Method and apparatus for determining moisture content and conductivity

Abstract

A method and apparatus for detecting volumetric moisture content and conductivity in various media based on the time-domain reflectometry (TDR) system disclosed in patent application Ser. No. 09/945,528. As in patent application Ser. No. 09/945,528, successive square waves are generated and transmitted on a transmission line through a medium of interest, and a characteristic received waveform is analyzed by continuously sampling multiple received waveforms at short time intervals. Unlike the former system, the system in this disclosure does not house the transmitting and receiving circuitry on the same circuit board, but uses a bistatic approach to separate transmitting and receiving modules. A timing signal is coincidentally sent with the transmitted waveform along a separate shielded transmission line. The effects of dispersion caused by the conductive and dielectric properties of the medium on the waveform sent on the unshielded transmission line are extrapolated. This is accomplished by detecting the bulk propagation time and the slope of the distorted rising edge of the characteristic received waveform. Absolute volumetric moisture percentage is inferred from propagation time, and absolute conductivity is inferred from the maximum slope value of the distorted rising edge of the characteristic received waveform.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] U.S. Patent Documents

[0002] U.S. Pat. No. 6,215,317 April 2001 Siddiqui, et al. 324/643

[0003] U.S. Pat. No. 6,441,622 August 2002 Wrzeninski, et al 324/643

[0004] U.S. Patent Applications

[0005] Anderson, Scott K. “Absolute-Reading Moisture and Conductivity Sensor”. Application Ser. No. 09/945,528.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED R & D

[0006] Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX

[0007] Not Applicable

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0008] The present invention relates generally to electronic moisture sensors, and specifically to time domain reflectometry moisture sensors. This invention represents a modification to the method and apparatus for extrapolating soil moisture and conductivity disclosed in patent application Ser. No. 09/945,528.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0009] A variety of sensors have been developed to detect moisture in various media. These include conductivity sensors, bulk dielectric constant sensors, time domain reflectometer or transmissometry (TDR or TDT) type sensors, and various oscillator devices, the majority of which exploit the high dielectric constant of water to extrapolate moisture content in the medium. In particular, TDR type sensors have been used over the past several years to measure the water content in various applications. Such applications include detecting volumetric soil moisture, determining liquid levels in tanks, and determining moisture content in paper mills and granaries.

[0010] A major setback in determining volumetric moisture content in a medium is the influence of conductive materials in the medium of interest. For example, soil conductivity is a function of the ion content of the soil and of its temperature. Salts from irrigation water and/or fertilizer can build up in the soil and cause significant errors in TDR-based moisture readings.

[0011] Because of the uncertainty in moisture readings caused by conductivity, many of the TDR sensors now available are “relative” sensors. This means that the sensor does not report absolute moisture content readings, but uses reference points obtained through testing. In essence, the moisture sensor does not report absolute moisture content readings, but reports a “wetter than” or “drier than” condition based on the relative difference of the conductivity-dependant moisture content reading and the reference reading.

[0012] Unfortunately, the readings from these “relative” sensors do not remain in synchronism with the true or “absolute” water content of the medium, but fluctuate with time. For example, the salinity (ionic content) of soil may fluctuate with season. In such a case, the original reference point becomes an inaccurate indicator of the moisture level of the medium.

[0013] The method and apparatus disclosed in patent application Ser. No. 09/945,528 provide a way to report absolute volumetric water content of a medium. This is done by essentially analyzing the distortion effects on a transmitted waveform caused by the properties (namely conductivity and dielectric constant) of the medium. The method and apparatus disclosed in patent application Ser. No. 09/945,528 provide a means to launch a fast rising positive edge on a transmission line passing through a specific length of soil. The transmission line folds back to a receiver mounted on the same circuit board as the transmitter. As a result of housing the transmitting and receiving electronics on the same circuit board, and folding the transmission line, feed-through noise is inherent in the characteristic received waveform.

[0014] The disclosed invention is a method and apparatus similar to that disclosed in patent application Ser. No. 09/945,528, however, a bistatic approach is incorporated—the transmitting and receiving circuitry are housed on separate circuit boards, connected by a straight unshielded transmission line used for sending the successive waveforms, a shielded transmission line used for timing, and a wire bundle for communication and power purposes. This eliminates the feed-through noise in the characteristic received waveform, resulting in a simpler detection scheme for bulk propagation delay and distorted rising edge slope.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0015] The disclosed invention is a method and apparatus for inferring volumetric moisture content and bulk conductivity of a medium of interest using a TDR-based system based on the disclosure in patent application Ser. No. 09/945,528. The present invention describes a bistatic approach to measure the propagation time.

