a rate of change of polarization per given change in an electric field. The change depends on the DC voltage that is applied to the dielectric material.
  • a DC voltage applying on a component comprising non-linear dielectrics may affect the way the component reacts with an EM field excited in the energy application (e.g., by having high frequency dielectric constant that depends on the applied DC voltage).
  • element 820 may further include a permanent magnet 840 and an electromagnetic coil (electromagnet) 850.
  • Permanent magnet 840 may have a strong constant magnetic field (e.g. 1200-5000 Oersted) that may magnetize component 830 with a constant amount of magnetic field.
  • Such a configuration may enable magnetization of component 830 through application of magnetic fields from both permanent magnet 840 and selective application of magnetic fields from electromagnetic coil 850.
  • such a configuration may allow for use of a smaller electromagnetic coil 850 to achieve a desired level of magnetization of component 830, as compared to embodiments that do not also include a supplemental permanent magnet (or other source of magnetic field).
  • permanent magnet 840 may be omitted, and electromagnet 850 may be stronger.
  • Electric cable 860 may be connected to coil 850 for supplying electric current to coil 850.
  • the electric current may include a DC current that may induce magnetic fields in a constant direction.
  • the intensity of electric current supplied to electromagnetic coil 850 may determine the magnitude of the magnetic field created by the coil.
  • the magnitude of the magnetic field may influence the ferromagnetic resonance that may develop in component 830 (e.g., magnetized component), thus changing the magnetic permeability of component 830, which, as a result, may influence the boundary conditions imposed on an EM field excited in cavity 810.
  • the intensity of an electric current supplied to electromagnetic coil 850 may control or affect the location of the high intensity maxima of the EM field excited in the cavity, e.g., by imposing different boundary conditions on the excited EM field.
  • the intensity of current supplied to coil 850 may change, thus changing location (in the cavity) of the high intensity areas.
  • the intensity of electric current supply to electromagnetic coil 850 may be one of the EABCPs that affect the EM energy applied to cavity 810.
  • Processor 2030 may control the intensity of current supplied to electromagnetic coil 850.
  • Processor 2030 may determine feedback, e.g., a value indicative of EM energy absorbable in an object located in cavity 810 as a function of the intensity of electric current (I) supplied to electromagnetic coil 850 (e.g., DR vs. I).
  • the application of EM energy at each particular intensity of electric current may be determined based on the value indicative of EM absorbable at that intensity of electric current.
  • the processor may adjust the energy application to cavity 810 by altering the EM field pattern excited in cavity 810 and using at least one electric current intensity from a plurality of the electric current intensities, e.g., based on a value indicative of EM energy absorbable at the at least one electric current intensity. For example, in some embodiments, the processor may monitor the values indicative of EM energy absorbable at various electric current intensity values. Based on this information, the processor may select certain electric current intensities to supply to electromagnetic coil 850. Various criteria for selecting the particular electric current intensities may be used. In some embodiments, however, the particular electric current intensities may correspond to those that are associated with levels of absorbable EM energy greater than a predetermined (i.e., determined beforehand) threshold level. The processor may also cause the supply of EM energy using the selected electric current intensities.
  • a predetermined i.e., determined beforehand
  • the processor may determine the amount of energy (e.g., weight: amplitude, power and/or time) to be applied at any given ABC parameter and energy application parameter.
  • the determination of the amount of energy to be applied may be based on values indicative of energy absorbable in the object, where each value may be measured for a corresponding EABC parameter. An example for such determination is discussed with respect to Fig. 9.
  • any other feedback signals read (or otherwise received) from cavity 810 that correspond to a specific EABCP e.g., a specific intensity of electric current
  • more than one magnetizable element 820 may be installed in cavity 810, as illustrated in Fig. 8B.
  • more than one electromagnetic coil may be installed in each of the magnetizable elements.
  • Each electromagnetic coil may have an independent supply of electricity, thus the magnetization of each magnetizable element may be controlled by applying different or similar current intensities to the different coils.
  • the magnetizable elements may be installed on a single wall or on more than one wall in the cavity.
  • the magnetizable elements may be installed in two opposite walls, as illustrated in Fig. 8B, on perpendicular walls, on all possible walls, or in any other desired combination.
  • the number of the elements 820 on each wall may be the same.
  • each wall may have the same number of elements 820 and some may have different numbers of elements 820, or each wall may include a different number of elements.
  • each of the magnetizable element(s) may be located in similar or identical positions on each respective wall.
  • each wall may include the same number of magnetizable element(s), and on each wall, the magnetizable element(s) may be arranged in an identical pattern and relative location across each of the walls where magnetizable element(s) are present. In other embodiments, only a portion of the magnetizable element(s) may share the same relative locations across the walls where magnetizable element(s) are found. In still other embodiments, the locations of the magnetizable element(s) are all different relative to each of the walls where magnetizable element(s) are found.
