Soil moisture sensor
First Claim
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1. A soil moisture sensor, comprising:
- a capacitive probe configured to be inserted into soil;
a series RLC circuit electrically coupled to the capacitive probe; and
a microcontroller configured toprovide a drive signal having a predetermined drive signal frequency to the series RLC circuit,receive an output signal including one of an output voltage or an output current from the capacitive probe,determine the capacitance value of the soil based at least in part on the received output signal, anddetermine the moisture content of the soil based on the determined capacitance value.
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Abstract
A soil moisture sensor includes a capacitive probe configured to be inserted into soil, a series RLC circuit electrically coupled to the capacitive probe, a microcontroller configured to determine the capacitance value of the soil and determine the moisture content of the soil from the capacitance value of the soil.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A soil moisture sensor, comprising:
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a capacitive probe configured to be inserted into soil; a series RLC circuit electrically coupled to the capacitive probe; and a microcontroller configured to provide a drive signal having a predetermined drive signal frequency to the series RLC circuit, receive an output signal including one of an output voltage or an output current from the capacitive probe, determine the capacitance value of the soil based at least in part on the received output signal, and determine the moisture content of the soil based on the determined capacitance value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A soil moisture sensor, comprising:
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a capacitive probe comprising two electrodes configured to be inserted into soil and to provide an output signal dependent on the capacitance of the soil between the two electrodes; a series RLC circuit electrically coupled to, and providing an input signal to the capacitive probe to induce the output signal; a current-to-voltage converter configured to receive the output signal, and convert the output signal to a proportional output voltage; and a microcontroller comprising a pulse-width modulated signal generator configured to provide a drive signal having a predetermined drive signal frequency to the series RLC circuit, the predetermined drive signal frequency is selected with reference to a resonance curve of the series RLC circuit, and an analog-to-digital converter configured to receive the proportional output voltage, and convert the proportional output voltage to a digital signal, the microcontroller configured to determine a capacitance value of the soil based on the digital signal, and to determine the moisture content of the soil in view of the capacitance value of the soil and a dielectric constant of the soil. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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Specification