Irrigation controller with removable station modules
Contents
1. 5 1978 Malsby et al 00 439 471 4 152 750 A 5 1979 Bremenour et al 361 686 4 569 020 A 2 1986 Snoddy et al 0 0 700 284 4 852 051 A 7 1989 Mylne III 700 284 4 937 732 A 6 1990 Brundisini 700 16 5 262 936 A 11 1993 Faris et al wee 700 11 5 293 554 A 3 1994 Nicholson 700 284 5 410 717 A 4 1995 Floro ow 710 104 5 479 338 A 12 1995 Ericksen et al 700 16 5 602 728 A 2 1997 Madden et al 0 700 16 6 772 050 B2 8 2004 Williams et al 700 284 OTHER PUBLICATIONS The Strong Box Stainless Steel Controller Enclosure 10 pgs V I T Products Inc San Diego CA 1991 Rain Bird Central Control System Maxicom Jun 1994 pp 2 8 Rain Bird Sales Inc Tucson AZ Continued Primary Examiner Paul Rodriguez 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Inskeep IP Group Inc 57 ABSTRACT An irrigation controller includes a housing for enclosing a microprocessor that stores and executes at least one watering program The microprocessor has a parallel output bus with a plurality of pin sets for controlling a plurality of irrigation stations The connection between the controller and the irrigation stations is through a plurality of station modules that are removably coupled in any desired number to the various pin sets on the output bus The number of stations controlled is adjusted by the number of modules connected to the output bus The control2. as shown in FIG 8 and connected to ground using the common wire terminal 24b in terminal block 20c In addition when operating a master valve or pump the common wire for such master valve or pump may also be spliced into and con nected to the common wire connection COM leading to common wire terminal 24b Station modules 22 are used to allow controller 2 to control a desired number of stations determined by the number of modules 22 that are installed Each module 22 has two snap in terminals 24a 24b for controlling two stations with each terminal being connected to the non common wire lead from a solenoid S A module 22 could be used to control only one station if only of the snap in wire terminals 24a 24b is connected to a single solenoid However if both terminals are being utilized then each module 22 will control two stations i e two of the irrigation valves V See FIG 8 Controller 2 is provided with means for accepting up to a predetermined maximum number of modules 22 to control up to a predetermined maximum number of stations V There is space in controller 2 for accepting up to four modules 22 side by side in terminal area 16 thus allowing up to eight stations to be controlled If one module 22 is installed then up to two stations can be controlled with two modules 22 up to four stations can be controlled and so on FIG 8 illustrates a configuration having two modules installed controlling four stations represented by
3. two of which being inter changeable with each other inserting said first removable module into a receptacle having direct connection to a microprocessor of said irrigation control apparatus whereby said first remov able module does not increase an overall size of said irrigation control apparatus selecting a second removable module from said selection of removable modules inserting said second removable module into said recep tacle having a direct connection to said microprocessor and being adjacent said first removable module whereby said second removable module does not increase said overall size of said irrigation control apparatus connecting irrigation stations to said selected first and second removable modules of said irrigation control apparatus powering said selected first and second removable mod ules through said connection to said microprocessor with sufficient power to actuate solenoids of said irri gation stations and covering said selected first and second removable mod ules of said irrigation control apparatus with a front panel assembly said front panel assembly having operational controls mounted there on 8 A method of adapting an irrigation control apparatus to control a number of irrigation stations comprising selecting a first removable module from a selection of removable modules at least two of which being inter changeable with each other inserting said first removable module into a first recep tacle
4. will operate what time of day that irrigation will begin and how long each station will operate Some controllers allow multiple watering programs to be stored US Pat No 5 262 936 discloses a microprocessor based controller in which the controller base unit has drivers and switches for controlling some number of irrigation stations that is less than the maximum number that can be controlled The station handling ability of the controller can be expanded by plugging in additional modules with each module having drivers and switches for an additional num ber of stations The modules when connected extend and are part of a serial bus structure in the controller The modules known in this prior controller are quite large and when connected to the base unit of the controller take up consid erable space exteriorly of the base unit leading to problems in finding sufficient space to receive them all and in attach ing all of the modules in a secure fashion SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an irrigation controller which comprises a housing having microprocessor means for stor ing and executing a watering program for controlling a plurality of irrigation stations The microprocessor means includes a parallel output bus within the housing having a plurality of separate station output pins for controlling the irrigation stations with one station output pin used for controlling each station At least one module is removably pl
