WO2007061198A1

WO2007061198A1 - Hygroscope

Info

Publication number: WO2007061198A1
Application number: PCT/KR2006/004849
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sun Hee Kim
Original assignee: Sun Hee Kim
Priority date: 2005-11-27
Filing date: 2006-11-17
Publication date: 2007-05-31

Abstract

The present invention is related to the soil hygroscope and present method to embody a hygroscope applicable to read soil moistness by pattern clearness or color change appeared by the color contrast of two different materials of which color is varying in respond to the moistness.

Description

Description HYGROSCOPE

Technical Field

[1] The present invention is related to the soil hygroscope. In the past, it was realized by measuring the soil resistance and read by meters or humidity could be read by color of some humidity sensitive material such as cobalt chloride. The electrical method measuring soil moistness utilizes the principle that the electrical resistance of soil become lower when the water content of soil is high and the soil resistance will be higher when the soil is dry such that the electrical current will be vary with the moistness of soil. But, it is not economical way if one tries to measure multiple places with multiple measuring devices fixing it in each position.

[2] When cobalt chloride is used, the material exhibit pink color when the surround is wet and blue when the surround is dry. Therefore, one can read moistness of surrounds by the color difference. However, the use of this chemical can be restricted in certain areas as it is toxic to human body and the measurable humidity range of the material is limited between zero to 60%. Furthermore, the chemical can not be applied to the environment that has water to directly contact to the chemical because the chemical is deliquescence and apt to dispersed or destroyed with high humidity condition. Background Art

[3] Many kinds of materials exhibit its color differently when it is wet and when it is dry. In general, the materials are dark colored when it is wet and light colored when it is dry. This phenomenon can be explained by following; when the material is dry, the light projected to the surface is diffused reflected. When the material is wet, the light is totally reflected at the surface of the surface material or the surface material becomes transparent which makes the light pass the surface material and reflected again and one can see the reflected light from behind of the surface material.

[4] Most of extenders for paint pigment are transparent when it is wet and it is white colored when it is dry. The present invention employed this phenomenon and explains method to embody a device or sensor that changes its color or exhibit different pattern according to the wet or dry condition.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical Problem

[5] A pattern can be changed according to the extent of moistness of the moisture sensitive materials by the contrast between dry color and wet color.

[6] One can embody a device of which color or surface pattern is varying by the contrast of transparent and opaque utilizing moisture sensitive material that is transparent when it is wet and opaque when it is dry.

[7] A moisture sensitive material should be buried in soil to detect moistness of the soil.

Further, the sensed color should be observable from outside of the soil. Technical Solution

[8] In the present invention, a specific pattern is formed with two moist sensitive materials, one has water proof treatment on it and the other one has not water proof treatment. And a varying pattern is realized by the contrast of two material colors according to the moistness.

[9] Materials that change its color in accordance with the moistness applicable to the present invention are cobalt chloride, copper chloride, various extender pigments, dyestuffs, talc stuff, Portland cement, ceramics and hydro ball, etc.

[10] Those materials can be applied as it is or can be milled to make paints.

[11] Fig. 1 shows how a pattern can be constructed applying the principle of present invention. A kind of moist sensitive material(l) is coated on the water absorbable base(3) and a specific pattern is painted with transparent water proof material(2).

[12] The water proof material should be transparent like vinyl, oil or acryl, etc.

[13] The star shape pattern of water proof material can be different shape such as heart- shaped, flower leaf shaped, etc.

[14] In the wet condition, the coated material(l) is dark colored and the water proof area(2) is light colored because it is still dry and the specific pattern will be apparently shown as in the left side of Fig. 1.

[15] In the dry condition, the specific pattern is not apparent as shown in the right side of

Fig. 1 because both area is dry whether it is water proofed or not and whole area is light colored. Therefore, one can know it is dampness if the pattern is apparent and it is dry if the pattern is not apparent.

[16] Instead of water proof treatment(2) in Fig. 1, one can draw patterns with moist insensitive paint or inks such as oil paints, plastics, oil inks or acryl ink with the same wet color or dry color of moist sensitive material(l) to make similar pattern effect to the water proof pattern.

[17] The transparent effect in the wet condition as in the extender pigments of which reflection ratio is known to be similar to that of water can be applied to make a specific pattern that is changing in accordance with the moist condition by coating the extender pigment on the base material, black colored for example. In this case, the pattern vanishes during wet conditions and only the color of the base material, blue for example, appearing and the specific pattern appearing during dry condition as the extender become dry colored, white for example, which is contrasted to the color of base material, blue for example. If the whole surface of the base material is coated with extender pigment, the pattern is simply a changing color according to the wetness because the color of whole area of the pattern is dry color, white for example, in the dry condition or wet color, blue for example in the wet condition.

[18] The binder for the transparent paint that is made of extender pigments or powders could be of hydrophilic property and water-soluble.

[19] Method to make possible to observe the color pattern appearing inside of soil from outside of soil is through a transparent bar(4) such as glass bar or acryl bar as shown in Fig. 2. Make a cavity(6) at the one end of the transparent bar and place a moist sensor plate(7) in the cavity, its color pattern face toward to the upper end section(5) of the transparent bar, so that one can observe the pattern face from the other end of the transparent bar(5). Under the pattern plate is filled with water absorbing material(8). The surrounding light is projected through upper end(5) of the transparent bar and into the pattern face of the moist sensor, the light is reflected from the pattern face, come out of the transparent bar through the upper end(5) of the transparent bar. The light is transferred up and down without much loss through the side wall of the transparent bar, where the light is totally reflected, even when the transparent bar is relatively long. The sensor part of this device(9) is buried into soil and one can observe the soil moistness through the end(lθ) of the transparent bar outside of the soil as shown in Fig. 3. One can observe soil moistness by this kind of device only longitudinal direction through the upper end(lθ) of the transparent bar and one can not observe it through the side wall of the transparent bar.

