Abstract:
An irrigation control device ( 12 ) with a controller ( 14 ), antenna ( 16 ), power supply ( 70 ) and battery charging device ( 72 ), such as a solar array, all contained within a housing, such as a rotor body ( 90 ). The controller ( 14 ) receives signals through the antenna ( 16 ). The controller ( 14 ) updates one or more watering schedules stored in a memory module ( 32 ), based on the received signals, and generates control signals to execute a watering schedule. The battery charging device ( 72 ) recharges the power supply ( 70 ) and the irrigation control device requires no external electrical connections for power or control. Control signals are generated in a central controller ( 18 ) remote from the rotor ( 12 ), and are preferably transmitted to the rotor antenna ( 16 ) through a commercial paging or other type of public broadcast network ( 20, 22, 24 ).

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates generally to automated irrigation systems and, more particularly, to systems for the control of irrigation devices, such as valves, pumps and rotors. Water valves and pumps are used to control the flow of irrigation water through a variety of water dispensing devices, including rotors. Rotors irrigate by throwing a jet or spray of water that is rotated about a generally vertical axis. Rotors are typically enclosed in a protective housing, and a rotating nozzle pops up from the top of the housing during desired irrigation times. Rotors are supplied with water from water supply lines that are usually installed below ground and are typically actuated by electric solenoid-controlled valves. Rotation of the nozzle may be effected by a self-contained water turbine and a reduction gear mechanism, or the nozzle may be of the impact-arm type, which utilizes the angular momentum of a spring-loaded oscillating arm to rotate the nozzle in small angular increments through a desired arc, or continuously through a full circle of rotation.  
           [0002]    Valves, pumps and rotors are used in a wide variety of irrigation applications, from residential and commercial landscapes to golf course and agricultural irrigation. The application to golf course irrigation is mentioned here by way of example, but as the description of the invention proceeds it will be understood that the principles described are equally applicable to other types irrigation environments. A common feature of underground irrigation systems is that control wires must be run from a controller to each solenoid valve and pump that controls the flow of water to a sprinkler or group of sprinklers. Control wires to the valves, pumps and rotors are typically buried below ground, often in the same trenches used to run supply pipes to the valves. Control systems vary from simple multi-station timers to complex computer-based controllers.  
           [0003]    The advantages of a wireless rotor, using a battery to control the solenoid valve, have been recognized by others. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,626,894 to Unruh, U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,655 to Pinchoff et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,522 to Marian, broadly suggest some features of a wireless rotor. None of these patents, however, suggest all the features of the present invention, which are summarized below.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    The present invention resides in a wireless irrigation control device. Briefly, and in general terms, the wireless irrigation control device of the invention comprises a water control device, which may be a rotor, a valve or a pump, and a controller coupled to the water flow control device. The controller includes a housing, an antenna integrated into the housing and capable of receiving radio-frequency (RF) signals, a microcontroller contained within the housing and coupled to receive and process signals from the antenna, and a memory module for storing watering schedules established or modified by signals received through the antenna. The wireless irrigation control device also includes a battery power supply also contained within the housing, to supply power to the microcontroller and to the water control device. Preferably, the wireless irrigation control device further comprises a battery charge generator integrated into the controller housing and coupled to the battery power supply. The battery charge generator may be a solar panel, a water turbine or any other device for recharging the battery power supply.  
           [0005]    Another aspect of the invention includes a magnetic proximity switch installed in the controller housing and coupled to the microcontroller. The magnetic proximity switch is configured to perform a function such as resetting the microcontroller, initiating a desired irrigation program sequence, or initiating a secured irrigation program sequence to allow system initialization.  
           [0006]    Preferably, the controller has RF reception capability to process both short-range signals transmitted from a location near the irrigation control device and longer-range signals transmitted through a public broadcast system. The controller may receive short-range and longer-range RF signals through separate receivers operating in parallel at different frequencies, or may receive short-range and longer-range RF signals through a single receiver employing time-division multiplexing.  
           [0007]    In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the microcontroller includes means for processing received signals indicative of real-time control commands directed to the water flow control device. These control commands may be signals for scheduling ON and OFF times for the water flow control device, or for setting a real-time clock based on the received signals, such as for making an adjustment for latency of transmission through a public broadcasting system. The means for processing received signals may also include means for adjusting irrigation control commands and sequences for the water flow control device.  
           [0008]    In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the wireless irrigation control device further includes a visual status indicator coupled to the controller and integrated into the housing. The visual status indicator is indicative of conditions such as battery condition, receipt of a control signal by the antenna, or fault conditions detected in the controller.  