5. 1 wherein the providing of a collection of watering station activation modules includes providing watering station activation modules that activate at least two watering stations 4 Amethod of adapting an irrigation control apparatus to control a number of irrigation stations comprising selecting a first removable module from a selection of removable modules at least two of which being inter changeable with each other inserting said first removable module into a receptacle having direct connection to a microprocessor of said irrigation control apparatus whereby said first remov able module does not increase an overall size of said irrigation control apparatus selecting a second removable module from said selection of removable modules inserting said second removable module into said recep tacle having a direct connection to said microprocessor and being adjacent said first removable module whereby said second removable module does not increase said overall size of said irrigation control apparatus US 6 996 457 B2 9 connecting irrigation stations to said selected first and second removable modules of said irrigation control apparatus powering said selected first and second removable mod ules through said connection to said microprocessor with sufficient power to actuate solenoids of said irri gation stations and sheltering said first and second removable modules from an outside environment by securing a panel ove
6. FIG 5 is an exploded rear elevational view of the controller shown in FIG 1 particularly illustrating the controller housing detached from the mounting bracket and the pocket provided on the back of the controller housing for holding a use manual for the controller FIG 6 is an enlarged front elevational view of one of the station modules of the controller with the module shown installed in the controller of FIG 1 FIG 7 is a cross sectional view taken along lines 7 7 of FIG 6 particularly illustrating how the station module is installed in the controller of FIG 1 FIG 8 is a partial front elevational view of the controller shown in FIG 1 with the terminal strip cover being removed to show two station modules for controlling four irrigation stations and the rain sensor 24 V AC and pump and common outputs contained on the terminal strip and FIG 9 is a schematic diagram of one of the station modules used in the controller of FIG 1 DETAILED DESCRIPTION This invention relates to an irrigation controller 2 for controlling the operation of an irrigation system in a timed manner More specifically controller 2 allows the user to select or input at least one watering program comprising the following parameters of irrigation system operation which days the sprinklers will operate in a particular 7 day window i e a calendar sequence or the interval between successive operational days up to a maximum interval of 7 days i e
7. a United States Patent Williams et al US006996457B2 US 6 996 457 B2 Feb 7 2006 10 Patent No 45 Date of Patent 54 75 73 21 22 65 63 651 52 58 IRRIGATION CONTROLLER WITH REMOVABLE STATION MODULES Inventors Jonathan D Williams Riverside CA US Peter M F Tam Irvine CA US Assignee The Toro Company Bloomington MN US Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 0 days This patent is subject to a terminal dis claimer Appl No 10 887 367 Filed Jul 6 2004 Prior Publication Data US 2004 0254685 A1 Dec 16 2004 Related U S Application Data Continuation of application No 10 198 849 filed on Jul 19 2002 now Pat No 6 772 050 which is a continuation of application No 09 400 031 filed on Sep 21 1999 now Pat No 6 459 959 which is a continuation of application No 08 904 125 filed on Jul 28 1997 now Pat No 5 956 248 which is a continuation of application No 08 312 268 filed on Sep 23 1994 now abandoned Int Cl GO6D 7 06 2006 01 U S Cle acc cas 700 284 700 19 239 69 Field of Classification Search 700 11 700 14 16 18 19 23 25 284 137 78 2 239 69 70 See application file for complete search history 56 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 3 869 854 A 3 1975 Church essees 368 156 4 090 764 A
8. ach slot 44 further has two spaced overhang ing lips 52 on either side thereof which are spaced from one another and are elevated above the upper aligned surfaces 48 of walls 50 Lips 52 are suited to slidably engage with a plurality of guide tabs 54 that jut out from the sides of modules 22 to guide modules 22 in slots 44 As shown most clearly in FIG 7 to insert a module 22 into one of the slots 44 in terminal area 16 module 22 is positioned as shown in phantom above slot 44 and with guide tabs 54 on modules 22 being located in the gaps 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 between the spaced lips 52 Module 22 is then dropped downwardly until the bottom thereof rests on the upper aligned surfaces 48 of vertical walls 50 Module 22 is then pushed inwardly in slot 44 relative to the parallel output bus until the pin set 50 on the bus plugs into the connector provided therefor in the input end of module 22 as shown in solid lines in FIG 7 In this position guide tabs 54 on module 22 have slid beneath lips 52 on the sides of slots 44 The top of each module is provided with means forming a spring biased latch More specifically this latch is provided by a section 60 of the top wall of module 22 that is cut away along its sides and rear but is joined to module 22 at the front in effect being supported in the manner of a cantilever This section 60 will have a natural outward biasing force which tends to
