Abstract:
An irrigation system is composed of a mobile sprinkler cart; a system water supply pipe supporting a plurality of hydrants adapted to be engaged by the mobile sprinkler cart and to supply water to a sprinkler supported on the cart; and an addressable electronic ID tag mounted on each hydrant. A main controller is programmed to control operation of the mobile sprinkler cart, and the ID tag is adapted to send at least hydrant identifying data to the main controller to thereby enable the main controller to move the mobile sprinkler cart to the hydrant.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to an irrigation system and more specifically to an automatic sprinkler system that includes a single or plurality of dockable mobile sprinkler carts or vehicles operable to sequentially travel to and dock with one of a plurality of hydrants, and to then distribute water provided by the hydrants to irrigate a local area proximate to each of the plurality of hydrants. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Mobile irrigation systems having elevated boom or truss assemblies carrying multiple sprinklers are typically of the center pivot-type or the linear- (or lateral-) move-type. In a center-pivot machine, the elevated truss assembly pivots about an upright standpipe that supplies water to the sprinklers attached to the truss assembly. In a linear-move machine, the elevated truss assembly is carried on mobile, wheeled towers that move the machine linearly along a path that is perpendicular to the elevated boom or truss. Typically, the linear-move machine travels from one end of a field to the other and back again, and sprinkling typically occurs in both directions, with water supplied by hose, spaced hydrants or adjacent water-filled ditch or culvert. 
     In still other systems, a mobile traveler or cart moves along an above-ground pipe, docking with hydrants spaced along the pipe. See, for example, commonly-owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,300,004 and 7,140,563 incorporated herein by reference. In a variation of this arrangement, the pipe is below ground, eliminating the primary steering component used by the cart to move between hydrants. In some cases, buried guide wires are used to steer the cart. There remains a need, however, for a relatively simple and reliable system for guiding a mobile sprinkler cart along an above-ground pipe or across a field to engage a plurality of hydrants (in sequence) in accordance with a programmed sprinkling policy that controls the application of water to the field at each hydrant. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The exemplary but nonlimiting embodiments disclosed herein relate to the use of electronic identification (ID) tags, e.g., Radio Frequency ID (RFID) tags, on water supply hydrants in an irrigation system. More specifically, the ID tags are used to guide a mobile sprinkler cart (or traveler) to a hydrant located along a water supply pipe that itself may be above or below ground. The ID tag may also store data relating to sprinkler parameters such as sprinkling time and arc coverage, that will govern the operation of the sprinkler at that hydrant location. Optionally, semi-active RFID technology may be employed such that the RFID tag can both send and receive signals from a main controller. 
     Accordingly, in one aspect, the invention relates to an irrigation system comprising a mobile sprinkler cart; a system water supply pipe supporting a plurality of hydrants adapted to be engaged by the mobile sprinkler cart and to supply water to a sprinkler supported on the cart; an addressable electronic ID tag mounted on each hydrant; and a main controller programmed to control operation of the mobile sprinkler cart, the ID tag adapted to send at least hydrant identifying data to the main controller to thereby enable the main controller to move the mobile sprinkler cart to the hydrant. 
     In another aspect, the invention relates to an irrigation system comprising a mobile sprinkler cart; a system water supply pipe supporting a plurality of hydrants adapted to be engaged by the mobile sprinkler cart and to supply water to a sprinkler supported on the cart; an addressable electronic identification tag mounted on each hydrant; and a main controller programmed to control operation of the mobile sprinkler cart; wherein the electronic identification tag programmed to at least send signals to the main controller. 
     In still another aspect, the invention relates to an irrigation system hydrant comprising a fluid outlet adapted to supply water to a mobile sprinkler cart, the hydrant having an electronic ID tag affixed thereto, programmed to transmit signals to the mobile sprinkler cart to enable the mobile sprinkler cart to find and engage the hydrant. 
     In still another aspect, the invention relates to a method of irrigating a field bounded by a plurality of spaced hydrants connected by a water supply pipe and actuatable by engagement with a mobile sprinkler cart carrying a hydrant valve actuator in communication with a sprinkler, the method comprising: (a) utilizing an odd number of the plurality of hydrants; and (b) moving the mobile sprinkler cart to engage and actuate every other one of the odd number of hydrants. 
     In still another aspect, the invention relates to a method of guiding a mobile sprinkler cart carrying a programmable sprinkler to a hydrant comprising: (a) providing a datum reference for establishing a reference angular offset of the sprinkler cart relative to a hydrant to be addressed and associated with a specific watering pattern; (b) determining an actual angular offset of the sprinkler cart relative to the hydrant as the sprinkler cart approaches the hydrant; and (c) adjusting the sprinkler to repeat the specific watering pattern at the hydrant regardless of the current angular offset of the sprinkler cart relative to the hydrant. 
