Three-dimensional printer coupled with microwave and printing method applied for food design

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11116247-B2
Application number	US-202017114943-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 8, 2020
Priority date	Jan 30, 2019
Publication date	Sep 14, 2021
Grant date	Sep 14, 2021

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a three-dimensional printer coupled with microwave and a printing method applied for food design. A microwave heating probe embedded in the inner wall of a barrel releases microwaves at the front end, and in combination with the setting of a vertical distance between the front end of the microwave heating probe and an extrusion nozzle, the effect of instant curing of an extruded material is realized. A cooling device is disposed so as to ensure that a material to be printed in the barrel is not cured by microwave heating before the material to be printed enters the extrusion nozzle.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A food microwave three-dimensional printer, comprising a microwave heating unit, an extrusion unit, and a control unit, wherein the microwave heating unit comprises a microwave solid-state source and a microwave heating probe; the extrusion unit comprises a barrel, a barrel wall of the barrel is of a partial hollow structure, and the microwave heating probe is positioned in the hollow structure of the barrel wall;
the microwave heating probe comprises a microwave transmission line, a cooling device, a stainless steel tube and an insulator, wherein the stainless steel tube is disposed in the hollow structure of the barrel wall, the microwave transmission line and the cooling device are disposed in the stainless steel tube, and the insulator is positioned at the terminal of the microwave heating probe and seals the stainless steel tube;
the barrel is provided with an extrusion nozzle, a port of the extrusion nozzle is provided with a non-absorbing material, and the size of the non-absorbing material, that is, a vertical distanced between a front end of the microwave heating probe and the extrusion nozzle, wherein the vertical distanced is determined according to the microwave reflection loss R(dB) of a material to be printed based on the following formulas:

R
⁡

(

d
⁢
B

)

=

-
2

⁢
0

|

z

i
⁢
n

-
1

z

i
⁢
n

+
1

|

,

⁢
and

z

i
⁢
n

=

μ
0

⁢
μ

ɛ
0

⁢
ɛ

⁢

⁢
tan
⁢

⁢
hi
⁢

ω
c

⁢

ɛ
0

⁢

μ
0

⁢
ɛ
⁢
μ
⁢
d

,

wherein when the absorption peak of a reflection loss R(dB) curve of the material is the smallest, the corresponding material thickness value is the value of d; z in is input impedance of the material to be printed; c is vacuum light velocity, and c=3×10 8 m/s; ω=2πf, f is microwave frequency, μ 0 is magnetic conductivity in a free space with the value of 4π×10 −7 H/m; μ is magnetic conductivity of the material to be printed; ε 0 is the dielectric constant in the free space with the value of 8.854×10 −12 F/m; and ε is the dielectric constant of the material.

2. The printer according to claim 1 , wherein the non-absorbing material comprises: polytetrafluoroethylene, glass, ceramics, PFA, quartz, PEEK, polysulfone, polyether sulfone, PPS, polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polycarbonate (PC) and glass fiber.

3. The printer according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling device comprises a water inlet, a water outlet, a water inlet tube, a water outlet tube and a water inlet and outlet tee; one end of the microwave transmission line is connected with a microwave generation device through an adapter, and the other end of the microwave transmission line is connected into the insulator.

4. The printer according to claim 3 , wherein the water inlet of the cooling device is connected with a coolant container through a peristaltic pump, and a coolant is pumped into the water inlet through the peristaltic pump, enters a gap formed by the stainless steel tube, the microwave transmission line and the insulator through the water inlet tube, and then flows back to the coolant container through the water outlet.

5. The printer according to claim 4 , wherein a pump head of the peristaltic pump is a detachable pump head.

6. The printer according to claim 5 , wherein the printer further comprises a printing platform, the microwave generation device, and the microwave generation device comprises a cooling fan and a microwave solid-state oscillator; and
wherein the printer further comprises an anti-leakage unit that comprises a bell mouth at a front end of the barrel, a microwave absorption coating on the printing platform, and a choke groove in the front end of the barrel.

7. The printer according to claim 1 , wherein the printer is configured to print flowing gelatinous food.

8. The printer according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a printing platform, and
an anti-leakage unit that comprises a bell mouth at a front end of the barrel, a microwave absorption coating on the printing platform, and a choke groove in the front end of the barrel.

9. The printer according to claim 1 , wherein the food three-dimensional printer further comprises a bottom case, and a microwave generation device is positioned in the bottom case.

10. A method of using a food three-dimensional printer, the printer including a microwave heating unit, an extrusion unit, and a control unit, wherein the microwave heating unit comprises a microwave solid-state source and a microwave heating probe; the extrusion unit comprises a barrel, a barrel wall of the barrel is of a partial hollow structure, and the microwave heating probe is positioned in the hollow structure

Assignees

• Univ Jiangnan

Inventors

• Fan Daming
• Zhao Zilong
• Jin Liming
• Yan Bowen
• Zhang Hao
• Gao Wenhua
• Cao Hongwei
• Yang Huayu
• Zhao Jianxin
• Chen Wei

Classifications

• A23P20/20 Primary

  Making of laminated, multi-layered, stuffed or hollow foodstuffs, e.g. by wrapping in preformed edible dough sheets or in edible food containers · CPC title

• A23V2002/00

  Food compositions, function of food ingredients or processes for food or foodstuffs · CPC title

• B33Y30/00

  Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor · CPC title

• A23P30/00

  Shaping or working of foodstuffs characterised by the process or apparatus (A23P10/00, A23P20/00 take precedence) · CPC title

• B33Y10/00

  Processes of additive manufacturing · CPC title