9. an interval sequence the operational days being known as active days when the sprinklers come on during the active days known as the start times with up to four start times being selectable and how long the sprinklers will run after each start known as the run times Controller 2 is adapted to control a plurality of separate watering stations in the irrigation system Each station comprises one or more sprinklers grouped together to oper ate simultaneously off the same irrigation valve V Each irrigation valve V includes an actuator such as an electrical solenoid S which is operated by a control signal from controller 2 to turn valve V on Controller 2 of this invention can be easily adapted to control different numbers of stations up to a total of eight US 6 996 457 B2 3 stations A four station controller 2 is illustrated in this application Referring to FIG 8 the four stations are illus trated by the four separate irrigation valves V1 V2 V3 and V4 wired to controller 2 There will be six irrigation valves V1 V6 wired to controller 2 in a six station controller eight valves V1 V8 in an eight station controller and so on While eight is the maximum number of stations that can be controlled by controller 2 shown herein the maximum number of stations can obviously be adjusted to a larger number if so desired For each watering program stored in controller 2 a run time may be set individually
10. e from controller 2 modules 22 simply plug into controller 2 and can be easily unplugged from controller 2 in a manner to be described shortly Terminal blocks 20 and station modules 22 each have two snap in wire terminals 24a 24b therein for receiving two connecting wires Such terminals are well known in the electrical connection art They each have a pivotal lever 26 that may be rotated 90 from an open position where lever 26 is vertical and the wire may be inserted into the terminal to a generally closed position where lever 26 is horizontal and the wire is clamped or retained in the terminal The use of such snap in wire terminals is preferred as it eases the task of connecting the necessary wires to controller 2 Other quick coupling devices could be used or conventional screw type terminals could be used in place of snap in terminals 24a 24b The nature of the wires that are connected to the various terminal blocks 20 and station modules 22 will vary For example the first terminal block 20a connects to the two lead wires of a rain switch not shown which determines if it is raining and allows controller 2 to cease operation in the case of rain A typical rain switch of the type which may be connected to terminal block 20a is described in U S Pat No 5 101 083 which is hereby incorporated by reference An on off switch 28 can be mounted in terminal area 16 imme diately above terminal block 20a for the rain switch In the o
11. e number of watering station activation modules connected to said microprocessor and thereby to detect a number of watering stations capable of activation connecting said number of watering stations necessary for a particular watering site to said sufficient number of watering station activation modules and causing said microprocessor to execute turning on and off of said number of watering stations necessary for a particular watering site according to said timing pat tern and determining that additional watering stations are neces sary selecting at least one additional watering station activa tion module from said collection inserting said additional watering station activation mod ule into a separate corresponding compartment associ ated with said microprocessor without disturbing any previously inserted watering station activation mod ules and allowing said microprocessor to detect the presence of said at least one additional activation module 2 A method according to claim 1 further comprising determining that less watering stations are necessary disengaging at least one of said watering station activation modules from said separate corresponding compart ment associated with said microprocessor without dis turbing any previously inserted watering station acti vation modules and allowing said microprocessor to detect the disengaging of said at least one activation module 3 A method according to claim
12. e valves V is contained on the printed circuit board that is carried within each module 22 Referring to FIG 9 this circuitry comprises a transistor driver 70 for activating a TRIAC switching device 72 Each terminal 24a 24b is connected to its own transistor TRIAC combination 70 72 Thus when controller 2 determines that a particular valve V should be opened it does so by activating the appropriate transistor 70 to close the appropriate TRIAC 74 thus activating the solenoid of the appropriate valve The use of plug in removable station modules 22 for serving as the connection to the irrigation stations allows controller 2 to have great versatility If only a four station controller is needed only two modules 22 need be used Thus the user can tailor controller 2 to control precisely only those numbers of stations that are required for a particular irrigation system In addition modules 22 are all conveniently located within and protected by housing 4 of controller 2 Thus controller 2 is compact and not unduly bulky The bottom of controller housing 4 includes various ports or openings 80 for routing wires to and from terminal area 16 for connection to terminal blocks 20 or station modules 22 See FIG 4 The Applicants have found that controller 2 will have great resistance to lightning strikes that may induce surge currents on the station wires In previous controllers the energy from such a strike will often be conducted back to c
