ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 5 -- United States Patent no. 12,276,350, issued on April 15.
"Retrofitted flood irrigation valve actuating apparatus" was invented by Austin Verissimo (Modesto, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A retrofitted flood irrigation valve apparatus, including a motor coupled to a stem of an existing flood irrigation valve, the motor to generate mechanical energy to rotate the stem of the existing flood irrigation valve and one or more rails coupled to a frame of the existing flood irrigation valve, wherein each of the one or more rails includes tracks along which the motor is configured to move as the stem of the existing flood irrigation valve opens and closes the valve."...