           [0009]    The present invention may also be defined in terms of a method for controlling a wireless irrigation control device contained in a controller housing. Briefly, the method comprises the steps of receiving broadcast signals through an antenna installed in the housing; decoding the received broadcast signals and confirming that they apply to this particular irrigation control device; based on data received through the antenna from time to time, and decoded in the preceding step, storing and updating at least one watering schedule in a memory module; and based on the stored watering schedule, generating signals to control a water control device in accordance with the watering schedule. The step of generating signals to control a water control device may be directed to any suitable device, such as a rotor, a valve or a pump.  
           [0010]    The method of the invention may further comprise recharging, as needed, a battery housed in the rotor body, using a battery charging generator integrated into the rotor body. The method of the invention may further comprise the step of configuring the controller by transmitting signals to it through a magnetic proximity switch, or configuring the controller by transmitting signals to it from a handheld transmitter.  
           [0011]    The method of the invention may further include the step of verifying that command signals have been transmitted to the wireless irrigation control device by receiving the same signals in a verification receiver. After verifying transmission, the method may further include the steps of determining a transmission latency time from the verifying step, and transmitting a clock adjustment signal to the wireless irrigation control device, to compensate for the determined latency time.  
           [0012]    The method of the invention may further comprise the step of displaying a condition of the controller in a display device associated with the controller. The displaying step may include displaying battery condition, displaying receiver status, or displaying a controller fault condition.  
           [0013]    It will be appreciated from the foregoing summary that the present invention represents a significant advance in the field of irrigation control devices. In particular, the invention provides an irrigation control device that requires no outside electrical connections but is still controllable from a remote location. Because the controller, power supply, antenna and recharging generator are all integrated into a conventional rotor body or other housing, the invention may be readily implemented in new irrigation systems or retrofitted in existing ones that were originally hard-wired to a central controller. Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the environment of the invention.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is block diagram of a wireless controller in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 is a simplified plan view of a wireless rotor in accordance with the invention.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 4 is a simplified cross-sectional view of the wireless rotor of FIG. 3, taken generally along the line  4 - 4 .  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 5 is another simplified cross-sectional of the wireless rotor, taken generally along the line  5 - 5  of FIG. 4.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 6 is a simplified perspective view of a wireless controller in accordance with the invention, installed in a valve box.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 7 is a simplified cross-sectional view of the wireless controller and valve box of FIG. 6, as installed in the ground.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 8 is a more detailed cross-sectional view of the wireless controller of FIGS. 6 and 7, as installed in a valve box.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 9 is a simplified perspective view of a wireless controller in accordance with the invention, as installed to function as a wireless pump start relay. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0023]    As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the present invention pertains to a wireless irrigation controller that is completely self-contained and controllable from a central site by radio-frequency signals transmitted through a commercial communication network, such as a pager network. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1 the wireless irrigation controller of the invention, shown generally by reference numeral  10 , comprises a conventional irrigation control device  12 , such as a valve, pump or rotor, a device controller  14 , which will be described in more detail below, and a special-purpose antenna  16 . A central controller  18 , which may take various forms, generates control signals to be transmitted to the wireless controller  10 . These signals are first transmitted to a public communications carrier  20 , such as a pager service of the type used to transmit messages to portable pager units (not shown). These control signals are transmitted to a public communications carrier  20  using a dial-up modem protocol such as TAP or an internet protocol such as WCTP. The public communications carrier  20  may encode the signals in accordance with a standard pager communications protocol, such as FLEX®, and transmits them from an antenna  22 . As indicated by the broken line  24 , the signals are transmitted to the wireless controller antenna  16 , either directly through the atmosphere or indirectly through one or more relay stations that receive and retransmit the signals. A local encoder/transmitter may be used in place of the public communications carrier  20 .  