13. ed away from planar surface 82 by an appropriate distance The rear surface of controller 2 housing has a bayonet type slot structure 90 for receiving tabs 88 on mounting bracket 6 Basically each tab 88 is initially received into an open rectangular portion 92 of slot 90 and controller hous ing 4 can then be slid down relative to mounting bracket 6 until tabs 88 are received behind wall portions 94 of slot 90 Thus controller housing 4 can be removably attached to wall 5 using mounting bracket 6 and can be slid onto and off of mounting bracket 6 at will The rear surface of controller housing 4 includes a rear wardly protruding pocket 96 for holding a user s or opera tor s manual 98 The depth and size of pocket 96 is Sufficient to allow pocket 96 to be received in the pocket receiving space 83 provided on bracket 6 between side walls 84 Thus when controller housing 4 is in place on mounting bracket 6 the space 83 between housing 4 and the planar surface 82 of mounting bracket 6 is used to conveniently store the user s manual 98 See the phantom line illustration in FIG 2 It is a great advantage to have the user s manual located in a readily accessible manner on controller 2 housing The user need not go look for the manual in some remote space when some question arises as to the programming or opera tion of controller 2 In addition the manual storage is done in an out of the way unobtrusive location thus enhancing the p
14. ed parameter while observing in display device 10 the values as they are being input for that parameter through the operation of controls 14 The type of watering program stored in controller 2 namely the number and nature of the parameters that can be 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 set and stored in a watering program and then executed by controller 2 can obviously be varied In addition the nature of the operational controls 12 14 used to input the watering program or access the features of controller 2 can also obviously be changed This invention relates to other fea tures of controller 2 to be described in detail hereafter that can be used generally on any irrigation controller that controls a plurality of stations without being limited to controller 2 as shown herein A lower portion of controller 2 houses an input output terminal area identified generally as 16 behind an easily removable access strip or panel 18 Panel 18 is configured to snap onto and off of controller housing 4 using known tab and slot connections Terminal area 16 includes space for three terminal blocks 20a 20b and 20c which are hard wired into place In addition terminal area 16 includes space for up to four two station modules 22a 22b etc that are used to connect controller 2 to the irrigation stations com prising valves V Station modules 22 are generally identical to one another and are easily removabl
15. er of a corresponding slot inserting each of said removable station modules to be slidably received within said corresponding slot 10 15 20 25 30 35 45 50 55 60 12 coupling said connector of each of said removable station modules to said one or more contacts of said corre sponding slot and powering each of said removable station modules through said one or more contacts with sufficient power to activate solenoids of said stations wherein each of said removable station modules includes printed circuit board circuitry for activating a solenoid of a station 13 A method of expanding a number of stations con trolled by an irrigation controller comprising providing an irrigation controller having a plurality of slots each of said slots having one or more contacts wherein said one or more contacts are located at one end of each of said slots and in communication with a microprocessor for storing and executing a watering program for controlling said stations and wherein each of said slots include at least one alignment member providing a plurality of removable station modules wherein each station module includes at least one guide surface and connector aligning said guide surface of each of said removable station modules with said alignment member of a corresponding slot inserting each of said removable station modules to be slidably received within said corresponding slot coupling said connec
16. ff position of switch 28 the rain switch input is ignored by controller 2 such that the detection of rain will not affect the operation of controller 2 or the irrigation system The second terminal block 20b is used for the convenient connection of an external electrical transformer 30 used to provide AC power to controller 2 Transformer 30 will be wired or plugged into a standard AC power source such as 120V AC power and will provide 24V AC power to controller 2 Ultimately such 24V AC power will be used to activate solenoids S on irrigation valves V Additionally such power can be routed through one of the terminals in terminal block 20c to activate a solenoid S on a master valve or arelay on an irrigation pump This is required in irrigation systems where a source of pressurized water is not continu ally present upstream of valves V but is provided only when irrigation is to take place In this event either a master valve supplying valves V must first be opened or a pump started to ensure supply of pressurized water to valves V The third terminal block 20c as noted above uses one of the snap in terminals namely terminal 24a as a master valve or pump relay output for supplying 24V AC power US 6 996 457 B2 5 from controller 2 to these components The other terminal 24b in terminal block 20c is used as a common wire connection COM to ground Thus all of the common wires for all of the irrigation valves V may be spliced together
