Rain Bird Corporation

Walmart Apollo, LLC

Harvey J Nickerson

Russel Dean Leatherman

Andrew M Nguyen

James R Musselman

Jonathan I Marsters

Steven W Weiler

Nicholas N Lapshov

Ryan L Walker

Blake Snider

Timothy J Crist

David M Redmond

Anderson Micu

Bill Merkt

Gregory W Decker

Jose Macias Galarza

Douglas H Callison

Susan E Basch

Sundarraj Karthikeyan

Steven A Hollington

Darin K Price

Larry J Martin

Young Suk Kim

Daniel B Zimet

John R German

Roger S Neitzel

Ken R Venegas

Bradley H Dolbin

Kenneth R Venegas

Michael D Goslee

Sergio R Perez Araujo

Adam A Dunford

Robert H Jenkins

James R Harris

Kenneth D Vail

Chao-Ming Kang

In some embodiments, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful to use with irrigation devices connected to a multi-wire path in an irrigation system. In some embodiments, there is provided a system for use with irrigation devices including a modulator configured to provide an output power signal modulated with data; a multi-wire interface coupled to the modulator and configured to electrically couple to the multi-wire path extending into a landscape and to which the irrigation devices are connected; and a control circuit configured to execute an automated device discovery process configured to cause the modulator to modulate data comprising a discovery message on the output power signal, the discovery message indicating a portion of an address to match and prompting a response from one or more of the irrigation devices in which a corresponding portion of the unique address matches the portion of the address to match.

Auto-detection of devices on a multi-wire irrigation control system and auto-assignment of receivers to irrigation zones

An irrigation control device is provided that includes adjacent terminal connector rows having a ridge portion between the rows, where the ridge portion is configured to support and guide wires to the terminal connectors of one row, and to support these wires above wires retained in another row of terminal connectors. In some embodiments, one of the terminal connector rows includes a plurality of risers coupled to the terminal connectors positioned in that row. The risers provide a vertical offset between the adjacent terminal connector rows, as well as a secure electrical and mechanical connection point for the wires to connect to the circuit board directly, or alternatively to the corresponding electrical pads coupled to the circuit board. The housing may include divider walls that each provide an additional barrier or isolation between side-by-side electrical connection pads, terminal connectors and their associated wires.

Irrigation controller with vertically offset terminal connectors rows

In some embodiments, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful to use with irrigation devices connected to a multi-wire path in an irrigation system. In some embodiments, there is provided a system for use with irrigation devices including a control circuit and an application including computer program code configured to be executed by the control circuit to perform steps. The steps includes obtaining a listing of unique addresses not already assigned to irrigation zones, each unique address corresponding to a respective one of the irrigation devices, the irrigation devices connected to the multi-wire path of the irrigation system; and assigning each unique address of the listing of unique addresses sequentially to available irrigation zones.

Auto-assignment of devices of a multi-wire irrigation control system to irrigation zones

In some embodiments, systems and methods provide an output unit for an irrigation controller comprising: a housing; an input port; a microcontroller; a modulator; a plurality of switches coupled to an output of the modulator and independently controlled by the microcontroller; and a plurality of two-wire path output connectors each coupled to a corresponding one of the plurality of switches, wherein each of the plurality of two-wire path output connectors is configured to be connected to a corresponding two-wire path of a plurality of two-wire paths which extend out of the irrigation controller and to which multiple decoder-based irrigation control units can be connected and controlled, wherein the microcontroller is further configured to operate the plurality of switches to couple and decouple the modulated power signals from the output of the modulator to one or more of the plurality of two-wire path output connectors.

Irrigation controller with relays

In some embodiments, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful to providing power and data to an irrigation device. In some embodiments, a decoder unit for an irrigation system that receives power and data from an irrigation control unit over a multi-wire path comprises an input interface configured to couple to the multi-wire path of a decoder-based irrigation control system and to receive an output AC signal modulated with data and transmitted by an encoder of the irrigation control unit over the multi-wire path; a switch coupled to the input interface; a decoder circuit connected to the input interface. In some embodiment, the decoder circuit comprises a control circuit configured to decode the data from the received output AC signal; determine that the irrigation device is to be activated; and output a control signal to the switch.

