Patent Application
20140125499
This invention relates generally to barrier operators and more specifically to adding features to pre-installed barrier operators.
Barrier operators of various kinds have been known and used for many years. Examples of such barrier operators include gate operators, rolling shutter operators, garage door operators, and the like. In one example, garage door operators are mounted within a garage to automate the process of opening and closing a garage door. Such garage door operators are designed to last for many years. In its simplest form, a garage door operator includes a motor connected to move a barrier between an open position and a closed position and control circuitry configured to control the motor. Such garage door operators can last and reliably operate a garage door for many years with basic maintenance.
More recently, however, barrier operators have begun evolving to include additional features beyond the simple task of opening and closing the barrier. Such new features include various safety features, lighting options, network communication options including remote operation of the barrier operator, and the like. To have access to such features, however, typically a completely new barrier operator with a new motor and connection equipment must be purchased and installed for a user to have access to the new features. This contradicts the reality where barrier operators are generally designed to perform their core function of opening and closing a barrier for many years.
Generally speaking, and pursuant to these various embodiments, a barrier operator feature enhancement device is designed to provide one or more features found in modern barrier operator devices and to incorporate those features into a previously installed barrier operator system. To facilitate ease of use, the barrier operator feature enhancement device is designed to be able to communicate with a large variety of older model barrier operator systems. Such communication may be wireless or wired, depending on the communication protocol implemented by a particular previously installed barrier operator. To facilitate the ease of installation of the feature enhancement device, the device is designed to, in one approach, step through a variety of communication protocols and to receive feedback information from either the barrier operator or another device to indicate that the previously installed barrier operator performed an action in response to receipt of a communication from the feature enhancement device. Based on that feedback, the feature enhancement device configures itself to operate going forward with the communication protocol that elicited the response from the previously installed barrier operator.
Once configured to be able to communicate with the previously installed barrier operator, the feature enhancement device works with the barrier operator to provide one or more additional features to enhance the capabilities of the previously installed barrier operator. Examples include adding safety features such as the use of obstacle detectors, adding remote communication and network based communication features, enabling timer based open and close features, enabling vehicle and person detection features, and the like. These and other benefits may become clearer upon making a thorough review and study of the following detailed description.
The above needs are at least partially met through provision of the barrier operator feature enhancement described in the following detailed description, particularly, when studied in conjunction with the drawings wherein:
Skilled artisans will appreciate the elements and the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of various embodiments. Also, common but well understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted to facilitate a less obstructive view of these various embodiments. It will further be appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. It will also be understood that the terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions and a person skilled in the technical field as set forth above, except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.
Referring now to the drawings and, in particular, to
With reference to
One approach for configuring communication between the barrier operator feature enhancement device 120 and the previously installed barrier operator 100 includes the control circuitry 140 being configured to effect sending communication signals from the barrier operator communication module 125 via a plurality of communication protocols to the pre-installed barrier operator 100. For example, the barrier operator communication module 125 can be configured to be able to communicate with the plurality of barrier operator types by sending communication signals by one or more of wire-line relay switch activation, wire-line serial communications, wire-line encrypted serial communications, a first wireless transmission protocol based on a hand-held transmitter frequency, a second wireless transmission protocol different from the first wireless transmission protocol, radio frequency communications based on a frequency different from hand-held transmitter frequencies, radio frequency communications based on frequency hopping for spread spectrum, to name but a few, and combinations thereof. Generally speaking, as used in this application, a “hand-held transmitter” refers to a typical garage door controller that, for instance, clips to a vehicle visor and has a button that a user presses to open and close a garage door.
By one approach, the control circuitry 140 can wait for a time after sending a communication signal to the pre-installed barrier operator 100 to receive a communication indicating a response from the pre-installed barrier operator 100 before sending another communication signal using a different protocol. The communication indicating the response from the pre-installed barrier operator can be received in a number of ways. For example, the receipt may occur through an input/output module 145 that will be described below. Examples signals include ones from a door sensor or limit sensor indicating door movement. In response to receiving the communication indicating the response from the pre-installed barrier operator, the control circuitry 140 configures the barrier operator communication module 125 to operate according to the communication protocol that effected the response from the pre-installed barrier operator 100. By this example approach, the barrier operator feature enhancement device 120 can configure itself or learn the communication protocol with which it can communicate with the pre-installed barrier operator 100 with minimal intervention or effort on behalf of the device's user.
