WO2009157751A2 - Apparatus for determining the in-situ bio-chemical properties of liquid and firm materials - Google Patents

Apparatus for determining the in-situ bio-chemical properties of liquid and firm materials Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2009157751A2
WO2009157751A2 PCT/MY2009/000073 MY2009000073W WO2009157751A2 WO 2009157751 A2 WO2009157751 A2 WO 2009157751A2 MY 2009000073 W MY2009000073 W MY 2009000073W WO 2009157751 A2 WO2009157751 A2 WO 2009157751A2
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
rod
internal sensor
casing
sensing elements
processing unit
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/MY2009/000073
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
WO2009157751A3 (en
Inventor
Yusof Ismail
Othman Masuri
Original Assignee
Mimos Berhad
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Mimos Berhad filed Critical Mimos Berhad
Publication of WO2009157751A2 publication Critical patent/WO2009157751A2/en
Publication of WO2009157751A3 publication Critical patent/WO2009157751A3/en

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
    • G01N33/02—Food
    • G01N33/12—Meat; fish
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
    • G01N33/02—Food
    • G01N33/025—Fruits or vegetables

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to a sensor apparatus, more particularly to an apparatus having sensors and its sensor packaging for in-situ chemical properties determination in the firm texture products such as meat, vegetable and fruits.
  • test apparatuses and test methods have been developed for that purpose. For example, it is widely desirable to determine or to test through quantitative and qualitative tests for body fluids, such as blood, and urine, as well as food, such as meat products.
  • the apparatus that consists of the sensor and its sensor packaging for in-situ chemical properties determination is presented.
  • the object of the present invention is to provide the sensor apparatus which is relatively cheap to manufacture, and is strong enough to withstand repeated use while retaining its reliability of operation.
  • an apparatus for determining chemical properties of liquid and firm materials comprises a casing having an upper portion, a lower portion connected to the upper portion and a plunger secured on top of the upper portion, a ' signal processing unit contained within the casing, and an internal sensor rod having a rod shaft connected with the processing unit at one end and a tip end at the other end for penetrating into the liquid and firm materials when the connected plunger is pressed, the rod shaft of the internal sensor rod includes at least one cavity for receiving a sensing element to obtain data which is processed by the signal processing unit to provide the chemical properties readings during penetration into the liquid and firm materials.
  • the sensing elements located inside the cavities are protected from direct contact with the liquid and firm materials to avoid scratches and damages during the rod penetration.
  • the casing further comprising a display panel provided at the upper portion of the casing, the display panel is connected with the signal processing unit to display the readings .
  • the signal processing unit is an analog and digital signal processing chip which transduces the chemical signal to the equivalent electrical signal and then followed by the digital signal processing to increase the sensitivity and the selectivity of the sensing elements.
  • Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the apparatus for determining chemical properties of liquid and firm materials in accordance to an embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 2 depicts a side view of the apparatus of figure 1;
  • Figure 3 illustrates a front view of the internal sensor rod of the apparatus
  • Figure 4 is a side view of the internal sensor rod of figure 3.
  • Figures 1 and 2 show a hand-held chemical probe (10) of an apparatus for in-situ determining chemical properties of liguid and firm materials
  • the chemical probe (10) comprises of casing (11) which includes an upper portion (Ha) and a bottom portion (lib), whereby the bottom portion (Ha) having a smaller diameter than the upper portion (Ha) of the probe (10) .
  • the upper portion (Ha) and the lower portion (lib) of the casing (11) are interconnected at a tapered portion (Hc) .
  • a plunger (12) being secured on top of the upper portion (Ha) of the casing (H) as shown in figures 1 and 2.
  • the chemical probe (10) also includes a display panel (13) provided at upper portion (Ha) of the casing (11) for displaying the reading of the sensors.
  • the display panel (13) has function keys (13a) for manipulating the function of the display panel (13) .
  • An analog and digital signal processing unit (not shown) is connected to the display panel (13) and provided within the casing (H) of the chemical probe (10) .
  • An internal rod with sensor (14) which comprises a connection member (15), a rod shaft (16) extended from the connection member (15) and terminated with a tip end (17) connected at the other end of the rod shaft (16) is shown in figures 3 and 4.
  • the internal rod (14) has at least one sensing element (18) located in a cavity (19) at the rod shaft (16).
  • the sensing element (18) has no direct contact with the firm material under inspection when the tip end (17) of the internal rod
  • the sensing elements (18) are protected from scratches and damages during the rod penetration and thus allow reliable and accurate reading of the measurand.
  • a plurality of sensing elements (18) is provided at the opposing sides at predetermined locations in the cavities (19) provided at the internal sensor rod (14).
  • the cavities (19) which contain the sensing elements (18) are located at the front and back sides of the internal sensor rod (14) as shown in figure 4.
  • the sensing elements (18) which are the sensors are connected to respective conductors (not shown that extend to the signal processing unit.
  • the signal processing unit is a analog and digital signal processing chip to transduce the chemical signal to the equivalent electrical signal and then followed by the digital signal processing (DSP) to increase the sensitivity and the selectivity of the sensors.
  • DSP digital signal processing
  • Different sensing elements (18) may be used for the chemical probe (10) to provide different chemical properties measurements.
  • the internal sensor rod (14) is preferably made of metal and consists of plurality types of sensing elements to allow the biochemical properties of the firm material to be determined, such as sensors for pH, temperature, chemical ions, toxicity, heavy metal and etc.
  • the tip end (17) of the internal sensor rod (14) can be disposed and new sensors can be replaced. Or alternatively the same set of sensors can be kept inside the enclosure for future use.
  • the internal sensor rod (14) is connected to the signal processing unit at the tapered portion (lie) of the probe (10) with the connection member (15) of the internal sensor rod (14) provides the mating contact and the internal sensor rod (14) positioned within the bottom portion (lib) of the casing (11) .
  • the internal sensor rod (14) will protrude out at the other end of the casing (11) .
  • the sharp tip end (17) of the internal sensor rod (14) is then penetrates through the liquid and firm material having biochemical properties to be determined by the chemical probe (10) of the present invention.
  • the sensing elements (18) follow through and out from the casing (11) to penetrate through the liquid and firm material. Since the sensing elements (18) are located inside the cavities (19) of the rod shaft (16), they are protected from being destroyed or similar damages during the penetration process. Once the sensing elements (18) are inside the liquid and firm material, the sensing elements (18) will start the sensing process and the reading process is then registered by the signal processing unit and the readings are displayed at the display panel (13) .

