Patent ID: 8671969

Claim:
An integrated moisture sensor and controller device adapted to be placed in soil comprising: a controller circuit for controlling a switch; a sensor circuit coupled to the controller circuit, the sensor circuit comprising a probe and adapted to provide the controller circuit a signal corresponding to a moisture level of the soil; a memory coupled to the controller circuit; wherein the controller circuit, the sensor circuit, and the memory are integrated into a single device adapted to be positioned within the soil; the switch coupled to the controller circuit and adapted to be coupled to a power control line of an irrigation controller at an electrical position between the irrigation controller and a valve controlled by the irrigation controller, the power control line adapted to carry an activating power signal from the irrigation controller to the valve; wherein the controller circuit is adapted to selectively cause interruption of irrigation based on the moisture level of the soil and a soil moisture threshold level; and wherein the memory is adapted to store data corresponding to one or more of the soil moisture threshold level and the moisture level of the soil.