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KR-20260065568-A - Food treatment apparatus

KR20260065568AKR 20260065568 AKR20260065568 AKR 20260065568AKR-20260065568-A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a food processing apparatus comprising: a controller; a processing chamber in which food is contained; a laser unit comprising a laser oscillator having a laser diode that generates and oscillates a laser beam having a near-infrared wavelength, and a laser nozzle that irradiates the laser beam onto the food placed in the processing chamber to process the food; and an analysis module comprising a temperature and humidity sensor that senses the internal humidity and internal temperature of the processing chamber, a camera that photographs the food, and an analysis module that analyzes the processing steps of the food, wherein the controller adjusts parameters of the laser beam, including at least one of the duty ratio, pulse width, and amplitude of the laser beam, for each processing step of the food.

Inventors

  • 김인호
  • 배성호

Assignees

  • 주식회사 지스
  • 배성호

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20251030
Priority Date
20241030

Claims (7)

  1. Controller; A processing chamber containing food inside; A laser unit comprising a laser oscillator having a laser diode that generates and oscillates a laser beam having a near-infrared wavelength, and a laser nozzle that irradiates the laser beam onto the food placed in the processing chamber to process the food; and The apparatus includes a temperature and humidity sensor for sensing the internal humidity and internal temperature of the processing chamber, a camera for photographing the food, and an analysis module for analyzing the processing steps of the food. A food processing device wherein the controller controls parameters of the laser beam, including at least one of the duty ratio, pulse width, and amplitude of the laser beam, for each processing step of the food.
  2. In paragraph 1, A food processing device in which the controller sets the duty ratio, pulse width, and amplitude of the oscillation pulse signal for generating the laser beam differently for each food processing step, and inputs the oscillation pulse signal to the laser oscillator.
  3. In paragraph 1, A food processing device in which the controller synthesizes an analog modulation signal for determining the amplitude of an oscillation pulse signal for generating the laser beam and a trigger pulse signal for determining the input interval of the oscillation pulse signal with the oscillation pulse signal and inputs them to the laser oscillator.
  4. In paragraph 3, A food processing device, wherein the controller sets the amplitude of the analog modulation signal such that the amplitude of the analog modulation signal rises or falls at a predetermined slope when the food processing step changes, and sets the duty ratio and pulse width of the trigger pulse signal differently for each food processing step.
  5. In paragraph 1, A food processing device in which the controller inputs an analog signal set to have an amplitude adjusted in a stepwise manner for each food processing step, by synthesizing it with an oscillation pulse signal for generating the laser beam to the laser oscillator.
  6. In paragraph 1, The above laser nozzle is, A food processing apparatus having a forming optical system that forms a laser beam generated from the above laser oscillator from a Gaussian shape into the above flat top shape, and a laser nozzle that irradiates the above flat top shaped laser beam onto the food.
  7. In paragraph 6, A food processing device having the above laser nozzle further comprising a diffusion optical system that diffuses the laser beam passing through the above forming optical system to have an area corresponding to the entire area of the food.

Description

Food treatment apparatus The present invention relates to a food processing device. Various food processing devices are used to heat food and process it into a predetermined form, such as grain drying devices, coffee bean roasting devices, and baking devices. Conventional food processing devices for heating and processing food are configured to heat food primarily by using direct flame, hot air, near-infrared lamps, etc., as heat sources. These conventional food processing devices had problems such as difficulty in heating food uniformly, low thermal efficiency, and low maximum heating temperature, which resulted in long processing times and caused air pollution due to high energy consumption. In addition, conventional food processing devices had the problem that it was difficult to precisely control the energy applied to the food according to the processing state or processing stage of the food, which resulted in a decrease in the quality of the food. FIG. 1 is a front view of a food processing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a partial cross-sectional view to explain the internal structure of the food processing device shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a diagram showing the food processing aspect of the food processing device illustrated in Figure 1. Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic structure of the analysis module. Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating a method for adjusting the energy level of a laser beam according to a food processing step. Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating a laser beam having a Gaussian beam profile. Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating a laser beam having a flat-top beam profile. Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating the process of a laser beam being shaped and diffused by the optical system of a laser nozzle. Figure 9 is a diagram showing the aspect of a laser beam being irradiated onto food in a shaped and diffused state by the optical system of a laser nozzle. Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to exemplary drawings. It should be noted that in assigning reference numerals to the components of each drawing, the same components are given the same reference numeral whenever possible, even if they are shown in different drawings. Furthermore, in describing the embodiments of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of related known components or functions would hinder understanding of the embodiments of the present invention, such detailed description is omitted. In describing the components of the embodiments of the present invention, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), etc., may be used. These terms are intended merely to distinguish the components from other components, and the essence, order, or sequence of the components is not limited by the terms. Furthermore, unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology, and should not be interpreted in an ideal or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined in this application. FIG. 1 is a front view of a food processing device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view for explaining the internal structure of the food processing device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a drawing showing the food processing aspect of the food processing device shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a food processing device (1) according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention may include a controller (not shown), a housing (10), a laser unit (20), a blower fan (30), a cross jet (40), an analysis module (50), etc. First, the controller is a device for controlling various components included in the food processing device (1). Since this controller has the same configuration as a conventional controller, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. Next, the housing (10) is a device that provides a processing space for processing food (F0) and an installation space for various components included in the food processing device (1). The structure of the housing (10) is not particularly limited. For example, the housing (10) may be equipped with a processing chamber (11) providing a processing space for processing food (F0), a machine room (12) providing a space for installing various components included in the food processing device (1), a first door (13) for opening and closing the processing chamber (11), a second door (14) for opening and closing the machine room (12), and a tray (15) installed in the processing chamber (11) to allow food (F0) to be placed for processing using a laser beam (LB).