17. for each separate station i e different stations may have different run times depending on operator preference However the selections of active days and start times apply to all stations as a group within each watering program Thus when an active day and start time is reached when executing a particular watering program controller 2 will operate the irrigation system by sequencing through the stations and operating each station for the run time which has been set for that station on that particular program Sequential operation of the stations is preferred to decrease the demands on the water delivery capacity of the irrigation system Controller 2 incorporates a microprocessor not shown of any suitable design which comprises a timing memory logic and control means The microprocessor monitors the passage of time and executes whatever watering program has been input and selected by the user for execution Operational flexibility is achieved by allowing controller 2 to store and execute multiple watering programs so that a different combination of active days start times and run times can be stored in different programs if so desired The microprocessor can also permanently store a default water ing program for use if the user fails to input a customized watering program or programs of the user s own design Typical irrigation controllers based on the use of micro processors are disclosed in U S Pat Nos 5 262 936 and 5 272 620 o
18. h of said removable station modules to be slidably received within said corresponding slot coupling said connector of each of said removable station modules to said one or more contacts of said corre sponding slot powering each of said removable station modules through said one or more contacts with sufficient power to activate solenoids of said stations wherein providing a plurality of removable station mod ules includes providing removable station modules each having a generally rectangular base secured to a generally tapered top 11 The method of claim 10 wherein providing a plurality of removable station modules includes providing removable station modules wherein said base and top of each of said removable station modules are separable 12 A method of expanding a number of stations con trolled by an irrigation controller comprising providing an irrigation controller having a plurality of slots each of said slots having one or more contacts wherein said one or more contacts are located at one end of each of said slots and in communication with a microprocessor for storing and executing a watering program for controlling said stations and wherein each of said slots include at least one alignment member providing a plurality of removable station modules wherein each station module includes at least one guide surface and connector aligning said guide surface of each of said removable station modules with said alignment memb
19. having direct connection to a microprocessor of said irrigation control apparatus whereby said first removable module does not increase an overall size of said irrigation control apparatus selecting a second removable module from said selection of removable modules inserting said second removable module into a second receptacle having a direct connection to said micropro cessor and being adjacent said first removable module whereby said second removable module does not increase said overall size of said irrigation control apparatus connecting irrigation stations to said selected first and second removable modules of said irrigation control apparatus and powering said selected first and second removable mod ules through said connection to said microprocessor with sufficient power to actuate solenoids of said irri gation stations wherein a space separates said first receptacle from said microprocessor 9 Amethod of expanding a number of stations controlled by an irrigation controller comprising providing an irrigation controller having a plurality of slots each of said slots having one or more contacts wherein said one or more contacts are located at one end of each of said slots and in communication with a microprocessor for storing and executing a watering program for controlling said stations and wherein each of said slots include at least one alignment member US 6 996 457 B2 11 providing a plurality of removable station m
20. iles a U S Patent Feb 7 2006 Sheet 4 of 5 US 6 996 457 B2 J re ails x Sak Sp I EZZ AT y m6 Bi ARN e EN a p US 6 996 457 B2 Sheet 5 of 5 Feb 7 2006 U S Patent US 6 996 457 B2 1 IRRIGATION CONTROLLER WITH REMOVABLE STATION MODULES CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation of U S patent application Ser No 10 198 849 filed Jul 19 2002 now USS Pat No 6 772 050 which is a continuation of U S patent application Ser No 09 400 031 filed Sep 21 1999 now U S Pat No 6 459 959 which is a continuation of Ser No 08 904 125 tiled Jul 28 1997 now U S Pat No 5 956 248 which is a continuation of Ser No 08 312 268 filed Sep 23 1994 now abandoned TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to an irrigation controller for con trolling the operation of an irrigation system pursuant to a watering schedule that may be programmed by the user More particularly this invention relates to an irrigation controller for controlling multiple irrigation stations BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Irrigation controllers are known for controlling the opera tion of an irrigation system in accordance with the passage of time Most controllers operate a plurality of watering stations and will retain or store a watering program estab lished by the user This program typically allows the user to pick what days the sprinklers
