Capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant and method for manufacturing the same

Abstract

The application provides a capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant, comprising: at least one liquid metal segment, which is in a liquid state at room temperature, and which is filled in the inner cavity of the carrier plant; when the liquid metal segment is one, at least one liquid metal layer is further included, which is arranged on the outer wall of the inner cavity of the carrier plant, and when a plurality of liquid metal layers are included, the adjacent liquid metal layers are arranged on the outer wall of the inner cavity of the carrier plant in a spaced manner; when the liquid metal segments are a plurality, the liquid metal segments are respectively filled in the adjacent inner cavities of the carrier plant. The liquid metal can adapt to the growth of the plant and change the shape, and can accurately monitor the growth signal inside the plant, thereby achieving the technical purpose of monitoring the growth condition of the plant in real time. The application further provides a manufacturing method of the capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of the carrier plant.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of sensors, in particular to a capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant and a manufacturing method thereof. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the irreversible development trend of agricultural intelligence, sensors have developed rapidly in the field of agriculture. In order to monitor various physiological signals in the growth process of plants, various sensors for plant monitoring have been invented.

[0003] In the prior art, sensors for plant monitoring are usually composed of hard materials. The sensors composed of hard materials cannot adapt to the growth of plants, that is, during the growth of plants, the sensors composed of hard materials cannot follow the adaptive changes caused by the growth of plants. Some sensors composed of hard materials also hinder the normal growth of plants, which has a serious negative impact on plant monitoring. Moreover, the sensors of the past are mostly attached to the surface of the plant, and the measurement of the internal signals of the plant is not accurate enough.

[0004] Capacitive sensors are gaining widespread attention due to their excellent dynamic response capabilities, but the construction of capacitive sensors inside plants has not been effectively researched. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant and a manufacturing method thereof, to solve the technical defect that the measurement of internal signals of plants by sensors in the prior art is not accurate enough. Liquid metal can adapt to the morphological changes of plant growth and accurately monitor the growth signals inside the plant, thereby achieving the technical purpose of real-time monitoring of plant growth.

[0006] The present application provides a capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant, comprising:

[0007] At least one liquid metal segment, the liquid metal segment being in a liquid state at room temperature, the liquid metal segment being filled in the inner cavity of the carrier plant;

[0008] When the liquid metal segment is one, at least one liquid metal layer is further included, the liquid metal layer being arranged on the outer wall of the inner cavity of the carrier plant, and when a plurality of liquid metal layers are included, adjacent liquid metal layers are arranged at intervals on the outer wall of the inner cavity of the carrier plant;

[0009] When the liquid metal segments are multiple, the liquid metal segments are respectively filled in adjacent inner cavities of the carrier plant.

[0010] The application provides a capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant, wherein each liquid metal segment is provided with at least one liquid metal layer on the outer wall of the inner cavity of the carrier plant.

[0011] The application provides a capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant, wherein the liquid metal is added with nano metal particles.

[0012] The application provides a capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant, wherein the nano metal particles are copper particles, nickel particles or silver particles.

[0013] The application provides a capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant, wherein the liquid metal is a gallium-based liquid metal.

[0014] The application provides a capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant, wherein each liquid metal segment and liquid metal layer is connected with a wire.

[0015] The application provides a capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant, wherein the liquid metal segment is one, the outer wall of the inner cavity of the carrier plant is provided with two liquid metal layers, and the two liquid metal layers are oppositely arranged on the two sides of the liquid metal segment.

[0016] The application further provides a manufacturing method of the capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant, comprising the following steps:

[0017] S1, selecting a carrier plant whose physiological condition needs to be monitored, and determining the detection part of the carrier plant;

[0018] S2, injecting liquid metal into the inner cavity of the detection part of the carrier plant to form a liquid metal segment;

[0019] S3, coating liquid metal on the outer wall of the carrier plant where the liquid metal segment is located to form a liquid metal layer;

[0020] S4, connecting a wire to each liquid metal segment and liquid metal layer.

