Wireless sensor devices for post-harvest crop quality and pest management

• US 10,296,863 B2
• Filed: 05/01/2018
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Centaur Analytics, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Centaur Analytics, Inc.
• Inventors: Bantas, Sotirios, Sotiroudas, Vasileios, Ham, Ronald E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fitzgerald, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Frank, Rodney T
• Application Number:
  US15/968,495
• Publication Number:
  US 20180321185A1
• Time in Patent Office: 385 Days
• Field of Search: 73 3102
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 91/00 Methods for harvesting agricultural products
• CPC Class Codes: A01F 25/22 Ventilating arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 1/026 combined with devices for monitoring insect presence, e.g. termites bait stations A01M1/2005; detecting other animals in a given area A01M31/002
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 13/00 Fumigators; Apparatus for distributing gases poisoning or narcotising insects by vaporising an insecticide A01M1/2022
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 21/10 Temperature; Pressure F26B23/026 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 9/063 for drying granular material in bulk, e.g. grain bins or silos with false floor shallow layer rotary sweep drying bins F26B9/10; perforated wall silos with drying air channels in the stack F26B9/103
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/4162 investigating the composition of gases, by the influence exerted on ionic conductivity in a liquid conductometry in general G01N27/06; amperometric gas sensors G01N27/404
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/004 CO or CO2
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0075 for multiple spatially distributed sensors, e.g. for environmental monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/02 Food
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/025 Fruits or vegetables
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/10 Starch-containing substances, e.g. dough
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/13 Differential equations using digital differential analysers G06F7/64
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2111/10 Numerical modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/20 Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06395 Quality analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/02 Agriculture; Fishing; Forestry; Mining
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 : Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

Embodiments of systems and approaches for managing post-harvest crop quality and pests are described. Such a system may include a plurality of edge devices each comprising sensor components and collectively forming a mesh network, for measuring the local physical environment within stored crops and, for example, transmitting the measurements to a service from within the crop storage area. In certain embodiments, such a system may be used to manage post-harvest crops and storage areas—for example, approaches are described for determining fumigation treatment duration, determining phosphine dosage, determining heat treatment duration, and determining safe storage time for crops.

Claims

1. An edge device, comprising:

a plastic housing encasing an environment-exposed compartment and a sealed compartment, the environment exposed compartment defined by a cap and an upper housing and the sealed compartment defined by the upper housing and a lower housing, the cap having a first threaded portion mated with a second threaded portion of the upper housing and a plurality of vents configured to allow air passage from an environment external to the edge device into the environment-exposed compartment, the upper housing having a third threaded portion mated with a fourth threaded portion of the lower housing and an upper surface containing a sensor opening;

an electrochemical gas sensor comprising a sensor cell and a sensor circuit board, the electrochemical gas sensor is partially disposed within the sealed compartment and in a fixed position abutting the upper surface of the upper housing such that a portion of the sensor cell protrudes into the sensor opening and is exposed to an atmosphere within the environment-exposed compartment;

one or more upper rubber o-rings circumferentially disposed around the portion of the electrochemical gas sensor that protrudes into the environment-exposed compartment creating a seal that abuts the sensor opening of the upper housing;

a main circuit board disposed within the sealed compartment and communicatively coupled to the electrochemical gas sensor, the main circuit board having a plurality of mounted components respectively coupled to a battery, a reed switch configured as an on/off switch for the edge device, an antenna, and radio frequency (RF) circuitry;

a magnet disposed on a first plastic ring, and a second plastic ring, wherein the first plastic ring is configured to rotate around the fourth threaded portion of the lower housing, disposed between the upper housing and the second plastic ring, rotationally translating the magnet with respect to the reed switch, and the second plastic ring is configured to mate with the fourth threaded portion of the lower housing; and

one or more lower rubber o-rings disposed at an interface between the upper housing and the lower housing.

2. The edge device of claim 1, wherein the housing is formed from an acetal plastic, such as an acetal copolymer.

3. The edge device of claim 1, wherein the vents are micro holes.

4. The edge device of claim 1, wherein the battery is a lithium thionyl chloride battery.

5. The edge device of claim 1, wherein the monopole antenna is a short inverted-L monopole antenna with an orthogonal meander line top plate having a total line length of a nominal quarter wavelength.

6. The edge device of claim 1, wherein the first plastic ring is rotatable between two detents representing “

on” and

“

off”

positions.

7. The edge device of claim 1, wherein the number of upper rubber o-rings is two.