Central irrigation control system

• US 10,231,391 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2015
• Issued: 03/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toro Company (Toro)
• Original Assignee: Toro Company (Toro)
• Inventors: Standerfer, Paul A., Fuller, John F., Campbell, Stanley C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kasenge, Charles R
• Application Number:
  US14/923,266
• Publication Number:
  US 20160050860A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,240 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 25/16 Control of watering
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 25/165 Cyclic operations, timing systems, timing valves, impulse operations
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/102 for input of programme steps, i.e. setting up sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2625 Sprinkler, irrigation, watering
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 40/20 Fertilizers of biological origin, e.g. guano or fertilizers made from animal corpses
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 40/22 Improving land use; Improving water use or availability; Controlling erosion

Abstract

In one embodiment of the present invention, irrigation software is provided for an irrigation system. The irrigation software may include a hierarchical watering plan display, water pump adjustment, water pump efficiency profile use, a soil moisture interface, a historical flow interface, a demand ET interface, an instant program interface, an instant program interface, a manual irrigation interface, a precipitation management group interface, a rain schedule adjustment algorithm, a map-to-monitor button, a universal start time shift interface, and a conditional screen saver.

Claims

1. An irrigation control system comprising:

an irrigation controller configured to cause irrigation according to an irrigation watering schedule for a geographic area;

a rain sensor configured to sense a rain event and communicate said rain event to said irrigation controller;

wherein said irrigation controller is further configured to;

halt all currently scheduled irrigation events when said rain sensor communicates said rain event;

said currently scheduled irrigation events having an original start time and an original end time;

create a first recalculated start time for each currently scheduled irrigation events while maintaining said original end time for each of said currently scheduled irrigation events; and

,

periodically create a subsequent recalculated start time while maintaining said original end time for each currently scheduled irrigation events if said rain sensor continues to communicate said rain event to said irrigation controller;

wherein said irrigation controller will stop periodically creating said subsequent recalculated start time for each currently scheduled irrigation events if said rain sensor stops communicating said rain event or if said original end time has passed.

2. The irrigation control system of claim 1, wherein said recalculated start time is determined based on an amount of rainfall received.

3. The irrigation control system of claim 2, wherein said amount of rainfall received is measure in inches and converted to an irrigation runtime, and wherein said recalculated start time offset by said irrigation runtime.

4. The irrigation control system of claim 1, wherein said irrigation controller is a central irrigation controller in communication with a plurality of satellite irrigation controllers.

5. The irrigation control system of claim 1, wherein said irrigation controller communicates via a two-wire encoder/decoder network connected to a plurality of sprinklers.

6. An irrigation control system comprising:

an irrigation controller configured to control irrigation according to an irrigation watering schedule for a geographic area;

said irrigation controller configured to halt current irrigation during a rain event, create a first recalculated irrigation start time and maintaining an irrigation end time while said rain event continues, periodically create a subsequent recalculated start time while maintaining said irrigation end time while said rain event continues, and cease periodically recalculating said irrigation start time when said irrigation end time has passed or when said rain event stops.

7. The irrigation control system of claim 6, wherein said irrigation controller periodically recalculates said irrigation start time to a later time based on an amount of rain that has fallen during said rain event.

8. The irrigation control system of claim 7, wherein said later time is calculated based on a number of inches of rain received during said rain event.

9. The irrigation control system of claim 8, wherein said later time is further calculated based on an amount of time said irrigation control system would take to irrigation said number of inches of rain received during said rain event.

10. The irrigation control system of claim 8, wherein said irrigation controller is a central controller comprising a computer and is further connected to a plurality of satellite irrigation controllers.

11. An irrigation control system comprising:

a central irrigation controller controlling irrigation according to an irrigation watering schedule for a geographic area;

said irrigation controller halting currently scheduled irrigation during a rain event, creating first recalculated irrigation start times and maintaining irrigation end times while said rain event continues, periodically creating subsequent recalculated start times while maintaining said irrigation end times, and ceasing to periodically recalculate said irrigation start times when said irrigation end times have passed or when said rain event stops.

12. The irrigation control system of claim 11, wherein said central irrigation controller periodically recalculates said irrigation start time by determining an amount of rainfall that has fallen during said rain event and calculating how long it takes for said irrigation control system to irrigate said amount of rainfall that has fallen during said rain event.