  • Each one of elements 820 may be separately controlled by processor 2030.
  • each one of elements 820 may have a separate electric current supply.
  • Processor 2030 may control the EABCPs of apparatus 800, including, for instance, the number of activated magnetizable element(s) 820 and the intensity of current supplied to each activated element.
  • a magnetizable element 820 is considered activated if a magnetic field is applied to the magnetizable element in order to change the magnetic permeability of magnetizable component 830. Changing the magnetic permeability of magnetizable component 830 in this manner enables interaction with the EM field excited in the cavity.
  • the processor may further control the energy application to cavity 810 in accordance with method 500, presented in the flowchart in Fig. 5.
  • Fig 9 is an example of a graph plotting dissipation ratio and corresponding power as a function of an electromagnetic coil current, in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.
  • Fig 9 illustrates an example of a relationship between a value indicative of energy absorbable in the object (e.g., dissipation ratio) and an electric DC current supplied to an electromagnetic coil (e.g., coil 850) installed in a magnetizable element (e.g., element 820).
  • Line 900 illustrates a normalized dissipation ratio (the vertical y-axis presents DR values between 0-1 ) versus the electric current supply to an electromagnetic coil, e.g., coil 850, (x-axis) - DR vs. I.
  • Line 910 illustrates the energy which may be applied, according to a particular embodiment, to the cavity at each current intensity as a function of the dissipation ratio at that particular current amount.
  • lines 900 and 910 are generally inversely related to each other, however, the general methodology of the invention is not limited to any particular relationship between the energy or energy applied and the value indicative of energy absorbable in the object.
  • Fig 10A includes simulated field patterns (intensity maps) excited in a resonant cavity that supports at least one resonant mode at a frequency of 915 MHz.
  • These field patterns illustrate the effect of the magnitude of the magnetic field applied on magnetizable component 830 on the EM field patterns excited in the cavity.
  • the simulated maps are two dimensional presentations of the field intensities at the cavity floor.
  • a field pattern excited in the cavity at 915 MHz was altered using a single magnetizable element located in the center of the back wall of the cavity.
  • magnetic fields of varying magnitude were applied. Different magnetic fields may be created by, for example, applying different current intensities to different electromagnetic coils.
  • the high intensity areas are shown with white, medium intensity areas are shown in light grey and low intensity areas are shown in black.
  • the various simulated field patterns shown in Fig. 10A represent the results of different magnitudes of magnetic fields applied on the single magnetizable element.
  • the different EABCPs i.e., the different magnetic field magnitudes used in the simulation, may be, in practice, a function of different currents (at different intensity level) applied to the electromagnetic coil (e.g., coil 850).
  • Simulated field intensity distributions 1010, 1020, 1030, 1040, 1050 and 1060 correspond to magnetic fields induced by the coil on the magnetizable element in amounts of: 330, 323, 327, 317.43, 304.9 and 329.3 Oersted, respectively.
  • the simulation results show that the locations of high intensity areas (light grey/white) change position when the magnetic field changes.
  • the simulations presented in Fig. 10A demonstrate the ability to apply energy in a controllable manner to different locations in the energy application zone using a magnetizable element as an adjustable component.
  • the simulations presented in Fig. 10A also demonstrate the ability to apply different field pattern when working with a power source of a single frequency (e.g., magnetron).
  • FIG. 10B illustrates how the number and location of magnetizable elements 820 may influence the shape of the field patterns that may be excited in the cavity.
  • the magnetizable elements were simulated on the back wall of the cavity in two parallel rows (5 elements in each row).
  • different magnetizable elements were "activated" (i.e., simulated to be magnetized) by a magnetic field of 317.43 Oersted, and the others were not activated (i.e., not magnetized in the simulation).
  • Fig. 10B illustrates how the number and location of magnetizable elements 820 may influence the shape of the field patterns that may be excited in the cavity.
  • the magnetizable elements were simulated on the back wall of the cavity in two parallel rows (5 elements in each row).
  • different magnetizable elements were "activated" (i.e., simulated to be magnetized) by a magnetic field of 317.43 Oersted, and the others were not activated (i.e., not magnetized in the simulation).
  • FIG. 10B shows, above each result, the number and location of magnetizable elements that were activated in the corresponding simulation. Activated elements are shown as dark circles, and non-activated elements are represented as light grey circles. Each field pattern was excited using different ABCPs, i.e., different number of elements at different locations. In map 1070, all 10 elements in both rows were activated. In map 1075, 5 elements in the upper row were activated. In map 1080, only one element installed in the left upper side was activated, and in map 1085, the two middle elements in both rows were activated. The results presented in Fig 10B show that, locations of high intensity areas may be a function of the number and location of the activated elements.
