System and Method for Fluid Flow Measurement and Control

A system and method for measuring, monitoring and controlling fluid flow in a fluid control system comprising:

• an irrigation controller;
• at least one control valve which controls water distribution to a use area or zone;
• at least one flow meter, wherein the total number of said flow meters is not to exceed the total number of said control valves;
• a wired or wireless communication mechanism between the flow meters and the controller;
• activating each of the control valves in turn until one of the flow meters measures fluid flow greater than zero such that a relation is automatically determined between the control valve and the flow meter;
• measuring and calculating an average fluid flow for each of the control valves using a moving average of some number, N, of fluid flow measurements at preset time intervals;
• determining that the average fluid flow measurement is stable when the range divided by the average of said number, N, of fluid flow measurements is less than a preset threshold;
• learning a typical water flow for each of the control valves by setting the typical flow equal to the stable average fluid flow measurement for each of the control valves which is measured during an initial period when the system is operating normally;
• comparing the typical water flow for each of the control valves to the current stable average water flow for each of the corresponding control valves to determine if the irrigation system is malfunctioning which could be but not limited to fluid leaks, high fluid flow, damaged dispense mechanism or faulty control valves;
• and
• issuing electronic alerts or deactivating (closing) said control valves depending on the severity of the system malfunction.