AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEM PURGING

摘要

An automated irrigation purge system utilizes a pressure purge method of discharging compressed air from a reservoir through selected irrigation zones with feedback from pressure switches to determine when to open and close each zone valve. No programming or user interaction is required beyond starting the system. The system can operate with a wide variety of irrigation systems, with varying number of zones, pipe lengths, pipe diameters, number and variety of sprinkler heads or outlets, and terrain slope. The system tracks the pressure transition time from high pressure to low pressure for each zone as it is blown out. When the current transition time is within a specified range from the previous transition time, the system knows the water has been sufficiently purged from that zone. The purge system can protect the irrigation system from high-pressure conditions, handle multiple error conditions, and maintain water valve settings during power loss.

主权项

1. Apparatus for automatically purging an irrigation system having an irrigation controller controlling water flow and air flow into a plurality of irrigation zones, the apparatus comprising:
a low-pressure switch for determining when pressure within the irrigation system passes a low-pressure threshold; a high-pressure switch for determining when pressure within the irrigation system passes a high-pressure threshold; a timer configured to measure pressure transition times based on the amount of time between a high pressure threshold and a low pressure threshold; a source of compressed air; and a purge controller including circuitry constructed and arranged to monitor the low-pressure switch and the high-pressure switch, to designate irrigation zones, and to apply compressed air to designated irrigation zones to blow water out of the designated irrigation zones based upon the low-pressure switch and the high-pressure switch; wherein the purge controller is further constructed and arranged to automatically blow out designated zones a specified number of blow-out cycles, wherein the number of blow-out cycles is specified based on a measured pressure transition time and wherein an irrigation zone is purged after it is blown-out the specified number of cycles.