Automated sprinkler control system

• US 9,565,810 B2
• Filed: 02/11/2014
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Eng, Adam D., Goodwin, Pat W., Heffner, James A., Nervick, Kevin, Vaillancourt, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Rashid, Wissam
• Application Number:
  US14/177,427
• Publication Number:
  US 20150223416A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,099 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 25/167 Control by humidity of the soil itself or of devices simulating soil or of the atmosphere; Soil humidity sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric

Abstract

Aspects of the disclosure relate to a method that may include receiving a watering restriction for a location, detecting that a sprinkler controller is associated with a property within the location, and transmitting, to the sprinkler controller, the watering restriction. Additionally, a method may include receiving, at a sprinkler controller, a watering restriction for a location, the sprinkler controller associated with a property within the location, and adjusting, in response to the watering restriction, a sprinkling schedule for the property. Furthermore, a method may include receiving weather prediction information associated with a property, updating, in response to the weather prediction information, a sprinkling schedule for a sprinkler system associated with the property, receiving, after a time period, updated weather prediction information for the property, and updating the sprinkling schedule based on a comparison between the sprinkling schedule and the weather prediction information over the time period.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device, a watering restriction for a geographic location;

determining a first sprinkler controller that is associated with a first property within the geographic location;

receiving a soil-moisture content reading from a second sprinkler controller associated with a second property within the geographic location;

determining that a distance between the second property and the first property satisfies a threshold; and

transmitting, to the first sprinkler controller, a message indicating an adjustment to a sprinkling schedule for the first property based on the watering restriction and the soil-moisture content reading.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving information indicating that the first sprinkler controller associated with the first property adjusted the sprinkling schedule for the first property; and

transmitting, to an entity that issued the watering restriction, a confirmation that the sprinkling schedule for the first property was adjusted based on the watering restriction.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the geographic location comprises a county, and the watering restriction comprises a county-specific watering restriction of the county.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a different watering restriction for a different geographic location;

determining that a third sprinkler controller is associated with a third property within the different geographic location; and

transmitting, to the third sprinkler controller, the different watering restriction.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the geographic location comprises a subsection of a county, and the different geographic location comprises a different subsection of the county.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

requesting the watering restriction for the geographic location from a different computing device that is in communication with an entity that issued the watering restriction.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving weather information for the geographic location; and

transmitting the weather information to the first sprinkler controller,

wherein the adjustment to the sprinkling schedule for the first property is further based on the weather information.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

comparing a first soil type for the first property and a second soil type for the second property,

wherein the adjustment to the sprinkling schedule for the first property is further based on the comparing.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first soil type for the first property or the second soil type for the second property is associated with at least one of a percolation rate, a precipitation rate, or an infiltration rate.

10. A method comprising:

receiving, by a first sprinkler controller associated with a first property within a geographic location, a watering restriction for the geographic location;

receiving, by the first sprinkler controller, based on a determination that a distance between the first property and a second property within the geographic location satisfies a threshold, a soil-moisture content reading from a second sprinkler controller associated with the second property; and

adjusting, in response to the watering restriction and the soil-moisture content reading, a sprinkling schedule for the first property.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

adjusting a different sprinkling schedule for the first property, wherein the sprinkling schedule for the first property is associated with a first zone of the first property and the different sprinkling schedule is associated with a second zone of the first property.

12. The method of claim 10,

wherein the soil-moisture content reading is associated with a soil-moisture, sensor located within the second property.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

transmitting, to a user device, the sprinkling schedule for the first property; and

receiving, from the user device, a request to adjust the sprinkling schedule for the first property,

wherein the adjusting the sprinkling schedule for the first property is further based on the request to adjust the sprinkling schedule.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

transmitting, to a user device, an alert associated with the sprinkling schedule for the first property.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

comparing a first soil type for the first property and a second soil type for the second property,

wherein the adjusting the sprinkling schedule for the first property is further based on the comparing.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first soil type for the first property or the second soil type for the second property is associated with at least one of a percolation rate, a precipitation rate, or an infiltration rate.

17. A method comprising:

determining, by a computing device, a first sprinkler controller that is associated with a first property within a geographic location;

receiving a soil-moisture content reading from a second sprinkler controller associated with a second property within the geographic location;

determining that a distance between the second property and the first property satisfies a threshold; and

transmitting, to the first sprinkler controller, for use in adjusting a sprinkling schedule for the first property, the soil-moisture content reading.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

comparing a first soil type for the first property and a second soil type for the second property,

wherein the adjustment to the sprinkling schedule for the first property is further based on the comparing.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

receiving a water-usage rate for a sprinkler at the first property;

determining that the water-usage rate for the sprinkler is higher than anticipated based on the sprinkling schedule for the first property; and

transmitting, to a user device, an alert indicating that the water-usage rate for the sprinkler is higher than anticipated.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

receiving, by the computing device, location information for a user device, the location information indicating that the user device is in the geographic location;

determining, based on the sprinkling schedule, that a sprinkler at the first property is scheduled to be active; and

transmitting, to the user device, based on the location information indicating that the user device is in the geographic location, an alert that the sprinkler at the first property is scheduled to be active.