IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
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국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
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출원번호 |
US-0849488
(2010-08-03)
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등록번호 |
US-8649907
(2014-02-11)
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발명자
/ 주소 |
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출원인 / 주소 |
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대리인 / 주소 |
Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery, LLP
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인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
16 인용 특허 :
87 |
초록
▼
A wireless system is provided for monitoring environmental, soil, or climate conditions and controlling irrigation or climate control systems at an agricultural or landscape site. The wireless system includes a wireless sensor network including a plurality of sensor nodes for monitoring environmenta
A wireless system is provided for monitoring environmental, soil, or climate conditions and controlling irrigation or climate control systems at an agricultural or landscape site. The wireless system includes a wireless sensor network including a plurality of sensor nodes for monitoring environmental, soil, or climate conditions and controlling one or more irrigation or climate control systems at the site. The wireless system also includes a server computer system located remotely from the site. The server computer system is coupled to the wireless sensor network over a communications network for receiving data from and controlling operation of the sensor nodes. The server computer system is also coupled to a device operated by an end-user over a communications network for transmitting the data to and receiving remote control commands or queries from the end-user.
대표청구항
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1. A wireless system for monitoring environmental, soil, or climate conditions and controlling irrigation control systems at a plurality of agricultural or landscape sites, comprising: a wireless sensor network, at each of the plurality of sites, the wireless sensor network comprising a plurality of
1. A wireless system for monitoring environmental, soil, or climate conditions and controlling irrigation control systems at a plurality of agricultural or landscape sites, comprising: a wireless sensor network, at each of the plurality of sites, the wireless sensor network comprising a plurality of nodes for performing at least one of monitoring environmental, soil, or climate conditions and controlling one or more irrigation control systems at the site; anda server computer system located remotely from the plurality of sites, said server computer system coupled to each wireless sensor network over a communications network for receiving data from and controlling operation of the nodes, said server computer system also selectively coupled to a plurality of devices each operated by one of a plurality of end-users over a communications network for transmitting the data to and receiving remote control commands or queries from the plurality of end-users;wherein the data transmitted to a given end-user corresponds to the site for which the given end-user has authorization;at least one gateway, at a location of each of the plurality of sites, for transferring the data between the plurality of nodes and the server computer system;wherein the server computer system transfers an irrigation schedule to at least one node of each of the plurality of sites for storage at and execution by the at least one node of each of the plurality of sites;wherein at least one of the plurality of nodes at each of the plurality of sites is coupled to a sensor, the sensor configured to take measurements of environmental, soil, or climate parameters;wherein at least one of the plurality of nodes at each of the plurality of sites is configured to compare the measurements against at least one user-entered control condition, and control the one or more irrigation control systems accordingly, wherein the at least one user-entered control condition is defined at the server computer system by the end-user using a respective device and is transferred from the server computer system to the node and stored in an internal memory of the node. 2. The wireless system of claim 1, wherein said at least one gateway disseminates control commands from the server computer system to the nodes. 3. The wireless system of claim 1, wherein the server computer system communicates with at least one wireless sensor network through the Internet or a cellular network. 4. The wireless system of claim 1, wherein the server computer system transmits measurements from wireless sensor networks to at least one of the plurality of end users via the Internet or a cellular network. 5. The wireless system of claim 1, wherein the server computer system responds to queries from at least one end-user with short text messages (SMS), web pages, or screens to be displayed on a cell phone application. 6. The wireless system of claim 1, wherein the irrigation control system includes pumps, solenoid or other types of valves, or fertigation devices. 7. The wireless system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of nodes at each of the plurality sites form an ad-hoc dynamic wireless mesh sensor network, and wherein each node sends collected environmental, soil, or climate measurements to the at least one gateway node by relaying data through a neighbor node, and wherein the node identifies the neighbor node by determining which node can be used to establish the highest quality data transfer link. 8. The wireless system of claim 7, wherein the neighbor node having the best quality link comprises a parent node that is used as a bridge for sending data to the at least one gateway node. 9. The wireless system of claim 1 wherein the environmental, soil, or climate parameters include temperature, humidity, or soil moisture conditions. 10. The wireless system of claim 1, wherein the communications network for transferring data between the at least one gateway at each wireless sensor network of the plurality of sites and the server computer system comprises a GPRS network, an Edge network, a 3G network, a UMTS network, a cellular network, a wireless broadband data communication service, or WiMAX. 11. The wireless system of claim 1, further comprises a web based application or a cell phone application for providing an end-user interface for monitoring the data from the wireless sensor network for which the end-user has authorization and transmitting commands to the computer server system. 