Offsite irrigation controller

• US 9,480,208 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2014
• Issued: 11/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lennard Technologies, LLC
• Original Assignee: Lennard Technologies, LLC
• Inventors: Lennard, Kyle J., Lennard, Keith M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ganey, Steven J
• Application Number:
  US14/515,067
• Publication Number:
  US 20160106046A1
• Time in Patent Office: 748 Days
• Field of Search: 239/69, 239/726, 239/728, 239/1, 700/284, 701/50
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 25/092 movable around a pivot centre
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 25/16 Control of watering

Abstract

A center pivot irrigation system including a framework, a fluid conduit supported by the framework, a plurality of fluid-emitting nozzles associated with the fluid conduit, and a central control panel. Further, the irrigation system has an offsite irrigation controller, including a fluid-pressure sensor for sensing the fluid pressure inside the fluid conduit and a digital compass for monitoring the orientation of the irrigation system as it rotates about the center pivot axis. The offsite irrigation controller also includes a remote transmitter for communicating to an offsite receiver and an electrical processing circuit coupled with the fluid-pressure sensor, the digital compass, and the remote transmitter. The electrical processing circuit receives an output signal from each of the fluid-pressure sensor and the digital compass, and controls the remote transmitter to transmit the operational status of the irrigation system to an offsite user.

Claims

1. A method of operating an irrigation system using an offsite irrigation controller, the irrigation system including a framework rotatable about a center pivot axis, a fluid conduit supported by said framework, a plurality of fluid-emitting nozzles associated with said fluid conduit, and a central control panel, the method comprising the steps of:

sensing a fluid pressure inside the fluid conduit using a fluid-pressure sensor;

monitoring an angular orientation of the irrigation system relative to said center pivot axis using a digital compass;

categorizing a signal from each of said fluid-pressure sensor and said digital compass as either a “

good”

or a “

bad”

state of said irrigation system; and

transmitting an operational status of said irrigation system to an offsite user.

2. The method of claim 1, including a further step of awakening said offsite irrigation controller at a predetermined interval from a default low-power sleep mode for sensing and monitoring said irrigation system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said transmitting step includes an interval of every hour if said operational status is “

good”

or a predetermined interval if said operational status is “

bad”

.

4. The method of claim 1, including a further step of transmitting a response command from said offsite user, receiving said response command at said offsite irrigation controller, and controlling a power input to said irrigation system, dependent upon said response command from the user.