Claims:1) An automated compost formulating device, comprising:

i) a body segregated within a first 3 and second portion 5, wherein said first portion 3 of said body is installed with a storage unit 1 for collecting various types of waste materials kept by a user for recycling;
ii) plurality of chambers 10 connected to storage said unit 1 via individual gates paired with a microcontroller, for storing various types of said waste materials, wherein based upon said type of waste determined by a first camera unit said microcontroller actuates desired gate in order to discharge said waste within one of said chamber 10;
iii) a telescopic rod 11 installed at second portion 5 of said body, that upon receiving command of said user through said controller, extends and digs within a ground in order to monitor pH/nutrition content of said soil via plurality of sensors, wherein based upon analysis, said microcontroller creates a 3-Dimantional map of a land with detected pH/nutrition level;
iv) a shredder unit 9 linked to each of said chambers 10 via individual valves and incorporated with motorized blades, wherein based upon said pH/nutrition content within said soil and type of crop to be grown over said soil, said microcontroller actuates a particular valve corresponding to said chamber 10 to collect said particular material required to full fill requirement of said user and via said blades breaks said material into fine pieces until size of said pieces reaches a user defined value that is monitored via a second camera unit;
v) a blowing unit installed within said shredder unit 9, wherein upon selection of making of compost at faster pace via a screen, said microcontroller actuates said unit before shredding to increase temperature and dry said material kept within said shredder unit 9, thus escalading process of making of said compost;
vi) a mixing unit 7 placed at second portion 5 of said body and integrated with a motor, wherein said mixing unit 7 receives said shredded material and via a motor rotates at a pre-defined speed to mix said material effectively; and
vii) plurality of containers 8 positioned at second portion 5 of said body and carried over a conveyor belt 4 filled with solutions and saw dust, wherein based upon type of crop to be grown and soil condition analyzed by said sensor, said microcontroller aligns one of said container 8 over said mixing unit 7 in order to discharge said solution along said saw dust within said material to fertilize said material effectively.

2) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said chambers 10 are connected to said storing unit 1 via conduits and incorporated with a pump that actuates along with said valves to discharge said waste material within desired chamber 10.

3) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said type of waste material includes plant waste, food waste, dry or wet waste etc.

4) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said type of crop to be grown by said user is input through screen installed over said body.

5) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plurality of sensors include a pH sensor and an optical transducer.

6) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said shredder unit 9 is coupled with a reservoir 2 for storing compounds including bioculum and sanitreat that gets mixes into said material to remove bad odor from said compost.

7) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a second camera unit is installed within said shredder unit 9 in order to monitor shredding process of said material.

8) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said mixing unit 7 is installed with a temperature and humidity sensor that measures said physical characteristics of said material kept within said unit 7 and updates to said user over said screen.

9) The device as claimed in claim 8, wherein based upon said physical condition and ambient temperature, said microcontroller actuates a Peltier unit to maintain favorable conditions within said mixing unit 7 to aid better preparation of said compost.

10) The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a third camera is installed within said mixing unit 7 to monitor said formation of compost and upon completion of process said camera unit sends a signal to said microcontroller in order to notify said user to indicate completion of said fertilization process.
, Description:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to an automated compost formulating device that prepares and fertilizes a compost by analyzing physical condition of soil and requirement of a user in order to re utilize waste material and facilitate the user to grow crops with less initial costs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] A compost is an organic material that are made by recycling various organic material generally called as waste products. These materials contain nutrients and other beneficial elements that aid in catalysing the growth of crops and plant in an area. By regular mixture of these substances, the physical properties of the soil becomes richer that aids in growing the crops and plants in faster and better rate. They provide nutrients as fertilizers in crops act as soil conditioners, rapidly increasing humus and humic acid content within the soil. Compost improves soil fertility in garden area, landscaping, horticulture, organic farming and urban agriculture.

[0003] In traditional way of composting, landfills are mainly used. Hole and trench in the grounds are traditionally used to collect and burry waste materials. Afterwards hot or cold water is given to the ground depending upon the environment conditions. This the most common and traditional way of composting. However, this comes with a set of drawbacks, most importantly the time it takes to complete the process of composting. It takes months and years to complete fertilize the material buried inside the ground and when it does, lot of odour is spread across the area, making it impractical to be practiced in a rural areas. Furthermore, this technique requires a lot of empty land that are to be dig for making holes.