Abstract

A hand-held easy to carry shaped sensor packaging that has special feature that protect the sensitive sensing elements from being destroyed and thus allow reliable and accurate reading of the measurand. The apparatus includes a casing, a signal processing unit contained within the casing and an internal sensor rod having a rod shaft connected with the processing unit. The rod shaft includes at least one cavity for receiving a sensing element to obtain data to provide the chemical properties readings during penetration into the liquid and firm materials.

Description

Apparatus for Determining The In-Situ Bio-chemical Properties of Liquid and Firm Materials
Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to a sensor apparatus, more particularly to an apparatus having sensors and its sensor packaging for in-situ chemical properties determination in the firm texture products such as meat, vegetable and fruits.
Background of the Invention
It is desired to provide for a rapid and efficient test for the detection of various chemical and physical properties of test samples from materials or surfaces. Various test apparatuses and test methods have been developed for that purpose. For example, it is widely desirable to determine or to test through quantitative and qualitative tests for body fluids, such as blood, and urine, as well as food, such as meat products.
The packaging of sensors poses great challenge to the package designer since it must allow precise, repeated and reliable readings. Since chemical sensors must be in contact with the measurand such as chemical species, moisture, pH etc, the packaging of chemical sensors is much more challenging than the non-contact sensors for example accelerometers, gyroscopes. There are many applications of chemical sensors such in the food industry where they are used to determine for example the acidity, the level of chemical traces, pollutants, the freshness and tenderness of the meat, level of toxins, and so on.
In the present invention, the apparatus that consists of the sensor and its sensor packaging for in-situ chemical properties determination is presented. The object of the present invention is to provide the sensor apparatus which is relatively cheap to manufacture, and is strong enough to withstand repeated use while retaining its reliability of operation.
Other objects of this invention will become apparent on the reading of this entire disclosure.
Summary of the Invention
In the present invention, an apparatus for determining chemical properties of liquid and firm materials comprises a casing having an upper portion, a lower portion connected to the upper portion and a plunger secured on top of the upper portion, a 'signal processing unit contained within the casing, and an internal sensor rod having a rod shaft connected with the processing unit at one end and a tip end at the other end for penetrating into the liquid and firm materials when the connected plunger is pressed, the rod shaft of the internal sensor rod includes at least one cavity for receiving a sensing element to obtain data which is processed by the signal processing unit to provide the chemical properties readings during penetration into the liquid and firm materials. The sensing elements located inside the cavities are protected from direct contact with the liquid and firm materials to avoid scratches and damages during the rod penetration.
Preferably the casing further comprising a display panel provided at the upper portion of the casing, the display panel is connected with the signal processing unit to display the readings .
Preferably the signal processing unit is an analog and digital signal processing chip which transduces the chemical signal to the equivalent electrical signal and then followed by the digital signal processing to increase the sensitivity and the selectivity of the sensing elements. Brief Description of the Drawings
Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when read with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views:
Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the apparatus for determining chemical properties of liquid and firm materials in accordance to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 depicts a side view of the apparatus of figure 1;
Figure 3 illustrates a front view of the internal sensor rod of the apparatus; and
Figure 4 is a side view of the internal sensor rod of figure 3.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments
In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures and/or components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention. Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Figures 1 and 2 show a hand-held chemical probe (10) of an apparatus for in-situ determining chemical properties of liguid and firm materials, the chemical probe (10) comprises of casing (11) which includes an upper portion (Ha) and a bottom portion (lib), whereby the bottom portion (Ha) having a smaller diameter than the upper portion (Ha) of the probe (10) . The upper portion (Ha) and the lower portion (lib) of the casing (11) are interconnected at a tapered portion (Hc) . A plunger (12) being secured on top of the upper portion (Ha) of the casing (H) as shown in figures 1 and 2.
The chemical probe (10) also includes a display panel (13) provided at upper portion (Ha) of the casing (11) for displaying the reading of the sensors. The display panel (13) has function keys (13a) for manipulating the function of the display panel (13) . An analog and digital signal processing unit (not shown) is connected to the display panel (13) and provided within the casing (H) of the chemical probe (10) . An internal rod with sensor (14) which comprises a connection member (15), a rod shaft (16) extended from the connection member (15) and terminated with a tip end (17) connected at the other end of the rod shaft (16) is shown in figures 3 and 4. The internal rod (14) has at least one sensing element (18) located in a cavity (19) at the rod shaft (16). The sensing element (18) has no direct contact with the firm material under inspection when the tip end (17) of the internal rod
(14) of the chemical probe (10) has penetrated the surface of the firm material. Therefore, the sensing elements (18) are protected from scratches and damages during the rod penetration and thus allow reliable and accurate reading of the measurand.
In the present invention, a plurality of sensing elements (18) is provided at the opposing sides at predetermined locations in the cavities (19) provided at the internal sensor rod (14). The cavities (19) which contain the sensing elements (18) are located at the front and back sides of the internal sensor rod (14) as shown in figure 4. The sensing elements (18) which are the sensors are connected to respective conductors (not shown that extend to the signal processing unit. The signal processing unit is a analog and digital signal processing chip to transduce the chemical signal to the equivalent electrical signal and then followed by the digital signal processing (DSP) to increase the sensitivity and the selectivity of the sensors. Different sensing elements (18) may be used for the chemical probe (10) to provide different chemical properties measurements.
The internal sensor rod (14) is preferably made of metal and consists of plurality types of sensing elements to allow the biochemical properties of the firm material to be determined, such as sensors for pH, temperature, chemical ions, toxicity, heavy metal and etc. The tip end (17) of the internal sensor rod (14) can be disposed and new sensors can be replaced. Or alternatively the same set of sensors can be kept inside the enclosure for future use. The internal sensor rod (14) is connected to the signal processing unit at the tapered portion (lie) of the probe (10) with the connection member (15) of the internal sensor rod (14) provides the mating contact and the internal sensor rod (14) positioned within the bottom portion (lib) of the casing (11) .
During operation of the chemical probe (10) of the present invention, when the plunger (12) of the probe (10) is pressed, the internal sensor rod (14) will protrude out at the other end of the casing (11) . The sharp tip end (17) of the internal sensor rod (14) is then penetrates through the liquid and firm material having biochemical properties to be determined by the chemical probe (10) of the present invention. The sensing elements (18) follow through and out from the casing (11) to penetrate through the liquid and firm material. Since the sensing elements (18) are located inside the cavities (19) of the rod shaft (16), they are protected from being destroyed or similar damages during the penetration process. Once the sensing elements (18) are inside the liquid and firm material, the sensing elements (18) will start the sensing process and the reading process is then registered by the signal processing unit and the readings are displayed at the display panel (13) .
As will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, the present invention may easily be produced in other specific forms without departing from its essential characteristics. The present embodiments is, therefore, to be considered as merely illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which come within therefore intended to be embraced therein.

