Patent Publication Number: US-2021176931-A1

Title: Soil sensor grid

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
     The present disclosure is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/274,593, filed Sep. 23, 2016, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates generally to irrigation management, and more specifically to providing a soil sensor grid, placed in the ground of a landscaped property, in commercial, residential or even agricultural areas. The soil sensor grid can allow for optimal water usage in a specified irrigation area. 
     BACKGROUND OF RELATED ART 
     Water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource. This increasing scarcity is pressuring consumers and governments alike to consider how they use water and how they can use it more wisely. The costs of water are also increasing as a result of scarcity, and home owners, farms, businesses and the like are under pressure to reduce costs associated with using water. 
     Many irrigation users need water to maintain the grounds of their business facilities, their farms or ranches, and their residences. Some estimates speculate that landscape irrigation accounts for nearly one-third of all residential water use, and totals almost nine billion gallons per day. Much of that water is wasted due to inefficient irrigation methods and systems. 
     As a result, water users are looking for options to reduce water usage without negatively impacting their landscape. However, doing so often requires expertise in landscape irrigation and may require expensive equipment. Furthermore, some water users are unsure whether they will ever recoup the investment they make in the system. Many water users forgo the benefits of more sophisticated irrigation systems and waste water as a result. 
     In addition, many irrigation systems can over water or under water because there is no feedback from the soil to know if the grounds are getting enough or too much water. Distribution of water is consistently one of the biggest problems in the irrigation and sprinkler industry. 
     Some irrigation systems are able to access information on the cloud, such as weather forecasts, temperature forecasts and other information to manipulate the irrigation system and its watering duration. Some systems also utilize the evapotranspiration (ET) information for a local area. However, sadly this information may not be very sight specific or landscape specific for a landscape owner or manager. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Disclosed herein is a system and method for providing optimal water usage for a specific area of a property or landscape, whether that is a commercial business, a residential neighborhood, a park, a farm or ranch or other landscape. In one embodiment a plurality of sensors may be placed in the ground in a landscaped area. The sensors may be positioned in a grid like formation or alternatively in a strategic pattern within a landscape to optimize the usage of a sensor to sense the condition, or moisture level, of the soil. 
     The soil sensor grid may be developed with an irrigation management plan for a specific property using characteristics of the property and thus positioning the sensors in the appropriate pattern. Residential landscapes may be somewhat different from commercial landscapes which may be different from agricultural landscapes. 
     The appropriate system may be placed in an area that has yet to be landscaped our utilized or can be placed in a previously established landscaped area, such as a farm, commercial buildings or residential neighborhoods. The method to install the system may involve visiting the property that is to have an irrigation system installed or that previously had an irrigation system installed. A technician may identify one or more characteristics of the property and what water usage is utilized and what may affect water usage. The technician may develop an irrigation plan based on the property, whether an irrigation system is already in use or if a new irrigation system needs to be developed and installed. 
     The method may also involve determining a value of irrigation system and the soil sensor system for the property. The system itself will optimize the water usage by the sensors providing feedback to the controller, or smart controller, allowing for only optimum water usage in the appropriate areas where the sensor grid is utilized. The sensor grid may be integrated with the irrigation system and may be wired or wireless, or the sensor grid may be separate from and independent from the irrigation system and may be wired or wireless. The controller may allow for the sensor grid and irrigation system to communicate thus allowing the optimum water usage for the appropriate landscape. 
     Rather than rely solely on temperatures and forecasted weather the sensor grid will provide real-time feedback to the irrigation system regarding the state of the landscape. This, in turn, provides for optimal water usage while maintaining the landscape in a way that satisfies the property owner. The method and system disclosed herein provides information to the cloud, rather than simply taking information from the cloud. 
     Other aspects, as well as features and advantages of various aspects, of the present embodiments will become apparent to those of skill in the art though consideration of the ensuing description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a soil sensor grid in communication with a controller; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a cross sectional side view of the soil sensor grid of  FIG. 1  within the ground with the soil sensor grid in communication with the controller; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an alternate embodiment of the sensor grid of  FIG. 1  depicted in a commercial landscape setting; and 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a flow chart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method of managing an irrigation system with sensors or a sensor grid. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring in general to the accompanying drawings, various embodiments of the present method and system are illustrated to show the structure and methods for a sensor grid which may be integrated with an irrigation system. Common elements of the illustrated embodiments are designated with like numerals. It should be understood that the figures presented are not meant to be illustrative of actual views of any particular portion of the actual device structure, but are merely schematic representations which are employed to more clearly and fully depict embodiments of the system. 