21. keep this section 60 aligned with the remain ing portions of the top wall of module 22 The rear of section 60 is provided with an upwardly protruding hook 62 Hook 62 is adapted to engage against the rear side of a vertical wall 64 that overlies the inner end of slot 44 As module 22 is slid into place in a slot 44 after it has been dropped into place in slot 44 with guide tabs 54 ready to be pushed beneath lips 52 hook 62 will be cammed down beneath wall 64 with the cut away top wall section 60 deflecting down as necessary to allow this movement When hook 62 clears wall 64 as module 22 plugs into the pin set 40 on output bus the cut away section 60 of the top wall 5 5 will spring back upwardly to its normal untensioned state where it is generally aligned with the remainder of the top wall Thus hook 62 and cut away section 60 of the top module wall form in effect a spring biased latch for firmly locking module 22 in place in slot 44 To remove any particular module from its slot 44 the user simply presses down on the cut away section 60 of the top wall to disengage hook 62 from behind wall 64 and then pulls slightly outwardly on module 22 to clear guide tabs 54 from beneath lips 54 and to unplug module 22 from the output bus Module 22 is then simply lifted up out of slot 44 Thus the actions required to remove a module 22 are the reverse of those used to install module 22 The electronic circuitry for activating the solenoid S on th
22. ler housing has a pocket for holding a user s manual which is positioned between the controller housing and a mounting bracket when the con troller housing is installed on the mounting bracket 14 Claims 5 Drawing Sheets US 6 996 457 B2 Page 2 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Rain Bird Components of the Maxicom System Feb 9 1994 p 3 2 Section 3 US Rain Bird Central Control System Maxicom Guide to Operations Feb 1993 TOC and pp 5 4 1 5 4 2 5 4 41 5 4 42 7 2 1 7 2 2 Rain Bird Sales Inc Tucson AZ Rain Bird Maxicom Guide to Operations Oct 1994 Chapter 7 US Rain Bird Central Computer Control System Maxicom Landscape Irrigation Products 1993 1994 Catalog pp 98 99 US TORO Motorola MIR 5000 Radio Based Irrigation Central Computer Control System 1991 pp 1 4 The Toro Company Riverside CA MOTOROLA MIR5000 System Planner Mar 8 1993 TOC and pp 1 42 The Toro Company Riverside CA MOTOROLA Motorola MIR5000 System Features Nov 1991 20 Pgs San Diego Turf amp Irrigation San Diego CA MOTOROLA Motorola MIR 5000 Component Descrip tions Feb 16 1993 5 pgs Megeath MOTOROLA New Members to the MIR5000 Family Irrinet and Scorpio 14 pgs Toro Riverside CA Toro Motorola General Description IRRInet 24 pgs Toro Riverside CA MOTOROLA IRRInet Owner s Manual 1992 TOC and Secs 1 3 Motorola Communications Israel Ltd Tel Aviv Israel MOTOROLA IRRInet Co
23. mponent Descriptions Feb 16 10 Pgs 1993 Megeath MOTOROLA Irrigation Field Unit Owner s Manual TOC and Secs 1 3 1992 Technical Writing Services Motorola Inc Schaumburg IL MOTOROLA Scorpion AC TOC and Secs 1 3 Sep 1994 Technical Writing Services Motorola Inc Schaumburg IL MOTOROLA IRRInet General Description Service Manual 16 pgs 1993 Technical Writing Services Motorola Inc Schaumburg IL MOTOROLA Communications Sector I O Module 4 Digital Inputs 16 Solid State Outputs 1992 12 pgs Techni cal Writing Services Motorola Inc Schaumburg IL MOTOROLA MIR5000C Quickstart and Reference Guide Feb 1994 Technical Writing Services Motorola Inc Schaumburg IL MOTOROLA MIR5000C Central System Operating Instructions 1991 Technical Writing Services Motorola Communications Israel Ltd Tel Aviv Israel MOTOROLA MIR 5000C System Installation Section 1989 Technical Writing Services Motorola Communica tions Israel Ltd Tel Aviv Israel Koala T Irrigation Controller Photos P1010983 thru P1010989 Oasis Control Systems Inc Chatsworth CA cited by examiner U S Patent Feb 7 2006 Sheet 1 of 5 US 6 996 457 B2 U S Patent Feb 7 2006 Sheet 2 of 5 US 6 996 457 B2 WER 3 ge Cae ae 2 S2 88 aaa Estar ae i BN AY Mas Ramee 208 20c pRa 7225 20 ey aaa olill f PRAY EES 7 7 ENN 3 D LL e U S Patent Feb 7 2006 Sheet 3 of 5 US 6 996 457 B2 P
24. odules wherein each station module includes at least one guide surface and connector aligning said guide surface of each of said removable station modules with said alignment member of a corresponding slot inserting each of said removable station modules to be slidably received within said corresponding slot coupling said connector of each of said removable station modules to said one or more contacts of said corre sponding slot powering each of said removable station modules through said one or more contacts with sufficient power to activate solenoids of said stations and sheltering said removable station modules from an outside environment by securing a panel over said removable station modules 10 A method of expanding a number of stations con trolled by an irrigation controller comprising providing an irrigation controller having a plurality of slots each of said slots having one or more contacts wherein said one or more contacts are located at one end of each of said slots and in communication with a microprocessor for storing and executing a watering program for controlling said stations and wherein each of said slots include at least one alignment member providing a plurality of removable station modules wherein each station module includes at least one guide surface and connector aligning said guide surface of each of said removable station modules with said alignment member of a corresponding slot inserting eac