         [0024]    Preferably, the central controller  18  also includes a verification receiver, indicated by antenna  26 , which monitors signals transmitted from the antenna  22 , to assure proper transmission of the signals to the wireless controller  10 . The system also includes a handheld configurer  27 , which is a portable device with its own antenna  28 . The configurer  27  is a capable of performing multiple functions to configure, calibrate and manually control the device controller  14 , by transmitting signals through the air to the controller receiver antenna  16 . More specifically, the configurer  27  can be used to transmit an initial configuration to the device controller  10  when newly installed. The initial configuration includes a unique device address and an operating frequency. After installation of the device controller  10 , the configurer  27  may be used to transmit calibration data to account for clock inaccuracies, to transmit or modify schedules of operation, and to manually turn the irrigation control device  12  on or off. The handheld configurer  27  may also be connected by a cable  29  to the central controller  18 , to ensure that device operating schedules and other data stored in the configurer are synchronized with similar data stored in the central controller.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 2 depicts the principal components of the device controller  14 . At the heart of the controller  14  is a microcomputer controller  30  and a memory module  32  in which are stored down-loaded watering schedules for the device  12 , miscellaneous user data and microcomputer code. The microcomputer  30  may be, for example, the TLCS-870/C eight-bit microcontroller manufactured by Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. Signals from the antenna  16  are first processed by an antenna diplexer  34 , which separates two types of received signals: those received from the public communications carrier  20 , and locally transmitted signals at some convenient frequency, such as 450 MHz (megahertz). The latter signals are processed by a local receiver  36  and passed to the microcomputer  30  over line  38 . These signals may be used to control the rotor  12  by means of the handheld configurer  27  carried by maintenance personnel near the device. Signals of the pager type are processed by a pager receiver and decoder  40  and passed to the microcomputer  30  over line  42 . As indicated by lines  44  and  46 , the microcomputer  30  sends control signals to the local receiver  36  and the pager receiver and decoder  40 , respectively, to control operation of these components.  
         [0026]    The microcomputer  30  has diagnostic processing to check the memories  32  and input and output interfaces. A magnetic proximity switch  48  operates to reset the microcomputer  30  and allows for operation in a secured configuration program sequence for a selected period of time after resetting. Therefore, the proximity switch  48  allows an operator to reset the controller  14  to the secured sequence, in the event of a controller malfunction. The microcomputer  30  also controls a light-emitting diode (LED)  49 , which is used to indicate controller status and diagnostic information.  
         [0027]    The data received through the antenna  16  may be watering schedules, changes in watering schedules, user data, or code corrections to be used by the microcomputer  30 . The microcomputer  30  processes the incoming data and makes appropriate changes to the schedules stored in the memory module  32 . Data are transmitted to and from the memory module  32  over line  50 . Line  52  represents control signals transmitted to the memory module  32  from the microcomputer  30 .  
         [0028]    Based on the watering schedules stored in the memory module  32 , the microcomputer  30  generates rotor valve ON and OFF signals on lines  54  and  56 , respectively. These signals are coupled to a polarity control and driver unit  58 , which, in turn, is coupled to a DC latching solenoid  60  that controls a water valve  62 , if the controller  10  is used to control water flow through a pipe or in a rotor  12 . If the controller  10  is used to control a pump, the solenoid  60  or an equivalent electrical relay, is used to actuate the pump. Operating power for the solenoid  60  comes from a capacitor  64 , which is charged from a solenoid power generator  66 , the latter being controlled by a charge-capacitor signal on line  68  from the microcomputer  30 . The entire controller is powered by a 4-volt rechargeable battery  70 . A power generation device  72 , such as a solar array, provides recharging power to a battery charge control unit  74  connected to the battery  70 . Power from the battery  70  is further conditioned in a power condition control unit  76 , which provides voltage taps to power the controller and the solenoid power generator  66 .  
         [0029]    The controller also includes supervisory circuitry  78  that provides data to the microcomputer  30 , over line  80 , based on inputs on a battery sense line  82  and at least two other miscellaneous sense lines  84  and  86  that can be used for diagnostic or other purposes, according to a particular application of the controller.  
         [0030]    In accordance with one aspect of the invention as applied to irrigation rotors, the controller  14 , including the power generator  72 , in the form of a solar array, and the antenna  16 , is enclosed in a conventional irrigation rotor. For example, the rotor may be a gear-driven rotor designated the EAGLE TM by Rain Bird Corporation Azusa, Calif., such as the EAGLE™ 700 Series, 750 Series, 900 Series or 950 Series, a detailed description of which may be obtained from the manufacturer&#39;s Web site located at www.rainbird.com. Alternatively, the rotor may be of the impact-arm type. FIGS.  3 - 5  are simplified views of a rotor body similar to the one used in the EAGLE™ gear-driven rotors. For clarity, the pop-up rotor mechanism itself is omitted from the drawings since it has little relevance to the present invention.  
         [0031]    As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rotor  12  has a hollow and generally cylindrical body  90 , the interior of which forms a tapered cavity  91  that houses the gear-driven pop-up rotor head (not shown). Integral with the body  90  is a generally annular top  92 . In most installations, the top  92  is the only portion of the rotor assembly that is visible above grade level. The lower end portion of the body  90  is coupled to an underground water supply pipe and includes a valve ( 62 , not shown in FIG. 4). When the valve  62  is opened, the rotor head pops up above grade level and the gear-driven mechanism rotates a water jet slowly through a selected azimuth angle. The solar array  72  is installed as part of the top  92 . More specifically, the solar array  72  is an annular segment of the top  92  and is recessed into the top in such a way as to present an unbroken, continuous upper surface. Immediately beneath the solar array  72  is a sealed cavity  94  that houses the remaining components of the rotor controller  14 .  
