Code replacement for irrigation controllers

• US 8,417,390 B2
• Filed: 10/25/2010
• Issued: 04/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Navisense, Rain Bird Corporation
• Original Assignee: Rain Bird Corporation
• Inventors: Nickerson, Harvey J., Leatherman, Russel Dean, Musselman, James R., Nguyen, Andrew M., Lapshov, Nicholas N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gami, Tejal
• Application Number:
  US12/911,683
• Publication Number:
  US 20110040415A1
• Time in Patent Office: 897 Days
• Field of Search: 700/284, 713/170, 726/17, 137/624.11, 239/69, 340/3.1
• US Class Current: 700/284
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 25/16 Control of watering
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0426 Programming the control sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23312 Load program from attached device to control that device
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23339 Update diskette, cassette initiates bootstrap program to load eeprom, flash
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25314 Modular structure, modules
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2625 Sprinkler, irrigation, watering
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 7/0617 specially adapted for fluid materials
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 7/0676 by action on flow sources G05D7/0688, G05D7/0694 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/86389 Programmer or timer

Abstract

Described herein are several embodiments relating to modular irrigation controllers. In many implementations, methods of implementing irrigation control are provided that detect a presence of a first module coupled with a control unit of an irrigation controller, the control unit operating in accordance with a bootloader set of code and a first set of code to implement irrigation control, identify that the first module stores a second set of code, and activate the bootloader set of code to replace the first set of code with the second set of code. Also described are various different types of modular controllers, expansion modules that may be coupled to the modular controller, having as variety of functions and features, as well as related methods of use and configuration of the controller and these modules in the controller.

Claims

1. A modular irrigation controller comprising:

a housing;

a control unit within the housing, the control unit including a first microcontroller for executing stored irrigation programs and a first set of code of the control unit;

a plurality of module mounting locations within the housing adapted to removably receive modules, each module mounting location communicationally coupled to the first microcontroller; and

a module removably mounted to a first module mounting location and contained within the housing, the module communicationally coupled to the first microcontroller and the module comprises memory storing a second set of code to replace at least a portion of the first set of code of the control unit and allows a copy of the second set of code to be transferred to the control unit to overwrite at least a portion of the first set of code of the control unit, wherein the first set of code of the control unit comprises a bootloader that when implemented writes the copy of the second set of code over the first set of code of the control unit with the exception of the bootloader that is not written over.

2. The irrigation controller of claim 1, wherein the memory allows the copy of the second set of code to overwrite less than all of the first set of code of the control unit.

3. The irrigation controller of claim 1, wherein the module including a second microcontroller, the second microcontroller communicates with the bootloader using a first protocol to transfer the copy of the second set of code, and a second communication protocol to communicate with the first microcontroller while the control unit implements the irrigation programs.

4. The irrigation controller of claim 1, wherein the first microcontroller implements the transfer of the copy of the second set of code to the control unit when a version of the second set of code is newer than a version of the first set of code of the control unit.

5. The irrigation controller of claim 1, wherein the memory of the module further stores additional functionality code that when implemented provides additional functionality usable by the control unit;

and

the second set of code includes operating code that when the copied second set of code is utilized by the control unit allows the control unit to utilize the additional functionality of the module that could not be utilized by the control unit without the copy of the second set of code.

6. The irrigation controller of claim 1, wherein the control unit further comprises a key that is used to decrypt the copy of the second set of code.

7. The irrigation controller of claim 1, wherein the copy of the second set of code is transferred and is stored overwriting the at least the portion of the first set of code of the control unit without user interaction.

8. The irrigation controller of claim 1, wherein the first microcontroller receives a signal from the module indicating the presence of the module to the control unit and identifying that the module contains the second set of code.

9. The irrigation controller of claim 1, wherein the module includes code to measure fluid flow and report the measured fluid flow to the control unit.

10. The irrigation controller of claim 1, wherein the first set of code comprises an operating code and the second set of code is configured to replace at least a portion of the operating code of the control unit.

11. The irrigation controller of claim 10, wherein the first set of code comprises first firmware and the second set of code comprises second firmware, where the second firmware is configured to replace at least a portion of the first firmware.

12. The irrigation controller of claim 11, wherein the first firmware of the control unit comprises bootloader code that when implemented by the control unit causes the control unit to implement a re-flash of the first firmware of the control unit.

13. The irrigation controller of claim 12, wherein the bootloader code is protected and configured to be activated even when a version of the first firmware of the control unit becomes corrupt or is incompletely replaced, and control a replacing of the portion of the first firmware of the control unit, which does not include the bootloader code, with the second firmware.

14. The irrigation controller of claim 12, wherein the second set of code comprises an alternate bootloader configured to be copied to a memory such that the control unit is reactivated to access the alternate bootloader code instead of the bootloader code, and where the alternate bootloader code is configured to initiate a re-flash of the first firmware with the second firmware.

15. The irrigation controller of claim 1, wherein the second set of code is configured to be activated to identify a version of the first firmware of the control unit, to determine whether second firmware is a newer version of firmware, and to activate a re-flash to the second set of code.

16. The irrigation controller of claim 1, wherein the second set of code does not include irrigation programs.

17. The irrigation controller of claim 1, wherein first set of code does not include the stored irrigation programs.

18. The irrigation controller of claim 16, wherein the module is further configured to send an updated irrigation program to the control unit to replace one or more of the stored irrigation programs stored in the control unit.

19. The irrigation controller of claim 1, wherein the module comprises a microcontroller and module firmware to operate the microcontroller in addition to the memory of the module.