Method and Apparatus for Programming a Decoder-based Irrigation Controller

• US 20120016497A1
• Filed: 07/15/2010
• Published: 01/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rain Bird Corporation
• Original Assignee: Rain Bird Corporation
• Inventors: Nickerson, Harvey J., Marsters, Jonathan I., Karthikeyan, Sundarraj, Callison, Douglas H., Hollington, Steven A., Price, Darin K.
• Granted Patent: US 8,897,899 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/23
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 25/16 Control of watering
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0426 Programming the control sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23273 Select, associate the real hardware to be used in the program
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23276 Use of virtual, logical connections

Abstract

A method and programming chart having viewable indicia thereon for programming a decoder-based controller is disclosed. The programming chart comprises a specific portion comprising a station number area for one or more stations being controlled by a decoder-based irrigation controller, a decoder address area adapted to receive an entry indicating an address of a decoder being associated with each of the one or more stations and a plurality of other information areas for each of the one or more stations to receive information pertaining to each of the one or more stations. Furthermore, a method is provided for programming a decoder-based irrigation controller comprising associating a decoder unit with at least a first station, removing a decoder address indicator provided with the decoder unit and recording the decoder address indicator onto a programming chart onto an area designated for a decoder address associated with the first station.

Claims

1. A method for programming a decoder-based irrigation controller comprising:

associating a decoder unit with at least a first station;

removing a decoder address indicator provided with the decoder unit and corresponding to an address of the decoder unit, wherein the decoder address indicator is machine readable; and

recording the decoder address indicator onto a programming chart onto an area designated for a decoder address associated with the first station.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

reading the decoder address indicator such that the reading will cause the decoder-based irrigation controller to recognize the address of the decoder unit and will record an association of the decoder unit with the first station.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the programming chart further comprises a station number indicator corresponding to a number of the first station, wherein the station number indicator is machine readable;

and

wherein the reading step further comprises reading the station number indicator, to recognize the number associated with the first station.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the station number indicator is preprinted on the programming chart.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the station number indicator further comprises a station identifier, such that when the station number indicator is read, the decoder-based irrigation controller will recognize that the station number indicator corresponds to a station number.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the station number indicator comprises one of:

a 2D barcode, a 3D barcode, an optically readable pattern, an electromagnetically readable device, and an RFID tag.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the decoder unit is further adapted to be associated with at least a first master valve.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the decoder unit is further adapted to be associated with at least a first sensor unit.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first sensor unit comprises one of a flow sensor, weather sensor and soil sensor.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the decoder address indicator comprises one of:

a 2D barcode, a 3D barcode, an optically readable pattern, an electromagnetically readable device, and an RFID tag.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the decoder address indicator further comprises a decoder identifier, such that when the decoder address indicator is read, the decoder-based irrigation controller will recognize that the decoder address indicator corresponds to the decoder address.

12. A method for programming a decoder-based irrigation controller comprising:

associating a decoder unit with at least a first station of a plurality of stations;

recording a decoder address of the decoder unit having been associated with the first station onto a programming chart onto an area designated for the decoder address associated with the first station;

inputting the decoder address into the decoder-based irrigation controller in order to register an association of the decoder unit with the first station; and

wherein the programming chart includes global information pertaining to the plurality of stations, where a user can view the global information simultaneously with the recorded decoder address in the area designated for the decoder address associated with the first station.

13. The method of claim 12, the global information can be viewed with different sets of information pertaining to one or more of the plurality of stations.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the programming chart further comprises a station number, and wherein registering the association further comprises inputting the station number into the decoder-based irrigation controller.

15. A programming chart for use in programming a decoder-based irrigation controller comprising:

a first medium having first viewable indicia thereon and defining a station specific portion, the first viewable indicia comprising;

a station number area corresponding to one or more stations being controlled by the decoder-based irrigation controller and including a station number for each station;

a decoder address area proximate to the station number area and adapted to receive a recording indicating an address of a decoder associated with each of the one or more stations; and

a plurality of other information areas for each of the one or more stations each being designated to receive information pertaining to each of the one or more stations.

16. The programming chart of claim 15, further comprising:

a second medium having second viewable indicia thereon and defining a global portion, the second viewable indicia comprising;

a plurality of global information areas adapted to receive global information comprising one or more of sensor information, master valve information, measurement units, decoder models, maximum flow rates, system valve types, system sensor types, irrigation program information, and seasonal adjustment information;

wherein the global information generally pertains to all of the one or more stations.

17. The programming chart of claim 16, wherein the second medium comprises one of a paper material, a paper-like material, a plastic material, and an electronic display.

