Multi-Sensor Unit with Louvred Housing for Agricultural Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing environmental sensors in agricultural and horticultural settings face challenges such as high power requirements, difficulty in installation, limited communication range, inaccurate data, and high costs, often requiring physical connections to mains power and separate communication repeaters, with individual sensors having issues in protected measurement and data accuracy.
Innovation Solution
A multi-sensor unit integrating various environmental sensors, including incident light, temperature, and CO2 sensors, within a single housing, utilizing a louvred design for airflow and low power consumption, with Bluetooth 5 communication for robust data transmission and mesh networking, enabling accurate data collection and low power operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If individual sensors are used for each environmental condition, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases and installation becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple individual environmental sensors (temperature, humidity, light, CO2, soil moisture) into a single integrated sensor unit with a common housing and power source. This merging approach maintains the measurement precision of individual sensors while reducing device complexity and installation difficulty by providing a unified device that monitors multiple environmental conditions simultaneously.
2Reliability
If sensors are mounted in louvred housings for protection, then reliability is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates due to measurement errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different structural qualities to different parts of the sensor unit. The housing includes louvred sections with specific orientations (vertical and horizontal surfaces) that provide localized protection while maintaining measurement accuracy. The louvres are designed with specific geometries and orientations to protect sensors from direct sunlight and precipitation while allowing accurate environmental measurement, creating local quality variations that satisfy both protection and measurement requirements.
3Ease of operation
If wireless communication is used for data transmission, then ease of operation is improved, but communication range is limited requiring additional repeaters
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a gateway device as an intermediary between the sensor units and the user interface. The gateway receives data from multiple sensor units via wireless communication, processes and stores the data, and provides access through various interfaces (web, mobile app, API). This intermediary architecture extends the effective communication range and simplifies operation by centralizing data management and providing multiple access points without requiring additional wireless repeaters.
4Use of energy by stationary object
If physical connection to mains power is required, then power availability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to installation complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical connection system (physical wiring to mains power) with a wireless power transmission system using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology. The sensor units operate on battery power and communicate wirelessly, eliminating the need for physical electrical connections. This substitution dramatically improves ease of operation and installation while providing sufficient power availability for the low-power sensor nodes.
Data Source
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AI summary
Described herein is environmental sensors, sensor units, sensor systems and/or sensing methods. In particular, an agricultural or horticultural environment multi-sensor unit comprising a plurality of environmental sensors, including at least: an incident light sensor, a temperature sensor, a carbon dioxide sensor and a relative humidity sensor. The sensor unit may also comprise a wireless communication interface, the multi-sensor unit being configured to transmit data from the environmental sensors via the wireless communications interface.