25. omprising selecting a first removable module from a selection of removable modules at least two of which being inter changeable with each other inserting said first removable module into a receptacle having direct connection to a microprocessor of said irrigation control apparatus whereby said first remov able module does not increase an overall size of said irrigation control apparatus selecting a second removable module from said selection of removable modules inserting said second removable module into said recep tacle having a direct connection to said microprocessor and being adjacent said first removable module whereby said second removable module does not increase said overall size of said irrigation control apparatus connecting irrigation stations to said selected first and second removable modules of said irrigation control apparatus and powering said selected first and second removable mod ules through said connection to said microprocessor with sufficient power to actuate solenoids of said irri gation stations wherein each removable module of said selection of removable modules has a printed circuit board circuitry for activating a solenoid of an irrigation station 5 10 15 20 40 45 50 55 65 10 7 Amethod of adapting an irrigation control apparatus to control a number of irrigation stations comprising selecting a first removable module from a selection of removable modules at least
26. ontroller 2 along the wires connecting controller 2 to the US 6 996 457 B2 7 particular station affected by the strike Since these wires are usually connected directly to a terminal strip that is hard wired to the main printed circuit board of controller 2 i e to the circuit board having the microprocessor controller this energy could often damage many of the controller s com ponents including the microprocessor However with modules 22 of the present invention Applicants have found that much of the energy from a lightning strike will be absorbed by the electronic circuitry within module 22 without damaging the main printed circuit board in controller 2 Thus while module 22 itself may be destroyed by the lightning strike it is a simple matter to replace this module with a new one This is an easy and inexpensive task compared to the cost of repairing or replacing the main circuit board of the entire controller 2 Turning now to the mechanical mounting of controller 2 on the wall the mounting bracket 6 includes a planar surface 82 that may be screwed or in some other way fixed to the wall A pocket receiving space 83 is formed on this mount ing bracket 82 which is bounded by two spaced side walls 84 by a bottom wall 86 and by the planar surface 82 of bracket 6 This space 83 has a predetermined depth deter mined by the depth of side walls 84 Each side wall 84 has an outwardly protruding tab 88 on the front side thereof spac
27. r said first and second removable modules 5 A method of adapting an irrigation control apparatus to control a number of irrigation stations comprising selecting a first removable module from a selection of removable modules at least two of which being inter changeable with each other inserting said first removable module into a receptacle having direct connection to a microprocessor of said irrigation control apparatus whereby said first remov able module does not increase an overall size of said irrigation control apparatus selecting a second removable module from said selection of removable modules inserting said second removable module into said recep tacle having a direct connection to said microprocessor and being adjacent said first removable module whereby said second removable module does not increase said overall size of said irrigation control apparatus connecting irrigation stations to said selected first and second removable modules of said irrigation control apparatus powering said selected first and second removable mod ules through said connection to said microprocessor with sufficient power to actuate solenoids of said irri gation stations and connecting a rain switch to said irrigation control appa ratus so as to cause the cessation of operation of said irrigation control apparatus in the event of rain 6 Amethod of adapting an irrigation control apparatus to control a number of irrigation stations c
28. re contacts with sufficient power to activate solenoids of said stations and wherein a space separates said slots from said micropro cessor
29. robability that it will be used for this purpose Various modifications of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art Thus the scope of this invention is to be limited only by the appended claims What is claimed is 1 A method of controlling water irrigation comprising providing a microprocessor to selectively turn on and off a plurality of watering stations according to a program mable timing pattern providing a collection of watering station activation mod ules each of said watering station activation modules configured for direct independent connection to said microprocessor said collection having at least two watering station activation modules which interchange ably connect with said microprocessor and wherein 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 50 55 60 65 8 each of said at least two watering station activation modules activate a same number of said plurality of watering stations determining a number of watering stations necessary for a particular watering site selecting a sufficient number of watering station activa tion modules from said collection for activation of said number of watering stations necessary for a particular watering site inserting each of said sufficient number of watering station activation modules into a separate correspond ing compartment associated with said direct indepen dent connection to said microprocessor allowing said microprocessor to detect th