     The invention will now be described in greater detail in connection with the drawings identified below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a mobile sprinkling system in a closed loop configuration with nine hydrants; 
         FIG. 2  is an isometric drawing of one embodiment of one mobile sprinkler in an undocked and traveling position, approaching a hydrant; 
         FIG. 3  is a flow diagram illustrating various inputs to a sprinkler main controller including information received from hydrants having RFID tags attached thereto; and 
         FIG. 4  is an expanded schematic diagram of a module taken from  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , an exemplary but nonlimiting implementation of the invention is illustrated in schematic form. Specifically, an autonomous sprinkling system  10  is positioned over a land area that is bounded by a road  12 . The sprinkling system has a main source pipe  14  which transports a supply of irrigation water to the system. The main source pipe is connected to a sprinkler system supply pipe  16  that is arranged on portions of the land to be irrigated. In the illustrated example, the pipe is arranged in a closed loop  18  with an open-loop spur  20 , and the water supply pipe  16  is laid out on top the ground. This embodiment enables the system to be portable or temporary, so it can be easily moved from one land area to another. In other embodiments, the water supply pipe may be arranged differently (for example, in open-ended and branched layouts, etc.) and/or the pipe may be buried in the ground. The latter arrangement is especially useful for fixed, permanent installations where full access is required over the entire land area. In an alternate embodiment, the system supply pipe  16  may be connected to a plurality of water source pipes  14  which enables the sprinkler system supply pipe to be constructed using pipe of a smaller diameter since flow losses are reduced. 
     As shown, a plurality of hydrants  22  are supported on the sprinkler system supply pipe  16 , and are positioned at specific desired locations over the land area. These hydrants are mounted in an above-ground configuration and operable to mate with a mobile sprinkler cart  24  whose construction and operation will be discussed in further detail below. Hydrant spacing is determined by the extent of the desired overlap in sprinkling patterns derived at each site. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the hydrant (and hence the sprinkler) spacing is designed to achieve an approximate 50 percent throw radius overlap with adjacent site patterns. 
     A single or a plurality of mobile sprinkler carts  24  are adapted to travel and to mount, or otherwise dock with, each of the plurality of hydrants  22  and to emit and distribute a flow of fluid in a controlled manner from a sprinkler mounted on the cart over an area of land to be irrigated. Each mobile sprinkler cart  24  is operable to travel in a forward direction, or alternatively, to travel in an opposite or reverse direction in response to a sequence or watering policy. In the nonlimiting exemplary embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , the mobile sprinkler cart  24  is mounted on a set of four wheels  26 , and is adapted to straddle the above-ground supply pipe  16 , utilizing steering arm assemblies  60 ,  62  to follow the pipe. Examples of a mobile sprinkler cart suitable for use in the system disclosed herein may be found in commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,300,004 and 7,140,563. In another embodiment, each mobile sprinkler cart may be mounted on a set of two endless tracks (not shown). The mobile sprinkler cart  24  is powered by an on-board battery  27  ( FIG. 2 ) and diesel engine  28  ( FIG. 3 ). 
     In the specific but nonlimiting example shown in  FIG. 1 , the system is set up with an odd number of hydrants  22  (numbered 1 through 9, with the second hydrant hidden by cart  24 ), positioned along the sprinkler system supply pipe  16 . A watering policy is provided which operates the mobile sprinkler cart  24  so that it follows a sequence which includes the steps of irrigating on a hydrant for a set period of time, skipping the next adjacent hydrant in the pattern, and then traveling to and docking with the next following hydrant in the pattern. This alternating-hydrant process is repeated over a set period of time. In this manner, an effective irrigation pattern is established which provides a desirable sprinkling rate for a variety of soil types and various terrain landscapes. In addition, by skipping every other hydrant of an odd number of hydrants, the desirable practice of sprinkling on dry land at each hydrant is assured. 
     With reference to both  FIGS. 2 and 3 , each hydrant  22  is configured to mate with a Docking Module  29  on the mobile sprinkler cart  24  and acts as a port to fluidly connect the mobile sprinkler cart to the sprinkler system supply pipe  16 . In one embodiment, an ID tag  30  (preferably an RFID tag) is borne by the hydrant and is operable to provide information to the mobile sprinkler cart  24  via the vehicle-mounted Main Controller  32 . This information includes a unique hydrant identifier which identifies or otherwise “names” the hydrant. In one nonlimiting embodiment, the ID tag  30  periodically emits an electromagnetic signal with data encoded on the signal. In one implementation of the embodiment, the unique identification includes the geographic location coordinates for the hydrant as referenced to a standard, for example, the latitude and longitude of the hydrant, thus providing sufficient information to guide the mobile sprinkler cart to the hydrant (whether or not the cart is following an above-ground pipe). 