12. The wireless system of claim 1, wherein the server computer system determines the irrigation schedule for a node at the site or particular zones at the site based on historical evapotranspiration (ET) data and information on crops or soil at the site. 13. The wireless system of claim 12, wherein the server computer system adjusts the irrigation schedule for a given period of time based on ET data at the site for an immediate prior period of time. 14. The wireless system of claim 12, wherein the server computer system adjusts the irrigation schedule based on soil moisture readings from one or more nodes at the site. 15. The wireless system of claim 12, wherein the server computer system adjusts the irrigation schedule based on irrigation flow readings from one or more flow nodes at the site. 16. The wireless system of claim 12, wherein the server computer system adjusts the irrigation schedule based on weather forecast information. 17. The wireless system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the wireless nodes communicate with and directly control the operation of valves or pumps without a central controller. 18. The wireless system of claim 1, wherein the server computer system analyzes soil condition data received from at least one wireless sensor network and generates recommended upper and lower threshold values for starting and stopping irrigation, and wherein an end-user of the system is provided with the option of accepting or modifying the recommended values. 19. The wireless system of claim 1 wherein the at least one user-entered control condition defines a sensor type indicating which measurements are to be used for comparing against the at least one end-user control condition and defines at least one of a minimum condition set value defining a value below which an action will be taken and a maximum condition set value defining a value above which an action will be taken. 20. The wireless system of claim 1 wherein the at least one user-entered control condition defines at least one dry contact coupled to at least one solenoid valve to be controlled based on the comparison. 21. The wireless system of claim 20 wherein the at least one user-entered control condition further defines a work duration which when triggered based on the comparison, causes activation of the at least one dry contact after which the at least one dry contact is deactivated. 22. The wireless system of claim 21 wherein the at least one user-entered control condition further defines a stall duration which causes deactivation of the at least one dry contact for a defined stall time after the work duration expires. 23. The wireless system of claim 1 wherein the at least one user-entered control condition further defines an action type to be taken if the at least one user-entered control condition is met. 24. The wireless system of claim 23 wherein the action type comprises control a dry contact or send a notification. 25. The wireless system of claim 24 wherein when the action type comprises the send the notification, the at least one user-entered control condition further defines a destination device to be notified. 26. A method of controlling irrigation control systems at a plurality of agricultural or landscape sites, comprising: communicating, using a server computer system, with a wireless sensor network installed at each of the plurality of sites over a communications network, said wireless sensor network at each of the plurality of sites comprises a plurality of nodes for performing at least one of monitoring environmental, soil, or climate conditions and controlling one or more irrigation control systems at the site, wherein communicating with the wireless sensor network at each of the plurality of sites comprises receiving data from and controlling operation of the nodes using at least one gateway, at a location of each of the plurality of sites, the at least one gateway for transferring the data between the plurality of nodes and the server computer system; wherein at least one of the plurality of nodes at each of the plurality of sites is coupled to a sensor, the sensor configured to take measurements of environmental, soil, or climate parameters;transferring an irrigation schedule to at least one node of each of the plurality of sites for storage at and execution by the at least one node of each of the plurality of sites;communicating with a plurality of devices, each device operated by one of a plurality of end-users over a communications network for transmitting the data to and receiving remote control commands or queries from the plurality of end-users, wherein the data transmitted to a given end-user corresponds to the site for which the given end-user has authorization; andcomparing, by at least one of the plurality of nodes at each of the plurality of sites, the measurements taken by a given node against at least one user-entered control condition, and controlling the one or more irrigation control systems accordingly, wherein the at least one user-entered control condition is defined at the server computer system by the end-user using a respective device and is transferred from the server computer system to the node and stored in an internal memory of the node. 27. The method of claim 26, wherein communicating with the wireless sensor network of at least one of the plurality of sites comprises communicating via the Internet or a cellular network. 28. The method of claim 26, wherein communicating with the plurality of devices comprises communicating via the Internet or a cellular network. 29. The method of claim 26, further comprising responding to queries from at least one end-user with short text messages (SMS), web pages, or screens to be displayed on a cell phone application. 30. The method of claim 26, wherein communicating with the wireless sensor network comprises communicating, between the server computer system and the at least one gateway at each of the plurality of sites, using a GPRS network, an Edge network, a 3G network, a UMTS network, a cellular network, a wireless broadband data communication service, or WiMAX. 31. The method of claim 26, further comprising determining an irrigation schedule for a node at the site or particular zones at the site based on historical evapotranspiration (ET) data and information on crops or soil at the site. 32. The method of claim 31, further comprising adjusting the irrigation schedule for a given period of time based on ET data at the site for an immediate prior period of time. 33. The method of claim 31, further comprising adjusting the irrigation schedule based on soil moisture readings from one or more nodes at the site. 34. The method of claim 31, further comprising adjusting the irrigation schedule based on irrigation flow readings from one or more flow nodes at the site. 35. The method of claim 31, further comprising adjusting the irrigation schedule based on weather forecast information. 36. The method of claim 26, further comprising analyzing soil condition data received from at least one wireless sensor network and generating recommended upper and lower threshold values for starting and stopping irrigation, and wherein an end-user of the system is provided with the option of accepting or modifying the recommended values.
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