Advantageous Effects

[20] The present invention present principle to embody mechanically and chemically robust hygroscope which is relatively simple construction compared with electrical moistness measuring device. Brief Description of the Drawings

[21] Fig. 1 shows the principle of a hygroscopic pattern.

[22] Fig. 2 shows the combination of a transparent bar and a pattern.

[23] Fig. 3 shows an application of the hygroscope.

[24] Fig. 4 shows a design drawing for the present invention.

[25] Fig. 5 shows the disassembly of a hygroscope.

[26] Fig. 6 shows a hygroscope for side observation.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[27] Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 are examples showing design of hygroscopes that are exhibit different color between wet condition and dry condition of soil. In the examples, side spaces (11) are provided at the lower part of the transparent bar and a plastic cone(12) is inserted into the bottom hole of the transparent bar. The cone is brightly colored with certain color and painted with extender pigment and aqueous emulsion binder on the top plate(13) of the cone. The plastic is inserted into the bottom hole of the transparent bar and lest of the spaces are filled with hygroscopic property. After installing this device stuck into the soil, the hygroscopic material absorb moisture from the soil when it is wet, the moisture transferred to the top plate(13) coated with extender paint, the extender material become transparent and the plastic color appeared through the top end(14) of the transparent bar. When the soil become dry, hygroscopic material and the extender material will also be dried and the white color of extender pigment appear through the top end(14) of the transparent bar. If the pattern plate is omitted from the device and a kind of mortar made of moist sensitive material that changes its color in accordance with the moistness are filled in the cavity(l 1) bellow the transparent bar, the device become a hygroscope that changes its color in accordance with the moistness.

[28] In case the hygroscope should be stuck into deeper soil, the outer side wall of the transparent bar is contacted with the surrounding soil and light is leaked out through the wall because the wall will be no longer a total reflection. The light loss can be eliminated or reduced if the outer side wall of the transparent bar is vacuum evaporation coated with a metal or painted with a good reflection property.

[29] The transparent bar should be bent to embody a hygroscope for observing from side direction. Mode for the Invention

[30] Fig. 6 shows how to make a hygroscope for side observation.

[31] This devise is made to transfer moisture from certain depth(15) of soil to outside of soil through hygroscopic material(16) of which color is different by the moistness so that one can read moistness by the color. If a pattern is made by coating transparent waterproof material on the side wall of the hygroscopic material, one can read moistness by the pattern change. If a pattern is made by coating moisture sensitive material on the side wall of the hygroscopic bar, one can read moistness by the pattern change. If a pattern is made on the side wall by coating moisture sensitive material(17) of which property is transparent when it is wet, one can read moistness by the pattern(17) change. The hygroscopic material should have transparent protective cover(18) around it to isolate the hygroscopic material from atmosphere out side of the cover and to observe the color or the pattern(17) on the hygroscopic material through it. Lower part of the hygroscopic bar(16) should be cone shaped to make it easy to stick the device into the soil. Hygroscopic bar(16) should have sufficient strength to handle and proper water absorption capability to meet moisture transfer speed in the hygroscopic bar. These characteristics can be obtained when the hygroscopic material is made of concrete for example. The concrete have sufficient strength and water absorption capability when prepared by Portland cement and sand mixture of about 1:5 to 1 : 10 by weight. When the hygroscopic bar is made of Portland cement and carbon black mixture, carbon black weight should be about 5% to 20% of Portland cement to have proper characteristics. Because the mixture of Portland cement and carbon black is near black colored at wet condition, a pattern on the material made by extender pigment become distinctive pattern. Portland cement and clay mixture or Portland cement and talc mixture can also be applied to make a hygroscopic bar(16). As these kind of hygroscopic bars are light grey at dry condition and dark grey at wet condition, the hygroscopic bars are used to read moistness by the color of bars or used to make hygroscopic pattern. Industrial Applicability

[32] Mechanically and chemically robust hygroscope can be made with the present invention; the hygroscopes are simple in construction compared with electrical moistness measuring device and are relatively low cost. The hygroscopes by the present invention are used to read soil moistness at multiple places by fixing the hygroscope at each place.

Claims

[1] The method to embody a hygroscopic sensor element having a pattern of which feature is changing its clearness in accordance with moistness of the element by the color contrast of two different materials consisting of the pattern, one(l) is changing its color with moistness and the other one(2) is not changing its color with moistness.

[2] The method to embody a hygroscopic sensor element of which base material has specific color and a pattern is drawn on it or totally coated with a paint made of extender pigments, talc or dye that is transparent when it is wet and is white when it is dry, the element exhibit base color during wet condition and the paint's white color appeared during dry condition and the element's feature is changing clearness of the pattern or changing color of the element.

[3] A hygroscope of which feature is its configuration that the hygroscopic sensor(7)(13) made by the Claim 1 or Claim 2 method is fixed at the bottom end of the transparent bar to be able to observe the sensor through the other end of the transparent bar and hygroscopic material is filled in the cavity (11) below the hygroscopic sensor.

[4] A hygroscope of which feature is its configuration that hygroscopic pattern or color changing part is made by the Claim 1 or Claim 2 method on the upper side(17) of hygroscopic bar(16) and a transparent protective cover(18) is covered from the top of the transparent bar down to the point(15) where correspond to the measuring depth.