(39 of 1970)

&

The Patent Rules, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(See section 10 and rule 13)

1. TITLE OF THE INVENTION:

Portable Electrochemical Nutrient Testing Device for Soil Health Monitoring

2. APPLICANT:

Name: Rajul Sachin Patkar

Nationality: Indian

Address: Nilgiri, Building 24, Flat No. 294, Campus, Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India -

400076.

3. PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION:

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:

4. DESCRIPTION:

Field of the invention:

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to the technical field of agricultural technology, and in specific relates to a portable electrochemical nutrient testing device for soil health monitoring that is designed for in-field nutrient analysis and aids to monitor soil health accurately on a regular basis.

Background of the invention:

[0002] Agriculture is the practice of cultivating plants and it is the basic source of food for all human beings. Plants are cultivated on various types of soils. Healthy soils lead to better productivity. To maintain healthy soils, precise amount of fertilizer is applied at right time and at right place depending on the soil and crop. Excess fertilizers are used to cultivate plants according to the needs which can change the properties of soil and causes soil acidification, heavy metals pollution, soil compaction and abnormal changes in soil micro biome. This results in soil degradation and drop in soil fertility, thereby rendering that soil useless for agriculture.

[0003] To keep soil healthy, periodic soil testing is essential. In general, farmers send soil samples to the agricultural labs in order to check soil's nutrient content. Sometimes, the farmers obtain improper results which result in excessive use of fertilizers. This excess use of fertilizers will leach into the ground water thereby contaminating it and harming the nearby resident's health. Soil also becomes infertile overtime, since golden ratio of the fertilizers is not maintained.

[0004] Conventionally, soil testing devices which help the farmers to evaluate the soil's nutrient values are bulky and utilize spectrophotometer or colorimetry-based soil testing methods and as a result, they require complex sample preparation which is time consuming and not accurate.

[0005] This conventional type of soil testing method is bulky and time-consuming and requires the complex sample preparation and a skilled person to perform soil testing. Therefore, there is a need for a portable and cost-effective soil testing device which is affordable, easy to use and accurate.

[0006] Current electrochemical devices utilize 2 electrode-based system in order to evaluate nutrients in the soil and requires complicated maintenance of those electrodes. The current electrochemical devices require calibration before every usage which is difficult and timeconsuming for the farmers and can introduce errors.

[0007] Therefore, there exists a need to provide a nutrient testing device for soil health monitoring which is designed for in-field nutrient analysis and aids in monitoring soil health accurately on a regular basis. There is a need for a device that aids to repeatedly evaluate nutrient value of soil accurately within less time. There is a need to provide a bio degradable and paperbased screen-printed device for testing nutrient value of the soil. There is a need to provide a soil testing device which is cost-effective, portable and easy to use. There is a need to provide a system that is soil independent and is pre calibrated without having the need to calibrate in field.

Objectives of the invention:

[0008] The primary objective of the invention is to provide a 3- electrode based electrochemical soil health monitoring system.

[0009] The other objective of the invention is to determine nutrient, electrical conductivity, organic carbon and pH value of soil accurately without the requirement of any field-calibration.

[0010] Further objective of the invention is to provide a portable device that aids the farmers to repeatedly evaluate nutrient, electrical conductivity, organic carbon and pH value of soil accurately within less time. [0011] The other objective of the invention is to provide a bio degradable and paper-based screen printed 3 electrode sensors for testing nutrient, electrical conductivity, organic carbon and pH value of the soil.

[0012] Another objective of the invention is to provide a soil testing device which is portable, cost-effective and easy to use.

[0013] Another objective of the invention is to provide a testing device that does not require complex sample preparation and multiple reagents.

[0014] Yet another objective of the invention is to provide a soil testing device which doesn't require prior conditioning and calibration of the electrodes.

[0015] Another objective of the invention is to provide a soil testing device that is soil independent.

[0016] Another objective of the invention is to provide a single handheld device which is easy to operate.

Summary of the invention:

[0017] The present disclosure proposes a portable electrochemical nutrient testing device for soil health monitoring. The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the claimed subject matter. This summary is not an extensive overview. It is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope of the claimed subject matter. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

[0018] In order to overcome the above deficiencies of the prior art, the present disclosure is to solve the technical problem to provide a portable electrochemical nutrient testing device for soil water and plant health monitoring is provided. The electrochemical nutrient testing device for soil, water and plant health monitoring is designed for in-field nutrient analysis and aids to monitor soil health accurately on a regular basis.

