Agricultural sampling system and related methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12031970-B2
Application number	US-202117343536-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 9, 2021
Priority date	Apr 30, 2020
Publication date	Jul 9, 2024
Grant date	Jul 9, 2024

Abstract

An automated computer-controlled sampling system and related methods for collecting, processing, and analyzing agricultural samples for various chemical properties such as plant available nutrients. The sampling system allows multiple samples to be processed and analyzed for different analytes or chemical properties in a simultaneous concurrent or semi-concurrent manner. Advantageously, the system can process soil samples in the “as collected” condition without drying or grinding to produce a sample slurry. The system includes a chemical analysis sub-system which processes and analyzes the prepared slurry for quantifying multiple analytes and/or chemical properties of the sample. The chemical analysis sub-system may be embodied in a multi-layered microfluidic manifold processing substrate comprising microfluidic devices which extract and quantify the concentration of analytes or other chemical parameters associated with the sample. The system can be used to analyze various type of agricultural-related samples including soil, vegetation, manure, milk or other.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A microfluidic manifold for processing an agricultural slurry comprising:
a substrate comprised of a plurality of polymeric planar layers bonded together and having a vertical orientation;
a slurry inlet port formed in the substrate;
a slurry outlet port formed in the substrate; and
a slurry flow path formed internally within the substrate and fluidly coupling the slurry inlet port to the slurry outlet port;
wherein the slurry flow path is configured such that the slurry always flows assisted by gravity in a constant downward sloping direction in all portions of the slurry flow path from the slurry inlet port to the slurry outlet port.

2. The microfluidic manifold according to claim 1 , wherein the slurry flow path is defined by a plurality of microchannels formed in the substrate such that there are no sections of the microchannels that form the slurry flow path which have a horizontal orientation to prevent solids in the slurry from settling out of suspension.

3. The microfluidic manifold according to claim 2 , further comprising a plurality of microfluidic devices fluidly coupled together by the microchannels between the slurry inlet and outlet ports.

4. The microfluidic manifold according to claim 3 , wherein the microfluidic devices include at least one micropump and at least one microvalve.

5. The microfluidic manifold according to claim 4 , wherein the at least one micropump includes an inlet port and an outlet port, wherein the inlet port is fluidly coupled to a plurality of upstream microvalves by the microchannels.

6. The microfluidic nanifold according to claim 5 , wherein the upstream microvalves include an extractant microvalve fluidly coupled to an extractant source, a flushing water microvalve fluidly coupled to a water source, a slurry microvalve fluidly coupled to the slurry inlet port, and a calibration standard liquid microvalve all of which are fluidly coupled to the at least one micropump by a single shared branched microchannel section.

7. The microfluidic manifold according to claim 6 , wherein micropumps are vertically aligned in the substrate and fluidly isolatable from each other via a microvalve arranged in the slurry flow path between the micropumps.

8. The microfluidic manifold according to claim 5 , wherein in the at least one micropump is vertically oriented, the inlet port of the at least one micropump being located at a top thereof and the outlet port of the micropump being located at a bottom thereof such that the slurry flows in a vertical downward direction through the at least one micropump.

9. The microfluidic manifold according to claim 2 , wherein the substrate has a rectangular cuboid form including opposing first and second major sides which are vertically oriented to produce the downward direction of the slurry in the flow path.

10. The microfluidic manifold according to claim 2 , wherein the slurry outlet port is lower in the substrate than the slurry inlet port.

11. The microfluidic manifold according to claim 1 , wherein the microchannels are formed between adjacent internal layers of the substrate.

12. The microfluidic manifold according to claim 11 wherein the microchannels are formed in a fluid distribution layer, the at least one micropump and the at least one microvalve are formed by concave recesses in a liquid layer, and an air layer is interspersed between the fluid distribution and liquid layers to place the at least one micropump and the at least one microvalve in fluid communication with a source of pressurized air which operates the at least one micropump and the at least one microvalve.

13. The microfluidic manifold according to claim 12 , further comprising a first outer layer disposed on the fluid distribution layer which defines a planar first major surface and a second outer layer disposed on the liquid layer which defines an opposite planar second major surface.

14. The microfluidic manifold according to claim 13 , wherein the first major surface comprises a plurality of external air valves configured for coupling to air tubing, a first air valve being fluidly coupled to the at least one micropump and a second air valve being fluidly coupled to the at least one microvalve through the fluid distribution and air layers.

15. The microfluidic manifold according to claim 13 , wherein the first major surface further comprises a plurality of liquid fittings each fluidly coupled to a respective microvalve of a plurality of microvalves disposed in the liquid layer.

16. The microfluidic manifold according to claim 15 , wherein one of the liquid fittings on the first major surface forms part of the slurry inlet port and another of the liquid fittings on the first major surface forms part of the slurry outlet port.

17. The microfluidic manifold according to claim 12 , wherein the at least one micropump comprises a resiliently deformable diaphragm trapped between the fluid distribution layer and the air layer which seals a first one of the recesses in the liquid layer that defines the at least one micropump, and wherein the at least one microvalve comprises a resiliently deformable diaphragm trapped between the fluid distribution layer and the air layer which seals a second one of the recesses in the liquid layer that defines the at least one microvalve.

18. The microfluidic manifold according to claim 17 , further comprising a plurality of micropumps arranged in and forming part of the slurry flow path, the micropumps each being oriented so that the slurry flows in the vertical downward direction through each of the micropumps.

19. The microfluidic manifold according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate is vertically oriented.

Assignees

• Prec Planting Llc

Inventors

• Swanson Todd
• Schaefer Timothy A
• Litwiller Riley

Classifications

• G01N33/245

  for agricultural purposes · CPC title

• F16K99/0015

  Diaphragm or membrane valves · CPC title

• F04B13/02

  of two or more fluids at the same time · CPC title

• B01L2300/0887

  Laminated structure · CPC title

• B01L2300/0883

  Serpentine channels · CPC title