Dynamically programmed water timer

• US 10,613,497 B1
• Filed: 11/01/2017
• Issued: 04/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alarm.com Inc. (Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Alarm.com Inc. (Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Goodman, Daniel, Heffernan, Craig Carl
• Primary Examiner(s): Cao, Diem K
• Application Number:
  US15/800,362
• Time in Patent Office: 888 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 25/167 Control by humidity of the soil itself or of devices simulating soil or of the atmosphere; Soil humidity sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/041 Function-oriented details
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0426 Programming the control sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2625 Sprinkler, irrigation, watering

Abstract

Programmable controller technology, in which data is received that identifies a particular type of irrigation system component that is to be controlled by a programmable controller. Based on receiving the data identifying the particular type of irrigation system component, configuration information is accessed for the particular type of irrigation system component. Based on the configuration information, a configuration is determined for one or more interface ports of the programmable controller. The one or more interface ports of the programmable controller are configured according to the determined configuration. A connection between the particular type of irrigation system component and the programmable controller that satisfies the determined configuration is detected. Based on detecting the connection between the particular type of irrigation system component and the programmable controller that satisfies the determined configuration, the particular type of irrigation system component is controlled through the one or more interface ports.

Claims

1. A programmable controller associated with an irrigation system for a property, the programmable controller comprising:

interface ports that are configured to control one or more irrigation system components;

at least one processor; and

at least one computer-readable storage medium coupled to the at least one processor having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving, from one or more sensors that are located at the property and that are configured to monitor conditions of one or more environmental parameters at discrete regions of the property, environmental data that indicates a condition of each of the one or more environmental parameters at the discrete regions of the property;

determining, based at least on the environmental data that indicates the condition of each of the one or more environmental parameters at the discrete regions of the property, an irrigation requirement for the discrete regions of the property, wherein the irrigation requirement indicates an amount of irrigation that is needed by the discrete regions of the property;

determining, based at least on the irrigation requirement for the discrete regions of the property, an irrigation schedule for the discrete regions of the property, wherein the irrigation schedule specifies times when each of the one or more irrigation system components is set to be active, and wherein the programmable controller is configured to use the irrigation schedule to determine when to activate each of the one or more irrigation system components;

controlling the one or more irrigation system components through the interface ports at least according to the irrigation schedule; and

while controlling the one or more irrigation system components through the interface ports at least according to the irrigation schedule;

receiving, from the one or more sensors, sensor data that indicates a condition of each of one or more parameters indicative of user presence at one of the discrete regions of the property;

determining, based at least on the sensor data that indicates the condition of each of the one or more parameters indicative of user presence at one of the discrete regions of the property, that a user is present in the one of the discrete regions of the property; and

deactivating an irrigation system component of the one or more irrigation system components for the one of the discrete regions of the property based on determining that the user is present in the discrete regions of the property.

2. The programmable controller of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors comprise one or more water saturation sensors, light sensors, humidity sensors, wind sensors, air quality sensors, temperature sensors, or sensors for detecting the presence of a user.

3. The programmable controller of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more irrigation system components is associated with one of the discrete regions of the property, and the one or more sensors are configured to monitor conditions of the one or more parameters indicative of user presence at the one of the discrete regions of the property, the operations comprising:

identifying, from among the one or more irrigation system components, the one or more irrigation system components that are associated with the one of the discrete regions of the property in which the user is present.

4. The programmable controller of claim 1, wherein the operations comprise:

accessing weather forecast data for a geographical region that corresponds to a geographical location of the property;

analyzing the weather forecast data for the geographical region that corresponds to the geographical location of the property with respect to the irrigation schedule;

based on the analysis of the weather forecast data for the geographical region that corresponds to the geographical location of the property with respect to the irrigation schedule, determining whether to activate the one or more irrigation system components; and

controlling the one or more irrigation system components through the interface ports based on determining whether to activate the one or more irrigation system components.

5. The programmable controller of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more sensors is associated with one of the discrete regions of the property, and each of the one or more irrigation system components is associated with one of the discrete regions of the property, and wherein:

determining the irrigation requirement for the discrete regions of the property comprises determining, for each of the discrete regions of the property, an irrigation requirement for the discrete region of the property;

determining the irrigation schedule for the discrete regions of the property comprises determining, for each of the discrete regions of the property, an irrigation schedule for the discrete region of the property; and

controlling the one or more irrigation system components through the interface ports at least according to the irrigation schedule comprises controlling, through the interface ports, each of the one or more irrigation system components according to the irrigation schedule for the particular discrete region of the property associated with the irrigation system component.

6. The programmable controller of claim 1, wherein the operations comprise:

monitoring a location of a mobile device of a user of the property,

wherein deactivating the irrigation system component of the one or more irrigation system components for the one of the discrete regions of the property is based on monitoring of the location of the mobile device of the user of the property.

7. The programmable controller of claim 1, wherein determining the irrigation schedule for the discrete regions of the property comprises:

determining, based at least on the sensor data that indicates the condition of each of the one or more parameters indicative of user presence at one of the discrete regions of the property over time, a user activity model for the property; and

determining, based at least on the irrigation requirement for the discrete regions of the property and the user activity model for the property, the irrigation schedule for the discrete regions of the property.

8. The programmable controller of claim 1, wherein determining the irrigation schedule for the discrete regions of the property comprises:

receiving data specifying a resource usage policy associated with the property, wherein the resource usage policy defines limits for the usage of one or more resources that are consumed by the one or more irrigation system components; and

determining, based at least on the irrigation requirement for the discrete regions of the property and the resource usage policy associated with the property, the irrigation schedule for the discrete regions of the property.

