1. A method of controlling an irrigation system, the irrigation system comprising an irrigation solenoid valve electrically coupled to a wireless receiver and an irrigation controller electrically coupled to a wireless adapter, the method comprising:
transmitting a control signal from the wireless adapter, the control signal being representative of a signal received from the irrigation controller indicating that the irrigation solenoid valve should be activated;
receiving the control signal at the wireless receiver;
in response to receiving the control signal, activating the irrigation solenoid valve; and
de-activating the irrigation solenoid valve if the control signal is not again received during a predetermined time interval after a prior reception of the control signal, thereby reducing a likelihood of the irrigation solenoid valve over-watering;
the method further comprising resetting the predetermined time interval upon each periodic reception of the control signal at the wireless receiver.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the control signal is periodically transmitted.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined time interval is longer than 17 seconds.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising deactivating the irrigation solenoid valve in response to receiving a control signal indicating that the irrigation solenoid valve should be deactivated.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless receiver alternates between a listen mode and a sleep mode, wherein in the sleep mode the wireless receiver draws less power than in the listen mode.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the sleep mode comprises a time period that is more than 3 times the time period of the listen mode.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the control signal is transmitted no more than 25% of the time.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein, the irrigation solenoid valve allows water to pass through the irrigation solenoid valve when activated.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the control signal is transmitted for less than 10 seconds.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the predetermined time interval is more than 1 minute.
11. A method of retrofitting a hard-wired irrigation system for wireless communication, wherein the hard-wired irrigation system comprises an irrigation controller that is adapted to be electrically coupled to at least one irrigation solenoid valve by one or more physical wires, the irrigation controller being adapted to output control signals to the irrigation solenoid valve via the one or more physical wires, the method comprising:
wiring a wireless adapter to at least one output of the irrigation controller so that the wireless adapter receives the control signals;
wiring a wireless receiver to the irrigation solenoid valve; and
inducing the wireless adapter to transmit a transformed version of the received control signals, wherein in response to receiving the transformed versions of the control signals, the wireless receiver activates the irrigation solenoid.
12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:
inducing the wireless adapter to transmit a second transformed version of the received control signals, wherein in response to receiving the second transformed version of the control signals, the wireless receiver deactivates the irrigation solenoid.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein the irrigation controller comprises at least one of: a sprinkler time, a personal computer, a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), a manual switch, an Air Conditioning Thermostat, a SPA or Pool timer, and a sequencer.
14. A method of controlling an irrigation system, the irrigation system comprising an irrigation solenoid valve electrically coupled to a wireless receiver and an irrigation controller electrically coupled to a wireless adapter, the method comprising:
transmitting an activation control signal from the wireless adapter, the activation control signal being representative of an activation signal received from the irrigation controller indicating that the irrigation solenoid valve should be activated in order to allow water to flow through the irrigation solenoid valve to one or more water distribution devices that are in fluidic communication with the irrigation solenoid valve;
receiving the activation control signal at the wireless receiver, wherein the wireless receiver alternates between a listen period and a sleep period, wherein during the sleep period the wireless receiver draws less power than in the listen period and the activation control signal is only detected by the wireless receiver during the listen period;
in response to receiving the activation control signal, activating the irrigation solenoid valve; and
de-activating the irrigation solenoid valve if the activation control signal is not again received during a predetermined quantity of one or more of the listen and the sleep periods, thereby reducing a likelihood of the irrigation solenoid valve over-watering.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising de-activating the irrigation solenoid valve in response to receiving a deactivation control signal from the wireless adapter so as to inhibit flow of water through the irrigation solenoid valve to the one or more water distribution devices.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein the activation control signal is periodically transmitted at a rate that is equal to or less than the predetermined quantity of one or more of the listen and the sleep periods.
17. The method of claim 14, wherein the sleep period is more than two times the duration of the listen period.
18. The method of claim 14, wherein the activation control signal is transmitted no more than about 25% of the time during a period in which the irrigation solenoid is to be activated.