     The following provides a more detailed description of ways to implement the present system and method and various representative embodiments thereof. The following description sets forth the proper method of installing and implementing a soil sensor grid system and how the system will interface with a smart controller, or controller, to adequately water specific parts of a property or landscape. In this description, some drawings may illustrate landscapes or irrigation plans and while these are representative of the system they are in no means meant to be restrictive to the illustrated design. The system and method of the embodiments described may be performed in numerous ways and are considered part of this disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a soil sensor system  10 , or moisture sensor grid, may include a controller  12 , which may be a smart controller. The controller  12  may be the same controller that controls an irrigation system  30  (see  FIG. 3 ) that will utilize the soil sensor system  10 . Alternatively the controller  12  may be a different controller than an irrigation system controller but may be in communication with and provide information and data to the irrigation system  30 , whether it be the same controller or separate controller. The controller  12  may be positioned in close proximity to the irrigation system controller, if they are not one in the same, and they may be linked via a centralized computer or the cloud. The controller  12  may reside within an irrigation system house, within a garage, on the side of a building or other adequate location to communicate with sensors  18  (See  FIG. 2 ). 
     The controller  12  may be in communication with a plurality of sensor grids. A first sensor grid  14  may include a plurality of sensors  16  that may be in communication with each other. The controller  12  may also be individually in communication with at least one sensor  18  or the plurality of sensors  16 . Each sensor  18  may be in communication with each other and the plurality of sensors  16  may be in communication with multiple sensor grids. 
     The first sensor grid  14  may be positioned within or underneath a lawn or grassy landscape. The first grid  14  may position sensors  18  that are equidistant from one another. The distance between each sensor  18  will vary depending on the irrigation system  30  that is utilized with the first grid  14 . For example, in a substantially flat grassy landscape it may make sense to position each sensor  18  roughly one meter, or three feet, apart from the next sensor  18 . The distances may vary great depending on the types of sprinkler heads, sprinklers, amount of water flow, water timing and other factors utilized in irrigation management as well as the landscape being irrigated. For instance, if the landscape has numerous hills or valleys a greater number of sensors may be utilized toward the top of peaks and less in the valleys, or vice versa. Or the sensors  18  may be positioned continually equidistant across the landscape regardless of the landscape or the other factors previously mentioned. 
     A second sensor grid  20  may be in communication with the controller  12  and may have sensors  18  positioned in a pattern to mimic the landscape above where the second sensor grid  20  is positioned under the ground. A third sensor grid  22  may also be in communication with the controller  12  and may have multiple sensors  18  distributed in a pattern as well. 
     It will be appreciated that the number of sensor grids is not limited to one, two or three, but rather any number of sensor grids may be utilized to relay soil moisture information to the controller  12 . While three grids may have been previously disclosed, any number of grids and any number of controllers is contemplated herein. Likewise, any number of sensors within a sensor grid is also contemplated herein. 
     The sensors  18  may be in communication with each other either through wired or wireless relay. Alternatively they may simply be wired in a single line, or multiple lines. The sensors  18  may communicate with each other and some may be wired while others are wireless. For example a first set of sensors  24  may be wired together and in communication with the controller  12 . A second set of sensors  26  may be wirelessly communicating with the first set  24  wherein the second set  26  obtains the information about the soil moisture content and relays it to the first  24  which then relays the information to the controller  12 . This relay of information may be mimicked or copied for any number of sets of sensors and each subsequent set of sensors relays the information to the previous set of sensors until the information is relayed to the controller  12  itself. 
     Alternatively, a first set of sensors  24  may be wired to the second set of sensors  26  and the second set  26  is wired to a third set, and so on and so forth wherein each subsequent set of sensors is wired to the previous set sending an electrical signal of moisture content of the soil back to the controller. In a wired platform the electrical signal may be relayed or may simply be directly sent to the controller  12  without relay through data lines. In a wired configuration the wire may need to be buried under the surface of the landscape at a distance that will not allow the wire to be cut or chopped by landscaping tools such as lawnmowers or weed trimmers. The wires utilized may need to be robust enough to withstand landscaping tools. Furthermore, the wires and wired sensors may be required to be manually buried in the ground in the pattern as necessitated by the landscape. The distance the wires and sensors may need to be buried may vary, again, depending on the landscape and then alternatively depending on the soil content. However, a number of centimeters, 2-10 cm, or 1-4 inches, between each sensor may be appropriate. In a wired configuration power may be supplied to the sensors  18  via the wire or power conduit that may be part of or coupled to the data line. 
