Movable barrier operator

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6456022
  • Patent Number
    6,456,022
  • Date Filed
    Monday, March 27, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, September 24, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
A movable barrier operator having improved safety and energy efficiency features automatically detects line voltage frequency and uses that information to set a worklight shut-off time. The operator automatically detects the type of door (single panel or segmented) and uses that information to set a maximum speed of door travel. The operator moves the door with a linearly variable speed from start of travel to stop for smooth and quiet performance. The operator provides for full door closure by driving the door into the floor when the DOWN limit is reached and no auto-reverse condition has been detected. The operator provides for user selection of a minimum stop speed for easy starting and stopping of sticky or binding doors.
Description




This application contains two (2) identical compact discs (CD-ROMs) each containing a computer program listing appendix for the above-captioned application. These discs are in IBM-PC machine format and are MS-Windows operating system compatible. The file on each disc is named “codelisting.txt”, is 207 KB in size and was created on Jan. 14, 2002.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




This invention relates generally to movable barrier operators for operating movable barriers or doors. More particularly, it relates to garage door operators having improved safety and energy efficiency features.




Garage door operators have become more sophisticated over the years providing users with increased convenience and security. However, users continue to desire further improvements and new features such as increased energy efficiency, ease of installation, automatic configuration, and aesthetic features, such as quiet, smooth operation.




In some markets energy costs are significant. Thus energy efficiency options such as lower horsepower motors and user control over the worklight functions are important to garage door operator owners. For example, most garage door operators have a worklight which turns on when the operator is commanded to move the door and shuts off a fixed period of time after the door stops. In the United States, an illumination period of 4½ minutes is considered adequate. In markets outside the United States, 4½ minutes is considered too long. Some garage door operators have special safety features, for example, which enable the worklight whenever the obstacle detection beam is broken by an intruder passing through an open garage door. Some users may wish to disable the worklight in this situation. There is a need for a garage door operator which can be automatically configured for predefined energy saving features, such as work light shut-off time.




Some movable barrier operators include a flasher module which causes a small light to flash or blink whenever the barrier is commanded to move. The flasher module provides some warning when the barrier is moving. There is a need for an improved flasher unit which provides even greater warning to the user when the barrier is commanded to move.




Another feature desired in many markets is a smooth, quiet motor and transmission. Most garage door operators have AC motors because they are less expensive than DC motors. However, AC motors are generally noisier than DC motors.




Most garage door operators employ only one or two speeds of travel. Single speed operation, i.e., the motor immediately ramps up to full operating speed, can create a jarring start to the door. Then during closing, when the door approaches the floor at full operating speed, whether a DC or AC motor is used, the door closes abruptly with a high amount of tension on it from the inertia of the system. This jarring is hard on the transmission and the door and is annoying to the user.




If two operating speeds are used, the motor would be started at a slow speed, usually 20 percent of full operating speed, then after a fixed period of time, the motor speed would increase to full operating speed. Similarly, when the door reaches a fixed point above/below the close/open limit, the operator would decrease the motor speed to 20 percent of the maximum operating speed. While this two speed operation may eliminate some of the hard starts and stops, the speed changes can be noisy and do not occur smoothly, causing stress on the transmission. There is a need for a garage door operator which opens the door smoothly and quietly, with no abruptly apparent sign of speed change during operation.




Garage doors come in many types and sizes and thus different travel speeds are required for them. For example, a one-piece door will be movable through a shorter total travel distance and need to travel slower for safety reasons than a segmented door with a longer total travel distance. To accommodate the two door types, many garage door operators include two sprockets for driving the transmission. At installation, the installer must determine what type of door is to be driven, then select the appropriate sprocket to attach to the transmission. This takes additional time and if the installer is the user, may require several attempts before matching the correct sprocket for the door. There is a need for a garage door operator which automatically configures travel speed depending on size and weight of the door.




National safety standards dictate that a garage door operator perform a safety reversal (auto-reverse) when an object is detected only one inch above the DOWN limit or floor. To satisfy these safety requirements, most garage door operators include an obstacle detection system, located near the bottom of the door travel. This prevents the door from closing on objects or persons that may be in the door path. Such obstacle detection systems often include an infrared source and detector located on opposite sides of the door frame. The obstacle detector sends a signal when the infrared beam between the source and detector is broken, indicating an obstacle is detected. In response to the obstacle signal, the operator causes an automatic safety reversal. The door stops and begins traveling up, away from the obstacle.




There are two different “forces” used in the operation of the garage door operator. The first “force” is usually preset or setable at two force levels: the UP force level setting used to determine the speed at which the door travels in the UP direction and the DOWN force level setting used to determine the speed at which the door travels in the DOWN direction. The second “force” is the force level determined by the decrease in motor speed due to an external force applied to the door, i.e., from an obstacle or the floor. This external force level is also preset or setable and is any set-point type force against which the feedback force signal is compared. When the system determines the set point force has been met, an auto-reverse or stop is commanded.




