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Abstract

A solid state radio frequency (RF) generator for dielectric heating of food products. In the preferred embodiment, a distributed oscillator comprising an array of solid state devices (e.g., MOSFETs) and a high voltage inductor drives a capacitor to produce an intense alternating electric field. Dielectric materials moving through the field, preferably food products in a glass pipe, are substantially instantaneously, preferentially, and uniformly heated by the field. Operators of the heater may observe the process, and may incorporate a number of heating stages into a food processing system having an easily controllable temperature profile. The use of a large number of individual low-cost low-power devices increases the reliability and ease of maintenance of the generator. Each coil turn of the inductor is shunted by a tuning capacitor to evenly distribute the load across all inductor coil turns. Each coil turn is driven by a pair of push-pull series device chains, with each device synchronously driven by individual gate transformers also connected to the coil turn, and with each device shunted by a balancing capacitor to evenly distribute the load across the devices in the chain.

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First Claim