     The ID tag  30  may be configurable by the mobile sprinkler cart Main Controller  32  and includes information storage capability so that it may be updated by the Main Controller  32  in a hydrant or ID Information Writer Module  33 . The ID tag  30  may be updated with information regarding the time, duration, and volumetric flow level of the hydrant. The ID tag  30  may also store the irrigation time, sprinkler arc parameters, and desired water pressure. This feature is especially useful in multiple mobile sprinkler installations where hydrant information is updated during irrigation and can be read by other mobile sprinkler carts. In other words, the hydrant can store and share up-to-date information which is also useful to other mobile sprinkler carts upon docking with that same hydrant. 
     With continuing reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the mobile sprinkler cart  24  may also include an ID or Hydrant Reader Module  34 . The ID Reader Module  34  is configured to gather information from the ID tag  30  positioned on each of the plurality of hydrants  22 . In one implementation, the ID tag  30  and Reader Module  34  utilize semi-active RFID technology, although other technologies known in the art may be utilized without departing from the scope of this invention including bar code tags, passive RFID tags, active RFID tags, or magnetically encoded tags. 
     The mobile sprinkler cart  24  also includes various subsystems or modules that control all aspects of the mobile sprinkler discussed further hereinbelow, all of which feed information to and/or receive information from the Main Controller  32 . 
     As already noted above, the mobile sprinkler cart  24  is configured to travel on the ground and to engage the various hydrants  22  located along the system pipe  16  under the power supplied by the diesel engine  28 . The latter also powers a hydraulic pump  36  that propels hydraulic fluid through a valve and piping system which connects to a plurality of hydraulic drive motors  38 , each driving one of the respective cart wheels  26 . Alternatively, the mobile sprinkler cart  24  may be powered by a battery  27  and propelled by electric motors or other combinations that are known in the art. The engine  28  is governed by the Main Controller  32  via an Engine Control Module  40 , while the drive motors  38  receive input from a Cart Motion Control Module  42 . 
     The Docking Module  29  is configured to engage and dock with a hydrant  22  when the mobile sprinkler cart  24  is positioned over the hydrant in a watering position. The docking procedure per se generally may be as described in the above-identified commonly-owned &#39;004 patent. It will be appreciated that the Docking Module  29  includes an automatic valve opening device adapted to engage and open a valve accessible from the top of the hydrant. Upon disengagement, the valve is automatically closed. The valve opening mechanism may be as disclosed in the above-identified co-pending &#39;296 application. 
     The Main Controller  32  communicates with a Machine Health Module  44 , Irrigation Module  46 , Datum Reference Module  48 , Sprinkler Control Module  50 , Guidance Module  52 , and User Interface  54 . 
     The Machine Health Module  44  monitors the status of, and controls those functions of the mobile sprinkler cart  24  that are necessary to ensure safety and fitness. This module is operable to override any of the other modules of the Main Controller  32  when necessary. 
     The Irrigation Module  46  is operable to query a user-configurable database that contains irrigation parameters necessary to appropriately distribute water over the area covered by the mobile sprinkler cart  24 . These irrigation parameters may include overall field watering parameters and hydrant specific parameters. The overall field watering parameters govern the sprinkling policies for the field and may include hydrant sequencing, irrigation water availability schedules, end of course (or field) instructions, time between active watering periods, etc. It will be understood that hydrant specific parameters govern the sprinkling pattern proximate to a specific hydrant  22 . These parameters may include hydrant dwell time, sprinkling pattern shape, watering time, and watering pressure. The Irrigation Module  46  may also receive input from other sensors or communication systems which may influence the suitability of specific irrigation policies. This input may include information from a variety of sources and may include wind speed and direction information, accumulated rainfall and rain rates, evapotranspiration rates, temperature, humidity, solar radiation, time of day, and day of year. Actions initiated by the Irrigation Module  46  may be modified based on this information as governed by the sprinkling policies. The Irrigation Module  46  also contains the overall watering schedule clock. The Irrigation Module also receives information from the ID Reader Module  34  via the Main Controller  32 . 
     In one embodiment, the Irrigation Module  46  calculates the volume of water expelled from the sprinkler by integrating an instantaneous flow rate from a sprinkler-nozzle-specific look-up table as a function of measured water pressure. The Irrigation Module  46  compares a desired total accumulated volume of water to this calculated accumulated volume of water to determine when an irrigation cycle is complete. 
