Method and Apparatus to Improve Crop Yields and Increase Irrigation Efficiency in Agriculture
First Claim
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1. A moisture sensor, comprising:
- a dielectric substrate;
an embedded coupled metallic line structure mounted to the dielectric substrate;
a power source;
a processor that is programmed to determine even and odd mode of phase velocities by measuring the transit time along the metallic line; and
wherein the phase velocity is a function of the water content in the soil.
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Abstract
An irrigation control system is described for optimizing water used for growing crops. The irrigation control system uses a moisture sensor to measure soil moisture by measuring directly the relative phase velocities of different modes of propagation along a metallic structure mounted to a dielectric substrate. The average phase velocity is a function of the water content of the soil. The water content measurement is then transmitted to a central controller which then, through a set of heuristic algorithms, regulates the water distributed to the soil in a spatial and temporal manner.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A moisture sensor, comprising:
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a dielectric substrate; an embedded coupled metallic line structure mounted to the dielectric substrate; a power source; a processor that is programmed to determine even and odd mode of phase velocities by measuring the transit time along the metallic line; and
wherein the phase velocity is a function of the water content in the soil. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An irrigation control system, comprising:
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a moisture sensor, further comprising; a dielectric substrate; an embedded coupled metallic line structure mounted to the dielectric substrate; a power source; a processor that is programmed to determine even and odd mode of phase velocities by measuring the transit time along the metallic line; and
wherein the phase velocity is a function of the water content in the soil; anda transmitter; a receiver; a valve controller coupled to the receiver. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification