Method and system for soil and water resources

• US 8,366,017 B1
• Filed: 01/31/2010
• Issued: 02/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Green Badge, LLC
• Original Assignee: Green Badge, LLC
• Inventors: Campbell, Jeffrey, Sohrabi, Kathy, Karmel, Clayton R., Magro, Carmen
• Primary Examiner(s): HWU, DAVIS D
• Application Number:
  US12/697,257
• Time in Patent Office: 1,101 Days
• Field of Search: 239/11, 239/63, 239/64, 239/67, 239/69, 239/569, 239/578, 239/DIG.15, 137/78.2, 137/78.3
• US Class Current: 239/69
• 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: G01N 33/24 Earth materials G01N33/42 takes precedence

Abstract

A system and method for monitoring soil and water resources is disclosed herein. Sensors capable of monitoring soil temperature, moisture and salinity are utilized with other sensors capable of monitoring such values as air temperature in order to provide real-time parameters to users/operators of land area.

Claims

1. A method for controlling irrigation, the method comprising:

irrigating a soil area with water during an irrigation event utilizing a plurality of valves, each of the plurality of valves in flow communication with a water source and a sprinkler;

monitoring a moisture content of the soil area utilizing a wireless sensor for each of the plurality of valves, the wireless sensor in wireless communication with a wireless controller, wherein monitoring a moisture content of the soil area is performed a plurality of times each day;

determining if the soil moisture content value exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

limiting the irrigation event if the soil moisture content value exceeds the predetermined threshold, wherein irrigation event is a daily scheduled irrigation event and limiting the irrigation event is limiting the scheduled irrigation event for a single day.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the wireless controller limits the irrigation event by reducing the amount of water flowing through a corresponding valve of the plurality of valves.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the wireless controller limits the irrigation event by stopping the amount of water flowing through a corresponding valve of the plurality of valves.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein the predetermined threshold is based on a porosity and field capacity of the soil area.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein the predetermined threshold is dynamically adjusted on a 30-60 days average of readings from the sensor.

6. A method for controlling irrigation, the method comprising:

irrigating a soil area with water during an irrigation event utilizing a plurality of valves, each of the plurality of valves in flow communication with a water source and a sprinkler, each of the plurality of valves corresponding to a wireless sensor, the wireless sensor comprising a probe conducting structure to be placed in the soil to form a capacitor, a circuit comprising a high frequency oscillator for applying an electrical stimulus to the probe structure, a reference capacitor connected in series to the high frequency oscillator, and a voltage meter located between the high frequency oscillator and the reference capacitor;

measuring an output voltage from a voltage meter when the high frequency oscillator is active;

calculating a capacitance of the soil as a function of voltage to obtain a soil moisture content value;

determining if the soil moisture content value exceeds a predetermined threshold;

transmitting a wireless signal from the wireless sensor to a wireless controller, the wireless signal indicating that the soil moisture content value exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

limiting the irrigation event if the soil moisture content value exceeds the predetermined threshold.

7. The method according to claim 6 wherein the wireless controller limits the irrigation event by reducing the amount of water flowing through each of the plurality of valves.

8. The method according to claim 6 wherein the wireless controller limits the irrigation event by stopping the amount of water flowing through each of the plurality of valves.

9. The method according to claim 6 wherein the irrigation event is a daily scheduled irrigation event and limiting the irrigation event is limiting the scheduled irrigation event for a single day.

10. The method according to claim 6 wherein monitoring a moisture content of the soil area is performed every six hours.

11. The method according to claim 6 wherein the predetermined threshold is based on a porosity and field capacity of the soil area.

12. The method according to claim 6 wherein the predetermined threshold is dynamically adjusted on a 30-60 days average of readings from the sensor.

13. A system for controlling irrigation, the system comprising:

a water source;

a plurality of valves, each of the plurality of valves in flow communication with the water source and a sprinkler, each of the plurality of valves corresponding to a sub-area of a plurality of sub-areas of a soil area;

a wireless controller for controlling the flow of water through each of the plurality of valves; and

a plurality of sub-surface sensors, each of the plurality of sub-surface sensors corresponding to a sub-area of a plurality of sub-areas of a soil area, each of the plurality of sub-surface sensors corresponding to a valve of the plurality of valves, each of the plurality of sub-surface sensors having a processor, a transceiver, a power source and a probe structure for measuring a moisture content of the corresponding sub-area of the plurality of sub-areas;

wherein the wireless controller is in wireless communication with each of the plurality of sub-surface wireless sensors and wherein a signal indicating a moisture value for a sub-area monitored by a sub-surface wireless sensor is sent to the wireless controller for controlling an irrigation event, wherein wireless controller limits the irrigation event by reducing the amount of water flowing through each of the plurality of valves, the irrigation event is a daily scheduled irrigation event and controlling the irrigation event is limiting the scheduled irrigation event for a single day.

14. The system according to claim 13 wherein the probe conducting structure is placed in the soil to form a capacitor, a circuit comprising a high frequency oscillator for applying a electrical stimulus to the probe structure, a reference capacitor connected in series to the high frequency oscillator, and a voltage meter located between the high frequency oscillator and the reference capacitor.

15. The system according to claim 13 wherein each of the plurality of subsurface wireless sensors is configured to measure a moisture content of a corresponding sub-area of a plurality of sub-areas of the soil area every six hours.

16. The system according to claim 13 wherein the wireless controller is configured for using a pre-defined set of vegetation/region types for determining watering schedules without end-user intervention including watering to seasonal, weather, climate and soil conditions.