[0016] As in patent application Ser. No. 09/945,528, a very precise timing and successive approximation amplitude-measuring scheme captures the timing and amplitude of the received waveform with pico-second and milli-volt resolution, respectively. From point-by-point measurements the characteristic received waveform is examined. Propagation delay of the characteristic received waveform is set as the first time when the amplitude of the received waveform is greater than a threshold. The maximum slope of the characteristic received waveform is also examined. This information is used to infer bulk dielectric constant and conductivity, respectively, of the moisture-bearing medium.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of the sensor system with important components labeled.

[0018] FIG. 2 shows typical waveforms transmitted and received by the apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] The disclosed apparatus is essentially identical to that disclosed in patent application Ser. No. 09/945,528 with several modifications introduced to allow for separate transmitter and receiving units. The method of extracting propagation delay and maximum slope are slightly different due to the inherent difference in the characteristic received waveform.

[0020] The important elements of the moisture sensor are diagrammed in FIG. 1. This figure is a simplified block diagram of a precisely-timed waveform generator coupled with a successive approximation amplitude measurement system capable of capturing the detail of very fast waveforms. The timing generator (1) provides two trigger signals that are precisely separated in time by a programmable offset ranging from zero to tens of nanoseconds with a resolution of tens of picoseconds. The offset amount is governed by the setting of a digital to analog converter (DAC) (8).

[0021] The first trigger activates a step function generator (2). The output of this generator is a very fast rising edge that propagates down an unshielded transmission line (3) to the receiving comparator (5). The second trigger is sent down a shielded transmission line (4), such that the speed of propagation is independent of the properties of the medium of interest. If the incoming waveform from the unshielded transmission line (3) is higher in amplitude than the DAC (6) driving the other input at the second trigger (from [4]), then the comparator (5) provides a logical ‘1’ output. If the incoming waveform is lower than the DAC (6) setting, the comparator (5) provides a logical ‘0’ output. The comparator's captured state is then examined by the microprocessor (7). These features make it possible to measure the amplitude of the incoming waveform at a precise time after the waveform was launched. By repeatedly measuring the waveform amplitude at successive time increments, the entire waveform can be reconstructed. This reconstructed waveform is referred to hereafter as the characteristic received waveform.

[0022] Measuring the amplitude of the characteristic received waveform at a given time point is accomplished through a successive approximation technique requiring a sequence of waveform launch and receive cycles. The number of cycles required is equal to the number of resolution bits in the amplitude DAC (6). First, the trigger spacing is set in the timing DAC (8). This setting represents the time after the launch of the waveform that the received waveform will be sampled. This setting will remain fixed while the amplitude at this point is found. Next, the amplitude DAC (6) is set to half scale (the most significant bit is set and all others are cleared). Then an output from the microprocessor (7) starts the timing generator (1). The first trigger from the timing generator (1) causes the step generator (2) to launch a step on the transmission line (3). At the precisely programmed interval later, the second trigger is sent down the shielded transmission line (4) and latches the input to the receiving comparator (5). (Note that the latching actually occurs at the programmed offset plus the time required for the signal to travel down the shielded transmission line—a known quantity). Next, the microprocessor (7) examines the comparator (5) output. If it is a logical ‘1’ (waveform is higher than amplitude DAC [6]), then the microprocessor leaves the last set bit in its set state and sets the next most significant bit. Then another step function is launched on the transmission line (3). The sequence repeats until all bits in the amplitude DAC (5) have been successively processed from the most significant to the least significant. The resulting amplitude DAC (6) input setting is the digital representation of the waveform amplitude at the precise time that was loaded into the timing DAC (8).

[0023] FIG. 2 represents waveform measurements taken at successive time increments using the aforementioned process. Waveform (9) represents the transmitted step function. Waveform (10) represents the characteristic received waveform that has propagated through moist soil that has low conductivity. Note that waveform (10) is essentially the same as waveform (9) with these differences: The amplitude is slightly lower and the waveform has been translated to the right. Note that in the apparatus described in patent application Ser. No. 09/945,528, a low level signal leads the waveform. This low signal represents residual feed-through due to the fact that the transmitter and receiver were housed on the same circuit board. In the present disclosure, no feed-through is observed since the first signal component that reaches the comparator (5) at the receiving end is the waveform sent down the unshielded transmission line (3). Waveform (11) represents the characteristic received waveform that has propagated through moist soil that has high conductivity. Note that waveform (11) differs from waveform (10) in that the rising edge slope is not as steep. However, the propagation times are nearly identical. This is expected since waveforms (10) and (11) represent characteristic received waveforms that have propagated through soils of equal wetness, but different conductivities.

[0024] For a given characteristic received waveform, the bulk dielectric constant and the conductivity of the medium of interest may be determined in the following ways. First, since there is no feed-through in the characteristic received waveform (10), propagation may be inferred as that time when the amplitude of the waveform (10) is greater than some threshold. This threshold is set to be a value above the noise floor of the receiving system and below a value that would cause significant propagation time error in conduction soils.

[0025] Alternately, the propagation time may be calculated as the maximum slope of the waveform projected onto the x-axis (0 V line). This point of intersection represents the estimated propagation time. As described in patent application Ser. No. 09/945,528, the slope of the maximum slope line can be used to infer conductivity.

[0026] Another way to determine propagation delay is by computing the second derivative. The major point of inflection corresponds to the bulk propagation time.

[0027] Since conductivity is calculated using the maximum slope, the second method is selected by the authors for implementation. This method is also advantageous since the maximum slope line is the place in the waveform where most of the energy of the transmitted waveform is reaching the receiving end, hence at this point there is the greatest signal to noise ratio, assuming stationary noise statistics. The slope amplitude (V/s) and temporal position (s) are accurate and repeatable.

[0028] The maximum slope of the characteristic received waveform is located in the following manner. Since we expect that the characteristic received waveform will contain noise, a smoothing first derivative approximation is incorporated. To approximate the derivative at each point, a thirty-two point window of data is stored. The first derivative approximation at a point in the center of the window is calculated as the sum of the second sixteen entries minus the first sixteen entries, divided by the sum of the thirty-two entries.

[0029] A search for the maximum slope begins at a time when the characteristic received waveform is greater than some voltage above the waveform. The maximum slope, its temporal location, and the amplitude at that location are stored. Propagation time is then determined by projecting a the maximum slope line onto the x-axis (0 V).

Claims

1. An apparatus for digitizing a waveform sent from a transmitter through a moisture-bearing medium to a receiver comprising the steps of: A) providing an unshielded transmission line that passes through the medium to a latching comparator; B) providing a shielded transmission line that passes from the transmitter to the receiver; C) launching a step function waveform on the unshielded transmission line; D) sending a timing signal from the transmitter through the shielded transmission line to the receiver; E) measuring the amplitude of the waveform at a programmed time point at the latching comparator by using a timing and successive approximation amplitude-measuring technique comprising the steps of: a) providing a programmable voltage reference to which the waveform is compared by the latching comparator; b) providing a programmable time offset to set a precisely-timed sampling strobe after the launch of the waveform to sample the waveform amplitude at the latching comparator, which strobe is sent through a shielded transmission line to a the latching comparator on the receiving end; c) launching multiple, identical step function waveforms and adjusting the programmable voltage reference in a successive approximation fashion until the amplitude of the waveform at the given point has been acquired; F) changing the programmable time offset to the next desired time point and acquiring the amplitude of the waveform at that point.

2. A method in claim 1, wherein the propagation time of the waveform through the medium of interest is calculated from the digitized received waveform, comprising the steps of: A) determining the slope of the received waveform transition from a set of measured points; B) locating the point of maximum slope of the reconstructed waveform transition; C) projecting a straight line through the maximum slope point to the x-axis (0 Volts). E) finding the intercept point of the projected line and the x-axis, wherein the timing of the intercept point represents the propagation time of the waveform.

3. The method in claim 2, wherein the propagation time is used to calculate the bulk dielectric constant of the medium in contact with the unshielded transmission line.

4. The method in claim 2 wherein the slope information from a returning waveform is used to determine the conductivity of the medium in contact with the transmission line.

5. An apparatus in claim 1, wherein the medium of interest is soil.