System and method for controlling environment maintenance equipment

Abstract

The present invention is a system and method, based on an open, client-server architecture, for monitoring and managing environment maintenance equipment. Distributed, custom controls handle interactions with the devices such as sprinklers, pumpstations, and weather stations that may comprise the environment maintenance system. Messaging controls at a client and an interface control server facilitate communications between devices using text messages that are delivered, preferably, using the TCP/IP protocol of the Internet. System control and data acquisition controls allow for reading and writing of values for various settings and parameters on each device. Site managers in different domains provide directory services so that the messaging controls distributed throughout a system may located for communications. Using the present invention, remote clients or user interfaces such as telephones, personal computers, and personal digital assistants may be used to control environment maintenance devices that may be distributed throughout different domains.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.