Instrument and method to measure available light energy for photosynthesis
First Claim
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1. A device comprising:
- (a) a means for collecting omni-directional light;
(b) a means for measuring the quantity of omni-directional light collected by said means for collecting omni-directional light;
(c) a means for negating the contribution of non-photosynthetically active radiation in the measured quantity of omni-directional light; and
(d) a means for calculating the rate at which the quantity of photosynthetically active radiation collected by said means for collecting omni-directional light is accumulated.
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Abstract
The present invention is an accumulated light meter that generates data concerning the quantity of photosynthetically active radiation available over a measured period of time. The device can calculate a daily light integral (DLI) that corresponds to the amount of light required by certain plants in order to optimize photosynthesis. The device also possesses the ability to filter out the effect that wavelengths of unproductive light have on the calculated values since not all light is conducive to photosynthesis and different species of plants can utilize different wavelengths of light in dissimilar ways.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A device comprising:
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(a) a means for collecting omni-directional light; (b) a means for measuring the quantity of omni-directional light collected by said means for collecting omni-directional light; (c) a means for negating the contribution of non-photosynthetically active radiation in the measured quantity of omni-directional light; and (d) a means for calculating the rate at which the quantity of photosynthetically active radiation collected by said means for collecting omni-directional light is accumulated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A device comprising:
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(a) a means for collecting omni-directional light and directing it to a photodiode; (b) a means for measuring the quantity of omni-directional light collected by said means for collecting omni-directional light comprising measuring the elapsed time for a photodiode to charge a capacitor; (c) a means for negating the contribution of non-photosynthetically active radiation in the measured quantity of omni-directional light; (d) a means for calculating the rate at which the quantity of photosynthetically active radiation collected by said means for collecting omni-directional light is accumulated; (e) a casing enclosing said light measurement circuit; and (f) a level indicator. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification