Water Timer and Method
First Claim
1. A water timer of the type comprising a user interface, a controller coupled to the user interface and programmed to provide control signals for controlling a plurality of flow control devices, each flow control device capable of controlling the passage of water from a water source to a watering zone, the improvement comprising:
- an ambient temperature sensor operably coupled to the controller to sense an ambient temperature and provide an ambient temperature signal to the controller;
an ambient humidity sensor operably coupled to the controller to sense an ambient humidity and provide an ambient humidity signal to the controller; and
the controller programmed to;
store a base temperature and a base humidity;
calculate an increase or a decrease in a watering amount according to any differences between the base and ambient temperatures and humidities; and
modify the control signals, thereby modifying the amount of water supplied, according to said calculated differences.
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Abstract
A water timer user interface has display areas for display of water timer status information, including watering zone and watering duration indicators, user input areas, and a touch-sensitive screen. At least one of the display areas may display a graphical representation of the watering duration indicators for the watering zone identifiers. All of the display and input areas may be single-function areas and may be simultaneously visible to and accessible by a user. The display areas may simultaneously display both graphical and numeric representations of the watering duration indicators. An ambient temperature sensor may be used to sense the ambient temperature and humidity and provide corresponding signals to the controller to permit the controller to modify the amount of water supplied.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A water timer of the type comprising a user interface, a controller coupled to the user interface and programmed to provide control signals for controlling a plurality of flow control devices, each flow control device capable of controlling the passage of water from a water source to a watering zone, the improvement comprising:
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an ambient temperature sensor operably coupled to the controller to sense an ambient temperature and provide an ambient temperature signal to the controller;
an ambient humidity sensor operably coupled to the controller to sense an ambient humidity and provide an ambient humidity signal to the controller; and
the controller programmed to;
store a base temperature and a base humidity;
calculate an increase or a decrease in a watering amount according to any differences between the base and ambient temperatures and humidities; and
modify the control signals, thereby modifying the amount of water supplied, according to said calculated differences. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for automatically adjusting the amount of water supplied by a water timer, the water timer of the type comprising a user interface, a controller coupled to the user interface and programmed to provide control signals for controlling a plurality of flow control devices, each flow control device capable of controlling the passage of water from a water source to a watering zone, the method comprising:
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sensing a base ambient temperature and providing a base ambient temperature signal to the controller;
sensing a base ambient humidity and providing a base ambient humidity signal to the controller;
subsequently sensing a current ambient temperature and providing a current ambient temperature signal to the controller;
subsequently sensing a current ambient humidity and providing a current ambient humidity signal to the controller; and
modifying control signals, thereby modifying watering amounts, according to the base and current ambient temperature signals and the base and current ambient humidity signals. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
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10. The method according to a 9 wherein the control signals modifying step is carried out with X and Y each ranging from about 1 to 4 and wherein the amounts L and G are each about 1% to 10% per degree Fahrenheit difference between the base an ambient temperatures.
Specification