By another approach, the control circuitry 140 may be configured to learn the communication protocol for the pre-installed barrier operator 100 by analyzing a signal received by the barrier operator feature enhancement device 120 from a peripheral device. In one such approach, the control circuitry 140 is configured to analyze a signal received at the input/output module 145 from a peripheral device comprising a hand-held transmitter 110 associated with the pre-installed barrier operator 100 to determine a communication protocol associated with the pre-installed barrier operator 100. For example, the control circuitry 140 can break down the radio frequency communication sent by the hand-held transmitter 110 to determine its characteristics and then adopt those characteristics for the barrier operator communication module 125. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,057,494 and 7,741,951, incorporated herein by reference, describe example approaches currently known to those skilled in the art for learning a transmission protocol. Accordingly, this control circuitry 140 can configure the barrier operator communication module 125 to operate according to the communication protocol associated with the pre-installed barrier operator 100.
In still another approach, the barrier operator feature enhancement device 120 can include a user interface 150. For example, the control circuitry 140 configures the barrier operator communications module 125 to operate according to a communication protocol in response to receipt of an instruction signal through the user interface 150. In one such approach, a list of barrier operator types can be provided to a user through the user interface 150 or through separate documentation that will allow the user to use the user interface 150 to input the barrier operator type to the feature enhancement device 120. In response to receipt of this feedback from the user interface 150, the control circuitry 140 can access a memory or other storage such as an online database that will associate a communication protocol with the barrier operator type information received through the user interface 150. The control circuitry 140 will then configure the barrier operator communication module 125 to operate in accordance with that communication protocol. In a further aspect, a similar user interface can be provided on other device remote from the feature enhancement device 120. For instance, a mobile device or other computer can be programmed, run an application, or receive signals from another device to effect display of a user interface that allows a user to interact with the feature enhancement device 120.
Once the communication protocol for the previously installed barrier operator 100 is determined, the control circuitry 140 is configured to use the barrier operator communication module 125 to communicate to at least one pre-installed barrier operator 100 to effect at least one of control of operation of at least one feature of the at least one pre-installed barrier operator 100 or monitoring at least one aspect of the at least one pre-installed barrier operator 100. Control of the operation of a feature of a pre-installed barrier operator 100 can include moving a barrier 105, stopping or overriding a function of the pre-installed movable barrier operator 100, operating another function of a pre-installed movable barrier 100 such as operating a light, controlling a vacation mode, and the like, or changing an operation parameter such as a force setting or programmed operation mode of a pre-installed barrier operator 100 to name but a few examples. Generally speaking, sending a communication to a pre-installed barrier operator 100 to control operation can be considered effecting a change in function of the barrier operator 100. Monitoring an aspect of a pre-installed barrier operator includes monitoring a barrier 105 status (such as open or closed) and watching other operation statuses of the operator 100 including error conditions, tamper warnings, and usage history to name only a few examples. As illustrated in
Moreover, the communication to be had with any one pre-installed barrier operator 100 depends upon the capabilities of that operator 100. For instance, older operators generally only communicated through receipt of a signal that causes immediate operation of the motor to open or close the barrier 105. In such a situation, the feature enhancement device 120 will merely send signals to effect such operation and rely on other peripheral devices to facilitate monitoring of other aspects of the barrier operator such as door position and obstacle detection. Other operators have the ability to send information out regarding its status. For example, some operators are able to determine barrier position, force settings, light settings, and the like and provide this information to other devices. For those operators, the feature enhancement device 120 is configured to be able to send signals to such an operator to effect the operator 100 sending back such status information in a manner that the feature enhancement device 120 can understand the information and use the information to provide enhanced feature control for a user including, for example, automatically sending control signals to change a function of the barrier operator 100 in response to receiving particular status information from the operator 100.
Turning again to
Those skilled in the art will recognize and understand that such a module 145 and operator communication module 125 may be comprised of a plurality of physically distinct elements as is suggested by the illustration shown in
For example and with reference to
Other than just computing devices, the peripheral device from which the input/output module 145 can be configured to receive communications may also include one or more of an obstacle detector 155, a network adapter 240, a separate barrier operator 102, a hand-held transmitter 110, a wall control 115, a door position sensor 160, to name but a few, and combinations thereof. Communications with such devices allow the feature enhancement device 120 to provide features such as automatic barrier control in response to obstacle detection through which the feature enhancement device 120 can stop operation of a pre-installed barrier operator 100. In one such example, the obstacle detector 155 is connected to the feature enhancement device 120. If the feature enhancement device 120 receives a communication from the obstacle detector 155 that an obstacle has been detected and the feature enhancement device 120 knows that the barrier operator 100 is closing the barrier, the feature enhancement device 120 can communicate with the barrier operator 100 to stop the barrier and potentially send the barrier in the opening direction.
