Accurate horticultural sprinkler system and sprinkler head

A sprinkler system to accurately provide a determined amount of water from a water source to a defined planted area of interest, said sprinkler system comprising:

• a water feeder line disposed to be coupled to said water source to receive water therefrom;
• a sprinkler head coupled to said water feeder line to receive water therefrom, said sprinkler head being electrically controllable during delivery of said water to vary angular position and flow rate of water to limit water delivery to said planted area of interest;
• a power and data line coupled to said sprinkler head to provide power and control data thereto;
• and
• a master controller disposed to be connected to a power source and coupled to said power and data line to provide power and control data to said sprinkler head;
• wherein said master controller comprises:
• a master controller data bus;
• a master processor coupled to said master controller data bus to control the operation of the overall sprinkler system;
• a memory coupled to said master controller data bus to provide temporary and permanent data storage;
• and
• data encoder/decoder coupled to said master controller data bus and said power and data line to encode data from said master processor to said sprinkler head and to decode data received from said sprinkler head for use by said master processor with said data being carried bidirectionally on said power and data line;
• and
• said sprinkler head further comprises:
• a sprinkler head data bus;
• an exit nozzle to deliver water to said planted area of interest;
• a flow rate monitoring unit to monitor water flow through said sprinkler head and out from said nozzle;
• an angular position monitoring unit disposed to determine a position of said nozzle;
• a local controller coupled to said sprinkler head data bus and being programable to retain duration of flow, and angular and flow rate variations to deliver a desired amount of water evenly to said planted area of interest, when instructed to do so by said master controller via said power and data line, in response to signals from said flow rate monitoring unit and said angular position monitoring unit;
• a control valve to meter the flow of water through said sprinkler head;
• a flow rate control means coupled to said local controller and said control valve to receive flow rate signals from said local controller for conversion to drive signals for application to said control valve;
• a nozzle with a proximate end positioned to receive water after passing through said control valve to direct said water to said planted area from a distal end of said nozzle;
• drive means coupled to said nozzle for angularly positioning said distal end of said nozzle to deliver water to said planted area of interest;
• an angular position controller coupled to said local controller and said drive means to receive angular position signals from said local controller for conversion to drive signals for application to said drive means;
• and
• local data encoder/decoder coupled to said sprinkler head data bus and said power and data line to encode data from said local processor to said master controller and to decode data received from said master controller for use by said local processor with said data being carried bidirectionally on said power and data line.