[0021] According to the manufacturing method of the capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant, in S2, a hole is drilled on the inner cavity wall of the detection part of the carrier plant, and a syringe is used to inject liquid metal into the inner cavity.

[0022] According to the manufacturing method of the capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant, the wire is in conduction with the liquid metal segment through the hole on the inner cavity wall, and the hole is sealed after the wire is in conduction with the liquid metal segment.

[0023] The capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant and the manufacturing method thereof provided by the present application combine the two ways of injecting liquid metal into the inner cavity profile of the carrier plant and setting a liquid metal layer on the outer wall of the inner cavity of the carrier plant, and innovatively solve the technical problem that the hard sensor cannot adapt to the growth of the plant in the prior art. The capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant provided by the present application can accurately monitor the growth signal inside the plant, thereby achieving the technical purpose of monitoring the growth condition of the plant in real time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present application or the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or the prior art description will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can also be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor.

[0025] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant according to Embodiment 1 of the present application;

[0026] Figure 2 FIG. 2 is one of the electrical property test diagrams of the capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant according to Embodiment 1;

[0027] Figure 3 FIG. 3 is another of the electrical property test diagrams of the capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant according to Embodiment 1;

[0028] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is one of the experimental result diagrams of the capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant according to Embodiment 1;

[0029] Figure 5 FIG. 5 is another of the experimental result diagrams of the capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant according to Embodiment 1;

[0030] Figure 6 FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant according to Embodiment 2 of the present application;

[0031] Figure 7 FIG. 7 is one of the electrical property test diagrams of the capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant according to Embodiment 2;

[0032] Figure 8 FIG. 8 is another of the electrical property test diagrams of the capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant according to Embodiment 2;

[0033] Figure 9This is a schematic diagram of Embodiment 3 of the capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant provided by the present invention;

[0034] Figure 10 This is an experimental result diagram of the capacitive sensor used to monitor the physiological condition of the carrier plant in Example 3.

[0035] Figure label:

[0036] 1. Carrier plant; 2. Liquid metal segment; 3. Inner cavity; 4. Liquid metal layer; 5. Wire. Detailed Implementation

[0037] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the technical solutions of this invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this invention.

[0038] The following is combined with Figures 1-10 This invention describes a capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0039] Example 1

[0040] like Figure 1 The diagram shows a schematic representation of Embodiment 1 of the capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant according to the present invention. In this embodiment, there is one liquid metal segment 2, located within the inner cavity 3 of the carrier plant 1 to be monitored. Two liquid metal layers 4 are disposed on the outer wall of the inner cavity of the carrier plant 1, facing each other on either side of the liquid metal segment 2. Wires 5 are connected to both the liquid metal segment 2 and the liquid metal layers 4. This forms a cylindrical capacitor on the carrier plant 1. The capacitance between the liquid metal segment 2 and each liquid metal layer 4 can be monitored in real time using the wires 5 connected to the liquid metal segment 2 and the liquid metal layers 4, thereby determining the growth status of the plant tissue located between the liquid metal segment 2 and the liquid metal layers 4.

[0041] In this embodiment, nano-metal particles are added to the liquid metal. Specifically, the nano-metal particles are copper particles. Adding nano-copper particles to the liquid metal significantly increases its conductivity and viscosity, making it easier to coat onto the surface of the carrier plant 1. Of course, in some embodiments, the nano-metal particles can also be nickel or silver particles; the liquid metal is a gallium-based liquid metal, specifically GaIn. 10 GaIn 20 GaIn30 GaIn 40 GaIn or GaInSn.

[0042] In this embodiment, the carrier plant 1 is a morning glory stem, and the hollow pith cavity of the stem is filled with liquid metal to form a liquid metal segment 2. The plant tissue between the liquid metal and the liquid metal layer 4 on one side is in a healthy state, and the plant tissue between the liquid metal and the liquid metal layer 4 on the other side is in an unhealthy state.