To overcome differences in door installations, i.e. stickiness and resistance to movement and other varying frictional-type forces, some garage door operators permit the maximum force (the second force) used to drive the speed of travel to be varied manually. This, however, affects the system's auto-reverse operation based on force. The auto-reverse system based on force initiates an auto-reverse if the force on the door exceeds the maximum force setting (the second force) by some predetermined amount. If the user increases the force setting to drive the door through a “sticky” section of travel, the user may inadvertently affect the force to a much greater value than is safe for the unit to operate during normal use. For example, if the DOWN force setting is set so high that it is only a small incremental value less than the force setting which initiates an auto-reverse due to force, this causes the door to engage objects at a higher speed before reaching the auto-reverse force setting. While the obstacle detection system will cause the door to auto-reverse, the speed and force at which the door hits the obstacle may cause harm to the obstacle and/or the door.




Barrier movement operators should perform a safety reversal off an obstruction which is only marginally higher than the floor, yet still close the door safely against the floor. In operator systems where the door moves at a high speed, the relatively large momentum of the moving parts, including the door, accomplishes complete closure. In systems with a soft closure, where the door speed decreases from full maximum to a small percentage of full maximum when closing, there may be insufficient momentum in the door or system to accomplish a full closure. For example, even if the door is positioned at the floor, there is sometimes sufficient play in the trolley of the operator to allow the door to move if the user were to try to open it. In particular, in systems employing a DC motor, when the DC motor is shut off, it becomes a dynamic brake. If the door isn't quite at the floor when the DOWN travel limit is reached and the DC motor is shut off, the door and associated moving parts may not have sufficient momentum to overcome the braking force of the DC motor. There is a need for a garage door operator which closes the door completely, eliminating play in the door after closure.




Many garage door operator installations are made t o existing garage doors. The amount of force needed to, drive the door varies depending on type of door and the quality of the door frame and installation. As a result, some doors are “stickier” than others, requiring greater force to move them through the entire length of travel. If the door is started and stopped using the full operating speed, stickiness is not usually a problem. However, if the garage door operator i s capable of operation at two speeds, stickiness becomes a larger problem at the lower speed. In some installations, a force sufficient to run at 20 percent of normal speed is too small to start some doors moving. There is a need for a garage door operator which automatically controls force output and thus start and stop speeds.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




A movable barrier operator having an electric motor for driving a garage door, a gate or other barrier is operated from a source of AC current. The movable barrier operator includes circuitry for automatically detecting the incoming AC line voltage and frequency of the alternating current. By automatically detecting the incoming AC line voltage and determining the frequency, the operator can automatically configure itself to certain user preferences. This occurs without either the user or the installer having to adjust or program the operator. The movable barrier operator includes a worklight for illuminating its immediate surroundings such as the interior of a garage. The barrier operator senses the power line frequency (typically 50 Hz or 60 Hz) to automatically set an appropriate shut-off time for a worklight. Because the power line frequency in Europe is 50 Hz and in the U.S. is 60 Hz, sensing the power line frequency enables the operator to configure itself for either a European or a U.S. market with no user or installer modifications. For U.S. users, the worklight shut-off time is set to preferably 4½ minutes; for European users, the worklight shut-off time is set to preferably 2½ minutes. Thus, a single barrier movement operator can be sold in two different markets with automatic setup, saving installation time.




The movable barrier operator of the present invention automatically detects if an optional flasher module is present. If the module is present, when the door is commanded to move, the operator causes the flasher module to operate. With the flasher module present, the operator also delays operation of the motor for a brief period, say one or two seconds. This delay period with the flasher module blinking before door movement provides an added safety feature to users which warns them of impending door travel (e.g. if activated by an unseen transmitter).




The movable barrier operator of the present invention drives the barrier, which may be a door or a gate, at a variable speed. After motor start, the electric motor reaches a preferred initial speed of 20 percent of the full operating speed. The motor speed then increases slowly in a linearly continuous fashion from 20 percent to 100 percent of full operating speed. This provides a smooth, soft start without jarring the transmission or the door or gate. The motor moves the barrier at maximum speed for the largest portion of its travel, after which the operator slowly decreases speed from 100 percent to 20 percent as the barrier approaches the limit of travel, providing a soft, smooth and quiet stop. A slow, smooth start and stop provides a safer barrier movement operator for the user because there is less momentum to apply an impulse force in the event of an obstruction. In a fast system, relatively high momentum of the door changes to zero at the obstruction before the system can actually detect the obstruction. This leads to the application of a high impulse force. With the system of the invention, a slower stop speed means the system has less momentum to overcome, and therefore a softer, more forgiving force reversal. A slow, smooth start and stop also provide a more aesthetically pleasing effect to the user, and when coupled with a quieter DC motor, a barrier movement operator which operates very quietly.




The operator includes two relays and a pair of field effect transistors (FETs) for controlling the motor. The relays are used to control direction of travel. The FET's, with phase controlled, pulse width modulation, control start up and speed. Speed is responsive to the duration of the pulses applied to the FETs. A longer pulse causes the FETs to be on longer causing the barrier speed to increase. Shorter pulses result in a slower speed. This provides a very fine ramp control and more gentle starts and stops.




