Abstract: A microwave oven is incorporated in a coffee bean roasting system and includes a rotatable microwave transparent tube or drum positioned within the same and at an angle to the horizontal, through which coffee beans are introduced at an upper end and flow in continuous agitation to the lower end while being subjected to microwave fields within the oven. At the lower end of the oven a separate section is preferably provided for subjecting the coffee beans to selective treatment during the final stages of the roasting process. In one form utilizing a unitary structure the separate section is provided by a conductive septum which separates the oven into sections in which the power level is different. In the last section the power level is adjusted to control the final critical phase of the roasting process. The oven terminates into a cooling and quenching chamber from which the beans are delivered through a microwave trap to a further cooling stage to rapidly reduce their temperature to well below roasting.

Abstract: A system for heating objects by means of microwave energy in an assembly line fashion is disclosed herein and utilizes a specific microwave oven assembly especially suitable for this purpose. The oven assembly is designed to receive within its heating cavity a continuously or intermittent changing section of a conveyance mechanism, even though the cavity may be effectively sealed off from the ambient surroundings during its heating operation. In this manner, objects, even relatively large objects, can be conveyed into the cavity of the oven assembly where they are heated, then automatically conveyed out from the cavity in an assembly line fashion.

Abstract: A microwave oven is provided with a rotatable microwave transparent tube or drum positioned within the same and at an angle to the horizontal, through which material is introduced at the upper end and which flows in continuous agitation to the lower end while being subjected to microwave fields within said oven. In a preferred embodiment uniform heatingof scrap rubber particles to cause devulcanization is disclosed as an immediate useful application.

Abstract: An end load for a microwave oven for efficiently attenuating microwave energy escaping from an oven access port. The end load has a circular configuration and consists of an inner cylindrical member and a concentrically mounted, outer conductive member. The members are spaced apart to provide a tuned annular volume through a lossy liquid, such as water, is passed. The inner member is made of a microwave lossy material having a dielectric constant that optimumly matches the energy transfer from air to water and has a wall thickness that is also tuned to trap microwave energy. The outer member is made of a conductive material that provides an inwardly reflective surface for confining the microwave energy.