Data modulated signal generation in a multi-wire irrigation control system

Some embodiments provide systems for use in controlling irrigation, comprising: an irrigation controller configured to couple with one or more valves at a site and to control activation and deactivation of the one or more valves in accordance with an irrigation schedule stored in the irrigation controller; a wireless adapter directly communicationally coupled through a direct wired connection with the irrigation controller; and a network adapter wirelessly coupled over a point-to-point wireless communication path with the wireless adapter, wherein the network adapter is configured to further couple through a direct wired connection with a local router configured to provide communication over a distributed network to a remote server; wherein the wireless adapter is configured to poll the irrigation controller to acquire and locally store status information; and the wireless adapter is configured to communicate, over the point-to-point wireless channel, the status information to the server.

Irrigation controller wireless network adapter and networked remote service

The present embodiments provide systems, processes and/or methods of controlling irrigation. In some embodiments, methods are provided that receive () water usage information corresponding to a first volumetric water usage at a site location having an irrigation controller (), wherein the first volumetric water usage corresponds to volumetric water usage from a beginning of a budget period of time to a first time within the budget period of time; determine () automatically whether a volumetric water budget at the site location will be met for the budget period of time based on at least the first volumetric water usage, the volumetric water budget corresponding to a specified volume of water for use during the budget period of time; determine () automatically, in the event the volumetric water budget will not be met, an adjustment to the irrigation by the irrigation controller; and output () signaling to effect the adjustment.

Volumetric budget based irrigation control

Some embodiments provide a system and method for interfacing with an irrigation controller based on rainfall, the system comprising: an interface unit including a housing and a control unit within the housing and configured to: cause an interruption of one or more watering schedules executed by the irrigation controller, which is separate from the interface unit, based on signaling received from a rain sensor including hygroscopic material, when a sensed expansion of the hygroscopic material is above a set rainfall accumulation threshold parameter, the rain sensor being separate from the interface unit and the hygroscopic material being configured to expand in response to being contacted by the rainfall and to contract in response to an absence of the rainfall; and remove the interruption after a completion of a predetermined interval of time after a sensed contraction of the hygroscopic material indicative of a rainfall stop.

Sensor-based interruption of an irrigation controller

In some embodiments, systems and methods provide an irrigation control system, comprising: an irrigation controller comprising an irrigation control unit; a power source; a microcontroller; and a modulator, wherein the modulator is configured to output modulated power signals; a plurality of switches coupled to an output of the modulator and independently controlled by the microcontroller; and a plurality of two-wire path output connectors each coupled to a corresponding one of the plurality of switches, wherein each of the plurality of two-wire path output connectors is configured to be connected to a corresponding two-wire path of a plurality of two-wire paths to which multiple decoder-based irrigation control units can be connected and controlled, wherein the microcontroller is further configured to operate the plurality of switches to couple and decouple the modulated power signals from the output of the modulator to one or more of the plurality of two-wire path output connectors.

Some embodiments provide irrigation controllers comprising: a housing; a control unit including a first microcontroller configured to execute irrigation programs and a first set of code; and a removable plug-in device that removably mates with a portion of the irrigation controller and communicationally couples to the first microcontroller, wherein the plug-in device comprises a memory storing a second set of code to replace at least a portion of the first set of code, wherein the plug-in device is configured to re-flash at least a portion of the first set of code allowing a copy of the second set of code to overwrite at least the portion of the first set of code; wherein the first set of code comprises a bootloader that writes the copy of the second set of code over the first set of code with the exception of the bootloader that is not written over.

Code replacement for irrigation controllers

Described herein are several embodiments relating to irrigation controllers. In many implementations, the irrigation controllers include a housing and a removable plug-in device. The housing includes a control portion comprising a first microcontroller configured to execute stored irrigation programs. The housing includes an interface connector port and driver circuitry configured to actuate irrigation valves based on control signals received from the first microcontroller. The removable plug-in device removably coupled to the interface connector port and comprising a second microcontroller and a wireless modem configured to communicate with a wireless network. The second microcontroller configured to send and receive data communications to and from the first microcontroller, such that the first microcontroller and the second microcontroller function together during use of the irrigation controller, wherein the removable plug-in device does not include any driver circuitry configured to actuate any irrigation valves based on any control signals received from the first microcontroller.

Expandable irrigation controller

In some embodiments, an irrigation control device is provided that includes adjacent terminal connector rows having a ridge portion between the rows, where the ridge portion is configured to support and guide wires to electrical connection pads of one row, and to support these wires above wires retained in another row of electrical connection pads. In some embodiments, the ridge portion offsets the wires from the different rows in the horizontal plane.

Irrigation controller with terminal connector blocks

Growing community of inventors

San Diego, CA, United States of America

Harvey J Nickerson