The movable barrier operator provides for the automatic measurement and calculation of the total distance the door is to travel. The total door travel distance is the distance between the UP and the DOWN limits (which depend on the type of door). The automatic measurement of door travel distance is a measure of the length of the door. Since shorter doors must travel at slower speeds than normal doors (for safety reasons), this enables the operator to automatically adjust the motor speed so the speed of door travel is the same regardless of door size. The total door travel distance in turn determines the maximum speed at which the operator will travel. By determining the total distance traveled, travel speeds can be automatically changed without having to modify the hardware.




The movable barrier operator provides full door or gate closure, i.e. a firm closure of the door to the floor so that the door is not movable in place after it stops. The operator includes a digital control or processor, specifically a microcontroller which has an internal microprocessor, an internal RAM and an internal ROM and an external EEPROM. The microcontroller executes instructions stored in its internal ROM and provides motor direction control signals to the relays and speed control signals to the FETs. The Operator is first operated in a learn mode to store a DOWN limit position for the door. The DOWN limit position of the door is used as an approximation of the location of the floor (or as a minimum reversal point, below which no auto-reverse will occur). When the door reaches the DOWN limit position, the microcontroller causes the electric motor to drive the door past the DOWN limit a small distance, say for one or two inches. This causes the door to close solidly on the floor.




The operator embodying the present invention provides variable door or gate output speed, i.e., the user can vary the minimum speed at which the motor starts and stops the door. This enables the user to overcome differences in door installations, i.e. stickiness and resistance to movement and other varying functional-type forces. The minimum barrier speeds in the UP and DOWN directions are determined by the user-configured force settings, which are adjusted using UP and DOWN force potentiometers. The force potentiometers set the lengths of the pulses to the FETs, which translate to variable speeds. The user gains a greater force output and a higher minimum starting speed to overcome differences in door installations, i.e. stickiness and resistance to movement and other varying functional-type forces speed, without affecting the maximum speed of travel for the door. The user can configure the door to start at a speed greater than a default value, say 20 percent. This greater start up and slow down speed is transferred to the linearly variable speed function in that instead of traveling at 20 percent speed, increasing to 100 percent speed, then decreasing to 20 percent speed, the door may, for instance, travel at 40 percent speed to 100 percent speed and back down to 40 percent speed.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of a garage having mounted within it a garage door operator embodying the present invention;





FIG. 2

is an exploded perspective view of a head unit of the garage door operator shown in

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is an exploded perspective view of a portion of a transmission unit of the garage door operator shown in

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 4

is a block diagram of a controller and motor mounted within the head unit of the garage door operator shown in

FIG. 1

;





FIGS. 5A-5D

are a schematic diagram of the controller shown in block format in

FIG. 4

;





FIGS. 6A-6B

are a flow chart of an overall routine that executes in a microprocessor of the controller shown in

FIGS. 5A-5D

;





FIGS. 7A-7H

are a flow chart of the main routine executed in the microprocessor;





FIG. 8

is a flow chart of a set variable light shut-off timer routine executed by the microprocessor;





FIGS. 9A-9C

are a flow chart of a hardware timer interrupt routine executed in the microprocessor;





FIGS. 10A-10C

are a flow chart of a 1 millisecond timer routine executed in the microprocessor;





FIGS. 11A-11C

are a flow chart of a 125 millisecond timer routine executed in the microprocessor;





FIGS. 12A-12B

are a flow chart of a 4 millisecond timer routine executed in the microprocessor;





FIGS. 13A-13B

are a flow chart of an RPM interrupt routine executed in the microprocessor;





FIG. 14

is a flow chart of a motor state machine routine executed in the microprocessor;





FIG. 15

is a flow chart of a stop in midtravel routine executed in the microprocessor;





FIG. 16

is a flow chart of a DOWN position routine executed in the microprocessor;





FIGS. 17A-17C

are a flow chart of an UP direction routine executed in the microprocessor;





FIG. 18

is a flow chart of an auto-reverse routine executed in the microprocessor;





FIG. 19

is a flow chart of an UP position routine executed in the microprocessor;





FIGS. 20A-20D

are a flow chart of the DOWN direction routine executed in the microprocessor;





FIG. 21

is an exploded perspective view of a pass point detector and motor of the operator shown in

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 22A

is a plan view of the pass point detector shown in

FIG. 21

; and





FIG. 22B

is a partial plan view of the pass point detector shown in FIG.


21


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Referring now to the drawings and especially to

FIG. 1

, a movable barrier or garage door operator system is generally shown therein and referred to by numeral


8


. The system


8


includes a movable barrier operator or garage door operator


10


having a head unit


12


mounted within a garage


14


. More specifically, the head unit


12


is mounted to a ceiling


15


of the garage


14


. The operator


10


includes a transmission


18


extending from the head unit


12


with a releasable trolley


20


attached. The releasable trolley


20


releasably connects an arm


22


extending to a single panel garage door


24


positioned for movement along a pair of door rails


26


and


28


.




The system


8


includes a hand-held RF transmitter unit


30


adapted to send signals to an antenna


32


(see

FIG. 4

) positioned on the head unit


12


and coupled to,a receiver within the head unit


12


as will appear hereinafter. A switch module


39


is mounted on the head unit


12


. Switch module


39


includes switches for each of the commands available from a remote transmitter or from an optional wall-mounted switch (not shown). Switch module


39


enables an installer to conveniently request the various learn modes during installation of the head unit


12


. The switch module


39


includes a learn switch, a light switch, a lock switch and a command switch, which are described below. Switch module


39


may also include terminals for wiring a pedestrian door state sensor comprising a pair of contacts


13


and


15


for a pedestrian door


11


, as well as wiring for an optional wall switch (not shown).