[0004] Various other types of composting are used including in vessel and aerial static pile composting. In these technique regular interaction of air given to the material through buried tubes. Plastic tanks and concrete bunkers are used to keep the waste materials in which temperature are controlled by regular air circulations. However, these techniques are only used for small scale production and in continuation these composting are not adaptive according to the soil condition over which the plant or crops are to be grown.

[0005] WO20010000011A1 discloses a process for converting composted organic material produced by optimized composting procedures into pure organic fertilizer for agronomic and other uses, particularly the expanding organic food market. It is essential that only organic wastes that are compatible with being certified organic are used for the composting step. In the first step, the raw organic matter is processed into compost by optimized standard methods, and is screened to remove all particles approximately 1 cm in size or greater. This coarse material is recycled back into the composting process. In the second step, the material below 1 cm is further screened to separate out the compost fine particles of 1 mm or less. A major proportion of the particles should be below 150 microns. The particles between 1 mm and 1 cm are rejected, and may be used for other purposes. In the third step, the compost fine particles are pelleted at a pressure between 2,000 and 6,000 psi to form a pure organic fertilizer pellet of an appropriate density so that the nutrients will be released into a soil medium, or plant substrate, at a rate required for optimum plant growth. The compression process binds the fine particles together, and assists in the timed release of the nutrients from the pure organic fertilizer pellet. The pure organic fertilizer pellets can be applied to organic farm fields, market gardens, and the like, in the normal way.

[0006] Conventionally, there exist various methods and devices which are capable of making compost. However, none of the above mentioned devices are capable of formulating compost according to the type of soil condition and requirement of the type of plants and crops to be grown on that particular soil.
[0007] In order to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks, there is a dire need to develop a device that not only formulates compost without causing any bad odor, but further more adapts according to the condition of soil in order to produce compost to be effective for the person willing to grow crops or plants effectively.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The principal object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.

[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic device for producing compost from waste materials.

[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide a device that formulates compost according to the type of soil conditions and requirement of the user.

[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide a provision to eliminate bad odour produced during fertilization of the compost.

[0012] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide assistance to the user during planting or farming by providing vital information about the physical characteristics of the soil.

[0013] The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The present invention relates to an automated compost formulating device that is capable of fertilizing a compost from discarded waste materials and formulates the compost on the basis of type of crop to be grown and nutrition condition of the land to be used for farming.

[0015] According to an embodiment of the present invention, an automated compost formulating device comprises of, a body segregated into and upper and lower portion, where the upper portion of the body is installed with a storage unit that carries different types of waste thrown by user(s) for recycling, multiple chambers linked to the storage unit with help of independent gates and used for storing the material of different types separately, wherein with the help of a first camera unit, a microcontroller segregates the material by actuating the gates to store the material according to their types individually, a telescopic rod installed at lower portion of the body and embedded with pH and optical transducer sensor, that once extended and dug within a ground measures physical properties of the soil and updates over the microcontroller, a screen paired to the microcontroller, wherein the screen shows a 3-D map of the ground depicting the patches where the nutrient level is below par in order to facilitate the user.

[0016] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a shredder unit linked to the chambers with the help of independent electronic valves, wherein based upon the type of crop to be grown by the user over the ground and nutrient level of the soil, the microcontroller opens particular valve containing specific type of waste material required to fulfill the criteria of the user and fills the material within the shredder unit, multiple blades embedded within the shredder unit that mixes the material to break into fine pieces in order to form compost, blowing unit installed within the shredder unit to increase the temperature of the material to catalyst the formation of compost, a mixing unit placed at the second portion of the body and paired to a motor that allows mixing of the material evenly and multiple container placed over a conveyor belt and sandwiched between the shredder unit and mixing unit, containing solution and saw dust, wherein based upon the soil condition and type of crop to be grow, the microcontroller controls the movement of the belt in a manner to align required container over the mixing unit to mix said solution within the material to fertilize the compost effectively.