     The Datum Reference Module  48  provides a current angular offset reading regarding the specific orientation of the sprinkler  56  relative to a datum reference. This datum reference is established at the time of installation and is used as the reference in the user configurable database. The current angular offset may be inferred by the module from information provided by the Guidance Module  52  or from monitoring the readings from a vehicle-mounted electronic compass  58  over a pre-defined course of travel as the mobile sprinkler travels to the appropriate hydrants. This angular offset information is important for providing repeatable hydrant specific watering patterns at each hydrant regardless of the orientation of the mobile sprinkler relative to the datum reference. 
     The Sprinkler Control Module  50  is configured to respond to commands from the Main Controller  32  and to receive input from the Datum Reference Module  48 . 
     More specifically, the Sprinkler Control Module  50  is mounted in fluid communication with the Docking Module  29  by a fluid conduit  51 . In this manner, water from the sprinkler supply pipe  16  is routed through the hydrant  22 , and through the Docking Module  29  to the Sprinkler Module  53  where it is emitted from the sprinkler  56 . The Sprinkler Control Module  50  is configured to adjust the Sprinkler Module  53  in accordance with the hydrant specific parameters, and thus control the sprinkler  56 . 
     The sprinkler  56  is rotatable in a plane approximately parallel with the surface of the ground over an arc. The sprinkler may be of the type sold by the assignee, Nelson Irrigation Corporation, under the name “Big Gun”® but other sprinklers are suitable as well. The Sprinkler Control Module  50  is configured to controllably project an arc as the stream passes through and is expelled by the nozzle of the sprinkler  56 . The Sprinkler Control Module  50  is configurable to control a number of the sprinkling parameters including the arc pattern, sprinkling trajectory, sprinkler pressure, pattern speed, and flow rate. The Guidance Module  52  provides information to the Main Controller  32 . The Cart Motion Control Module  42  is configured to maneuver the mobile sprinkler cart  24  to the next hydrant  22  in the sequence in accordance to the overall field watering policy. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , the Guidance Module  52  utilizes front and rear pipe following assemblies or steering arms  60 ,  62  to ascertain the direction to the next appropriate hydrant  22 , and to steer the vehicle in the appropriate path. 
     It will be appreciated that the various modules, including the Hydrant Reader Module  34 , the Machine Health Module  44 , the Datum Reference Module  48  and the Guidance Module  52  may be physically located within the cabinet housing the Main Controller  32 . Sprinkler Control Module  50  may be located in proximity to the sprinkler  56 , with the remaining modules located appropriately and conveniently on the mobile sprinkler cart  24 . 
     In other embodiments, the Guidance Module  52  may include a variety of sensors ( FIG. 4 ) that determine the mobile sprinkler cart&#39;s position and adjust its course as it commands the vehicle during its trek between hydrants  22 . These sensors may include, but are not limited to course-following devices A, ground speed measurement devices B, vehicle orientation devices C, and mobile sprinkler cart position devices D. The course-following devices A may include pipe-following sensors A 1 , wire-following sensors A 2  and hydrant-homing mechanisms A 3 . The ground speed measurement devices B may include but are not limited to wheel index sensors B 1  and radar speed sensors B 2 . The vehicle orientation devices C may include but are not limited to electronic gyroscopes C 1 , compasses C 2 , tilt sensors C 3  and accelerometers C 4 . The mobile sprinkler cart position devices D may include but are not limited to GPS receivers D 1 , dead reckoning modules D 2  and localized time of flight triangulation systems D 3 , with input to the Guidance Module  52  via Main Controller  32 . 
     In one embodiment, the Guidance Module  52  forms a computational engine and receives a plurality of signals from a group of adjacent or proximate RFID tags  30  located on the hydrants  22 . In this embodiment, each signal is associated with a specific hydrant, and its relative time of flight is used to determine the present location of the mobile sprinkler cart  24  in relation to its desired destination. The direction and speed of the mobile sprinkler cart  24  is varied in response to this information. 
     In yet another embodiment, the Guidance Module  52  includes a steerable antenna E ( FIG. 3 ) which is used to determine a relative orientation between the mobile sprinkler cart  24  and a desired destination hydrant  22 . This steerable antenna may be operated in either a null or lobe mode, and may be a Yagi-uda parasitic array or a loop antenna. 
     The User Interface  54  is provided to enable a user to specify various irrigation parameters and to select watering policies which govern the operation of the mobile sprinkler cart. The User Interface  54  also provides status, maintenance, and alarm information to the user. In another embodiment, the User Interface  54  includes a communication link which is operable to enable the mobile sprinkler to provide status and be commanded by a remote device such as a computer or cell phone. 
     While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.