[0043] As shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3 , the experimental results show that the electrical properties of the cylindrical capacitor of this embodiment change with the change of the frequency of the test alternating current. Figure 4 and Figure 5 , the experimental results show that the healthy plant tissue and the unhealthy plant tissue have significantly different capacity characteristics. Under the experimental premise of low frequency, such as 50 Hz and 100 Hz respectively, the capacitance value of the unhealthy tissue is significantly higher than that of the healthy part. However, when the frequency rises, the difference between the two becomes less obvious. The experimental results show that at high frequencies (>10 4 Hz), the capacitance of the healthy tissue exceeds that of the unhealthy part, which is due to the inevitable parasitic inductance and parasitic resistance. Therefore, the application of the capacitive sensor should be mainly carried out under low frequency conditions.

[0044] Embodiment 2

[0045] As shown in Figure 6 , it is a schematic diagram of the capacitive sensor embodiment 2 for monitoring the physiological condition of the carrier plant in the present application. In this embodiment, the liquid metal segment 2 is provided with two, which are respectively located in the adjacent two cavities of the carrier plant 1, and the two liquid metal segments 2 are connected with wires 5. In this way, a parallel plate capacitor can be formed on the carrier plant 1, and the capacitance between the two liquid metal segments 2 can be monitored in real time by using the wires 5 connected to the two liquid metal segments 2, so as to judge the growth of the plant tissue between the two liquid metal segments 2.

[0046] Similarly, the alternating current characteristics of the parallel plate capacitor of this embodiment are also tested and recorded. As shown in Figure 7 and Figure 8 , the experimental results show that the electrical properties of the cylindrical capacitor of this embodiment change with the change of the frequency of the test alternating current.

[0047] Embodiment 3

[0048] As shown in Figure 9As shown, in this embodiment, two liquid metal segments 2 are arranged in the two adjacent cavities of the carrier plant 1, and two liquid metal layers 4 are arranged on the outer wall of the lower cavity of the carrier plant 1, the two liquid metal layers 4 are arranged on the two sides of the liquid metal segments 2, and the wires 5 are connected to the liquid metal segments 2 and the liquid metal layers 4. In this way, a composite capacitive sensor (including a cylindrical capacitor and a parallel-plate capacitor) can be formed on the carrier plant 1. The wires 5 connected to the liquid metal segments 2 and the liquid metal layers 4 can be used to monitor the capacitance between the liquid metal segments 2 and each of the liquid metal layers 4 in real time, so as to determine the growth of the plant tissue between the liquid metal segments 2 and the liquid metal layers 4. Meanwhile, the wires 5 connected to the two liquid metal segments 2 can be used to monitor the capacitance between the two liquid metal segments 2 in real time, so as to determine the growth of the plant tissue between the two liquid metal segments 2.

[0049] In this embodiment, the following experiment is also performed: a part of the curled leaf plant with the liquid metal composite capacitive sensor is cut off, and the corresponding capacitive change of the carrier plant 1 tissue during the rotting process is recorded. During the plant wilting experiment, the appearance of the plant branches changes obviously. In this embodiment, two capacitive sensors are used to test the capacitive change during the stem wilting. As shown in the following figure, Figure 10 The experimental results show that, at different frequencies, especially at 50 Hz, the capacitance of the capacitor always shows a general upward trend. Such experimental results show that the liquid metal-based capacitive sensor is very feasible for monitoring the physiological activities of plants. Through the above description of the embodiments, it can be concluded that the detected capacitive capacity reveals the electrical characteristics of the plant tissue to some extent. For the cylindrical capacitor, it is related to the tissue on the cylindrical shell, and for the parallel-plate capacitor, it is related to the tissue at the joint. The combination of the two capacitive sensors produces a composite sensor that can simultaneously reflect more electrical properties of the plant tissue, thereby improving the sensing and monitoring efficiency.

[0050] It should be noted that the capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of the carrier plant of the present application is not limited to the above three ways. In specific implementation, the number of liquid metal segments 2 and liquid metal layers 4 can be set according to the needs or the structural characteristics of the carrier plant 1. For example, the carrier plant 1 is a bamboo, a plurality of liquid metal segments 2 can be filled in the continuous bamboo cavities 3, and a plurality of liquid metal layers 4 can be coated on the outer wall of each bamboo cavity 3 at intervals. Finally, through the connection of the wires 5, the growth of the tissue between the bamboo cavities 3 and the cavities 3 can be monitored, and the growth of the tissue at different parts of the outer wall of the bamboo cavity 3 can also be monitored at the same time.

