A SYSTEM FOR OPERATING A GARDEN EQUIPMENT CONTROL DEVICE

Abstract

A system (100) for controlling garden equipment by operating a garden equipment control device (110), the system (100) comprising: a first module (120) configured to pair with the garden equipment control device (110) over a first network (N1), where the first module (120) is configured to control the garden equipment control device (110) when paired therewith; a second module (200) configured to wirelessly communicate with the garden equipment control device (110) over a second network (N2), wherein the second module (200) is connected to the garden equipment control device (110) through a gateway (210); and a controller associated with the garden equipment control device (110), wherein the controller is configured to check whether the garden equipment control device (110) is paired with the gateway (210); characterized in that: wherein when the controller determines that the garden equipment control device (110) is paired with the gateway (210): the second module (200) is enabled to control the garden equipment control device (110), and the first module (120) is disabled to control the garden equipment control device (110).

Claims

1. A system for controlling garden equipment by operating a garden equipment control device, the system comprising: a first module configured to pair with the garden equipment control device over a first network, wherein the first module is configured to control the garden equipment control device when paired therewith; a second module configured to wirelessly communicate with the garden equipment control device over a second network, wherein the second module is connected to the garden equipment control device through a gateway; and a controller associated with the garden equipment control device, wherein the controller is configured to check whether the garden equipment control device is paired with the gateway; wherein when the controller determines that the garden equipment control device is paired with the gateway: the second module is enabled to control the garden equipment control device, and the first module is disabled to control the garden equipment control device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein when the controller determines that the garden equipment control device is not paired with the gateway: the first module enabled to control the garden equipment control device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein any of the first module and the second module is incorporated in a portable user device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first network and the second network are based on same radio transmission.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the radio transmission is based on any one of a Bluetooth communication, and WiFi.

6. The system claim 1, wherein both the first network and the second network are configured with any one of the first module or the second module.

7. The system of claim 3, wherein the portable user device is a smartphone configured with any of the any of the first module and the second module being an application to control the garden equipment control device.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the first module and the second module are configured on a portable user device.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the system comprises multiple second modules, wherein when the multiple second modules are available for pairing with the gateway, any of the multiple second modules, can be given preference to pair with the garden equipment control device through the gateway based on one or more conditions related to the multiple second modules.

10. The system of claim 9, w herein the last saved or connected or paired second module with the control device or the gateway is given preference over others of the multiple second modules to pair with the garden equipment control device through the gateway, wherein the system enables a user to set pre-stored preference orders, settings, timelines, or any other criteria for the multiple second modules to pair with the garden equipment control device through the gateway.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the garden equipment control device can be removed from the gateway or unpaired with the gateway and is configured to be controlled via the first module independent from the gateway.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein, if the controller determines that the garden equipment control device is not paired with the gateway, then the first module MS enabled to control the garden equipment control device.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein pairing of the multiple second modules with the garden equipment control device through the gateway can be enabled only after authentication based on one or more of a passkey, a biometric ID, and a questionnaire as prespecified by the user.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the garden equipment control device is operably coupled, in particular operates or controls, at least one or two or a plurality of garden equipment components.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The invention will be described in more detail with reference to the enclosed drawings, wherein:

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a system with a first module for operating a control device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] FIG. 2 shows the system with a second module for operating the control device, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; and

[0025] FIG. 3 shows the system with the first module and multiple second modules, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0026] The present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which example embodiments of the invention incorporating one or more aspects of the present invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. For example, one or more aspects of the present invention can be utilized in other embodiments and even other types of structures and/or methods. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements.

[0027] Certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the invention. For example, “upper”, “lower”, “front”, “rear”, “side”, “longitudinal”, “lateral”, “transverse”, “upwards”, “downwards”, “forward”, “backward”, “sideward”, “left,” “right,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “upward”, “inner”, “outer”, “inward”, “outward”, “top”, “bottom”, “higher”, “above”, “below”, “central”, “middle”, “intermediate”, “between”, “end”, “adjacent”, “proximate”, “near”, “distal”, “remote”, “radial”, “circumferential”, or the like, merely describe the configuration shown in the Figures. Indeed, the components may be oriented in any direction and the terminology, therefore, should be understood as encompassing such variations unless specified otherwise.

[0028] FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 for operating a control device 110. The system 100 can find application to control any parameter, say for controlling irrigation of an irrigation zone 140 such as a garden, lawn, field and the like. The system 100 can find application for outdoor as well as indoor installations. The system 100 has the control device 110 to control one or more components, devices, ports associated with the system 100. This allows the desired operation of the system 100 to irrigate the irrigation zone 140 by a user controlling the control device 110. The control device 110 can be controlled either manually or wirelessly by any means of radio transmission.

[0029] The control device 110 can be an irrigation controller or a water computer in a preferred embodiment, although other applications of the control device 110 are well within the scope. The control device 110 is powered by a power supply 112 to allow the control device 110 to operate or control a valve unit 132 by means of control wires 114. The valve unit 132 is connected to a fluid supply 130 to control the fluid supplied to the irrigation zone 140 by operation of the control device 110. On proper setup of the control device 110, the valve unit 132 can control the flow of the fluid from the fluid supply 130 to multiple pipes 134 connected to the valve unit 132. The pipes 134 are generally provided with one or more irrigation devices 136 to irrigate the desired area of the irrigation zone 140. The present disclosure illustrates three rows of the pipes 134 having two sets of the irrigation devices 136 each, however, the system 100 of the present disclosure can be implemented with different arrangements of the pipes 134 and the irrigation devices 136 as per the need.

[0030] As illustrated, the system 100 includes a first module 120 operated by a first user 122. In the exemplary embodiment the first module 120 is incorporated on the first user's 120 mobile device. The first module 120 is configured to pair with the control device 110 over a first network N1. The first module 120 can be incorporated in a short-range device to allow direct control of the control device 110, generally up to an operating distance in some embodiments. In an embodiment, the first module 120 is a portable user device. The portable user device can be a smartphone, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), laptop or any other device as used or known in the art. The first module 120 is configured to control the control device 110 when paired with the control device 110 to irrigate the irrigation zone 140 as per the need. The control device 110 may also have an internal memory to store instructions for handling the control device 110 as communicated by the first module 120, and a controller (not shown) to execute the instruction as per the implementation requirement.

[0031] In some embodiments, the portable user device is a smartphone configured with an application (i.e. a mobile app) to control the control device 110. The application can have multiple options, interfaces and features to control different irrigation settings, fluid volume, and irrigation timing, among other working parameters of the control device 110.

[0032] FIG. 2 illustrates the system 100 with a second module 200 for operating the control device 110, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. The second module 200 is operated by a second user 202, who may be at a substantial distance (say compared to the operating distance for the first module 120) from the control device 110 as illustrated in the present figure. The system 100 includes the second module 200 configured to wirelessly communicate with the control device 110 over a second network N2. The second module 200 is connected to the control device 110 through a gateway 210. The gateway 210 may be any telecommunication device such as a router as will be evident to a person having knowledge in the art. The gateway 210 can serve to allow a secure connection and communication between the second module 200 and the control device 110 while not allowing any other device to communicate with the control device 110 through the gateway 210. The second module 200 can have an extended range of working due to role of the gateway 210.

[0033] In an embodiment, both the first module 120 and the second module 200 may be configured with/on a single device (i.e. smart phone, PDA, and the like such as to make use of both the first network N1 and the second network N2. As will be evident to a person having knowledge in the art, any or both the first module 120 and the second module 200 may be computer program, applications (“apps”) or any other software-based technology configurable with any of the single device. This makes the application of the system 100 of the present disclosure more user-friendly and customizable. In an embodiment, the first module 120 and the second module 200 may be mobile applications configured on a single device. A single user may use the device to control irrigation through either one of the first module 120 and the second module 200 based on implementation requirement.

[0034] The control device 110 includes the controller associated with the control device 110. The controller is configured to check whether the control device 110 is paired with the gateway 210. The system 100 is operated by the second module 200 when the controller determines that the control device 110 is paired with the gateway 210. While the control device 110 is paired with the gateway 210, the second module 200 is enabled to control the control device 110 (as shown in FIGS. 2, 3), and the first module 120 is disabled (as shown in FIG. 3) to control the control device 110.

[0035] FIG. 3 illustrates the system 100 with the first module 120 and multiple second modules 200, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. The second module 200 which is operated by the second user 202 is paired with the control device 110 through the gateway 210. While the second module 200 operated by the second user 202 is paired, the first module 120 operated by the first user 122 and the second module 200 operated by a third user 300 are disabled to pair with the control device 110. The present disclosure illustrates a single first module 120 and two second modules 200 operated by different users, however actual implementation of the system 100 may have different numbers and combinations of the first module 120 and the second modules 200.

[0036] When multiple second modules 200 are available for pairing with the gateway 210, any of the multiple second modules 200 can be given preference to pair with the control device 110 through the gateway 210 based on one or more conditions related to the multiple second modules 200 or any other condition of the system 100. In an embodiment, the last saved/connected/paired second module 200 with the control device 110 and/or the gateway 210 can be given preference over the rest of the multiple second modules 200 to pair with the control device 110 through the gateway 210. In another embodiment, a user may set pre-stored preference order(s), settings, timelines, or any other criteria for the multiple second modules 200 to pair with the control device 110 through the gateway 210.

[0037] In some embodiments, pairing of the multiple second modules 200 with the control device 110 through the gateway 210 can be enabled only after authentication based on one or more of a passkey, a biometric ID, a questionnaire and the like. Further, this authentication can be performed by one of the multiple second modules 200 as prespecified by the user.

[0038] In an embodiment, the controller determines that the control device 110 is not paired with the gateway 210. The first module 120 is enabled to control the control device 110 (as shown in FIG. 1), this also in the event that there would be a gateway 210 available but is currently not used or paired or that the pairing of the control device 110 and gateway 210 was formerly resigned. In an advantageous manner this allows a control device 110 that was formerly used in a environment including a gateway 210 to be removed therefrom (un-pairing) and be in future used independently therefrom controlled via a first module 120. In an embodiment, the first network N1 and the second network N2 are based on same radio transmission. Further, the radio transmission can be based on any one of a Bluetooth communication, and WiFi, or any other wireless technology as used or known in the art.

[0039] In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed preferred embodiments and examples of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purpose of limitation of the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.

LIST OF ELEMENTS

[0040] 100 System [0041] 110 Control Device [0042] 112 Power Supply [0043] 114 Control Wires [0044] 120 First Module [0045] 122 First User [0046] N1 First Network [0047] 130 Fluid Supply [0048] 132 Valve Unit [0049] 134 Pipes [0050] 136 Irrigation Devices [0051] 140 Irrigation Zone [0052] 200 Second Module [0053] 202 Second User [0054] 210 Gateway [0055] N2 Second Network [0056] 300 Third User