PC-programmed irrigation control system
First Claim
1. An irrigation control system, comprising:
- a) a computer;
b) a field controller linked to said computer for transfer of data therebetween;
c) a set of water valves arranged to be selectively turned on and off by said field controller;
d) said field controller including a clock, a microprocessor and a memory, said memory being connected to store scheduling data and run time setting data for the operation of said water valves, and said microprocessor being arranged to operate said water valves in accordance with said clock and said data;
e) said computer being programmed to receive from an operator data representing desired watering schedules and run time settings for each water valve of said set, and to selectively transfer said data to said field controller; and
f) said computer being further programmed to present to said operator an interactive graphic of the time of day for a plurality of days % said computer receiving said data from said operator by placing water valve identifying indicia into selected positions on said graphic.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A free-standing field irrigation controller is selectively programmed by a personal computer over a radio link. The computer is equipped with software that displays a screen with seven horizontal time bands representing one day each, arranged vertically to display one week'"'"'s time. Box icons representing watering settings for a plurality of zones can be dragged and dropped onto the time bands, copied and modified thereon as desired, to form a freely selectable watering schedule. Other selectable screens allow odd-days or even-days watering, sophisticated interval watering, global watering time adjustment, and a variety of manual functions. Selectable portions of the main screen can be enlarged as desired. Based on the selected schedule, the computer calculates and displays the monthly cost of water. Selected zones can be temporarily disabled to deal with weather or maintenance issues. A handheld global shut-off and manual watering remote and/or a separate radio-linked computer may be used in field maintenance.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. An irrigation control system, comprising:
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a) a computer; b) a field controller linked to said computer for transfer of data therebetween; c) a set of water valves arranged to be selectively turned on and off by said field controller; d) said field controller including a clock, a microprocessor and a memory, said memory being connected to store scheduling data and run time setting data for the operation of said water valves, and said microprocessor being arranged to operate said water valves in accordance with said clock and said data; e) said computer being programmed to receive from an operator data representing desired watering schedules and run time settings for each water valve of said set, and to selectively transfer said data to said field controller; and f) said computer being further programmed to present to said operator an interactive graphic of the time of day for a plurality of days % said computer receiving said data from said operator by placing water valve identifying indicia into selected positions on said graphic. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An irrigation control system, comprising:
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a) a computer; b) a field controller linked to said computer for transfer of data therebetween; c) a set of water valves arranged to be selectively turned on and off by said field controller; d) said field controller including a clock, a microprocessor and a memory, said memory being connected to store scheduling data and run time setting data for the operation of said water valves, and said microprocessor being arranged to operate said water valves in accordance with said clock and said data; e) said computer being programmed to receive from an operator data representing desired watering schedules and run time settings for each water valve of said set, and to selectively transfer said data to said field controller; and f) said computer being further programmed to present to said operator a graphic of the time of day for a plurality of days, said computer receiving said data from said operator by placing water valve identifying indicia into selected positions on said graphic, wherein said said graphic includes; i) a plurality of time bands extending in a first direction, each time band representing hours of a day, said time bands being juxtaposed in a second direction to represent a series of days; and
,ii) a selectably displayable list of indicia representing the water valves of said set, watering schedules of said water valves being placed on said time bands by dragging and dropping indicia from said list onto said time bands in the form of schedule boxes having an edge representative of the start of watering and a width representative of run time. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An irrigation control system, comprising:
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a) a computer; b) a field controller linked to said computer for transfer of data therebetween; c) a set of water valves arranged to be selectively turned on and off by said field controller; d) said field controller including a clock, a microprocessor and a memory, said memory being connected to store scheduling data and run time setting data for the operation of said water valves, and said microprocessor being arranged to operate said water valves in accordance with said clock and said data; e) said computer being programmed to receive from an operator data representing desired watering schedules and run time settings for each water valve of said set, and to selectively transfer said data to said field controller; and f) said computer being further programmed to selectably present to said operator a graphic having a time band representing time in a day, any watering schedule established on said time band being repeated at a selectable interval of days beginning on a selectable day. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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23. An irrigation control system, comprising:
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a) a computer; b) a field controller linked to said computer for transfer of data therebetween; c) a set of water valves arranged to be selectively turned on and off by said field controller; d) said field controller including a clock, a microprocessor and a memory, said memory being connected to store scheduling data and run time setting data for the operation of said water valves, and said microprocessor being arranged to operate said water valves in accordance with said clock and said data; e) said computer being programmed to receive from an operator data representing desired watering schedules and run time settings for each water valve of said set and to selectively transfer said data to said field controller, and f) said computer being further programmed to selectably present to said operator a graphic representing a selectable global adjustment of the run times of all said water valves programmed into said computer.