The garage door


24


includes the pedestrian door


11


. Contact


13


is mounted to door


24


for contact with contact


15


mounted to pedestrian door


11


. Both contacts


13


and


15


are connected via a wire


17


to head unit


12


. As will be described further below, when the pedestrian door


11


is closed, electrical contact is made between the contacts


13


and


15


closing a pedestrian door circuit in the receiver in head unit


12


and signalling that the pedestriam door state is closed. This circuit must be closed before the receiver will permit other portions of the operator to move the door


24


. If circuit in open, indicating that the pedestrian door state is open, the system will not permit door


24


to move.




The head unit


12


includes a housing comprising four sections: a bottom section


102


, a front section


106


, a back section


108


and a top section


110


, which are held together by screws


112


as shown in FIG.


2


. Cover


104


fits into front section


106


and provides a cover for a worklight. External AC power is supplied to the operator


10


through a power cord


112


. The AC power is applied to a step-down transformer


120


. An electric motor


118


is selectively energized by rectified AC power and drives a sprocket


125


in sprocket assembly


124


. The sprocket


125


drives chain


144


(see FIG.


3


). A printed circuit board


114


includes a controller


200


and other electronics for operating the head unit


12


. A cable


116


provides input and output connections on signal paths between the printed circuit board


114


and switch module


39


. The transmission


18


, as shown in

FIG. 3

, includes a rail


142


which holds chain


144


within a rail and chain housing


140


and holds the chain in tension to transfer mechanical energy from the motor to the door.




A block diagram of the controller and motor connections is shown in FIG.


4


. Controller


200


includes an RF receiver


80


, a microprocessor


300


and an EEPROM


302


. RF receiver


80


of controller


200


receives a command to move the door and actuate the motor either from remote transmitter


30


, which transmits an RF signal which is received by antenna


32


, or from a user command switch


250


. User command switch


250


can be a switch on switch panel


39


, mounted on the head unit, or a switch from an optional wall switch. Upon receipt of a door movement command signal from either antenna


32


or user switch


250


, the controller


200


sends a power enable signal via line


240


to AC hot connection


206


which provides AC line current to transformer


212


and power to work light


210


. Rectified AC is provided from rectifier


214


via line


236


to relays


232


and


234


. Depending on the commanded direction of travel, controller


200


provides a signal to either relay


232


or relay


234


. Relays


232


and


234


are used to control the direction of rotation of motor


118


by controlling the direction of current flow through the windings. One relay is used for clockwise rotation; the other is used for counterclockwise rotation.




Upon receipt of the door movement command signal, controller


200


sends a signal via line


230


to power-control FET


252


. Motor speed is determined by the duration or length of the pulses in the signal to a gate electrode of FET


252


. The shorter the pulses, the slower the speed. This completes the circuit between relay


232


and FET


252


providing power to motor


118


via line


254


. If the door had been commanded to move in the opposite direction, relay


234


would have been enabled, completing the circuit with FET


252


and providing power to motor


118


via line


238


.




With power provided, the motor


118


drives the output shaft


216


which provides drive power to transmission sprocket


125


. Gear reduction housing


260


includes an internal pass point system which sends a pass point signal via line


220


to controller


220


whenever the pass point is reached. The pass point signal is provided to controller


200


via current limiting resistor


226


to protect controller


200


from electrostatic discharge (ESD). An RPM interrupt signal is provided via line


224


, via current limiting resistor


228


, to controller


200


. Lead


222


provides a plus five volts supply for the Hall effect sensors in the RPM module. Commanded force is input by two force potentiometers


202


,


204


. Force potentiometer


202


is used to set the commanded force for UP travel; force potentiometer


204


is used to set the commanded force for DOWN travel. Force potentiometers


202


and


204


provide commanded inputs to controller


200


which are used to adjust the length of-the pulsed signal provided to FET


252


.




The pass point for this system is provided internally in the motor


118


. Referring to

FIG. 22

, the pass point module


40


is attached to gear reduction housing


260


of motor


118


. Pass point module


40


includes upper plate


42


which covers the three internal gears and switch within lower housing


50


. Lower housing


50


includes recess


62


having two pins


61


which position switch assembly


52


in recess


62


. Housing


50


also includes three cutouts which are sized to support and provide for rotation of the three geared elements. Outer gear


44


fits rotatably within cutout


64


. Outer gear includes a smooth outer surface for rotating within housing


50


and inner gear teeth for rotating middle gear


46


. Middle gear


46


fits rotatably within inner cutout


66


. Middle gear


46


includes a smooth outer surface and a raised portion with gear teeth for being driven by the gear teeth of outer ring gear


44


. Inner gear


48


fits within middle gear


46


and is driven by an extension of shaft


216


. Rotation of the motor


118


causes shaft


216


to rotate and drive inner gear


48


.




