Remote controlled multi-station irrigation system with DTMF transmitter
First Claim
1. A remote controlled multi-station irrigation system, comprising:
- a controller comprising;
(a) a plurality of individual station actuator circuits,(b) a central processor,(c) an input terminal means connected to provide input signals to the central processor, and(d) interface circuitry interfacing between the central processor and the station actuator circuits,the processor being responsive to input signals from the input terminal means to provide operational control signals via the interface circuitry to selected actuator circuits,a remote portable transmitter adapted to broadcast selectable discrete wireless station identity signals corresponding to the respective station actuator circuits, together with an operation signal to initiate the actuation or deactuation of a selected station;
the transmitter including means for manually selecting a particular station identification and operational signal for transmission,a receiver adapted to receive broadcast signals from the transmitter and to produce corresponding input signals for the central processor, the central processor responding to said input signals to provide an operational control signal corresponding to the received operational signal only to the actuator circuit for the selected station andmeans connecting the receiver with the controller'"'"'s input terminal means for transmitting processor input signals from the receiver to the controller.
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Abstract
A remote controlled multi-station irrigation system in which discrete radio signals are transmitted from a remote location for each different function to be performed. The system includes a controller with a central processor, individual station actuator circuits, and interface circuitry; a transmitter which preferably transmits in an FM dual tone multi-frequency format, and a receiver which decodes the transmitted signal to hexadecimal data. The controller is automatically converted from a local to a remote operating mode by the insertion of a connecting cable from the receiver. The controller can be operated in real time or programmed for future operation from a remote location. The receiver can also be adapted for conventional controllers by adding field actuator circuitry which is connected directly to the field wires, bypassing the controller during remote operation.
178 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A remote controlled multi-station irrigation system, comprising:
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a controller comprising; (a) a plurality of individual station actuator circuits, (b) a central processor, (c) an input terminal means connected to provide input signals to the central processor, and (d) interface circuitry interfacing between the central processor and the station actuator circuits, the processor being responsive to input signals from the input terminal means to provide operational control signals via the interface circuitry to selected actuator circuits, a remote portable transmitter adapted to broadcast selectable discrete wireless station identity signals corresponding to the respective station actuator circuits, together with an operation signal to initiate the actuation or deactuation of a selected station;
the transmitter including means for manually selecting a particular station identification and operational signal for transmission,a receiver adapted to receive broadcast signals from the transmitter and to produce corresponding input signals for the central processor, the central processor responding to said input signals to provide an operational control signal corresponding to the received operational signal only to the actuator circuit for the selected station and means connecting the receiver with the controller'"'"'s input terminal means for transmitting processor input signals from the receiver to the controller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A controller for a remote controlled multi-station irrigation system, comprising:
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a plurality of individual station actuator circuits, a central processor, a local keyboard connected to supply irrigation program information to the processor, an input terminal means adapted to receive a connector from a receiver for remote signals and connected to provide remote input signals from the connector to the processor, interface circuitry interfacing between the processor and the station actuator circuits, the processor being responsive in a remote mode to remotely broadcast station identity and operational signals from the input terminal means to provide an operational control signal via the interface circuitry only to the actuator circuit which corresponds to a received station identity signal, and in a local mode to program information stored in the processor, and interrupt means connected to the processor for disabling the processor'"'"'s local mode and setting the processor to its remote mode. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A communication system for use with a remote controlled multi-station irrigation system, comprising:
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a portable transmitter adapted to broadcast selectable discrete station identity and operational signals on a wireless carrier signal, the transmitter including a manually operated keyboard adapted to select desired station identity and operational signals for broadcast, and a receiver including an antenna adapted to receive signals broadcast from the transmitter, circuit means connected to the antenna for removing the carrier portion of a received signal to produce a coded input signal, a decoding means connected to the circuit means for decoding a coded input signal to a signal format which is compatible with a sprinkler controller, and output means connected to the decoding means for providing decoded station identity and operational signals to a sprinkler controller, whereby the sprinkler controller can be operated by the transmitter to perform a selected operation for any selected station from any remote location within the transmitter'"'"'s broadcast range from the receiver. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification