Fault-Tolerant Wireless Irrigation System

• US 20090216345A1
• Filed: 02/23/2009
• Published: 08/27/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ranch Systems LLC
• Original Assignee: Ranch Systems LLC
• Inventors: Christfort, Jacob Christen
• Granted Patent: US 8,326,440 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/21
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0428 Safety, monitoring G05B19/0423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24199 Recover from fault, malfunction, go to safe state, correct and set new sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2625 Sprinkler, irrigation, watering

Abstract

A node of a fault-tolerant system relies upon a primary communication mechanism, when possible, for primary connection to a central server. The node monitors its primary connection to the server. While the primary connection is active, the node operates in a supervised mode, in that it generally does not perform a certain subset of tasks without having received real-time commands from the server to perform those tasks. However, when the node detects that it is no longer connected to the server, the node transitions into a fail-over mode. The node operates in the fail-over mode until the node detects that primary connection is re-established. While in fail-over mode, the node may execute a stored set of fail-over instructions that were provided by the server. The node may also attempt to establish a backup connection to the server via a second and different type of communication mechanism.

Claims

1. A method for remote management of a controller, the method comprising the steps of:

the controller establishing a first communication link to one or more servers via a first communication mechanism;

while the first communication link is established, the controller operating in a first mode;

while the controller operates in the first mode, performing the steps of;

the controller receiving a first command from one of said one or more servers via the first communication link;

in response to receiving the first command, the controller executing the first command;

in response to detecting a failure of the first communication link, the controller transitioning to a second mode;

while the controller operates in the second mode, performing at least one of the steps of;

(a) the controller executing one or more stored sets of instructions for operating in the second mode until the controller re-establishes the first communication link, wherein the one or more stored sets of instructions have been received from at least one of said one or more servers;

or

(b) the controller establishing a second communication link to the one or more servers via a second communication mechanism, wherein the second communication mechanism is of a different type than the first communication mechanism.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more stored sets of instructions include logic for determining a set of commands to be executed by the controller while in said second mode, and for further determining when to execute each command in said set of commands.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the controller is an irrigation controller;

executing the first command comprises performing one or more actions for controlling irrigation; and

the one or more stored sets of instructions are one or more sets of instructions for controlling irrigation.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, while operating in said second mode, the controller establishes said second communication link, the method further comprising, while operating in said second mode:

the controller receiving a second command from one of said one or more servers via the second communication link; and

in response to receiving the second command, the controller executing the second command.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising, during the failure, the controller performing the steps of:

(1) establishing said second communication link;

(2) receiving data from one of the one or more servers over said second communication link;

(3) terminating said second communication link;

(4) determining whether the first communication link has been re-established; and

(5) repeating steps (1)-(4) in response to determining that the first communication link has not yet been re-established.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second communication link is less energy efficient or more costly to maintain than the first communication link.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the controller performs step (a) while operating in the second mode, the method further comprising:

prior to the failure, the controller receiving at least one of said one or more stored sets of instructions for operating in the second mode from the one or more servers via the first communication link.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein:

the controller is an irrigation controller;

executing the first command comprises performing one or more actions for controlling irrigation;

the one or more stored sets of instructions are one or more sets of instructions for controlling irrigation; and

the one or more stored sets on instructions were generated by one of the one or more servers based at least upon one of;

forecast data for an area in which the controller is deployed;

or sensor data gathered from an area in which the controller is deployed.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one of said one or more stored sets of instructions includes logic conditioned upon sensor data collected from one or more sensors attached to said controller or attached to one or more controllers connected to said controller via a network.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the controller performs both of steps (a) and (b) while operating in the second mode, the method further comprising, while operating in the second mode:

the controller receiving an updated set of instructions for operating in the second mode from one of the one or more servers via the second communication link;

wherein the one or more stored sets of instructions for operating in the second mode include the updated set of instructions.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the controller causing said failure by turning off said primary communication mechanism to conserve power, wherein the controller performs step (a) while operating in the second mode.

12. A controller comprising:

a control unit for performing actions;

a primary communication mechanism for establishing a primary connection to one or more servers and for receiving data via said primary connection, said data including commands;

logic, operatively coupled to said primary communication mechanism, for causing said controller to operate in a first mode while said primary connection is established;

logic, operatively coupled to said primary communication mechanism, for, while operating in the first mode, causing the control unit to perform actions in response to receiving said commands via said primary connection;

logic, operatively coupled to said primary communication mechanism, for detecting a failure in said primary connection;

logic, operatively coupled to said primary communication mechanism, for transitioning the controller to a second mode;

logic, operatively coupled to said primary communication mechanism, for, while operating in said second mode, causing the controller to perform at least one of the steps of;

(a) executing one or more stored sets of instructions for operating in the second mode until the controller re-establishes the primary connection, wherein the one or more stored sets of instructions have been received from at least one of said one or more servers;

or

(b) establishing a backup connection to the one or more servers via a backup communication mechanism, wherein the backup communication mechanism is of a different type than the primary communication mechanism.

13. The controller of claim 12, wherein the one or more stored sets of instructions include logic for determining actions to be performed by said control unit while the controller is in said second mode, and for further determining when to execute each of said actions to be performed by said control unit while the controller is in said second mode.

14. The controller of claim 12, wherein:

the controller is an irrigation controller;

said actions are actions for controlling irrigation; and

the one or more stored sets of instructions are one or more sets of instructions for controlling irrigation.

15. The controller of claim 12, further comprising:

said backup communication mechanism;

logic, operatively coupled to said backup communication mechanism, for receiving data via said backup connection while operating in said second mode, until said primary connection can be re-established.