Outer gear


44


includes a notch


74


in the outer periphery. Middle gear includes a notch


76


in the outer periphery. Referring to

FIG. 22A

, rotation of inner gear


48


rotates middle gear


46


in the same direction. Rotation of middle gear


46


rotates outer gear


44


in the same direction. Gears


46


and


44


are sized such that pass point indications comprising switch release cutouts


74


and


76


line up only once during the entire travel distance of the door. As seen in

FIG. 22A

, when switch release cutouts


74


and


76


line up, switch


72


is open generating a pass point presence signal. The location where switch release cutouts


74


and


76


line up is the pass point. At all other times, at least one of the two gears holds switch


72


closed generating a signal indicating that the pass point has not been reached.




The receiver portion


80


of controller


200


is shown in FIG.


5


A. RF signals may be received by the controller


200


at the antenna


32


and fed to the receiver


80


. The receiver


80


includes variable inductor L


1


and a pair of capacitors C


2


and C


3


that provide impedance matching between the antenna


32


and other portions of the receiver. An NPN transistor Q


4


is connected in common-base configuration as a buffer amplifier. Bias to the buffer amplifier transistor Q


4


is provided by resistors R


2


, R


3


. The buffered RF output Signal is supplied to a second NPN transistor Q


5


. The radio frequency signal is coupled to a bandpass amplifier


280


to an average detector


282


which feeds a comparator


284


. Referring to

FIGS. 5C and 5B

, the analog output signal A, B is applied to noise reduction capacitors C


19


, C


20


and C


21


then provided to pins P


32


and P


33


of the microcontroller


300


. Microcontroller


300


may be a Z86733 microprocessor.




An external transformer


212


receives AC power from a source such as a utility and steps down the AC voltage to the power supply


90


circuit of controller


200


. Transformer


212


provides AC current to full-wave bridge circuit


214


, which produces a 28 volt full wave rectified signal across capacitor C


35


. The AC power may have a frequency of 50 Hz or 60 Hz. An external transformer is especially important when motor


118


is a DC motor. The 28 volt rectified signal is used to drive a wall control switch, a obstacle detector circuit, a door-in-door switch and to power FETs Q


11


and Q


12


used to start the motor. Zener diode D


18


protects against overvoltage due to the pulsed current, in particular, from the FETs rapidly switching off inductive load of the motor. The potential of the full-wave rectified signal is further reduced to provide 5 volts at capacitor C


38


, which is used to power the microprocessor


300


, the receiver circuit


80


and other logic functions.




The 28 volt rectified power supply signal indicated by reference numeral T in

FIG. 5C

is voltage divided down by resistors R


61


and R


62


, then applied to an input pin P


24


of microprocessor


300


. This signal is used to provide the phase of the power line current to microprocessor


300


. Microprocessor


300


constantly checks for the phase of the line voltage in order to determine if the frequency of the line voltage is 50 Hz or 60 Hz. This information is used to establish the worklight time-out period and to select the look-up table stored in the ROM in the microcontroller for converting pulse width to door speed.




When the door is commanded to move, either through a signal from a remote transmitter received through antenna


32


and processed by receiver


80


, or through an optional wall switch, the microprocessor


300


commands the work light to turn on. Microprocessor


300


sends a worklight enable signal from pin P


07


. The worklight enable signal is applied to the base of transistor Q


3


, which drives relay K


3


. AC power from a signal U provides power for operating the worklight


210


.




Microprocessor


300


reads from and writes data to an EEPROM


302


via its pins P


25


, P


26


and P


27


. EEPROM


302


may be a 93C46. Microprocessor


300


provides a light enable signal at pin P


21


which is used to enable a learn mode indicator yellow LED D


15


. LED D


15


is enabled or lit when the receiver is in the learn mode. Pin P


26


provides double duty. When the user selects switch S


1


, a learn enable signal is provided to both microprocessor


300


and EEPROM


302


. Switch S


1


is mounted on the head unit


12


and is part of switch module


39


, which is used by the installer to operate the system.




An optional flasher module provides an additional level of safety for users and is controlled by microprocessor


300


at pin P


22


. The optional flasher module is connected between terminals


308


and


310


. In the optional flasher module, after receipt of a door command, the microprocessor


300


sends a signal from P


22


which causes the flasher light to blink for 2 seconds. The door does not move during that 2 second period, giving the user notice that the door has been commanded to move and will start to move in 2 seconds. After expiration of the 2 second period, the door moves and the flasher light module blinks during the entire period of door movement. If the operator does not have a flasher module installed in the head unit, when the door is commanded to move, there is no time delay before the door begins to move.




Microprocessor


300


provides the signals which start motor


116


, control its direction of rotation (and thus the direction of movement of the door) and the speed of rotation (speed of door travel). FETs Q


11


and Q


12


are used to start motor


118


. Microprocessor


300


applies a pulsed output signal to the gates of FETs Q


11


and Q


12


. The lengths of the pulses determine the time the FETs conduct and thus the amount of time current is applied to start and run the motor


118


. The longer the pulse, the longer current is applied, the greater the speed of rotation the motor


118


will develop. Diode D


11


is coupled between the 28 volt power supply and is used to clean up flyback voltage to the input bridge D


4


when the FETs are conducting. Similarly, Zener diode D


19


(see

FIG. 5A

) is used to protect against overvoltage when the FETs are conducting.




Control of the direction of rotation of motor


118


(and thus direction of travel of the door) is accomplished with two relays, K


1


and K


2


. Relay K


1


supplies current to cause the motor to rotate clockwise in an opening direction (door moves UP); relay K


2


supplies current to cause the motor to rotate counterclockwise in a closing direction (door moves DOWN). When the door is commanded to move UP, the microprocessor


300


sends an enable signal from pin P


05


to the base of transistor Q


1


, which drives relay K


1


. When the door is commanded to move DOWN, the microprocessor


300


sends an enable signal from pin P


06


to the base of transistor Q


2


, which drives relay K


2


.




Door-in-door contacts


13


and


15


are connected to terminals


304


and


306


. Terminals


304


and


306


are connected to relays K


1


and K


2


. If the signal between contacts


13


and


15


is broken, the signal across terminals


304


and


306


is open, preventing relays K


1


and K


2


from energizing. The motor


118


will not rotate and the door


24


will not move until the user closes pedestrian door


11


, making contact between contacts


13


and


15


.




The pass point signal


220


from the pass point module


40


(see

FIG. 21

) of motor


118


is applied to pin P


23


of microprocessor


300


. The RPM signal


224


from the RPM sensor module in motor


118


is applied to pin P


31


of microprocessor


300


. Application of the pass point signal and the RPM signal is described with reference to the flow charts.




An optional wall control, which duplicates the switches on remote transmitter


30


, may be connected to controller


200


at terminals


312


and


314


. When the user presses the door command switch


39


, a dead short is made to ground, which the microprocessor


300


detects by the failure to detect voltage. Capacitor C


22


is provided for RF noise reduction. The dead short to ground is sensed at pins P


02


and P


03


, for redundancy.




Switches S


1


and S


2


are part of switch module


39


mounted on head unit


12


and used by the installer for operating the system. As stated above, S


1


is the learn switch. S


2


is the door command switch. When S


2


is pressed, microprocessor


300


detects the dead short at pins P


02


and P


03


.




Input from an obstacle detector (not shown) is provided at terminal


316


. This signal is voltage divided down and provided to microprocessor


300


at pins P


20


and P


30


, for redundancy. Except when the door is moving and less than an inch above the floor, when the obstacle detector senses an object in the doorway, the microprocessor executes the auto-reverse routine causing the door to stop and/or reverse depending on the state of the door movement.




Force and speed of door travel are determined by two potentiometers. Potentiometer R


33


adjusts the force and speed of UP travel; potentiometer R


34


adjusts the force and speed of DOWN travel. Potentiometers R


33


and R


34


,act as analog voltage dividers. The analog signal from R


33


, R


34


is further divided down by voltage divider R


35


/R


37


, R


36


/R


38


before it is applied to the input of comparators


320


and


322


. Reference pulses from pins P


34


and P


35


of microprocessor


300


are compared with the force input from potentiometers R


33


and R


34


in comparators


320


and


322


. The output of comparators


320


and


322


is applied to pins P


01


and P


00


.




To perform the A/D conversion, the microprocessor


300


samples the output of the comparators


320


and


322


at pins P


00


and P


01


to determine which voltage is higher: the voltage from the potentiometer R


33


or R


34


(IN) or the voltage from the reference pin P


34


or P


35


(REF). If the potentiometer voltage is higher than the reference, then the microprocessor outputs a pulse. If not, the output voltage is held low. The RC filter (R


39


, C


29


/R


40


, C


30


) converts the pulses into a DC voltage equivalent to the duty cycle of the pulses. By outputting the pulses in the manner described above, the microprocessor creates a voltage at REF which dithers around the voltage at IN. The microprocessor then calculates the duty cycle of the pulse output which directly correlates to the voltage seen at IN.




When power is applied to the head unit


12


including controller


200


, microprocessor


300


executes a series of routines. With power applied, microprocessor


300


executes the main routines shown in

FIGS. 6A and 6B

. The main loop


400


includes three basic functions, which are looped continuously until power is removed. In block


402


the microprocessor


300


handles all non-radio EEPROM communications and disables radio access to the EEPROM


302


when communicating. This ensures that during normal operation, i.e., when the garage door operator is not being programmed, the remote transmitter does not have access to the EEPROM, where transmitter codes are stored. Radio transmissions are processed upon receipt of a radio interrupt (see below).




In block


404


, microprocessor


300


maintains all low priority tasks, such as calculating new force levels and minimum speed. Preferably, a set of redundant RAM registers is provided. In the event of an unforeseen event (e.g., an ESD event) which corrupts regular RAM, the main RAM registers and the redundant RAM registers will not match. Thus, when the values in RAM do not match, the routine knows the regular RAM has been corrupted. (See block


504


below.) In block


406


, microprocessor


300


tests redundant RAM registers. Several interrupt routines can take priority over blocks


402


,


404


and


406


.