The feature enhancement device 120 can perform barrier position determination through communication with such peripheral devices to be able to determine and report out barrier 105 position among other possibilities or features that can be provided. The position determination peripheral device 160, 170 allows the feature enhancement device 120 to determine whether or not the barrier 105 is closed and to report to a remote user the position of the barrier 105 prior to activation of the movable barrier operator. Example position determination devices include limit switches 170, door monitors, tilt switches 160, and the like. The position determination peripheral device 160, 170 could be a transmit only device that transmits position information in response to any change of the position of the barrier 105. In an alternative approach, the position determination peripheral device 160, 170 could be a bidirectional communication device allowing the feature enhancement device 122 to request information about the position of the barrier 105.
In still another approach, the input/output module 145 is configured to receive communications from at least one peripheral device including a sending device where the communications include an identification signal indicating that the sending device is available for communication with the input/output module 145. In this example, the sending device may be any peripheral device described above that can have communications with a feature enhancement device 120 and facilitate installation and configuration of these peripheral or sending devices with the feature enhancement device 120. In one example, a sending device may include a button or other user interactive element that can be actuated by a user that will effect sending a signal that, on receipt by the feature enhancement device 120, indicates to the feature enhancement device 120 that the sending device is ready and able to be used by or communicate with the feature enhancement device 120. As yet another example, the sending device can be a device used for notification of imminent barrier motion. In this approach, the feature enhancement device 120 can be designed such that it requires the detection of the sending device prior to allowing at least a particular barrier motion.
In another example, the input/output module 145 can receive wireless local area network communications with one or more of the peripheral devices. Based on these communications from the wireless local area network, the control circuitry 140 is configured to decide which radio frequency communication format is sent to the pre-installed barrier operator 100. The wireless local area network devices may communicate using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or any other wireless based communication between or among peripheral devices located in the vicinity of the feature enhance device 120. In one example, the control circuitry 140 may recognize a communication style or command sent to or from the pre-installed barrier operator 100 via the wireless local area network and configure the operator communication module 125 accordingly. In another example, the control circuitry 140 may receive a communication over the wireless local area network with information identifying the pre-installed barrier operator 100 or its communication method. In one such example, a user may look up the pre-installed barrier operator 100 on a computing device 215 and send that information regarding the operator 100 to the feature enhancement device 120 using, for example, the wireless local area network.
In another example, the input/output module 145 is configured to receive the communications from at least one peripheral device comprising an obstacle detector 155, as shown in
In another specific example, the input/output module 145 can be configured to receive communications from at least one peripheral device including a sensor 160 disposed to detect a location of a barrier 105 operated by the pre-installed barrier operator 100. The sensor 160 is illustrated as a tilt sensor, although any of a variety of other sensors may be used such as a limit switch, an accelerometer, a gravity sensor, or combinations thereof. Limit switches can be magnetic or physical switches placed along a track or other path of travel for the barrier 105 to detect the location of the barrier 105. A tilt sensor may comprise a microelectromechanical (MEMS) switch, an optical sensor, or other physical switch that is mounted to detect the barrier's 105 orientation. For example, the tilt sensor 160 as known in the art is mounted on the barrier 105 to determine the barrier 105's vertical or horizontal orientation and based on that information, a determination can be made as to whether the door is open, i.e., the barrier is horizontally disposed, or closed, i.e., the barrier is vertically disposed. An accelerometer may be piezo electric based or MEMS switch as known in the art. In still another approach, the input/output module 145 can be configured to receive communications from at least one peripheral device including a hand-held transmitter 110 configured to send barrier commands via a radio frequency transmission to the input/output module 145.
In yet another approach, the input/output module 145 is configured to receive communications from at least one peripheral device including a network adapter 240 to effect a connection to the Internet. As illustrated in
In any event, the input/output module 145 is configured to send communications to and receive communications from devices over the Internet. Such communications may include receiving commands to operate the pre-installed barrier operator 100 from a device over the Internet or to send status information regarding the pre-installed barrier operator 100 to a device over the Internet. So configured, the feature enhancement device 120 can allow a user to use a mobile computing device 230 that is located remote from the pre-installed barrier operator 100 to operate the barrier operator 100 or to simply receive information regarding whether the barrier is open or closed, for example, or whether a particular vehicle is in the garage.
For example, and as illustrated in
In still another example, in response to an initial detection of the vehicle 175, the control circuitry 140 can effect a communication with a security system 340 to effect a change in status of the security system 340. For instance, detection of the vehicle 175 in the garage can initiate a disarming of a home security system with respect to an entry from the garage into the house or other building or security structure. A similar approach can be applied to a commercial setting with respect to causing a change in a commercial security system in response to detecting presence of a particular vehicle.
In still another example, in response to an initial detection of the vehicle 175, control circuitry 140 can effect communication with the home-based computing device 330 to effect sending a message to a user of the home-based computing device 330. One such message may simply be a text or similar message to someone else at the home indicating that a vehicle has arrived in the garage. In still another example, in response to an initial detection of the vehicle 175, control circuitry 140 can effect a communication with a gateway communication device 350, such as a Wi-Fi router or home automation gateway device, or a direct communication with one or more of the thermostat device 305, climate control system 310, lighting controller 315, computing device 330, security system 340, and home-based computing device 330 as opposed to having direct communication in between the feature enhancement device 120 and those various other devices. The communication can be any known communication method including Z-wave, Zigbee, INSTEON, and X10 to name but a few examples.
Similarly, the feature enhancement device 120 may also communicate with any of the above devices in response to an initial detection of the absence of the vehicle 175. In this example, after the vehicle 175 drives out of the garage, the presence detector 170 will notice that the car 175 is no longer in the garage, and in response to the presence detector 170 making that determination, the control circuitry 140 can effect communication with any of the above devices to effect a change in their status, as described above. For example, the thermostat device 305 may be commanded to change a default temperature for the home while the occupant is gone, the security system 340 may be armed while the occupant is gone, the lighting controller device 315 may be set to turn the lights off when the occupant is gone during the daytime, and a message may be sent to a user using a computing device 330 that is still in the house providing notice that the vehicle 175 has left the garage.
Another feature that can be added by the barrier operator feature enhancement device 120 is the ability to detect and respond to a forced entry. In one such approach, in response to receiving from a peripheral device or from the pre-installed barrier operator 100 a communication indicating an attempt at forced entry, the control circuitry 140 is configured to send a communication to another of the peripheral devices to effect a security system response. For instance, a device 165 may be placed on the door or rails that can sense when a person tries to force open the door 105 and responsively send a signal regarding this attempt to the feature enhancement device 120. This device 165 can detect the attempt to force open the door 105 by measuring sound, vibration, door motion, and/or any other detection method as known in the art. Some known barrier operators also have this ability to sense the forced entry and generate a signal that can be received by the feature enhancement device 120. In response to receiving such a signal, the feature enhancement device 120 can communicate with a security system 340 or otherwise sound an alarm such as flashing its light 180 or sounding an alarm from its sound generator 185. Other examples include sending a communication to a vehicle 175 to effect locking the vehicle 175, to effect engagement of the vehicle's security system alarm, to effect disablement of the vehicle's starting mechanism, and/or to effect flashing of the vehicle's lights. Another example includes sending a communication to a computing device 330 to effect an announcement over a local security system 340 or to effect blinking of lights 320 at an associated structure, for example, in a home. In still another example, a communication may be sent to a network enabled device 220, 240 to effect sending a communication to a mobile computing device 230 regarding the attempted or forced entry such that a homeowner can receive an alert on the homeowner's tablet or phone regarding the attempted or forced entry.
Another feature that may be enabled with the feature enhancement device 120 having a presence detector 170 includes changing parameters of a timer to close function based on the presence or absence of the vehicle 175. More specifically, the control circuitry 140 can be configured to effect a timer to close function including sending a signal to the barrier operator 100 to close the barrier 105 in response to the passage of time. The control circuitry 140 is also configured to, in response to receiving a signal from the presence detector 170 indicating presence or absence of the vehicle 175, change the parameters of the timer to close function. For example, the timer to close function may be inhibited by the control circuitry 140 if the presence detector 170 senses the presence of a vehicle 175. Similarly, the control circuitry 140 may enable a timer to close feature in response to the detection by the presence detector 170 that there are no vehicles left in the garage.