18. The programming chart of claim 17, wherein the second medium comprises material having a thickness that is greater than the thickness of the first medium.

19. The programming chart of claim 16, wherein the programming chart further comprises a back cover, and wherein the second medium is one of an extension of or attached to the back cover.

20. The programming chart of claim 16, wherein the programming chart comprises a booklet having a plurality of pages, wherein the first medium comprises the plurality of pages configured such that two adjacent pages of the booklet can be viewed at once, and wherein the information for each of the one or more stations spans the two adjacent pages.

21. The programming chart of claim 20, wherein each of the two adjacent pages comprise information pertaining to a plurality of the one or more stations.

22. The programming chart of claim 20, wherein the global portion is adapted to be viewed simultaneously with at least one of the plurality of pages of the station specific portion.

23. The programming chart of claim 20, wherein the second medium comprises a flap having a first side and a second side, wherein various information of the global portion is printed onto each of the first side and the second side;

and

wherein the global information on the first side corresponds with information adapted to be recorded on a first page of the two adjacent pages of the first medium, and the global information on the second side corresponds to a second page of the two adjacent pages of the first medium.

24. The programming chart of claim 15, wherein the plurality of other information areas are adapted to receive information comprising one or more of a valve type, decoder model, master valve associated with the station, station flow rate, whether station obeys a sensor, which sensor the station obeys, flow zone source, description, priority, station cycle time, station soak time, and program station run time.

25. The programming chart of claim 15, wherein the station number area is configured to have printed thereon a station number indicator corresponding to a specific station number, wherein the station number indicator is machine readable.

26. The programming chart of claim 25, wherein the station number indicator comprises one of:

a 2D barcode, a 3D barcode, an optically readable pattern, an electromagnetically readable device, and an RFID tag.

27. The programming chart of claim 15, wherein the decoder address area is adapted to receive a machine readable decoder address indicator corresponding to the address of the decoder.

28. The programming chart of claim 27, wherein the machine readable decoder address indicator comprises one of:

a 2D barcode, a 3D barcode, an optically readable pattern, an electromagnetically readable device, and an RFID tag.

29. The programming chart of claim 15, wherein the first medium comprises one of a paper material, a paper-like material, a plastic material, and an electronic display.

30. A decoder-based irrigation controller comprising:

a microcontroller; and

a first connector coupled to the microcontroller and configured to couple to a reader, wherein the reader comprises one or more of an optical reader and an electromagnetic reader, wherein the first connector is further configured to couple an input from the reader to the microcontroller;

wherein the microcontroller is configured to interpret the input from the reader and perform an action at the decoder-based irrigation controller according to the input.

31. The decoder-based irrigation controller of claim 30 further comprising:

a programming cartridge configured to be removably connected to the decoder-based irrigation controller, wherein the programming cartridge comprises the microcontroller and the first connector.

32. The decoder-based irrigation controller of claim 31 further comprising:

a second connector coupled to a main microcontroller of the decoder-based irrigation controller, the second connector configured to allow connection of the programming cartridge to the main microcontroller.

33. The decoder-based irrigation controller of claim 30 further comprising:

a programming cartridge configured to be removably coupled to the microcontroller, wherein the programming cartridge comprises the first connector.

34. The decoder-based irrigation controller of claim 30, wherein the input comprises one or both of a decoder address indicator corresponding to an address of a decoder unit and a station number indicator corresponding to a station number.

35. The decoder-based irrigation controller of claim 34, wherein the microcontroller is configured to:

receive the address of the decoder unit and the station number, wherein the action comprises recording an association of the decoder unit with the first station.

36. The decoder-based irrigation controller of claim 34, wherein one or both of the decoder address indicator and the station number indicator comprise one of:

a 2D barcode, a 3D barcode, an optically readable pattern, an electromagnetically readable device, and an RFID tag.

37. The decoder-based irrigation controller of claim 34, wherein the decoder address indicator and the station number indicator are read from a programming chart.

38. The decoder-based irrigation controller of claim 30, wherein the reader comprises one of a barcode reader and an RFID tag reader.

39. The decoder-based irrigation controller of claim 30, wherein the action comprises one or more of programming the decoder-based irrigation controller or causing the decoder-based irrigation controller to enter a different mode of operation.

40. A method comprising:

receiving an input at a decoder-based irrigation controller from a reader, wherein the reader comprises one or more of an optical reader and an electromagnetic reader;

interpreting the input from the reader; and

performing an action at the decoder-based irrigation controller according to the input.