Irrigation control system
First Claim
1. A method of broadcasting region specific weather data to two or more controller interfaces residing in distinct weather regions, each controller interface in communication with a radio-frequency receiver, said method comprising the steps of:
- assigning a weather region identifier for each distinct weather region;
configuring each controller interface to only process broadcasts for the weather region in which it resides;
collecting weather data for one of the distinct weather regions, said weather data selected from the group consisting essentially of wind speed data, temperature data, solar radiation data, humidity data, and rainfall data;
transmitting to a commercial paging service the weather data and the weather region identifier for the weather region for which the weather data pertains;
receiving the weather data and weather region identifier at at least one of the two or more controller interfaces via their respective radio-frequency receivers;
processing the weather data if the controller interface resides in the weather region to which the weather data pertains, said processing including calculating evapotranspiration, wherein said calculated evapotranspiration is based solely upon up-to-date weather data; and
outputting a control signal from the controller interface residing in the weather region to which the weather data pertains to an irrigation controller to improve irrigation.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An irrigation control system and method for controlling irrigation based on weather data. Weather data such as wind, temperature, solar radiation, humidity, and rainfall, may be collected at one or more weather stations for a region. The weather data may be compiled on a computer and transmitted to a paging broadcast service. The weather data may then be transmitted by the paging broadcast service to controller interfaces associated with irrigation systems throughout the region. The controller interfaces may adjust irrigation controllers associated with the irrigation systems based on the weather data such that the proper amount of water is applied. This allows the water to be used more efficiently and the health of the landscape to be improved.
167 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A method of broadcasting region specific weather data to two or more controller interfaces residing in distinct weather regions, each controller interface in communication with a radio-frequency receiver, said method comprising the steps of:
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assigning a weather region identifier for each distinct weather region; configuring each controller interface to only process broadcasts for the weather region in which it resides; collecting weather data for one of the distinct weather regions, said weather data selected from the group consisting essentially of wind speed data, temperature data, solar radiation data, humidity data, and rainfall data; transmitting to a commercial paging service the weather data and the weather region identifier for the weather region for which the weather data pertains; receiving the weather data and weather region identifier at at least one of the two or more controller interfaces via their respective radio-frequency receivers; processing the weather data if the controller interface resides in the weather region to which the weather data pertains, said processing including calculating evapotranspiration, wherein said calculated evapotranspiration is based solely upon up-to-date weather data; and outputting a control signal from the controller interface residing in the weather region to which the weather data pertains to an irrigation controller to improve irrigation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification