Landscape irrigation time of use scheduling

US007962244B2 <12) United States Patent <16) Patent No.: US 7,962,244 B2 Alexanian (45) Date of Patent: *Jun. 14, 2011 (54) LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION TIME OF USE (56) References Cited SCHEDULING U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS (76) Inventor: George Alexanian, Fresno, CA (U S) 3,114,243 A 12/1963 Winters 3,372,899 A 3/1968 McPherson ( * ) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this 3,653,595 A 4/1972 GTee{1gaTd patent is extended or adjusted under 35 Q glzglgirit al‘ U~$~C~ 154(b) by 490 daye 3,902,825 A 9/1975 Quillen This patent is subject to a tenninal disQ vlg/Iilslglnetsal‘ claimer. 4,176,395 A 11/1979 Evelyn-Veere et al 4,185,650 A 1/1980 Neves (21) Appp NO; 12/011,801 4,208,630 A 6/1980 Martinez 4,209,131 A 6/1980 Barash . 4,333,490 A 6/1982 E t , S . (22) Flledi JaI1- 30, 2003 RE3l,023 E 9/1982 IIII (65) Prior Publication Data (commued) US 2008/0154437 Al Jun. 26, 2008 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Web pages (5); List of Principal Symbols and Acronyms; 2003. Related U.S. Application Data _ (Continued) (63) Continuation-in-part of application No. 11/879,700, _ _ filed on Jul. 17, 2007, noW Pat. No. 7,844,368, Whichis Prlmary Ex“"""@’ Z M~ N V011 Buhr _ a continuation-in-part of application No. 11/336,690, (74) A”0""e)4 A897”) 0" Firm ’ Mark D~ Mlner filed on Jan. 20, 2006, noW Pat. No. 7,266,428, Which (57) ABSTRACT is a Continuation-in-pan of application NO' A number of Water related issues concern most communities 10/824,667, filed on Apr. 13, 2004, noW Pat. No. . . . . . ' Among these are the availability of Water, and the ability of 7’058’478' the existing infrastructure to eificiently pump and deliver that (60) Provisional application No. 60/465,457, filed on Apr. Water Without Wasting energy. The present invention 25, 2003, prgvjsjgnal apphcatjon NO_ 60/399,200, addresses these issues With respect to landscape vvater use. A filed on Feb 1’ 2007, provisional application NO_ preferred embodiment of the present invention lS~2lI1 add-on 61/000,066, filed on Oct. 22, 2007. n_1@<111_1e Ilheétmay be P;e8ra(I1%g1§J<; W121 15991 Watenng f1eSIn§tions inc u ing timeo use ,an t atis connecte tot e (51) Int C]_ output of any existing landscape irrigation controller. The G05D 11/00 (200601) module is programmed to not alloW Watering during certain A 01G 25/00 (200601) times of day or certain days of the vveek as established by a (52) U.S. Cl. ........................................ .. 700/284, 239/69 l°°a1 Water *‘“‘h°“‘_‘f °r m“m°1P*‘1“Y~ Emmdlmems °f Fhe (58) Field of Classification Search ................ .. 700/284, ‘avaaaaa alaa Pr°V‘aa maaaaaa and apparatus far “Paaaag

239/67470, 723; 137/78.14783, 624.11~624.15, 137/624.21; 405/36, 37 See application file for complete search history.

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Common
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the local Watering restrictions, and integrating the present invention into existing controllers.

55 Claims, 16 Drawing Sheets
Master Valve C)
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25 Existing Conventional Or Smart Or DC Controller 19 3 1 5S Module 5 ' Valves 20 30 32 Common

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FIG 1