The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 11, 2009
Filed:
Oct. 31, 2006
Allan Morris Goldberg, Laguna Niguel, CA (US);
Larry Kent Hopkins, Escondido, CA (US);
Larry Hawkes, San Diego, CA (US);
James Zimmerman, Walnut, CA (US);
Allan Morris Goldberg, Laguna Niguel, CA (US);
Larry Kent Hopkins, Escondido, CA (US);
Larry Hawkes, San Diego, CA (US);
James Zimmerman, Walnut, CA (US);
The Toro Company, Bloomington, MN (US);
Abstract
A self-adjusting irrigation controller takes a pre-irrigation soil moisture reading prior to irrigation, chooses an amount of water to be dispensed corresponding to that reading from a table, and dispenses that amount of water. A predetermined length of time after the end of irrigation, the controller takes a post-irrigation soil moisture reading and compares the value of that reading to a predetermined target value. If the post-irrigation value differs substantially from the target value, the water amount corresponding to the pre-irrigation value in the table is adjusted to reduce that difference on the next scheduled irrigation cycle having that same pre-irrigation soil moisture reading. The target value is determined by watering the soil to field capacity, then computing the target value as a function of the reading of the sensor at field capacity. The controller thus converges toward an ideal runtime and follows changes in the environment. In the preferred embodiment, the soil moisture is indicated by sensor voltages, and the amount of water dispensed is governed by the runtime of the irrigation system.