[0019] According to an aspect, the portable electrochemical nutrient testing device, comprises a function generator block, at least one screen-printed electrochemical sensor, a working electrode, a counter electrode, a reference electrode, plurality of contact pads, a voltage control module, a data acquisition module, a micro-controller unit, and a display unit. The electrochemical nutrient testing device is independent of type of the sample and calibration free.

[0020] The function generator block attached to the electrochemical nutrient testing device configured to produce a change in voltage or current signal. At least one screen-printed electrochemical sensor configured to test analytes from nutrients derived from sample, comprising, the working electrode positioned inside an insulating area configured to perform electrochemical reaction when the sample comes in contact.

[0021] The counter electrode is placed in between the working electrode and a paper substrate configured to complete the circuit. In specific, the screen-printed electrochemical sensor is fabricated using a variety of conducting pastes according to the requirement of the user. The fabrication is performed using silver or silver chloride (Ag/AgCI) and carbon paste and is chemically modified to make it selective to pH, phosphate, nitrate, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, boron, sulphur, manganese, calcium carbonate, copper, soil pathogens.

[0022] The reference electrode positioned in the screen-printed electrochemical sensor configured to provide a stable reference potential. In specific, plurality of contact pads connected to the working electrode, the counter electrode and the reference electrode. In specific, input waveform is applied between the working electrode the reference electrode and the current flows between the working electrode and the counter electrode. [0023] The voltage control module is connected to the function generator block by the screen- printed electrochemical sensor configured to maintain the potential generated by the function generator block at the working electrode. In specific, the voltage control module is a potentiostat. The voltage control module maintains potential at the working electrode with respect to the reference electrode of the screen-printed electrochemical sensor. The data acquisition module connected to the voltage difference controller configured to receive voltage signal from the voltage difference controller and filter out the higher-order harmonics.

[0024] The micro-controller unit connected to the data acquisition module and configured with an analog-to-digital converter configured to receive, store and process the voltage signal as a sample value from the data acquisition module to obtain nutrient content of the sample based on specialized algorithms to identify the correct signal from the rest of the signal. In specific, the micro-controller unit captures faradaic portion by neglecting the capacitive current and qualifies and quantifies the analyte present in the sample.

[0025] The display unit connected to the microcontroller configured to display obtain nutrient content of the sample, wherein a portable liquid crystal display (LCD) is used to display the soil, water or plant health. The processing module configured with location intelligence module and stores geographical conditions of a respective location and the processing module analyze the location intelligence data and the sample nutrient data to generate nutrient map. In specific, sample nutrient data includes information regarding quality of soil, water, plants or the like. The geographical location can also be captured by a mobile device connected to the device.

[0026] According to another aspect, the method to analyse sample using electrochemical nutrient testing device, comprises the steps of, firstly, sample is collected from at least 20 cm deep. Later, the collected sample is sieved using filter to prepare fine and filtered sample. Then, reagent is added to the filtered sample in a test tube to prepare a homogenous mixture. Later, few drops of the homogenous mixture is gathered onto a test strip and connecting the test strip to the electrochemical nutrient testing device. [0027] Then, waiting for approximately 30 seconds to obtain nutrient parameters and the electrochemical nutrient testing device is connected to a mobile application. Then, 2- way communication is enabled between the electrochemical nutrient testing device and mobile application and the parameters are uploaded from the mobile application into a cloud server.

[0028] Then, the recommendations are identified and processed using artificial intelligence and machine learning wherein the processing employs artificial intelligence and machine learning computational methods to analyse the soil health and finally, the recommendations are given to user in the form of soil health card using the parameters calculated on the cloud server.

[0029] Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from a study of the following portion of the specification, the claims, and the attached drawings.

Brief description of drawings:

[0030] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention, and, together with the description, explain the principles of the invention.