  • both the number of activated magnetizable elements and their corresponding magnitude of magnetic fields may be controllable and changed by the processor.
  • the number of activated magnetizable elements and their corresponding intensity of currents supplied to each of the coils in the activated electromagnets may be considered as EABC parameters, that may control (or affect) the field pattern excited in the energy application zone.
  • the processor may select which of the installed elements to activate and what magnitude of magnetic field to apply to this particular element during energy application. In some embodiments, the processor may change this selection, for example, in response to feedback from the energy application zone.
  • the processor may selectively activate specific elements in order to excite a particular field pattern in the cavity.
  • the field patterns excited at each EABC parameter e.g., any combination of selected elements and their corresponding electric currents
  • the field patterns excited at each EABC parameter may be determined by simulations similar to the ones presented in Figs. 10A and 10B, by direct measurements of feedback signals received from the cavity, or by any other way that allows prediction or determinations of the field patterns.
  • Fig. 1 1 illustrates an apparatus 1 100 for applying EM energy to an object placed in cavity 1 1 10, and for controlling the EM field patterns excited in cavity 11 10, in accordance with some embodiments of the invention.
  • Apparatus 1100 may be an example for apparatuses 100 included in Fig. 1 and Fig 4.
  • Apparatus 1 100 may include one or more of the elements included in Fig.l and/or Fig. 4.
  • the EM field patterns may be controlled by adjusting at least one conductive element 1 120.
  • Conductive elements 1 120 may be an example for an electromagnetic adjustable component.
  • Apparatus 1 100 may include cavity 1 1 10, which may include any energy application zone that may support at least one EM field pattern to be excited in the cavity.
  • Cavity 810 may be an example of cavities 10, 20 and/or 200, illustrated in Figs. 1-4 and may include one or more of the elements located in cavities 10, 20 and/or 200.
  • Cavity 1 1 10 may include conductive walls, for example metallic walls, and may further form a resonant cavity.
  • Apparatus 1000 may include one or more conductive elements 1 120 (i.e. adjustable components). Five conductive elements are shown in Fig. 1 1, but any other number of elements may also be used. The conductive elements illustrated in Fig.
  • Each of conductive elements 1 120 may have two states: shorted, in which the element is electrically connected to the cavity walls; and parasitic, in which the element is electrically insulated from the cavity walls (floating state).
  • the states may differ from one to the other in the potential of the conductive element. In shorted state, the potential of the conductive element may be zero, and in the parasitic it may have a potential due to the EM field excited in the cavity.
  • the potential of the conductive element may be altered additionally by applying changing impedance, for example by connecting a PIN diode to the conductive element.
  • the PIN P-type semiconductor, Insulator, N-type semiconductor
  • the conductive element may act as a passive antenna, and the conductive state may have additional changing parameter, the amount of the impedance that is loaded into the element.
  • the magnitude of the potential of each element may be proportional or influenced by the magnitude of the EM field excited.
  • Element 1 120 may include any conductive material, for example metals and alloys.
  • the conductive elements are illustrated, in a way of example, as being connected to the floor and/or the ceiling of cavity 1 1 10 however each of the conductive element(s) may be located on any one of cavity 11 10 walls.
  • Conductive elements 1120 may be of the same dimension or type (e.g., having the same height, diameter, material) or may be of different dimension or type.
  • Apparatus 1100 may include at least one inner partition 1 130.
  • more than one inner partition may be installed in the cavity, including, for example, the two parallel partitions 1 130 illustrated in Fig. 1 1.
  • the inner partition(s) may be positioned at similar distances from a center of the cavity.
  • Inner partitions 1130 may be placed in a symmetrical or asymmetrical manner with respect to the cavity's axes of symmetry (if the cavity has symmetrical axes). These partitions may be planar or curved, and they may be placed orthogonally or non-orthogonally to any of one of the walls of cavity 1 1 10, or in any other suitable position and/or inclination.
  • Inner partition 1 130 may be constructed from a material transparent to EM energy.
  • inner partition 1 130 may be made from ceramic materials, glass, or polymers that are transparent to EM energy in the RF range. EM energy in the RF range that may be excited in cavity 1 1 10 may be uninfluenced by the presence of inner partition 1 130.
  • Conductive elements 1 120 may be installed in cavity 1 1 10 behind inner partitions 1 130. For example, as illustrated in Fig. 1 1, three elements are illustrated on the right hand side and two elements are illustrated on the left hand side. The object may be placed in space 1140 defined by walls of cavity 1 1 10 and the partitions 1 130.
  • a processor e.g., processor 2030
  • the states of elements 1 120 and/or the number of element(s) 1120 may influence the field pattern excited the cavity.
  • the EABC parameters may be the number and position of the shorted elements.
  • the EABC may further include the impedance loaded to the element in the shorted state.