In still another approach, the presence detector 170 can be configured to determine the presence or absence of a particular vehicle 175, such that various features can be enabled or disabled in response to the detection of particular vehicles. More specifically, and in one example, the presence detector 170 can be configured to detect presence or absence of a plurality of specific vehicles through detection of a vehicle specific identifier received from individual ones of the specific vehicles. For instance, a given vehicle may have a universal garage door operator transmitter that is configured to send an identification signal to the movable barrier operator either directly or through an intermediary device or network. The input/output module 145 or presence detector 170 of the feature enhancement device 120 may receive that signal and decode the identification signal to identify the vehicle 175 and operate in accordance with pre-programming with respect to enabling or disabling certain features or actions in response to the presence or absence of the specific vehicle 175. Other options for determining or receiving the vehicle's identification number include receiving a Bluetooth communication from the vehicle, receiving a cellular communication from the vehicle, receiving communications from a specific user's mobile device through (such as though Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, mobile network communication, or the like) or by other means known to those skilled in the art.
Turning again to
In accord with the structures described above, and with reference to
For example, the retro-fit device may receive 425 information from a peripheral device and determine 430 an action or setting change for the pre-installed barrier operator based on the information from the peripheral device. After making that determination, the retro-fit device sends 430 a communication signal according to the communication protocol to the pre-installed barrier operator. That communication signal is configured to effect the action or setting change to the pre-installed barrier operator. As described above, the process of configuring the communication module to operate according to a particular communication protocol may include consideration or utilization of information from one or more peripheral devices to help make the determination of which protocol to use in communicating with the pre-installed barrier operator.
In an additional alternative embodiment, the functionality or logic described with respect to
The feature enhancement device 120 described in this application may be packaged together with any of a variety of the peripheral devices described above to facilitate provision of features to pre-installed barrier operators. For example, the feature enhancement device may be sold together with obstacle detectors, a tilt sensor for mounting on the door, a remote control device, a network adapter, and the like. Such a kit can then be purchased by a user and installed as described above to provide enhanced operability to the barrier operator previously installed at the user's premises.
In one specific example,
As explained earlier, the feature enhancement device 120 can have a light 180 and a sound generator 185. The light 180 and sound generator 185 can be utilized to pre-warn before the command is sent to the preinstalled barrier operator 100. For example, if the feature enhancement device 120 received a command to move or close the barrier over the Internet, the feature enhancement device 120 can turn on or flash the light 180 and/or play a warning sound from the sound generator of a time before sending a command to the pre-installed barrier operator 100 to move or close the barrier. In this way, unattended operation of the preinstalled barrier operator can be announced prior to the motion of the barrier.
The feature enhancement device 120 can also report on the status of the preinstalled barrier operator 100. For example, the feature enhancement device 120 can monitor the door's position through communication with the sensor 160 and knowledge of the commands given to the barrier operator 120 and then notify a remote device via the Internet or through local wireless communications of the present status of the barrier 105. In the case where a handheld transmitter 190 is directly paired with the preinstalled operator 100 to move the barrier 105, the feature enhancement device 120 can still monitor the barrier 105 status through communication with the door position sensor 160.
In this example, the feature enhancement device 120 is wired to the obstacle detectors 155 via a set of wires 157. The feature enhancement device 120 can monitor the obstacle detectors 155 to ensure that they are functioning properly and feature enhancement device 120 can control the barrier operator 100 accordingly for combination of the command input 502 and the other obstruction input 504. The feature enhancement device 120 can also monitor the actions of the preinstalled operator 100 via the sensor 160 to ensure that the operator is performing the intended function. If the barrier 105 is in motion in the downward direction and the feature enhancement device 120 detects a failure of the obstacle detector 155, the feature enhancement device 120 can force the operator 100 to reverse direction by shorting the obstruction input 504. If that action is not followed, the feature enhancement device 120 can give one or more commands via the command input 502 to perform the desired function. In another example,
In the example of
Those skilled in the art will recognize that a wide variety of modifications, alterations, and combinations can be made with respect to the above described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, although the feature enhancement device is described largely in the context of a garage in use with a garage door opener, such a feature enhancement device can be applied in other barrier operator contexts, such as gate operators and the like. Moreover, any of the retro-fit features described herein can be incorporated into a movable barrier operator. For instance, the various capabilities described with respect to sensing vehicle presence or absence, sensing forced entry, and the like can be triggered or controlled by a movable barrier operator incorporating the associated features of such a retro-fit device. Such modifications, alterations, and combinations are to be viewed as being within the ambit of the inventive concept.