16. The controller of claim 15, further comprising logic, operatively coupled to said backup communication mechanism, for, while operating in said second mode, performing the steps of:

(1) establishing said backup connection;

(2) receiving data from one of the one or more servers over said second communication link;

(3) terminating said backup connection;

(4) determining whether the primary connection has been re-established; and

(5) repeating steps (1)-(4) in response to determining that the primary connection has not yet been re-established.

17. The controller of claim 16, wherein the backup connection is less energy efficient or more costly to maintain than the primary connection.

18. The controller of claim 15, wherein the primary communication mechanism is an interface for a wireless mesh network and the backup communication mechanism is one of an interface for a cellular network, satellite network, or wired telephone network.

19. The controller of claim 12, further comprising:

logic for performing step (b) while operating in said second mode;

logic, operatively coupled to the primary communication mechanism, for determining a plurality of paths over at least two different types of networks for establishing connections to the one or more servers;

wherein the backup communication mechanism is a component of a device other than the controller;

wherein said device is connected to the controller via said primary communication mechanism; and

wherein the backup connection is routed through a different type of network than the primary connection.

20. The controller of claim 12, further comprising:

a storage mechanism for storing said one or more stored sets of instructions;

logic for performing step (a) while operating in said second mode;

logic, operatively coupled to said primary communication mechanism, for identifying in the data received via the primary connection a first set of instructions for storage in said storage mechanism; and

logic, operatively coupled to said storage mechanism, for causing said first set of instructions to be stored in said storage mechanism in response to said identifying;

wherein the one or more stored sets of instructions executed in step (a) include the first set of instructions.

21. The controller of claim 20, wherein:

the controller is an irrigation controller;

said actions are actions for controlling irrigation;

the one or more stored sets of instructions are one or more sets of instructions for controlling irrigation; and

the first set of instructions were generated by one of the one or more servers based at least upon one of;

forecast data for an area in which the controller is deployed;

or sensor data gathered from an area in which the controller is deployed.

22. The controller of claim 20, wherein the first set of instructions is a compiled program.

23. The controller of claim 12, further comprising:

a storage mechanism for storing said one or more stored sets of instructions;

logic for performing actions (a) and (b) while operating in said second mode;

logic, operatively coupled to said backup communication mechanism, for, while operating in said second mode, identifying in data received via the backup connection an updated set of instructions for storage in said storage mechanism;

logic, operatively coupled to said storage mechanism, for, while operating in said second mode, causing said updated set of instructions to be stored in said storage mechanism in response to said identifying;

wherein the one or more stored sets of instructions executed in step (a) include the updated set of instructions.

24. The controller of claim 20, further comprising one or both of:

one or more sensor mechanisms for collecting sensor data;

or

logic for, while operating in the second mode, receiving sensor data via the primary communication mechanism or the backup communication mechanism;

wherein the first set of instructions is conditioned upon said sensor data.

25. The controller of claim 12, further comprising:

one or more sensor mechanisms for collecting sensor data;

logic, operatively coupled to said primary communication mechanism, for, while operating in the second mode, sending said sensor data via the primary communication mechanism to another controller or a gateway.

26. The controller of claim 12, further comprising at least one of:

logic for alerting a user to said failure by causing a text message, email, or voicemail to be sent to said user over a network to which the controller is connected;

an signal generating mechanism for generating audible or visible alerts indicating said failure;

logic for sending a command to another irrigation controller to generate an audible or visible alert indicating said failure.

27. The controller of claim 12, wherein the control unit controls an irrigation valve.

28. The controller of claim 12, further comprising:

a battery for powering said irrigation controller;

a power generating mechanism coupled to said battery for charging said battery;

logic for, in response to determining that the charge level of the battery has dropped below a certain level, causing the first communication mechanism to turn off, thereby causing said failure, until the charge level of the battery has risen above another certain level; and

logic for performing step (a) while operating in said second mode.

29. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the one or more servers comprise a master server and a backup server.

30. A system for controlling irrigation, the system comprising:

one or more servers for coordinating irrigation activity amongst a plurality of controllers, said one or more servers being configured to send commands for controlling irrigation to said plurality of controllers;

a gateway connected to said one or more servers via a first network;

said plurality of controllers, each of said plurality of controllers being connected to said gateway via a wireless mesh network different from said first network, each particular controller of said plurality of controllers comprising at least;

a control unit for performing actions for controlling irrigation;

one or more sensors for collecting weather-related sensor data;

a primary communication mechanism for establishing a primary connection to said one or more servers over said wireless mesh network, for receiving data via said primary connection, said data including irrigation commands, and for sending said sensor data from said one or more sensors;

a storage mechanism for storing instructions for controlling irrigation;

logic, operatively coupled to said control unit, for causing said control unit to perform actions for controlling irrigation in response to receiving said irrigation commands or in response to executing said instructions stored in the storage mechanism;

logic, operatively coupled to said primary communication mechanism, for detecting a failure in said primary connection;

logic, operatively coupled to said primary communication mechanism, for determining one or more steps to take after said failure, wherein said one or more steps include at least one of;

(a) executing one or more sets of instructions stored in said storage mechanism until said primary connection can be re-established, said one or more sets of instructions having been generated by a particular server of the one or more servers to represent the particular server'"'"'s logic for determining, based on said sensor data, which particular commands to send to the particular controller and when to send said particular commands;

(b) establishing a backup connection to said one or more servers via a backup communication mechanism.