The infrared obstacle detector generates an asynchronous IR interrupt signal which is a series of pulses. The absence of the obstacle detector pulses indicates an obstruction in the beam. After processing the IR interrupt, microprocessor


300


sets the status of the obstacle detector as unobstructed at block


416


.




Receipt of a transmission from remote transmitter


30


generates an asynchronous radio interrupt at block


410


. At block


418


, if in the door command mode, microprocessor


300


parses incoming radio signals and sets a flag if the signal matches a stored code. If in the learn mode, microprocessor


300


stores the new transmitter codes in the EEPROM.




An asynchronous interrupt is generated if a remote communications unit is connected to an optional RS-232 communications port located on the head unit. Upon receipt of the hardware interrupt, microprocessor


300


executes a serial data communications routine for transferring and storing data from the remote hardware.




Hardware timer


0


interrupt is shown in block


422


. In block


422


, microprocessor


300


reads the incoming AC line signal from pin P


24


and handles the motor phase control output. The incoming line signal is used to determine if the line voltage is 50 Hz for the foreign market or 60 Hz for the domestic market. With each interrupt, microprocessor


300


, at block


426


, task switches among three tasks. In block


428


, microprocessor


300


updates software timers. In block


430


, microprocessor


200


debounces wall control switch signals. In block


432


, microprocessor


300


controls the motor state, including motor direction relay outputs and motor safety systems.




When the motor


118


is running, it generates an asynchronous RPM interrupt at block


434


. When microprocessor


300


receives the asynchronous RPM interrupt at pin P


31


, it calculates the motor RPM period at block


436


; then updates the position of the door at block


438


.




Further details of main loop


400


are shown in

FIGS. 7A through 7H

. The first step executed in main loop


400


is block


450


, where the microprocessor checks to see if the pass point has been passed since the last update. If it has, the routine branches to block


452


, where the microprocessor


300


updates the position of the door relative to the pass point in EEPROM


302


or non-volatile memory. The routine then continues at block


454


. An optional safety feature of the garage door operator system enables the worklight, when the door is open and stopped and the infrared beam in the obstacle detector is broken.




At block


454


, the microprocessor checks if the enable/disable of the worklight for this feature has been changed. Some users want the added safety feature; others prefer to save the electricity used. If new input has been provided, the routine branches to block


456


and sets the status of the obstacle detector-controlled worklight in non-volatile memory in accordance with the new input. Then the routine continues to block


458


where the routine checks to determine if the worklight has been turned on without the timer. A separate switch is provided on both the remote transmitter


30


and the head unit at module


39


to enable the user to switch on the worklight without operating the door command switch. If no, the routine skips to block


470


.




If yes, the routine checks at block


460


to see if the one-shot flag has been set for an obstacle detector beam break. If no, the routine skips to block


470


. If yes, the routine checks if the obstacle detector controlled worklight is enabled at block


462


. If not, the routine skips to block


470


. If it is, the routine checks if the door is stopped in the fully open position at block


464


. If no, the routine skips to block


470


. If yes, the routine calls the SetVarLight subroutine (see

FIG. 8

) to enable the appropriate turn off time (4.5 minutes for 60 Hz systems or 2.5 minutes for 50 Hz systems). At block


468


, the routine turns on the worklight.




At block


470


, the microprocessor


300


clears the one-shot flag for the infrared beam break. This resets the obstacle detector, so that a later beam break can generate an interrupt. At block


472


, if the user has installed a temporary password usable for a fixed period of time, the microprocessor


300


updates the non-volatile timer for the radio temporary password. At block


474


, the microprocessor


300


refreshes the RAM registers for radio mode from non-volatile memory (EEPROM


302


). At block


476


, the microprocessor


300


refreshes I/O port directions, i.e., whether each of the ports is to be input or output. At block


478


, the microprocessor


300


updates the status of the radio lockout flag, if necessary. The radio lockout flag prevents the microprocessor from responding to a signal from a remote transmitter. A radio interrupt (described below) will disable the radio lockout flag and enable the remote transmitter to communicate with the receiver.




At block


480


, the microprocessor


300


checks if the door is about to travel. If not, the routine skips to block


502


. If the door is about to travel, the microprocessor


300


checks if the limits are being trained at block


482


. If they are, the routine skips to block


502


. If not, the routine asks at block


484


if travel is UP or DOWN. If DOWN, the routine refreshes the DOWN limit from non-volatile memory (EEPROM


302


) at block


486


. If UP, the routine refreshes the UP limit from non-volatile memory (EEPROM


302


) at block


488


. The routine updates the current operating state and position relative to the pass point in non-volatile memory at block


490


. This is a redundant read for stability of the system.




At block


492


, the routine checks for completion of a limit training cycle. If training is complete, the routine branches to block


494


where the new limit settings and position relative to the pass point are written to non-volatile memory.




The routine then updates the counter for the number of operating cycles at block


496


. This information can be downloaded at a later time and used to determine when certain parts need to be replaced. At block


498


the routine checks if the number of cycles is a multiple of 256. Limiting the storage of this information to multiples of 256 limits the number of times the system has to write to that register. If yes it updates the history of force settings at block


500


. If not, the routine continues to block


502


.