     In a wireless configuration the wireless sensors may need to be positioned in such a manner that they may communicate with the controller  12 . Certain wireless sensors, such as ZigBee® sensors (amongst other wireless sensors), may be utilized to communicate with the controller and allow the moisture content of the soil to be uploaded to the controller  12 . The wireless sensors may individually utilize a relay to communicate with the controller  12 , particularly for those sensors that are at a distance where they could not communicate with the controller  12  directly. For those wireless sensors that are close in proximity to the controller  12  each wireless sensor may individually provide the moisture content of the soil information to the controller  12  directly. Wireless sensors may be manually installed into the ground or may be installed via a plug-style installation. Likewise, these sensors may need to be inserted into the soil at optimum lengths below the service between 2-10 centimeters depending on the soil content and landscape. In a wireless configuration the sensors  18  may each be individually battery powered or multiple sensors  18  may be coupled to a single battery pack. The sensors may also be continually on or may turn on and off at certain times or intervals to make them the most effective. For example, the sensor  18  may turn on early in the morning for an interval of time to gather the moisture content data and relay that data to the controller  12  and then shut off. Alternatively, the sensor  18  may turn on multiple times per day (e.g. morning, midday, night) and relay the information to the controller  12 . After information is relayed to the controller  12  each time the sensor  18  will turn off, thus conserving power. The wired or wireless versions of sensors  18  may sense in a number of capacities and may be on continually or may turn off and on as the examples provided describe. 
     As a means of moisture sensing a sensor  18  may sense in such a manner as to “turn on” if the there is sufficient water whereas a sensor  18  may remain off if there is not enough moisture to “turn on” the sensor. Essentially like a switch that is activated by the presence of water. Alternatively, the sensor  18  may turn on when water is not sufficiently present to notify a user that water is required. 
     Wireless sensors  18  will be required to only be buried in the ground to a depth that will allow them to continue to relay information wirelessly to the controller  12 . Wired sensors  18  may not have the restriction on depth of the sensor in order to continue to relay information to the controller  12 . 
     It will be appreciated that there are a number of alternatives that may be used to relay information from the sensors  18  to the controller  12 ; such as, having a localized hub displaced throughout each grid which hub may gather the information and communicate with the controller  12 . 
     The controller  12  may communicate information to the irrigation system  30  based on the feedback from the sensors  18 . Computer software may be utilized, which may be cloud based software, which allows the sensors and irrigation system  30  to communicate with one another. Each sensor  18  may have an identifying number that corresponds with a location in the irrigation system  30 . The sensors  18  may provide soil moisture content to the controller  12  daily or multiple times per day. The sensors  18  upload that information to the controller  12  and the controller  12  may relay that information to the cloud based software. The information provided by the sensors  18  may then be reported to Google® Earth or other overlay image  32  of the property that shows the moisture content at those sensor locations and how they may correspond to zones in an irrigation system  30  (refer to  FIG. 3 ). 
     The soil moisture content from the sensor(s)  18  information may be relayed to multiple individuals or users, including landscapers, installers, owners, and others. Each sensor  18  may be depicted on the overlay image  32  and may be color-coded (e.g. green=sufficient water, yellow=low water, red=insufficient water), or other user friendly interface, to show the status of each location in a landscape corresponding with a zone of the irrigation system  30 . 
     The software that communicates with the irrigation system  30  and the soil sensor system  10  may include actions to be taken by the irrigation system  30  depending on the moisture content provided from the sensors  18  to the controller  12 . For example, one action that may be relayed is the need to water a specific zone (or even a specific sprinkler head) if the moisture content from a specific sensor  18  is too low. Another possible action may be to stop watering a specific zone (or even a specific sprinkler) if the moisture content for a specific sensor  18  is too high. The moisture sensor  18  may be sensitive enough and provide such real time information to communicate with the irrigation system  30  such that optimal water is provided to each zone and/or sprinkler. 
