a continuous conveyor belt 2 is led through the treatment chamber 1 and guided around the rollers 3 and 4 . a drive 5 for the belts is connected to the guide roller 4 , and by line 13 to a computer 12 . opening into the treatment chamber are upper microwave input channels 6 and lower microwave input channels 7 , to which respective upper generators 8 and lower generators 9 are connected for generating microwave energy . the upper generators 8 are connected via the lines 10 and the lower generators 9 are connected via the lines 11 to the computer 12 . for the purpose of registering the exact positions of the container 17 on the conveyor belt 2 , a reflection light barrier 15 is provided which is connected via the line 16 to the computer 12 . the barrier 15 is connected to a generally known motion pickup 26 also connected to the computer . the position of the package 17a on the conveyor belt 2 , in particular the beginning 17b and the end 17c , is recorded by the registering device 15 and transmitted to the computer 12 . the motion pickup 26 of the registering device converts the belt movement into electrical pulses , which can be dimensioned such that , for example , one pulse is transmitted to the computer per millimeter of belt movement . with this resolution , the switching points for switching - on and switching - off the microwave energy can be defined precisely to the millimeter with respect to the container length and the aperture center 18 of each input channel . in the course of the exact registration of the beginning 17b and of the end 17c , the computer 12 calculates the switch - on and switch - off points 23 and 24 ( see fig2 ) of the microwave energy in relation to the container position on the belt . when the package 17a , for example , travels under the aperture center 18 of the input channel 6 , the computer 12 switches the microwave energy on . the microwave input is switched on based on the calculation of the path travelled by the package 17 with the conveyor belt 2 to place the food components under the aperture center 18 of the input channel 6 . when the switch - off point 24 passes under the aperture center 18 , the microwave output from channel 6 is switched off by the computer 12 . the operation described is carried out without any need to sense the beginning 17b or end 17c of the package in the chamber 1 . the computer calculates in each case the exact time of the beginning and the ending of the microwave output for each individual channel 6 , 7 for each individual package and for each individual product component in the package , solely on the basis of the registration of the position of the package 17 on the conveyor belt 2 before entry into the treatment chamber . the immovable arrangement of the input channels 6 and the distances between them are likewise taken into account by the computer 12 , as well as the speed of the conveyor passing through the treatment chamber 1 . in accordance with the invention , the temperature of the individual product components in the packages may be measured by temperature sensors , for example , infrared sensors 29 and 30 ( fig2 ). the infrared sensors 29 , which are not shown in fig1 are arranged in each case before each lower and upper microwave input channel 7 , 6 . if appropriate , sensors 30 may also be arranged after the input channels in order to measure the temperature again after microwave treatments , so as to have this information available for control purposes . fig3 shows a microwave energy profile which is drawn under and synchronized with fig2 and which indicates the temperature of the respective components or portions of the products in each package . in the package 17 shown in fig2 the food product comprises a potato portion 35 , a meat portion 36 and a vegetable portion 37 . during the first temperature measurement of the three portions , the values shown at the left in fig3 exactly below the portions shown in fig2 were obtained : ______________________________________ vegetables 37 30 ° c . meat 36 60 ° c . potatoes 35 43 ° c . ______________________________________ on the basis of these values recorded by a temperature sensor , the computer calculates the energy level for the input channel following the sensor in the working direction for controlling the output energy of the generator connected to the input channel . are transmitted by the temperature sensor to the computer 12 and are first offset against the required output temperature ( t = 80 ° c .) to obtain the temperature difference . the resulting δt signal ( 80 ° c .- 30 ° c . for vegetables ) is subjected to a further arithmetic operation which calculates the parameters specific to this vegetable , such as portion weight , density , and dielectric values , for determining the microwave energy level required for this vegetable portion , and transmits this information to the generator controller . the microwave energy level required is specified as a percentage of the installed generator power δ % p ( correction factor in percent of 1 . 2 kw ). this then yields for the potatoes for = δt 1 a power p 1 of 60 % of 1 . 2 kw generator power , the meat for a δt 2 a power p 2 of 100 % of 1 . 2 kw generator power , the vegetables for a δt 3 a power p 3 of 50 % of 1 . 