         [0032]    Another important aspect of the invention is the antenna  16 . In the illustrative embodiment, the antenna  16  is an antenna installed beneath the portion of the top  94  that does not include the solar array  72 . The position of the antenna  16  can be seen in FIG. 4, and in the upward-looking view of FIG. 5. Positioned immediately beneath the antenna  16  is a ground plane  96 , which provides the desired antenna characteristics, such as the ability to operate at or slightly below grade level in a variety of environmental conditions that are typically adverse for antennas.  
         [0033]    Communication protocols used between the central controller  18  and the public communications carrier  20 , and between the public communications carrier  20  and the wireless rotor  10 , are not critical to the invention. For convenience, the second protocol, between the carrier  20  and the wireless rotor  10 , should preferably be an industry standard. For example, one of the FLEX® protocols originated by Motorola, Inc. is the industry standard one-way paging protocol in the United States. The protocol for communicating commands to the communications carrier  20  need only be selected to satisfy the requirements of the carrier. The central controller  18  may take the form of a conventional computer or a simpler communication device, or an on-site terminal and associated transmitter.  
         [0034]    Communication of commands to the rotor  10  may use any convenient command format. Each rotor  10  will be identified by a unique code, which may be referred to as a passcode. For example, the passcode may be a three-digit numerical code ranging from 000 through 999 to accommodate a system with as many as 1,000 rotors. The command structure encompasses both simple commands and more complex commands, such as entire watering schedules. The simple commands may take the form &lt;passcode&gt;&lt;command&gt;. For example, the following simple commands may be used:  
         [0035]    &lt;passcode&gt;1 Turn rotor on immediately.  
         [0036]    &lt;passcode&gt;0 Turn rotor off immediately.  
         [0037]    &lt;passcode&gt;201&lt;DDHHMMSS&gt; Set time of day and day of week.  
         [0038]    Other simple commands include unique command codes to: add a time adjustment, clear a watering table, clear one day of a watering table, resume watering from a watering table, suspend watering from a watering table, add and entry to a watering table, turn rotor on for a specified duration, and setting a real-time clock in the controller.  
         [0039]    An inherent difficulty with remote wireless controllers is that there may be a delay or latency time associated with transmitting a control signal from the central controller  18  through the public communications carrier  20  to the various remote controllers. The verification receiver  26  (FIG. 1) allows the latency time to be measured. The central controller  18  can then transmit to the device controller  14  a time correction to compensate for the latency.  
         [0040]    More complex data, such as an entire watering table, can be transmitted by first sending a simple command to condition the rotor to receive the data that follows. Conventional data formatting techniques may be employed, such as using special codes as delimiters to separate data records and to end the entire block of data.  
         [0041]    It will be readily understood that the foregoing discussion pertaining to wireless control of irrigation rotors also applies to the control of water valves not associated with rotors, and to the control of water pumps. For example, FIG. 6 shows an alternate form of a device controller  14 ′ in accordance with the invention. The device controller  14 ′ includes a solar panel  72 ′ and an antenna  16 ′, and is installed in a lid  100  of a valve box  102 , as further illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8. The controller  14 ′ has all the components described in relation to the controller  14  of FIG. 2, most of which are installed on a circuit board  104 . The antenna  16 ′ is a conventional DDRR (directional discontinuity ring radiator) well known in the technical literature. The controller  14 ′ is enclosed in a watertight housing, through which electrical connections are made to a solenoid  60 ′ external to the housing. The solenoid is shown adjacent to a water valve  62 ′ for controlling the flow of water through a pipe  106  beneath the valve box  102 .  
         [0042]    [0042]FIG. 9 depicts a pump controller  14 ″ similar to the controller  14 ′ used for control of the valve  62 ′. The pump controller  14 ″ includes all the components of the valve controller  14 ′, including a solar panel  72 ″ and DDRR antenna  16 ″. In addition, the pump controller  14 ″ includes a conventional electrical switch (not shown), which may be installed inside or outside the controller housing, and controls the flow of electrical power to a pump  110  coupled to a water pipe  112 . The controller  14 ″ controls the electrical switch, either directly or though a suitable relay, and thereby controls the flow of water through the pipe  112  to an irrigation site.  
         [0043]    It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the present invention represents a significant advance in the field of irrigation control. In particular, the invention provides a wireless irrigation control device that can be conveniently controlled from a central location and has its own independent battery power supply including some type of power generator for recharging the battery. It will also be appreciated that, although specific embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described in detail, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention should not be limited except as by the appended claims.