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24. An irrigation control system, comprising:
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a) a computer; b) a field controller linked to said computer for transfer of data therebetween; and c) a set of water valves arranged to be selectively turned on and off by said field controller; d) said field controller including a clock, a microprocessor and a memory, said memory being connected to store scheduling data and run time setting data for the operation of said water valves, and said microprocessor being arranged to operate said water valves in accordance with said clock and said data; e) said computer being programmed to receive from an operator data representing desired watering schedules and run time settings for each water valve of said set, and to selectively transfer said data to said field controller; and f) said computer being further programmed to present to said operator a graphic in the form of a dedicated spreadsheet which, upon entry of the flow rate of each said water valve and the cost data of a known water consumption, calculates and displays the anticipated water use and cost of the irrigation schedule using said desired watering schedules.
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25. An irrigation control system, comprising;
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a) a computer; b) a field controller linked to said computer for transfer of data therebetween; c) a set of water valves arranged to be selectively turned on and off by said field controller; d) said field controller including a clock, a microprocessor and a memory, said memory being connected to store scheduling data and run time setting data for the operation of said water valves, and said microprocessor being arranged to operate said water valves in accordance with said clock and said data; e) said computer being programmed to selectively transfer run time data to said field controller; and f) said computer being further programmed to present to said operator a selectable set of graphics presenting indicia which, when clicked, manually disable or run selectable ones of said water valves.
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26. An irrigation control system, comprising:
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a) a computer; b) a field controller linked to said computer for transfer of data therebetween; c) a set of water valves arranged to be selectively turned on and off by said field controller, d) said field controller including a clock, a microprocessor and a memory, said memory being connected to store scheduling data and run time setting data for the operation of said water valves, and said microprocessor being arranged to operate said water valves In accordance with said clock and said data; e) said computer being programmed to receive from an operator data representing desired watering schedules and run time settings for each water valve of said set, and to selectively transfer said data to said field controller; and f) said computer being further programmed to present to said operator a graphic of the time of day for a plurality of days, said computer receiving said data from said operator by placing water valve identifying indicia into selected positions on said graphic; g) a remote linked to said field controller for transmitting commands thereto; and h) said remote including means for transmitting to said field controller only manual operation and disabling commands.
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27. An irrigation control system, comprising:
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a) a computer; b) a field controller releasably linkable to said computer for transfer of data therebetween; c. a set of water valves arranged to be selectively turned on and off by said controller; d) said field controller being a free-standing unit including a clock, a microprocessor and a memory, said memory being connected to store scheduling data and run time setting data for the operation of said water valves and said microprocessor being arranged to operate said water valves in accordance with said clock and said data regardless of whether said field controller is linked to said computer; e) said computer being programmed to receive from an operator data representing desired watering schedules and run time settings for each water valve of said set, and to selective transfer said data to said field controller memo when said field controller and computer are linked; and wherein said field controller is polled continually by said computer while linked thereto to inform said computer of the status of said field controller, and said clock is synchronized with the clock of said computer only as a part of a schedule data transmission to or from said field controller. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30)
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Specification