Drying and gas or vapor contact with solids – Material treated by electromagnetic energy – Microwave energy
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-29
2003-01-21
Walberg, Teresa (Department: 3742)
Drying and gas or vapor contact with solids
Material treated by electromagnetic energy
Microwave energy
C219S762000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06508013
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of preparing a botanical specimen in a short period of time which is bright and beautiful in color while keeping an original color intrinsic in the plant by utilizing granular silica gels and a microwave irradiated by a microwave oven, and a method of quickly drying and a method of preserving plant capable of easily preparing at low cost so as to preserve beautiful color of the botanical specimen that are just prepared as the botanical specimen and which are hardly discolored while keeping a beautiful color intrinsic in the plant.
Further, the invention relates to a method of quickly drying a plant which is capable of utilizing a dried plant such as tea or the like.
2. Related Art
As a method of preparing a botanical specimen or pressed flowers, there are many methods utilizing a weight, a gel indirectly, a gel directly, ceramic boards, and far-infrared radiation. Each method comprises fundamentally placing moisture-absorbent members on both the upper and lower portions of the botanical specimen or either the upper or lower portion of the botanical specimen, and drying the plant. Lately, there is a method utilizing dielectric heating by a microwave oven. A method of fabricating pressed flowers is now described hereinafter with reference to the typical method of drying flowers utilizing a gel indirectly.
The method of fabricating pressed flowers with reference to the method of drying flowers utilizing gel indirectly comprises the steps of:
(1) placing a sponge for pressed flowers on a drying sheet for pressed flowers and placing rayon paper for pressed flowers on the sponge for pressed flowers.
(2) arranging fresh flowers which are subjected to pre-treatment on the rayon paper for pressed flowers so as to be easily fabricated so that the pressed flowers do not overlap with one another;
(3) overlaying the rayon paper for pressed flowers, the sponge for pressed flowers and the drying sheet for pressed flowers in this order on the fresh flowers;
(4) allowing the fresh flowers, the sponge for pressed flowers, the rayon paper for pressed flowers which are set in the steps 1 to 3 to introduce a vinyl sheet for pressed flowers, sandwiching the vinyl sheet between two pressing bodies for pressed flowers, applying pressure to the two pressing bodies by a Velcro (registered trademark) to fasten the two pressing bodies;
(5) letting air out of the vinyl sheet and closing a chuck of the opening of the vinyl sheet;
(6) replacing the drying sheet for pressed flowers with another upon the elapse of one or two days;
(7) completing pressed flowers if the fresh flowers are dried upon the elapse of three to six days.
If the drying sheet is not frequently replaced with another, it is impossible to fabricate pressed flowers which are bright in color.
Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 4-49202 discloses a method of fabricating pressed flowers by irradiating a microwave.
That is, this method of fabricating pressed flowers is characterized in providing a pair of laminated boards between a ceramic board and a moisture absorbent sheet while sandwiching porous buffer agents therebetween wherein the flowering plant is tightly held at the side of the moisture absorbent sheet of each laminated board, and the flowering plant is subjected to drying treatment by dielectric heating in such a state.
The main feature of this method resides in the utilization of far-infrared rays emitted by the ceramic board which is heated by dielectric heating, wherein moisture contained in the flowering plant is uniformly heated by dielectric heating caused by a high frequency or a microwave together with far-infrared rays, thereby evaporating moisture in the flowering plant as described in page 2, right upper column, line 14 to left lower column, line 1 of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 4-492020.
However, this method has a drawback that it takes time until the ceramic board is heated, and also takes time until the moisture contained in the flowering plant is heated and evaporated because the far-infrared rays are heat rays, and hence the flowering plant is liable to discolor. Particularly, if the quantity of the flowering plant increases, moisture contained in the flowering plant increases inevitably, and the porous buffering agent is a sponge intended for buffering alone and it has no moisture absorbent properties, and hence it takes time until the moisture is evaporated, thereby causing a strong tendency of discoloration of the flowing plant and resulting in dried flowers which are not prepared well.
The inventor confirmed that the method of preparing pressed flowers by the combination of ceramic boards and a microwave oven is not suited for the preparation of dried body such as a beautiful pressed flowers.
Table 1 shows the result of a comparison between the method of the invention (present method), the method utilizing ceramic boards and a microwave oven and the method utilizing pressing boards.
TABLE 1
ceramic boards
and a
pressing
present method
microwave oven
boards
thin flowers
about 50 to 60
about 1½ to 2
about 1 to 2
seconds
minutes
days
slightly thin
about 60 to 70
about 2 to 2½
about 2 to 3
flowers
seconds
minutes
days
flowers of
about 70 to 80
about 2½ to 3
about 3 to 4
middle
seconds
minutes
days
thickness
slightly thick
about 80 to 90
about 3 to 3½
about 4 to 5
flowers
seconds
minutes
days
flowers of
about 90 to
about 3½ to 4
about 5 to 6
medium
100 seconds
minutes
days
thickness
As evident from Table 1, since plants serving as a fresh sample can be quickly dried according to the method of the present invention, the inventor confirmed that the dried plant is bright in color, and if the dried plant is used as the specimen, it takes much time until the discoloration of the samples occurs compared with the conventional method.
As mentioned above, it takes about 1 to 6 days to prepare the botanical specimen by the method using drying sheets for pressed flowers, and it takes 7 to 10 hours by a method utilizing far-infrared rays for pressed flowers, and it takes one and a half minutes to 4 minutes by the method utilizing a combination of a microwave oven and ceramic boards.
Among moisture, oxygen and ultraviolet light which cause deterioration and the discoloration of the botanical specimen, a conventional method of preserving botanical specimen does not consider a counterplan for ultraviolet light although a counterplan for each of moisture and oxygen by intercepting the circulation of air is considered. Accordingly, if the botanical specimen is exhibited in a well-lighted room, the occurrence of the discoloration of the botanical specimen is differentiated depending on the kind of plant, for example. The discoloration of the botanical specimen occurs or starts about half a year later after the exhibition in the case of heating films, about one year later in the case of Japanese paper or films for pressed flowers, and about five years later in the case of the airtight frame.
In the case of a conventional preserving method to allow the pressed flowers to introduce in a frame, silica gels are stuck or fixed to the backside of a back board of the frame by an adhesive tape, then a doubled aluminum foil having the same size as the back board is stuck onto the silica gels. The sticking is effected in the manner that the adhesive is developed around the inner edge of the back board to a large extent not to provide a gap in the developed adhesive, then placing the aluminum foil on the adhesive, finally sticking both the back board and the aluminum foil using a straw or cloth to not allow air to remain between the back board and the aluminum foil.
Then, doubled unwoven cloths or doubled fabrics or cooking paper having the same size as the back board is overlaid on the front side of the back board, and they are stuck to each other only at the edges thereof.
The botanical specimen is placed on the back board at arbitrary desired positions which were subjected to a pre-treatment as
Mita Naoki
Okazaki Chizuko
Fastovsky Leonid
Flynn ,Thiel, Boutell & Tanis, P.C.
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
Walberg Teresa
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