Claims

Claims
1. An apparatus for determining chemical properties of liquid and firm materials comprising: a casing having an upper portion, a lower portion connected to the upper portion and a plunger secured on top of said upper portion; a signal processing unit contained within said casing; and an internal sensor rod having a rod shaft connected with said processing unit at one end and a tip end at the other end for penetrating into said liquid and firm materials when the connected plunger is pressed, said rod shaft of the internal sensor rod includes at least one cavity for receiving a sensing element to obtain data which is processed by said signal processing unit to provide the chemical properties readings during penetration into the liquid and firm materials .
2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said internal sensor rod has a plurality of cavities provided at the rod shaft for receiving a plurality types of sensing elements therein, whereby said sensing elements are protected from direct contact with the liquid and firm materials to avoid scratches and damages during the rod penetration.
3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said plurality of cavities with sensing elements is provided at the opposing sides at predetermined locations at the rod shaft of the internal sensor rod.
4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said internal sensor rod is made of metal and consists of plurality of different types of sensing elements.
5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said different types of sensing elements are used to determine chemical properties such as but not limited to pH, temperature, chemical ions and toxicity.
6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said internal sensor rod further includes a connection member provided at the opposed tip end of the rod shaft.
7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said tip end is detachably connected to the rod shaft of the internal sensor rod.
8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said casing further comprising a display panel provided at the upper portion of the casing, said display panel is connected with said signal processing unit to display the readings.
9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein said signal processing unit is an analog and digital signal processing chip which transduces the chemical signal to the equivalent electrical signal and then followed by the digital signal, processing to increase the sensitivity and the selectivity of said sensing elements.
10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said upper portion and lower portion of the casing are interconnected at a tapered portion.
PCT/MY2009/000073 2008-06-27 2009-06-16 Apparatus for determining the in-situ bio-chemical properties of liquid and firm materials WO2009157751A2 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
MYPI20082363 2008-06-27
MYPI20082363A MY183742A (en) 2008-06-27 2008-06-27 Apparatus for determining the in-situ bio-chemical properties of liquid and firm materials

Publications (2)

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WO2009157751A2 true WO2009157751A2 (en) 2009-12-30
WO2009157751A3 WO2009157751A3 (en) 2010-04-01

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Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4478222A (en) * 1980-03-10 1984-10-23 Cordis Europa N.V. Electrochemical sensing apparatus with in situ calibration
US5497091A (en) * 1994-09-01 1996-03-05 Applied Research Associates, Inc. Surface mounted pH sensor for cone penetration testing
US6171312B1 (en) * 1996-07-18 2001-01-09 Implant Innovations, Inc. Power-driven osteotome tools for compaction of bone tissue
WO2007026354A1 (en) * 2005-08-29 2007-03-08 Galil Medical Ltd. Multiple sensor device for measuring tissue temperature during thermal treatment

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4478222A (en) * 1980-03-10 1984-10-23 Cordis Europa N.V. Electrochemical sensing apparatus with in situ calibration
US5497091A (en) * 1994-09-01 1996-03-05 Applied Research Associates, Inc. Surface mounted pH sensor for cone penetration testing
US6171312B1 (en) * 1996-07-18 2001-01-09 Implant Innovations, Inc. Power-driven osteotome tools for compaction of bone tissue
WO2007026354A1 (en) * 2005-08-29 2007-03-08 Galil Medical Ltd. Multiple sensor device for measuring tissue temperature during thermal treatment

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Publication number Publication date
MY183742A (en) 2021-03-10
WO2009157751A3 (en) 2010-04-01

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