9. The programmable controller of claim 1, the operations comprising:

accessing information specifying an anticipated usage of a particular resource by each of the one or more irrigation system components, wherein the particular resource is a resource that is consumed by the one or more irrigation system components when the one or more irrigation system components are active;

monitoring usage of the particular resource by each of the one or more irrigation system components;

detecting that the usage of the particular resource by a particular irrigation system component of the one or more irrigation systems components exceeds the anticipated usage of the particular resource by the particular irrigation system component based on monitoring usage of the particular resource by each of the one or more irrigation system components; and

outputting data indicating that the particular irrigation system component has experienced an error based on detecting that the usage of the particular resource by the particular irrigation system component exceeds the anticipated usage of the particular resource by the particular irrigation system component.

10. A method comprising:

receiving, at a programmable controller associated with an irrigation system for a property and from one or more sensors that are located at the property and that are configured to monitor conditions of one or more environmental parameters at discrete regions of the property, environmental data that indicates a condition of each of the one or more environmental parameters at the discrete regions of the property;

determining, based at least on the environmental data that indicates the condition of each of the one or more environmental parameters at the discrete regions of the property, an irrigation requirement for the discrete regions of the property, wherein the irrigation requirement indicates an amount of irrigation that is needed by the discrete regions of the property;

determining, based at least on the irrigation requirement for the discrete regions of the property, an irrigation schedule for the discrete regions of the property, wherein the irrigation schedule specifies times when each of one or more irrigation system components is set to be active, and wherein the programmable controller is configured to use the irrigation schedule to determine when to activate each of the one or more irrigation system components;

controlling the one or more irrigation system components through interface ports of the programmable controller at least according to the irrigation schedule; and

while controlling the one or more irrigation system components through the interface ports at least according to the irrigation schedule;

receiving, from the one or more sensors, sensor data that indicates a condition of each of one or more parameters indicative of user presence at one of the discrete regions of the property;

determining, based at least on the sensor data that indicates the condition of each of the one or more parameters indicative of user presence at one of the discrete regions of the property, that a user is present in the one of the discrete regions of the property; and

deactivating an irrigation system component of the one or more irrigation system components for the one of the discrete regions of the property based on determining that the user is present in the discrete regions of the property.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more sensors comprise one or more water saturation sensors, light sensors, humidity sensors, wind sensors, air quality sensors, temperature sensors, or sensors for detecting the presence of a user.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein each of the one or more irrigation system components is associated with one of the discrete regions of the property, and the one or more sensors are configured to monitor conditions of the one or more parameters indicative of user presence at the one of the discrete regions of the property, the method comprising:

identifying, from among the one or more irrigation system components, the one or more irrigation system components that are associated with the one of the discrete regions of the property in which the user is present.

13. The method of claim 10, comprising:

accessing weather forecast data for a geographical region that corresponds to a geographical location of the property;

analyzing the weather forecast data for the geographical region that corresponds to the geographical location of the property with respect to the irrigation schedule;

based on the analysis of the weather forecast data for the geographical region that corresponds to the geographical location of the property with respect to the irrigation schedule, determining whether to activate the one or more irrigation system components; and

controlling the one or more irrigation system components through the interface ports based on determining whether to activate the one or more irrigation system components.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein each of the one or more sensors is associated with one of the discrete regions of the property, and each of the one or more irrigation system components is associated with one of the discrete regions of the property, and wherein:

determining the irrigation requirement for the discrete regions of the property comprises determining, for each of the discrete regions of the property, an irrigation requirement for the discrete region of the property;

determining the irrigation schedule for the discrete regions of the property comprises determining, for each of the discrete regions of the property, an irrigation schedule for the discrete region of the property; and

controlling the one or more irrigation system components through the interface ports at least according to the irrigation schedule comprises controlling, through the interface ports, each of the one or more irrigation system components according to the irrigation schedule for the particular discrete region of the property associated with the irrigation system component.

15. The method of claim 10, comprising:

monitoring a location of a mobile device of a user of the property,

wherein deactivating the irrigation system component of the one or more irrigation system components for the one of the discrete regions of the property is based on monitoring of the location of the mobile device of the user of the property.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the irrigation schedule for the discrete regions of the property comprises:

determining, based at least on the sensor data that indicates the condition of each of the one or more parameters indicative of user presence at one of the discrete regions of the property over time, a user activity model for the property; and

determining, based at least on the irrigation requirement for the discrete regions of the property and the user activity model for the property, the irrigation schedule for the discrete regions of the property.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the irrigation schedule for the discrete regions of the property comprises:

receiving data specifying a resource usage policy associated with the property, wherein the resource usage policy defines limits for the usage of one or more resources that are consumed by the one or more irrigation system components; and

determining, based at least on the irrigation requirement for the discrete regions of the property and the resource usage policy associated with the property, the irrigation schedule for the discrete regions of the property.

18. The method of claim 10, comprising:

accessing information specifying an anticipated usage of a particular resource by each of the one or more irrigation system components, wherein the particular resource is a resource that is consumed by the one or more irrigation system components when the one or more irrigation system components are active;

monitoring usage of the particular resource by each of the one or more irrigation system components;

detecting that the usage of the particular resource by a particular irrigation system component of the one or more irrigation systems components exceeds the anticipated usage of the particular resource by the particular irrigation system component based on monitoring usage of the particular resource by each of the one or more irrigation system components; and

outputting data indicating that the particular irrigation system component has experienced an error based on detecting that the usage of the particular resource by the particular irrigation system component exceeds the anticipated usage of the particular resource by the particular irrigation system component.