[0017] While the invention has been described and shown with particular reference to the preferred embodiment, it will be apparent that variations might be possible that would fall within the scope of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
Figure 1 illustrates an isometric view of an automated compost formulating device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] The following description includes the preferred best mode of one embodiment of the present invention. It will be clear from this description of the invention that the invention is not limited to these illustrated embodiments but that the invention also includes a variety of modifications and embodiments thereto. Therefore, the present description should be seen as illustrative and not limiting. While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, it should be understood, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed, but, on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

[0020] In any embodiment described herein, the open-ended terms "comprising," "comprises,” and the like (which are synonymous with "including," "having” and "characterized by") may be replaced by the respective partially closed phrases "consisting essentially of," consists essentially of," and the like or the respective closed phrases "consisting of," "consists of, the like.

[0021] As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” designate both the singular and the plural, unless expressly stated to designate the singular only.

[0022] As used herein the term “Optical Transducer Sensor” refers to a unit light sensor that converts light rays bouncing from a surface into an electronic signal in order to determine physical properties of a material from characteristics of the reflected light.

[0023] The present invention relates to an automated compost formulating device that based upon the nutrition characteristics and type of crop to be grown by a user, formulates a compost from recycled waste.

[0024] Referring to Figure 1, illustrates an isometric view of an automated compost formulating device comprising, a body divided into a first 3 and second portion 5 that are preferably upper 3 and bottom portion 5 of the body. The upper portion 3 of the body is installed with a storage unit 1 that aids the user(s) in collecting waste material that are required to be used for formulating the compost. The waste material includes food waste, plant waste, dry and wet waste etc. The storage unit 1 is further linked internally with multiple chambers 10 with the help of valves.

[0025] A first camera unit is installed within the storage unit 1 and paired to a microcontroller. The camera unit is configured with artificial intelligence capability that helps the unit 1 to determine and differentiate from different types of material kept by the user within the storage unit 1. The camera unit takes multiple images of the material and with the help of image processing, differentiates between the food wastes, plant waste, dry and wet waste etc. The camera unit with the help of artificial intelligence capability, performs its operation via a series of functions that includes image segmentation. Firstly, the captured images are segmented for fast processing of the captured images as the images are too bulky in order to process.

[0026] After segmentation, features of interest are extracted from the captured images by using various protocols and compare these features with the features of images that are stored in a predefined database. By comparing these features the difference is calculated between both images and the resultant image is smoothened by using various image filters. And at last the resultant image is reformed in order to find the type of material. Herein each of the chambers 10 are assigned for storing each type of material, i.e. one chamber 10 is for carrying wet material, one for dry and accordingly other chambers 10 for other materials. Upon detecting one of said type of material, the microcontroller opens upon one of the gate that results in filling the material within desired chamber 10.

[0027] The gate here used is electronically actuated gate, where a flap paired to a lead screw is used. The lead screw is connected to a motor that is controlled by the microcontroller. In order to allow flow of material from the storing unit 1 into one of the chambers 10 via conduits, the microcontroller directs to actuate the motor thus resulting of rotation of lead screw that further lifts the gate and thus creating a pathway to allow flow of material filling inside the chamber 10. A microcontroller is a unit which basically receives data from a input output peripherals and then with the help of the central processor it interprets the data in other words, data received by the microcontroller is stored in the data memory of the microcontroller, this data is then accessed by the processor which further uses the program memory to analyze and decipher the incoming data. After it analyzes, input output peripherals are used in order to communicate and ratify the required appropriate action.

[0028] The lower portion of the body is installed with a telescopic rod 11 that extends or retracts as directed by the microcontroller. Here the telescopic rod 11 are preferably pneumatically actuated rods 11 that activates with the help of pressurized air. The telescopic rod 11 consists of a pneumatic cylinder, pneumatic valve, and piston and air compressor. The pneumatic cylinder is a cylindrical metal machine that guides a piston in a straight-line reciprocating movement in a cylinder. The cylinder is crafted with two ports (i.e. inlet and outlet) on either of the cylinder and a piston is incorporated within the cylinder in such a way that air coming through the ports forces the piston to move linearly to reciprocate the rod 11 in desired manner.

