Clemar Manufacturing Corp.

Richard L Ruggles

Rene H Evelyn-Veere

Vinod Panday

A low-cost control system for irrigation valves and the like, including a station advance control unit and a plurality of valve control units connected in a series string by a pair of power supply lines from the station advance control unit, each of the valve control units being associated with a single valve or a single group of valves. When power is first applied to a valve control unit, it actuates the valve or valves with which it is associated, and blocks the flow of power to succeeding control units in the series string. When a station advance signal is transmitted along a third line connected to all of the valve control units, the most remote control unit to which power is connected responds by deactuating its valve or valves, and switching power through to the next unit in turn. The station advance control unit generates station advance signals to control a watering sequence, and automatically disconnects power from the valve control units upon the transmission of a further station advance control signal after the last valve or valves in the series string have been actuated.

Sequential irrigation control system

An irrigation control system and a related method for controlling a large number of valves in accordance with a plurality of schedules of instructions provided by the user of the system. Schedules of instructions may be created or modified during normal operation of the system by utilizing a variety of command sequences on a keyboard and display device, and schedules may also be reviewed or monitored during operation. The control system includes apparatus for processing a plurality of digital inputs by means of which the conditions of sensing devices located in the field are monitored and can be used to condition execution of the schedules of instructions. The control system is disclosed for use with a two-wire irrigation system in which on/off control signals are encoded into a power signal for transmission along a pair of wires to which decoding units are connected. The control system includes an input/output service module which transmits on/off control signals to the decoding units repeatedly, as rapidly as the two-wire system will permit, to ensure that the valves remain switched in the manner intended.

Interactive irrigation control system

An improved irrigation control system of the type having a number of irrigation stations to be actuated sequentially, in which selected stations can be actuated for a relatively long time and the others for a relatively short time. In one embodiment, an additional capacitor is automatically connected in parallel with an existing timing capacitor at a time when shrub-watering stations requiring long-term irrigation have been scheduled for operation, when the system is positioned at a shrub-watering station, and when a switch is positioned to select long-term irrigation. In another embodiment, an additional capacitor is automatically connected in parallel with the existing timing capacitor when any one of a selected group of stations is actuated. The additional capacitor in this latter embodiment is switched in by means of a relay which is energized through a triac connected in series therewith, the triac being triggered by a gating signal derived from an actuating voltage applied to a valve solenoid associated with any of the selected group of stations.

Station timing selection circuit for irrigation controller

Apparatus, and a related method, for proportionately varying from a master unit the durations of irrigation at a plurality of valve stations controlled by a number of satellite units, and for transmitting over a single pair of wires control signals for starting a programmed sequence of valve operations at all of the satellites in a selected one of two groups of satellites, or for resetting all of the satellites to a 'home' position. One disclosed embodiment includes adjustable timing circuitry in the master unit to generate a timing signal which is transmitted to the satellite units over a separate wire, and is utilized to vary the duty cycle of a station timing motor which measures the durations of irrigation. In an alternate embodiment, station timing at each satellite is measured by means of a digital pulse counter, and the irrigation times at all of the stations can be varied to the same degree by adjustment of a variable-frequency pulse generator at the master unit.

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Mount Baldy, CA, United States of America

Richard L Ruggles