     It may be possible to provide optimal moisture continually with the system disclosed herein or it may only be necessary to utilize on a daily basis so as not to have irrigation systems continually turning off and on as information is relayed from the sensors  18 . The system  10  may then allow for real time and property specific moisture levels rather than relying on evapotranspiration (ET) rates or relying on factors associated with temperature, rain, weather forecasts, etc. Essentially it is similar to real time ET rates. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , one embodiment of a method  100  for providing moisture content to the cloud or to the cloud and ultimately to a user is contemplated. The method  100  may begin and reference numeral  102 , with the installation of moisture sensors  18 , or a sensor grid, as well as a smart controller  12  on the property. Installation may require different sensors  18  and different numbers of sensors based on the landscape. Furthermore, the depth of the sensors will also be considered depending on the sensors utilized. Each of the sensors  18  may require configuration  104  for the location that the sensor is installed. For example more sensors or different moisture levels may be required for a lawn or grassy area versus a location with only shrubs and trees. 
     The moisture sensors may sense the moisture levels  106  in the soil they are installed in. The moisture levels may be determined a number of ways which are well known in the art for a sensor to provide a moisture reading in the soil. For example a sensor  18  may measure soil moisture tension in kilopascals (kPa) and determine that if the sensors relay information that the measurement is in the range of −10 kPa to −35 kPa (or anywhere there between) that water may be needed. While these ranges are purely illustrative levels below the and above those numbers may require watering as well and these ranges may be expanded depending on the types of irrigation, such as agricultural irrigation, including tree crops, versus commercial irrigation versus residential irrigation. Furthermore the landscape will determine different ranges as well. The sensor may relay information  108  regarding the moisture levels to the smart controller. The data, or information, provided to the smart controller may be simple or complex. The sensor may provide such as the exact moisture content of the soil or it may relay only enough data or information to the smart controller to let it know that the soil in that area needs water or doesn&#39;t need water, is too dry or is too wet, or that the moisture level is satisfactory. 
     The information, or data, provided by the sensors to the smart controller may then be uploaded  110  to the cloud, or the cloud based software. The data on the cloud may then be dispersed but may ideally be utilized by the property owner or manager, the landscape manager or the person responsible for the irrigation system. The data provided allows a user to utilize the data to manage water usage on the landscape in a more efficient manner. 
     Moisture levels relayed to the cloud may be communicated  112  to a map overlay, such as Google® Earth or similar that shows a map of the property with the landscape. The map overlay may be comprised of a map showing the positioned sensors, or the sensor grid, and the output data from each sensor on the map. The map may also show individual sprinklers or sprinkler zones. A user may be able to access  114  the map to see the moisture levels of the landscape. The map may provide information to the user in a color format, number format or other user friendly format to communicate the moisture level to the user. As previously disclosed it may be as simple as a color scheme of green means sufficient water, yellow means low water, and red means no water or similar. A user may be able to click on, or push, or tap each individual sensor on the map screen and determine its moisture level. 
     The user may turn on or off  116  sprinklers, or zones of sprinklers, based on the data provided by the sensors or sensor grid. A user may be able to click on, or push, or tap on each sprinkler or zone of sprinklers to determine what sprinklers are in the vicinity of which sensors. The user may be able to tap on each sprinkler, or zone of sprinklers, and with each tap or click, or push, control each sprinkler, or zone of sprinklers, from the map screen. 
     The user may set specific duration of watering, time of day for watering, number of times to water in a day, week, month or year. Furthermore the user may manually turn off and on sprinklers, or zones of sprinklers, based on the data provided by the sensors. Alternatively, a user may set up the system  10 , or may manipulate the system  10 , after installation, to automatically water based on the data provided by the sensors. For example, a sensitivity level may be configured for each sensor and a user may manipulate that sensitivity level such that when the moisture level in the soil drops to a pre-determined level the sensor relays the moisture level to the smart controller and to the cloud and pre-determined moisture level sets off a trigger in the software to water that area that was notified by the sensor and thus the sprinklers will “automatically” water that area. 
     The data from the sensors is provided to the cloud and therefore may be accessed on any computer device with cloud access. The data access may be through cellular communication, radio frequency, Wi-Fi, wired connection (such as Ethernet or other modem). 
     Although the foregoing description contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention or of any of the appended claims, but merely as providing information pertinent to some specific embodiments that may fall within the scopes of the invention and the appended claims. Features from different embodiments may be employed in combination. In addition, other embodiments of the invention may also be devised which lie within the scopes of the invention and the appended claims. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated and limited only by the appended claims and their legal equivalents. All additions, deletions and modifications to the invention, as disclosed herein, that fall within the meaning and scopes of the claims are to be embraced by the claims.