[0031] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary portable electrochemical nutrient testing device for soil, water and plant health monitoring in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0032] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary method to analyse sample using electrochemical nutrient testing device in accordance to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0033] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary flowchart of working principle of portable electrochemical nutrient testing device in accordance to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. [0034] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary line diagram of portable electrochemical nutrient testing device for soil health monitoring in accordance to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0035] FIG. 5 illustrates various exemplary parts of portable electrochemical nutrient testing device for soil health monitoring in accordance to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0036] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary prototype of portable electrochemical nutrient testing device for soil health monitoring in accordance to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0037] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary portable electrochemical nutrient testing device for soil health monitoring connected to a mobile device in accordance to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0038] FIG. 8 illustrates an alternate design of electrochemical nutrient testing device and mobile device in accordance to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

Detailed invention disclosure

[0039] Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in reference to the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same or similar reference numerals are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts or steps.

[0040] Disclosed herein is a portable electrochemical nutrient testing device for soil, water and plant health monitoring is provided. The electrochemical nutrient testing device for soil, water and plant health monitoring is designed for in-field nutrient analysis and aids to monitor soil health accurately on a regular basis.

[0041] According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary portable electrochemical nutrient testing device for soil, water and plant health monitoring. The portable electrochemical nutrient testing device 100, comprises a function generator block 102, at least one screen-printed electrochemical sensor 104, a working electrode 106, a counter electrode 108, a reference electrode 110, plurality of contact pads 112, a voltage control module 114, a data acquisition module 116, a micro-controller unit 118, a display unit 120, processing module 122, and a location intelligence module 124. The electrochemical nutrient testing device 100 is independent of type of the sample and calibration free.

[0042] The function generator block 102 attached to the electrochemical nutrient testing device 100 configured to produce a change in voltage or current signal. At least one screen-printed electrochemical sensor 104 configured to test analytes from nutrients derived from sample, comprising, the working electrode 106 positioned inside insulating area configured to perform electrochemical reaction when the sample comes in contact.

[0043] The counter electrode 108 placed in between the working electrode 106 and a paper substrate configured to complete the circuit. In specific, the screen-printed electrochemical sensor 104 is fabricated using variety of conducting pastes according to the requirement of the user. The fabrication is performed using silver or silver chloride (Ag/AgCI) and carbon paste and is modified to make it selective to analyte under test according to the user requirements.

[0044] The reference electrode 110 positioned in the screen-printed electrochemical sensor 104 configured to provide a stable reference potential. In specific, plurality of contact pads 112 connected to the working electrode 106, the counter electrode 108 and the reference electrode 110. In specific, input waveform is applied between the working electrode 106 the reference electrode 110 and the current flows between the working electrode 106 and the counter electrode 108.

[0045] The voltage control module 114 connected to the function generator block 102 by the screen-printed electrochemical sensor 104 configured to maintain potential generated by the function generator block 102 at the working electrode 106. In specific, the voltage control module 114 is a potentiostat. The voltage control module 114 maintains potential at the working electrode 106 with respect to the reference electrode 110 of the screen-printed electrochemical sensor 104. The data acquisition module 116 connected to the voltage difference controller configured to receive voltage signal from the voltage difference controller and filter out the higher-order harmonics.

[0046] The micro-controller unit 118 connected to the data acquisition module 116 and configured with an analog-to-digital converter configured to receive, store and process the voltage signal as a sample value from the data acquisition module 116 to obtain nutrient content of the sample. In specific, the micro-controller unit 118 captures faradaic portion by neglecting the capacitive current and qualifies and quantifies the analyte present in the sample.

[0047] The display unit 120 connected to the microcontroller unit 118 configured to display obtain nutrient content of the sample, wherein a portable liquid crystal display (LCD) is used to display the soil, water or plant health parameters. The processing module 122 configured with location intelligence module 124 and stores geographical conditions of a respective location and the processing module analyze the location intelligence data and the sample nutrient data to generate nutrient map. In specific, sample nutrient data includes information regarding quality of soil, water and plants or the like.

[0048] According to another exemplary embodiment of the invention, FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary method to analyse sample using electrochemical nutrient testing device. The method 200 to analyse sample using electrochemical nutrient testing device, comprises the steps of, firstly, at the step 202, sample is collected from at least 20 cm deep. Later, the collected sample is sieved using filter to prepare fine and filtered sample, at the step 204. Then, at the step 206, reagent is added to the filtered sample in a test tube to prepare a homogenous mixture. Later, at the step 208, a few drops of the homogenous mixture is gathered onto a test strip and connecting the test strip to the electrochemical nutrient testing device.

[0049] Then, at the step 210, waiting for approximately 30 seconds to obtain nutrient parameters and the electrochemical nutrient testing device is connected to a mobile application. Then, at the step 212, 2-way communication is enabled between the electrochemical nutrient device and mobile application and the parameters are uploaded from the mobile application into a cloud server.

[0050] Then, at the step 214, the data is sent to a cloud server through device or mobile app and the data is processed using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to generate recommendations. Finally, at the step 216, recommendations are generated and sent to the user from the cloud server to the mobile application for remote monitoring and crop management by the user.

[0051] According to another exemplary embodiment of the invention, FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary flowchart of working principle of portable electrochemical nutrient testing device.

[0052] According to another exemplary embodiment of the invention, FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary line diagram 400 of portable electrochemical nutrient testing device for soil health monitoring. The screen-printed electrode is a battery-operated system with low power consumption with high accuracy. The electrochemical nutrient testing device 402 is connected to mobile application 410 either through cloud network or independently with the help of Bluetooth, infrared or the like. The cloud network 404 is connected to a processing system 406 which further comprises location intelligence module 408, AL/ML 412, and memory unit 414. The processing system processes the sample and recommends the user regarding soil, water or plant health quality in the form of soil health card using the parameters in the cloud network 404

[0053] According to another exemplary embodiment of the invention, FIG. 5 illustrates various exemplary parts of portable electrochemical nutrient testing device for soil health monitoring. The portable electrochemical nutrient testing device 500 comprises a function generator block 502, screen-printed electrochemical sensor 504, a working electrode 506, a counter electrode 508, a reference electrode 510, plurality of contact pads 512, data acquisition module 514, voltage control module 516, micro-controller unit 518, and processing module 520. [0054] The purpose of the function generator block 502 is to produce the desired square-wave voltammetry signal. The signal is produced by the addition of the square pulse signal with the staircase signal, where both of them have the same frequency. The timer module of the microcontroller unit 518 is used to generate a very low frequency clock signal. The clock signal is given to both block A and block B of the function generator block. The microcontroller unit 518, which is used in the function generator block 502 utilizes less amount of power.

[0055] According to another exemplary embodiment of the invention, FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary prototype of portable electrochemical nutrient testing device for soil health monitoring.

[0056] According to another exemplary embodiment of the invention, FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary portable electrochemical nutrient testing device for soil health monitoring connected to a mobile device. The portable electrochemical nutrient testing device is connected to the mobile device using either USB, Bluetooth etc. The mobile device is connected to the cloud server in which the sample data gets processed. The processed data is again received by the mobile device which displays the recommendations and results in the form of soil health card.

[0057] According to another exemplary embodiment of the invention, FIG. 8 illustrates an alternate design of direct connection between portable electrochemical nutrient testing device and mobile device. The portable electrochemical nutrient testing device is connected directly to the mobile device using a built-in USB port on the portable electrochemical nutrient testing device. A testing strip can be attached on the other side of the portable electrochemical nutrient testing device.

[0058] Numerous advantages of the present disclosure may be apparent from the discussion above. In accordance with the present disclosure, a portable electrochemical nutrient testing device for soil health monitoring is disclosed. The portable electrochemical nutrient testing device for soil health monitoring that is designed for in-field nutrient analysis and aids to monitor soil health accurately on a regular basis. The proposed invention aids the farmers to repeatedly evaluate nutrient, electrical conductivity, organic carbon and pH value of soil accurately within less time.

[0059] The bio-degradable and paper-based screen printed three-electrode sensor is used to test pH value of the soil. The proposed soil testing device is portable, cost-effective and easy to use. The portable electrochemical nutrient testing device doesn't require prior conditioning and calibration of the electrodes and does not require complex sample preparation using multiple reagents. The proposed portable electrochemical nutrient testing device is cost effective, single handheld device which is easy to operate and is portable.

[0060] It will readily be apparent that numerous modifications and alterations can be made to the processes described in the foregoing examples without departing from the principles underlying the invention, and all such modifications and alterations are intended to be embraced by this application.