Irrigation monitoring system and method

Abstract

A method and device for monitoring an irrigation system is provided. The device includes a flow sensor and an irrigation controller comprising at least two outputs. The irrigation monitor is coupled to the irrigation controller and the flow sensor and performs an action in response to detecting a fault condition. The method includes steps of measuring flow through an irrigation feed, determining an intended state of an irrigation valve, associating the measured flow with the intended valve state, and detecting a fault condition. In some examples the irrigation monitor and irrigation controller use a single processor.

I claim: 
     
         1 ) An irrigation-monitoring system comprising:
 a flow sensor, the flow sensor including an output;   a first processor comprising at least one output and one input, the processor output coupled to a valve and the input coupled to the flow sensor output;   wherein the first processor is coupled to a network; and,   wherein a report including data processed by the first processor is sent through the network.   
     
     
         2 ) The system of  claim 1  wherein the network is selected from the group consisting of: the internet; a wired communication line; a fiber communication line; wirelessly; a cellular network; or, a satellite link. 
     
     
         3 ) The system of  claim 1  wherein the coupling to the network is selected from the group consisting of: a direct coupling from the first processor to the network; or, a second processor coupled to the network and the first processor. 
     
     
         4 ) The system of  claim 1  wherein the first processor executes a software program including at least one of: an irrigation controller, or an irrigation monitor. 
     
     
         5 ) A method for monitoring an irrigation system comprising steps for:
 measuring flow through an irrigation feed;   processing the measured flow using a processor; and,   sending a report through a network;   wherein the report includes results from the step of processing the measured flow using a processor.   
     
     
         6 ) The method of  claim 5  wherein the results from the step of processing the measured flow using a processor includes a totalized, or other integrated amount of flow to an irrigation zone. 
     
     
         7 ) The method of  claim 5  further including providing at least one of: an irrigation controller or an irrigation monitor;
 wherein the providing at least one irrigation controller or irrigation monitor is provided by running a software program on a processor. 
 
     
     
         8 ) The method of  claim 5  wherein the step of processing includes at least one of: monitoring a performance, or detecting a fault by comparing an actual flow profile of a particular zone to an expected flow profile of the zone, or with a threshold. 
     
     
         9 ) The method of  claim 8  wherein the expected flow profile includes one or more measurements of flow rate or pressure. 
     
     
         10 ) The method of  claim 5  wherein the step of processing includes processing at least one of a measured pressure, a quantity of flow, a flow rate, or a combination thereof to determine a location of a fault or line condition within an irrigation zone. 
     
     
         11 ) An irrigation-monitoring system comprising:
 an irrigation valve coupled to a solenoid;   a detection circuit responsive to impedance, the detection circuit coupled to the solenoid;   a processor coupled to the detection circuit.   
     
     
         12 ) The system of  claim 11  wherein the detection circuit further includes an output; wherein the processor process the detection circuit output to detect at least one of the following conditions: the presence of an electrical fault; the absence of an electrical fault; an open circuit; a short circuit; a solenoid having a nominal impedance; a solenoid having an abnormal impedance. 
     
     
         13 ) The system of  claim 11  wherein the coupling of the detection circuit to the solenoid includes a common wire shared with a second solenoid. 
     
     
         14 ) The system of  claim 11  wherein the detection circuit includes a resistor and an analog-to-digital converter. 
     
     
         15 ) The system of  claim 11  further including an irrigation controller having an output; wherein the detection circuit is associated with a corresponding solenoid using the irrigation controller output. 
     
     
         16 ) The system of  claim 15  wherein the irrigation controller comprises a software program executing on the processor. 
     
     
         17 ) The system of  claim 16  wherein the irrigation controller output is selected from the following list: a variable, a register, a memory location, or a semaphore. 
     
     
         18 ) The system of  claim 12  further including a memory for storing a reference impedance information; wherein the processing of the detection circuit output comprises comparing the detection circuit output with the reference impedance information. 
     
     
         19 ) The system of  claim 12  further including a coupling between the processor and a network;
 wherein a report is sent from the processor through the network; and, 
 wherein the report comprises information about at least one of the conditions detected by the processor. 
 
     
     
         20 ) The system of  claim 19  wherein the coupling to the network is selected from the group consisting of: the internet; a wired communication line; a fiber communication line; wirelessly; a cellular network; or, a satellite link.