  • Figs. 12A-12C represent the affect that the states of elements 1 120 may have on the field patterns that may be excited in the cavity, in accordance with some embodiments of the invention.
  • Figs. 12A - 12C present simulated field pattern intensity maps shown from a top view.
  • the field pattern intensity maps of Figs. 12A-12C represent simulations for an empty resonant cavity operating at a single frequency.
  • the resonant cavity used in the simulations had a rectangular structure with curved side walls, and the results are shown for a central portion, which may be defined, for example, by partitions 1130, shown in Fig. 11.
  • the results shown in Fig. 12A were obtained without adjustable components.
  • applying different ABCPs which in this case may be setting the conductive elements in different states, may allow for control of the energy application into the cavity.
  • controlling the state of the conductive elements may allow control of energy application to desired spatial locations in the cavity.
  • a processor may be configured to control the application (delivery) of EM energy to the cavity by controlling the transmission of at least two different frequencies at a plurality of EABCPs, for example, by transmitting each frequency when the elements are set to a certain combination of shorted and parasitic states, to excite a desired field pattern.
  • the processor may further be configured to determine a value indicative of EM energy absorbable in an object placed in the cavity at each combination of frequency and states (i.e., states of the conductive elements) and adjust the EM energy application at each combination as a function of the determined value.
  • processor 2030 and/or controller 101 may control the EM energy application, by adjusting the frequency at which energy is applied from the RF source (e.g., by selecting at least one frequency from a plurality of frequencies) and/or the power applied at each frequency (or the transmission time duration) in addition to adjusting at least one ABCP (e.g., EABC or MABC parameters). If two or more radiating elements are included in the apparatus, the controller may further control a phase difference between a simultaneous excitation of two EM waves from at least one pair of the two or more radiating elements, in addition to controlling the ABCP, the frequency and the power and/or transmission time duration.
  • ABCP e.g., EABC or MABC parameters
  • the invention in its broadest sense, is not limited to any particular type of adjustable component or to the assembly of only one type of component in the energy application zone. It is to be noted that any number and any combination of components may be installed in the energy application zone according to the requirements of a particular application. For example, several magnetizable elements may be installed on one wall(s) in a cavity and several shutters may be installed on another wall in the same cavity, or on the same wall in the same cavity.
  • the Adjustable Boundary Conditions may include all adjustable parameters of both component types, for example an ABCP may include: the number of activated shutters and their corresponding angles and the number of activated magnetizable elements and their corresponding currents.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Electromagnetism (AREA)
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Abstract

Les modes de réalisation de la présente invention concernent un appareil et un procédé d'application d'énergie électromagnétique, par l'intermédiaire d'un ou plusieurs éléments rayonnants, à une zone d'application d'énergie ayant des parois statiques et contenant un ou plusieurs composants électriques ou électromagnétiques ajustables. L'appareil peut comporter un processeur configuré pour : sélectionner un paramètre de condition aux limites électrique ajustable (paramètre EABC) à partir d'une pluralité de paramètres EABC et régler au moins un des composants ajustables en fonction du paramètre EABC sélectionné. Le processeur peut également être configuré pour provoquer l'application d'énergie électromagnétique par l'intermédiaire d'au moins un des éléments rayonnants. En option, le processeur peut également être configuré pour recevoir un retour d'informations de la zone d'application d'énergie ; et sélectionner le paramètre EABC en fonction du retour d'informations.
PCT/IB2012/002006 2011-08-09 2012-08-08 Contrôle des conditions aux limites imposées aux champs électromagnétiques WO2013021285A1 (fr)

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WO2018235161A1 (fr) * 2017-06-20 2018-12-27 三菱電機株式会社 Dispositif de chauffage par micro-ondes
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US10426000B2 (en) 2016-06-13 2019-09-24 The Markov Corporation Electronic oven with reflective energy steering
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WO2014188422A3 (fr) * 2013-05-21 2015-02-26 Goji Limited Etalonnage d'un système de traitement rf
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DE102015214414B4 (de) * 2015-07-29 2020-10-22 Berthold Technologies Gmbh & Co. Kg Verfahren und System zur Ermittlung biologischer Eigenschaften von Proben
US10426000B2 (en) 2016-06-13 2019-09-24 The Markov Corporation Electronic oven with reflective energy steering
US10863593B2 (en) 2016-06-13 2020-12-08 Markov Llc Electronic oven with reflective energy steering
WO2018235161A1 (fr) * 2017-06-20 2018-12-27 三菱電機株式会社 Dispositif de chauffage par micro-ondes
WO2019143399A1 (fr) * 2018-01-22 2019-07-25 The Markov Corporation Surveillance d'absorption d'énergie pour un four électronique intelligent à direction d'énergie
US10980088B2 (en) 2018-01-22 2021-04-13 Markov Llc Energy absorption monitoring for an intelligent electronic oven with energy steering

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