[0029] The telescopic rod 11 is embedded with a pH and optical transducer sensor. These sensors aid in determining the physical characteristics of the soil over with the crops are to be grown. The pH sensor primarily measures the acidity or alkalinity of the soil by measuring the hydrogen ion activity. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14 where 0 refers to extremely acidic and 14 being completely alkaline and rest lying in between these two numbers. On the other hand the optical transducer measures other physical characteristics of the soil. The sensor measures the properties by analyzing the frequencies of light that gets reflected from the soil. These frequencies include near infrared, mid infrared and polarized light spectrums. By analyzing these frequencies the sensor determines the clay, organic matter and moisture content of a particular soil and simultaneously updates into the microcontroller.

[0030] Based on the nutrient and pH value of the soil the microcontroller depicts this saved data to the user with 3-D map representation. This representation is displayed over a screen installed over the body. The screen shown a 3-D view of the field or ground over which the user wishes to grow crops by the help of compost. The 3-D view shows exact patches over the soil that lags in specific type of mineral or nutrient. Based upon the information the user is facilitated to either change the location or replace the soil to easily grow crops over the land.
[0031] A shredder unit 9 is linked to each of the chambers 10 for receiving the materials via multiple valves. The shredder unit 9 is incorporated with multiple blades to mix and convert the material into smaller refined particles for formation of compost. Here in order to select the type of material among dry, wet, plant waste and other, the microcontroller uses the data from the pH and optical transducer sensor along with the type of crop user wishes to grow from the compost. Based upon the data, the microcontroller open one of the valve of the chamber 10 to discharge required material within the shredder unit 9. When not detecting required type of material for formulation of compost the microcontroller notifies the user with the help of the screen to add required material within the storage unit 1. The valve consists of solenoids that is a coil composed of ferromagnetic core that is induced with electric current. The electric current creates a magnetic field that exerts a force over a plunger in order to open or close an orifice thus opening or closing the valve to discharge the material.

[0032] The shredder unit 9 is integrated with a second camera unit that monitors the physical condition of the material. In order to effectively fertilize the material, it is required to shred the material into a pre-defined size which is observed by the second camera. Until the size of the particle does not match with the pre-defined size, the microcontroller continues to power said blades to break the material into small fine pieces. A blowing unit is also installed within the shredder unit 9 and paired to the microcontroller. Once the user with the help of the screen opts to accelerate the process of fertilization, the microcontroller in turn actuates the blowing unit in order to extract all the moisture from the material thus make the material dry and ready to get fertilized early. A reservoir 2 is linked with the shredder unit 9 with the help of pipes. The reservoir 2 is filled with bioculum and sanitreat that gets mixes with the material thus resulting eliminating the bad odor from the compost.

[0033] After refining the material, the mixing unit 7 situated at the lower portion 5 of the body receives the material from the shredder unit 9. The mixing unit 7 is paired to a motor that spins the unit 7 at a pre-defined speed in order to evenly mix the material among each other. In between the shredder unit 9 and mixing unit 7 a conveyor belt 4 is placed carrying multiple solution and saw dust filled inside containers 8. These containers 8 revolve along with the belt 4 and carry important solutions including phosphorous, chlorine, potassium etc. for increasing any nutrition deficit in the soil. Based upon the analysis done by the sensors, the microcontroller rotates the conveyor belt 4 in a manner to align a particular container 8 filled with a specific type of solution that fulfills the deficit of the nutrient within the soil once mixed with the material.

[0034] Each of the containers 8 are also linked with valves that aids in discharging these solutions within the mixing unit 7. One of the container 8 is filled with saw dust that acts as a catalyst to fasten the process of fertilization of the material and form compost. Further the mixing unit 7 is integrated with temperature and humidity sensor for measuring the temperature and humidity of the material and updates onto the microcontroller. Based on the ambient temperature, the microcontroller actuates Peltier unit embedded within the mixing unit 7 in order to maintain the required temperature of the compost for making capable to use for growing crops. Third camera unit is installed within the mixing unit 7 to monitor the condition of the compost and indicate to the user over the screen once completion of the fertilization process. The lower portion 5 of the body is installed with wheels 6 that facilitate the user to maneuver and carry the device in desired location.

[0035] Alternatively the device may be installed with a feeding unit that once actuated via the microcontroller, automatically feeds the fertilized compost within the soil in order to prepare the ground for growing crops, thus reducing work time efforts of the user.

[0036] Although the field of the invention has been described herein with limited reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternate embodiments of the invention, will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention.