In vending machines that dispense food and other products, it is known to have machines that dispense stored food and other products. In this invention, selected prepackaged foods can be stored in the frozen or cold state and then prior to dispensing to the end-user, it is thawed or warmed by an internal heating process to serving temperature for customer consumption. The machine is segmentally divided both horizontally, to separate the operating machinery from food storage for hygienic and servicing reasons, and vertically, to create interchanging of the size of the modular product dispensing outlet elevator columns for adaptability to the dimensions of the stored product. Included in the design is an internal storage compartment with a mechanism that dispenses prepacked condiments that are coordinated to the selected product. This design of a vending machine may include an audiovisual screen for advertisement along with another section that identifies the available product with its calorie content. The top of the machine may have display signage that can be internally lit with color changing lights. Provisions for unattended dispensing to persons with disabilities are included by virtue of voice activated and guidance features, and illuminated and tactile surfaces.

A cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention may comprise: a case in which a cooking chamber is formed; a door for opening or closing the front opening of the case; a steam generating device mounted to the outer surface of the case; and a steam supply tube for connecting the steam generating device to the cooking chamber, wherein the steam generating device includes: a housing fixed to the case; a drawer which can be pushed into and pulled out of the housing and is filled with water for steam generation; and an induction unit installed at the bottom of the housing so as to heat water filled in the drawer by using electromagnetic induction.

A microwave heating method using a microwave, including: controlling a frequency of the microwave, to form a single-mode standing wave; disposing an object to be heated in a magnetic field region where a strength of a magnetic field formed by the single-mode standing wave is uniform and maximum; and heating the object to be heated by magnetic heat generation by magnetic loss caused by an action of the magnetic field of the magnetic field region, and/or induction heating by an induced current generated in the object to be heated due to the magnetic field of the magnetic field region.

The cooking appliance has a casing having an open front, a cooking space formed therein and an opening part formed at one side thereof, a microwave generator for generating and directing a microwave toward the cooking space; an induction coil facing the opening part, the cooking part being arranged outside the space; and a shielding plate arranged between the induction coil and the opening part. The shielding plate includes an insulator; a first pattern, which is formed on one surface of the insulator and faces the opening part, and a second pattern, which is formed on the other surface of the insulator and is perpendicular to the first pattern. The first pattern has a slit formed in a region facing the opening part.

Embodiments disclosed herein include methods and systems for melting or augmenting a melt rate of material in a melter using electromagnetic radiation with a frequency between 0.9 GHz and 10 GHz. In some examples, a power and/or frequency of radiation used may be selected so as to control a temperature of a cold cap in the melter while maintaining emissions from the melter below a threshold level. In this manner, examples described herein may provide for efficient and safe melting and vitrification of radioactive wastes.

The present disclosure comprises a housing that defines a cavity therein, a door connected to the housing and configured to open and close the cavity, a microwave (MW) heating module configured to emit microwaves into the cavity, and an induction heating (IH) module configured to emit a magnetic field toward the cavity, the IH module comprises a shielding member through which the magnetic field generated by a working coil of the IH module passes and which blocks microwaves emitted from the MW heating module, and the shielding member comprises any one of carbon paper or carbon fabric woven with carbon fiber.

A cooking appliance can include a housing including a cavity; a door connected to the housing and configured to open and close the cavity; a radio frequency (RF) generator configured to generate RF power for generating electric fields in the cavity; an RF matcher configured to match an impedance of the RF power with a load of the cavity. Also, the cooking appliance can further include a working coil configured to emit magnetic fields toward the cavity.

The present invention relates to a telescopic slide with at least one first slide element and a second slide element, wherein the slide elements each have two running surfaces, wherein rolling bodies accommodated in a rolling-body cage are arranged on the running surfaces of the first slide element and rolling bodies accommodated in a rolling-body cage are arranged on the two running surfaces of the second slide element, and wherein the slide elements can be moved along against each other between a retracted position and an extended position. It is proposed according to the invention to design such a telescopic slide for use in a microwave oven such that the slide elements each have at least one electrically conductive contact element, wherein the contact elements are designed and arranged on the slide elements in such a way that in the retracted position either the contact elements are directly in engagement with each other or that the contact element of the first slide element and the contact element of the second slide element are each in engagement with an electrically conducting conductive element that is moved concomitantly with the rolling-body cage, with the result that in the retracted position there is an electrically conducting connection between the first and the second slide elements and in at least one position other than the retracted position the electrically conducting connection is broken.

An oven may include a cooking chamber configured to receive a food product, a radio frequency (RF) heating system configured to provide RF energy into the cooking chamber; and an energy conversion assembly provided as a cooking surface of the oven. The energy conversion assembly may be configured to convert at least some of the RF energy into thermal energy for heating the food product, while at least some other portion of the RF energy is directly applied to the food product to heat the food product.

A cooking appliance includes a housing which has a cavity formed therein; a door which is connected to the housing and opens/closes the cavity; a microwave heating module which emits microwaves to the cavity; a working coil module which emits a magnetic field to the cavity; a plate in which a center hole for guiding a magnetic field to the cavity is formed; and a shielding filter which is disposed between the plate and the working coil module. The plate has a plurality of grooves formed around the center hole.