1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of automatic valves and valve controllers.
2. Prior Art
In certain situations, it is desired to provide a control valve of some form and to provide a controller therefor which may be programmed to automatically control the valve as desired, frequently though not always in some form of periodic operating cycle (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly, annually, etc.). In that regard, solenoid valves and alternating current powered electrical timers and controllers therefor are well known and frequently used for various purposes. However in some situations, AC power is either not available or is inconvenient to provide at the precise location desired. Accordingly for such applications, various types of battery operated valves and valve controllers have been used. By way of specific example, sprinkler systems and other types of irrigation systems typically use valves with a time of day controller associated therewith. In such applications, it may be difficult or inconvenient to provide AC power for such valves and controllers, and accordingly battery operated valves and controllers have at times been used for such applications. Some specific types of prior art battery operated valves and controllers and other applications therefor are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,821,967, 3,989,066, 4,107,546, 4,108,419 and 4,114,647. Latching actuators usable in such valves are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,683,239 and 3,743,898.
In most applications for such controllers, it is highly preferred to mount the controller on or in close proximity with the valve, as the latching actuators in such valves tend to require a short but high current pulse for the operation thereof which could cause excessive voltage drops if one attempted to provide the current pulse from a remote location. Also, in most applications, it is common for the valve and thus the controller to be in a rather harsh environment for electrical equipment, frequently having a high humidity or even being subject to direct impingement of water, and generally an environment subject to substantial daily temperature swings causing condensation to form on the controller, within any battery enclosure, etc., and at the same time causing cooling and contraction of the air within the controller, encouraging water or moist air into the controller enclosure and the condensation of the moisture in the air once within the enclosure.
Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a programmable pilot-operated valve which is powered by solar power, and which is programmed in a simple, self prompting manner, with power and programming information being provided to the controller enclosure without ever having to open any enclosure such as a battery case to renew the power supply or having to seal any form of mechanical switches used for programming purposes.