1-53. (canceled)
54. A method of watering a plant, comprising the steps of measuring a conductivity of a plant growing medium containing at least one plant, determining a moisture content of the growing medium from said measured conductivity, and supplying water to the plant if the determined moisture content is below a predetermined value, wherein the predetermined value is based on plant type, the step of measuring the conductivity is conducted using at least one sensor buried in the growing medium, and at least one sensor is intermittently powered.
55. The method according to claim 54, further comprising the step of stopping the supply of water once said predetermined level of moisture has been detected.
56. The method according to claim 54, further comprising the step of energizing the sensor for a period of time before determining said moisture content.
57. The method according to claim 54, further comprising the step of energizing the sensor for at least 15 seconds before determining said moisture content.
58. The method according to claim 54, wherein the sensor is energized for at least 60 seconds.
59. The method according to claim 54, further comprising the step of inducing plant growth by passing an electromagnetic field through the growth media of said at least one plant, in at least one of a continuous and intermittent (pulsed) manner.
60. The method according to claim 59, further comprising the step of adjusting said electromagnetic field to adapt it to do at least one of the following: stimulate at least one of induction of flowering, fruiting or growth of plant; to adapt it to the particular growth requirement of a specific plant type; and to adapt growth stimulation to at least one of season, time of day, growth media type, and growth medium condition.
61. The method according to claim 59, wherein the electromagnetic field is at least one of a low voltage AC or DC electrical current and magnetic field.
62. The method according to claim 54, further including the step of measuring the condition of the plant’s environment and providing to the plant at least one of heat, moisture, plant nutrients and growth stimulation based on said detected condition.
63. The method according to claim 54, further comprising the step of measuring the condition of the growing medium to measure at least one of moisture content of the growing medium, PH of the growing medium, temperature of the growing medium or environment.
64. The method according to claim 54, wherein operation of the sensor is governed by the equation KX=Y\u2212\u03c0, in which
X=Applied voltage
Y=Actual sensor voltage reading, and
K=A growing medium constant for a particular growing medium.
65. The method according to claim 54, wherein moisture content is determined for a particular plant growing medium by applying a third order polynomial Y=ax3+bx2+cx+d, wherein
Y=Actual sensor voltage, and
X=Applied voltage.
66. A system for carrying out the method of watering a plant with a closed loop moisture control system, comprising a plant, a water supply system for supplying water to the plant, a moisture sensor located in the root region of the plant for measuring the level of moisture in the growing medium of the plant, a control unit with means to switch the watering system off or on based on said detected moisture level, means for energizing the sensor, and means to compare the detected moisture level with a predetermined value.
67. The system as claimed in claim 66, wherein the moisture sensor comprises at least one pair of spaced apart electrodes and the sensor is energized by applying an adjustable preset voltage to the electrodes in order to measure the conductivity of the growing medium between the electrodes, the control unit having means to determine the level of moisture in the growing medium based on said measured conductivity, wherein said electrodes have at least one of the following properties: are spaced between 40 to 100 mm apart; have a surface area of between 400 mm and 1000 mm; have a length of 80 to 20 mm each; and a width of 2 to 4 mm each.
68. The system as claimed in claim 66, wherein said control unit has means to set a predetermined voltage, said predetermined voltage being a function of at least one of plant type, growing medium type, and sensor type.
69. The system according to claim 66, wherein the water supply system comprises a water tank with at least one soaker pipe leading therefrom, the soaker pipe being adapted to supply water to said plant, and wherein the water supply system includes a pump to pump water from the tank to the soaker pipe, the pump being switched on and off by said means for switching the watering system on or off.
70. A system according to claim 69, wherein the pump is operated by pumping water using thermal expansion and contraction of a quantity of gas trapped in a housing.
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 computer-implemented method, comprising: at a portable electronic device with a touch screen display,
displaying at least a portion of a structured electronic document on the touch screen display, wherein the structured electronic document comprises content;
detecting a first gesture on an item of inline video content in the displayed portion of the structured electronic document;
in response to detecting the first gesture,
enlarging the item of inline video content on the touch screen display, and
ceasing to display all other content in the structured electronic document besides the enlarged item of inline video content;
while the enlarged item of inline video content is displayed, detecting a second gesture on the touch screen display;
in response to detecting the second gesture, displaying one or more playback controls for playing the enlarged item of inline video content, wherein the one or more playback controls are displayed on top of the enlarged item of inline video content;
detecting a third gesture on one of the playback controls; and
in response to detecting the third gesture, playing the enlarged item of inline video content;
ceasing to display the one or more playback controls after no contact is detected with the touch screen display for a predetermined time;
detecting a fourth gesture on the touch screen display; and
in response to detecting the fourth gesture, displaying, again, at least the portion of the structured electronic document.
2. A computer-implemented method, comprising: at a portable electronic device with a touch screen display,
displaying at least a portion of a structured electronic document on the touch screen display, wherein the structured electronic document comprises content;
detecting a first gesture on an item of inline multimedia content in the displayed portion of the structured electronic document;
in response to detecting the first gesture,
enlarging the item of inline multimedia content on the touch screen display, and
ceasing to display other content in the structured electronic document besides the enlarged item of inline multimedia content;
detecting a third gesture on a play icon; and
in response to detecting the third gesture, playing the enlarged item of inline multimedia content.
3. The method of claim 2, including:
while the enlarged item of inline multimedia content is displayed, detecting a second gesture on the touch screen display;
in response to detecting the second gesture, displaying one or more playback controls for playing the enlarged item of inline multimedia content;
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the structured electronic document is a web page.