30. the four irrigation valves V1 V4 Referring to FIGS 1 6 and 7 each station module 22 includes a casing 32 having a generally rectangular base 34 secured to a tapered top 36 Base 34 and top 36 may be separable to allow a printed circuit board to be inserted into module 22 during manufacture with base 34 and top 36 then being snapped together and held as a unit by suitable connectors 38 One end of module 22 includes the two snap in wire terminals 24a 24b representing the output end of module 22 The other or input end of module 22 has a plug connection for allowing module 22 to be plugged into one set 40 of four output pins 42 on a parallel output bus in controller 2 In each set 40 of pins 42 one pin is assigned to control one of the terminals 24a and 24b respectively another pin is a ground connection and the remaining pin is a 5V power input to module 22 See FIG 9 Thus when module 22 is in place and is plugged into the parallel output bus controller 2 will activate the stations connected to module 22 as called for by the watering program being executed by controller 2 Terminal area 16 of controller 2 is provided with four slots 44 in which modules 22 are slidably received with one slot 44 being provided for each module 22 Each slot 44 is formed by the upper aligned surfaces 48 of a plurality of spaced vertical walls 50 in terminal area 16 such surfaces 48 defining a plane against which the bottom of module 22 may be engaged E
31. tor of each of said removable station modules to said one or more contacts of said corre sponding slot powering each of said removable station modules through said one or more contacts with sufficient power to activate solenoids of said stations and covering said removable station modules with a front panel assembly of said irrigation controller said front panel assembly having operational controls mounted thereon 14 A method of expanding a number of stations con trolled by an irrigation controller comprising providing an irrigation controller having a plurality of slots each of said slots having one or more contacts wherein said one or more contacts are located at one end of each of said slots and in communication with a microprocessor for storing and executing a watering program for controlling said stations and wherein each of said slots include at least one alignment member providing a plurality of removable station modules wherein each station module includes at least one guide surface and connector aligning said guide surface of each of said removable station modules with said alignment member of a corresponding slot inserting each of said removable station modules to be slidably received within said corresponding slot coupling said connector of each of said removable station modules to said one or more contacts of said corre sponding slot and powering each of said removable station modules through said one or mo
32. ugged into at least one of the station output pins on the output bus The module has a terminal suited for receiving an electrical lead wire extending to the irrigation station and further has driver and switch means for activating the station as commanded by the base unit over the at least one station output pin 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS This invention will be described in more detail in the following Detailed Description taken in conjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout FIG 1 is a front elevational view of an improved irriga tion controller according to this invention particularly illus trating the controller housing and front panel with its asso ciated controls and displays and having a portion of the controller broken away to illustrate one of the removable station modules installed inside the controller housing FIG 2 is a side elevational view of the controller shown in FIG 1 particularly illustrating the controller housing and its attachment to a mounting bracket on which the controller housing is removably installed FIG 3 is a top plan view of the controller shown in FIG 1 particularly illustrating the controller housing and its mounting bracket FIG 4 is a bottom plan view of the controller shown in FIG 1 with the controller housing in place on its mounting bracket
33. wned by the assignee of this application These patents are hereby incorporated by reference Referring to FIG 1 the electronic components of con troller 2 including the microprocessor are contained within a housing 4 of any suitable design As will be described in more detail hereafter housing 4 may be mounted on a wall 5 using a mounting bracket 6 Housing 4 includes a front panel 8 having various operational controls which may be manipulated by the user to activate control functions of controller 2 or to input information into controller 2 In addition controller 2 includes a display device 10 for displaying information to the user The operational controls of controller 2 include a rotary knob or dial 12 for selecting various ones of the program mable parameters that can be input and stored in a watering program and various push button controls identified gener ally as 14 Push button controls 14 include up down or plus minus keys 14a 14b for incrementing or decrement ing the value of a particular parameter when programming the controller an enter key 14c for accepting a particular value of a parameter and for proceeding to the next step in the programming sequence and an escape key 14d to start over during programming Thus by rotating dial 12 to a particular position corresponding to a particular parameter that can be input the user can then manipulate controls 14 to input and store values for the select
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