19. The method of claim 14, wherein the activation control signal is transmitted for less than about 15 seconds.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A system for providing a customized digital yearbook comprising:
a server;
a plurality of computers connected to the server by a network;
and a database operationally coupled to the server;
a plurality of unique user accounts, each user account corresponding to a user of the customized digital yearbook;
a first software module receives global yearbook data from the plurality of computers and stores the global yearbook data in the database;
a second software module receives private data from at least one of the computers and stores the private data in the database associated with a subset of the user accounts; and
for each of the users of the user accounts, a third software module extracts a subset of the global yearbook data by selecting custom yearbook data therefrom according to directives set by the user in a view by user file,
the third software module filters the subset of the global yearbook data according to the user accounts and the third software module presents the subset of the global yearbook data integrated with private data, the private data associated with the user of one of the user accounts, at a user device associated with the user of the user account, the private data being integrated post-production with the subset of the global data.
2. The system for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 1, wherein the second software module and the third software module run on the server and the subset of the global yearbook data integrated with the private data associated with the user of one of the user accounts is transferred to a user device associated with the user and is presented at the user device.
3. The system for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 1, wherein the second software module and the third software module run on a user device and the subset of the global yearbook data and the private data associated with the user of one of the user accounts is transferred to a user device associated with the user before the second software module and the third software module run on the user device and the subset of the global yearbook data and the private data associated with the user of one of the user accounts is presented at the user device.
4. The system for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 1, wherein the private data includes digitized text.
5. The system for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 4, wherein the digitized text is presented as an overlay mixed with an image of a user of the customized digital yearbook.
6. The system for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 1, wherein the private data includes digitized voice.
7. The system for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 6, wherein a user interface is provided, the user interface playing the digitized voice responsive to user interface operations.
8. The system for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 1, wherein the private data includes digitized video.
9. The system for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 8, wherein a user interface is provided, the user interface playing the digitized video responsive to user interface operations.
10. The system for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 1, wherein the third software module presents a table of contents having entries related to the subset of the global yearbook data.
11. A method for providing a customized digital yearbook comprising:
capturing global content for a digital yearbook and storing the global content in a database;
capturing private content associated with a particular user of the digital yearbook, the particular user having a unique user account for accessing the digital yearbook, and storing the private content in the database;
editing and organizing the global content and the private content within the database;
creating customized data from the database by selecting custom yearbook data therefrom based on directives set by the particular user in a view by user file of the particular user from the global content and including post-production the private content associated with the particular user; and
presenting the customized data at a device associated with the particular user.
12. The method for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 11, further comprising a step of delivering the customized data to the device associated with the particular user.
13. The method for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 11, wherein the private data includes digitized text.
14. The method for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 13, wherein the digitized text is presented as an overlay mixed with an image of a user of the customized digital yearbook.
15. The method for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 11, wherein the private data includes digitized voice.
16. The method for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 15, wherein a user interface is provided, the user interface playing the digitized voice responsive to user interface operations.
17. The method for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 11, wherein the private data includes digitized video.
18. The method for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 17, wherein a user interface is provided, the user interface playing the digitized video responsive to user interface operations.
19. The method for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 11, wherein the private data includes images.
20. The method for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 19, wherein a user interface is provided, the user interface playing the images responsive to user interface operations.
21. A method for providing a customized digital yearbook, the method performed by a computer having instructions stored on non-transitory computer-readable media, interfaced to a computer, the computer executing the instructions to implement the method comprising the steps of:
capturing global content for a digital yearbook;
capturing private content for the digital yearbook, the private content associated with a user of the digital yearbook, the user having a unique user account for accessing the digital yearbook;
storing the global content and the private content in a database; editing and organizing the global content and the private content within the database under control of an administrator;
creating customized data from the database by selecting custom yearbook data therefrom based on directives set by the user in a view by user file of the user; and
presenting the customized data and adding post-production the private content at a device associated with the user of the yearbook.
22. The method for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 21, wherein the private data is data selected from digitized text, a digitized audio and digitized video.
23. The method for providing a customized digital yearbook of claim 22, further comprising the step of providing a user interface, the user interface reproducing the private data responsive to interface operations.