5. The method of claim 2, wherein the structured electronic document is an HTML or XML document.
6. The method of claim 2, wherein the inline multimedia content comprises video andor audio content.
7. The method of claim 2, wherein:
the item of inline multimedia content has a full size;
the touch screen display has a size; and
enlarging the item of inline multimedia content comprises enlarging the item of inline multimedia content to the smaller of the full size of the item and the size of the touch screen display.
8. The method of claim 2, wherein enlarging the item of inline multimedia content comprises animated zooming in on the item.
9. The method of claim 2, wherein enlarging the item of inline multimedia content comprises rotating the item of inline multimedia content by 90\xb0.
10. The method of claim 2, wherein enlarging the item of inline multimedia content comprises simultaneously zooming and translating the item of inline multimedia content on the touch screen display.
11. The method of claim 2, wherein enlarging the item of inline multimedia content comprises expanding the item of inline multimedia content so that the width of the item of inline multimedia content is substantially the same as the width of the touch screen display.
12. The method of claim 2, wherein ceasing to display other content in the structured electronic document besides the item of inline multimedia content comprises fading out the other content in the structured electronic document besides the item of inline multimedia content.
13. The method of claim 2, including overriding an instruction in the structured electronic document to automatically start playing the item of inline multimedia content.
14. The method of claim 3, wherein the one or more playback controls comprise a play icon, a pause icon, a sound volume icon, andor a playback progress bar icon.
15. The method of claim 3, wherein displaying one or more playback controls comprises displaying one or more playback controls on top of the enlarged item of inline multimedia content.
16. The method of claim 3, wherein, while playing the enlarged item of inline multimedia content, ceasing to display the one or more playback controls.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein ceasing to display the one or more playback controls comprises fading out the one or more playback controls.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein the display of the one or more playback controls is ceased after a predetermined time.
19. The method of claim 16, wherein the display of the one or more playback controls is ceased after no contact is detected with the touch screen display for a predetermined time.
20. The method of claim 2, wherein playing the enlarged item of inline multimedia content comprises playing the enlarged item of inline multimedia content with a plugin for a content type associated with the item of inline multimedia content.
21. The method of claim 2, including;
detecting a fourth gesture on the touch screen display;
in response to detecting the fourth gesture,
displaying, again, at least the portion of the structured electronic document.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the fourth gesture comprises a tap gesture on a playback completion icon.
23. The method of claim 21, wherein the item of inline multimedia content returns to the size at which it was displayed prior to being enlarged.
24. The method of claim 2, wherein the first and second gestures are finger gestures.
25. The method of claim 2, wherein the first and second gestures are stylus gestures.
26. The method of claim 2, wherein the first and second gestures are tap gestures.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein the tap gesture is a double tap with a single finger, a double tap with two fingers, a single tap with a single finger, or a single tap with two fingers.
28. A graphical user interface on a portable electronic device with a touch screen display, comprising:
at least a portion of a structured electronic document, wherein the structured electronic document comprises content;
an item of inline multimedia content in the portion of the structured electronic document; and
a play icon;
wherein:
in response to detecting a first gesture on the item of inline multimedia content,
the item of inline multimedia content on the touch screen display is enlarged, and
display of other content in the structured electronic document besides the enlarged item of inline multimedia content is ceased; and
in response to detecting a third gesture on the play icon, the enlarged item of inline multimedia content is played.
29. The graphical user interface of claim 28, including:
one or more playback controls, wherein:
in response to detecting a second gesture on the touch screen display while the enlarged item of inline multimedia content is displayed, the one or more playback controls for playing the enlarged item of inline multimedia content are displayed.
30. A portable electronic device, comprising:
a touch screen display;
one or more processors;
memory; and
one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including:
instructions for displaying at least a portion of a structured electronic document on the touch screen display, wherein the structured electronic document comprises content;
instructions for detecting a first gesture on an item of inline multimedia content in the displayed portion of the structured electronic document;
instructions for enlarging the item of inline multimedia content on the touch screen display in response to detecting the first gesture;
instructions for ceasing to display other content in the structured electronic document besides the enlarged item of inline multimedia content in response to detecting the first gesture;
instructions for detecting a third gesture on a play icon; and
instructions for playing the enlarged item of inline multimedia content in response to detecting the third gesture.
31. A computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs, comprising instructions, which when executed by a portable electronic device with a touch screen display, cause the device to:
display at least a portion of a structured electronic document on the touch screen display, wherein the structured electronic document comprises content;
detect a first gesture on an item of inline multimedia content in the displayed portion of the structured electronic document;
enlarge the item of inline multimedia content on the touch screen display in response to detecting the first gesture;
cease to display other content in the structured electronic document besides the enlarged item of inline multimedia content in response to detecting the first gesture;
detect a third gesture on a play icon; and
play the enlarged item of inline multimedia content in response to detecting the third gesture.
32. A portable electronic device with a touch screen display, comprising:
means for displaying at least a portion of a structured electronic document on the touch screen display, wherein the structured electronic document comprises content;
means for detecting a first gesture on an item of inline multimedia content in the displayed portion of the structured electronic document;
means for enlarging the item of inline multimedia content on the touch screen display in response to detecting the first gesture;
means for ceasing to display other content in the structured electronic document besides the enlarged item of inline multimedia content in response to detecting the first gesture;
means for detecting a third gesture on a play icon; and
means for playing the enlarged item of inline multimedia content in response to detecting the third gesture.