[0051] Example 4

[0052] The application also provides a manufacturing method of a capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant, comprising:

[0053] S1, selecting a carrier plant 1 whose physiological condition needs to be monitored, determining the part of the carrier plant 1 to be detected, and determining the tissue part of the carrier plant 1 whose physiological condition needs to be monitored according to actual needs;

[0054] S2, injecting liquid metal into the inner cavity 3 of the part of the carrier plant 1 to be detected to form a liquid metal segment 2, in this process, the liquid metal can be selected according to the type of the carrier plant 1;

[0055] S3, coating the inner cavity wall of the carrier plant 1 where the liquid metal segment 2 is located with liquid metal to form a liquid metal layer 4, the thickness, size and other parameters of the liquid metal layer 4 can be adjusted according to the type of the carrier plant 1;

[0056] S4, connecting a wire 5 to each liquid metal segment 2 and liquid metal layer 4, the wire 5 is preferably a wire with good conductivity, such as copper wire.

[0057] In this embodiment, holes are drilled on the wall of the inner cavity 3 of the part of the carrier plant 1 to be detected, and the inner cavity 3 is injected with liquid metal by using a syringe. The wire 5 is connected to the liquid metal segment 2 through the holes on the wall of the inner cavity 3, and the holes are sealed after the wire 5 is connected to the liquid metal segment 2, in specific implementation, the holes can be sealed by using silica gel and other materials.

Claims

1. A capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant, characterized in that, The application relates to a liquid metal monitoring device for monitoring physiological conditions of a carrier plant. The device comprises at least one liquid metal segment, which is in liquid state at normal temperature and is filled in the inner cavity of the carrier plant. When the liquid metal segment is one, the device further comprises at least one liquid metal layer arranged on the outer wall of the inner cavity of the carrier plant, and when the device comprises a plurality of liquid metal layers, the adjacent liquid metal layers are arranged on the outer wall of the inner cavity of the carrier plant. When the liquid metal segments are a plurality, the liquid metal segments are respectively filled in the adjacent inner cavities of the carrier plant.

2. Capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of carrier plants according to claim 1, characterized in that When the liquid metal segments are a plurality, each liquid metal segment is provided with at least one liquid metal layer on the outer wall of the inner cavity of the carrier plant.

3. The capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant according to claim 1, wherein, The liquid metal is added with nano metal particles.

4. Capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of carrier plants according to claim 3, characterized in that The nano metal particles are copper particles, nickel particles or silver particles.

5. The capacitive sensor for monitoring a physiological condition of a carrier plant of claim 1, wherein, The liquid metal is gallium-based liquid metal.

6. The capacitive sensor for monitoring a physiological condition of a carrier plant of claim 1, wherein, Each liquid metal segment and liquid metal layer is connected with a wire.

7. Capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that When the liquid metal segment is one, the outer wall of the inner cavity of the carrier plant is provided with two liquid metal layers on the liquid metal segment, and the two liquid metal layers are oppositely arranged on the two sides of the liquid metal segment.

8. A method of manufacturing a capacitive sensor for monitoring the physiological condition of a carrier plant, characterized in that, The application further relates to a liquid metal monitoring method for monitoring physiological conditions of a carrier plant. S1, selecting a carrier plant which needs to be monitored, and determining the detection part of the carrier plant; S2, injecting liquid metal into the inner cavity of the detection part of the carrier plant to form a liquid metal segment; S3, coating liquid metal on the outer wall of the carrier plant where the liquid metal segment is arranged to form a liquid metal layer; S4, connecting a wire with each liquid metal segment and liquid metal layer.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises the step of: In S2, a hole is drilled on the inner cavity wall of the detection part of the carrier plant, and the inner cavity is injected with liquid metal by using a syringe. ​ 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises the step of: The wire is connected with the liquid metal segment through the hole on the inner cavity wall, and the hole is sealed after the wire is connected with the liquid metal segment. ​

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