2 kw generator power . represented in the middle part in fig3 is the temperature increase which results after the microwave input caused by the next energy input point at the microwave input channels 6 and / or 7 . in fig4 the δt 1 to δt 3 values are stated as converted percentages of the generator power , required to reach the final treatment temperature . the next temperature recording is carried out in an analogous manner to the above described measurement operation by a temperature sensor which is arranged in front of the following input channel at a given distance , taken into account by the computer . the energy required to be inputted after the first temperature adjustment phase is significantly lower , reference being made to the middle graph of fig3 . the final temperature of the potato portion 35 has already been reached . it is only necessary now to increase the temperature of the meat portion 36 ( to a limited extent ) and the vegetable portion ( to a greater extent ). by means of additional microwave energy , which takes into account the product - specific data ( weight , density , dielectric values ) ( δp 1 to δp 3 ), the final temperature is reached . in this case , δp 3 is zero percent , δp 2 is 10 and δp 1 is also 10 percent ( kw percentage of the generator power ). by means of a renewed temperature measurement and calculation of the supplementary δt value by the computer , as well as a corresponding control of the generator power , the final temperature is then maintained in each case . the final temperature may be reached in numerous single steps by inputting a respective partial energy output , or also in a few steps . the reaching of the temperature can be made dependent on the respective product or on the product composition in the individual packages or open containers . since δt of the individual products varies greatly , it is advantageous to carry out the temperature measurement after the package has passed a microwave input channel in the direction of travel , so that the computer can incorporate these values when calculating the necessary energy level input . there was placed into the food package made of a deep - drawn and sealed plastics foil a preprepared dish made of potatoes , meat and vegetables , which was to be subjected to a pasteurizing operation in order to destroy bacteria to prolong the time the product remains fit for consumption or storage . ______________________________________potatoes 43 ° c ., piece of meat 60 ° c ., vegetable portion 30 ° c ., ______________________________________ these temperatures were recorded by the sensor 29 preceding the input channel 6 shown at the left in fig2 . when passing under the input channel 6 following the sensor an energy input is carried out of 40 % for the potato portion δ 1 p 1 , of 90 % for the meat portion δ 1 p 2 , and of 50 % for the vegetable portion δ 1 p 3 . at the temperature measurement by the next temperature sensor 29 in the direction of travel , the temperature increases for the various portions were as follows : ______________________________________potato portion from 43 ° c . to 78 ° c ., meat portion from 60 ° c . to 75 ° c ., andvegetable portion from 30 ° c . to 80 ° c . ______________________________________ on the basis of these newly measured values , the following amounts were calculated by the computer to be coupled into the product components at the following input channel 6 : ______________________________________potato portion + 20 % ( generator power ), ( δ . sub . 2 p ) meat and gravy portion + 10 % ( generator power ), ( δ . sub . 2 p . sub . 3 ) vegetable portion + 0 % ( generator power ), ( δ . sub . 2 p . sub . 1 )( desired vegetable temperature has alreadybeen reached ). ______________________________________ the next temperature measurement confirmed that all three product components had been brought to almost exactly the same pasteurization temperature without the product in the package suffering any damage , or the package bursting as a result of too high a temperature . the energy amount used was also lower overall . in this manner , the δp values , which take account of the product - specific data , can be automatically recorded and processed in the operation ( closed - loop control system ). if operation is without the second infrared probe 30 , the factors which determine the δp must be established by means of individual measurements and manually entered in the computer for further processing . the input channels 6 , 7 are preferably adjustable toward and away from the surface of the products , with the preferred position of adjustment being such that the microwave output opening of each channel is dimensioned so as to be equal to or less than one wavelength of the microwave energy employed , for example 120 mm at 2450 mhz .
a method and apparatus for even and rapid heating , pasteurization or sterilization of products contained in a package , such as , for example , pharmaceutical products or food , which are conveyed through a microwave treatment chamber on a continuous conveyor belt . in order to heat components of the products having different heat absorption for the purpose of reaching the pasteurization temperature rapidly and evenly , the temperature of the components is recorded by a temperature sensor , and on the basis of this the computer calculates the respective δt , taking into account given product parameters and the desired temperature to be reached . when the product passes under the following input aperture , a given microwave energy level is coupled into each specific component , as a result of which an even temperature of all products in the package is achieved very rapidly without overheating of the product .