At block


502


the routine updates the learn switch debouncer. At block


504


the routine performs a continuity check by comparing the backup (redundant) RAM registers with the main registers. If they do not match, the routine branches to block


506


. If the registers do not match, the RAM memory has been corrupted and the system is not safe to operate, so a reset is commanded. At this point, the system powers up as if power had been removed and reapplied and the first step is a self test of the system (all installation settings are unchanged).




If the answer to block


504


is yes, the routine continues to block


508


where the routine services any incoming serial messages from the optional wall control (serial messages might be user input start or stop commands). The routine then loads the UP force timing from the ROM look-up table, using the user setting as an index at block


510


. Force potentiometers R


33


and R


34


are set by the user. The analog values set by the user are converted to digital values. The digital values are used as an index to the look-up table stored in memory. The value indexed from the look-up table is then used as the minimum motor speed measurement. When the motor runs, the routine compares the selected value from the look-up table with the digital timing from the RPM routine to ensure the force is acceptable.




Instead of calculating the force each time the force potentiometers are set, a look-up table is provided for each potentiometer. The range of values based on the range of user inputs is stored in ROM and used to save microprocessor processing time. The system includes two force limits: one for the UP force and one for the DOWN force. Two force limits provide a safer system. A heavy door may require more UP force to lift, but need a lower DOWN force setting (and therefore a slower closing speed) to provide a soft closure. A light door will need less UP force to open the door and possibly a greater DOWN force to provide a full closure.




Next the force timing is divided by power level of the motor for the door to scale the maximum force timeout at block


512


. This step scales the force reversal point based on the maximum force for the door. The maximum force for the door is determined based on the size of the door, i.e. the distance the door travels. Single piece doors travel a greater distance than segmented doors. Short doors require less force to move than normal doors. The maximum force for a short door is scaled down to 60 percent of the maximum force available for a normal door. So, at block


512


, if the force setting is set by the user, for example at 40 percent, and the door is a normal door (i.e., a segmented door or multi-paneled door), the force is scaled to 40 percent of 100 percent. If the door is a short door (i.e., a single panel door), the force is scaled to 40 percent of 60 percent, or 24 percent.




At block


514


, the routine loads the DOWN force timing from the ROM look-up table, using the user setting as an index. At block


516


, the routine divides the force timing by the power level of the motor for the door to scale the force to the speed.




At block


518


the routine checks if the door is traveling DOWN. If yes, the routine disables use of the MinSpeed Register at block


524


and loads the MinSpeed Register with the DOWN force setting, i.e., the value read from the DOWN force potentiometer at block


526


. If not, the routine disables use of the MinSpeed Register at block


520


and loads the MinSpeed Register with the UP force setting from the force potentiometer at block


522


.




The routine continues at block


528


where the routine subtracts 20 from the MinSpeed value. The MinSpeed value ranges from 0 to 63. The system uses 64 levels of force. If the result is negative at block


530


, the routine clears the MinSpeed Register at block


532


to effectively truncate the lower 38 percent of the force settings. If no, the routine divides the minimum speed by 4 to scale 8 speeds to 32 force settings at block


534


. At block


536


, the routine adds 4 into the minimum speed to correct the offset, and clips the result to a maximum of 12. At block


538


the routine enables use of the MinSpeed Register.




At block


540


the routine checks if the period of the rectified AC line signal (input to microprocessor


300


at pin P


24


) is less than 9 milliseconds (indicating the line frequency is 60 Hz). If it is, the routine skips to block


548


. If not, the routine checks if the light shut-off timer is active at block


542


. If not, the routine skips to block


548


. If yes, the routine checks if the light time value is greater than 2.5 minutes at block


544


. If no( the routine skips to block


548


. If yes, the routine calls the SetVarLight subroutine (see FIG.


8


), to correct the light timing setting, at block


546


.




At block


548


the routine checks if the radio signal has been clear for 100 milliseconds or more. If not, the routine skips to block


552


. If yes, the routine clears the radio at block


550


. At block


552


, the routine resets the watchdog timer. At block


554


, the routine loops to the beginning of the main loop.




The SetVarLight subroutine,

FIG. 8

, is called whenever the door is commanded to move and the worklight is to be turned on. When the SetVarLight subroutine, block


558


is called, the subroutine checks if the period of the rectified power line signal (pin P


24


of microprocessor


300


) is greater than or equal to 9 milliseconds. If yes, the line frequency is 50 Hz, and the timer is set to 2.5 minutes at block


564


. If no, the line frequency is 60 Hz and the timer is set to 4.5 minutes at block


562


. After setting, the subroutine returns to the call point at block


566


.




The hardware timer interrupt subroutine operated by microprocessor


300


, shown at block


422


, runs every 0.256 milliseconds. Referring to

FIGS. 9A-9C

, when the subroutine is first called, it sets the radio interrupt status as indicated by the software flags at block


580


. At block


582


, the subroutine updates the software timer extension. The next series of steps monitor the AC power line frequency (pin P


24


of microprocessor


300


). At step


584


, the subroutine checks if the rectified power line input is high (checks for a leading edge). If yes, the subroutine skips to block


594


, where it increments the power line high time counter, then continues to block


596


. If no, the subroutine checks if the high time counter is below 2 milliseconds at block


586


. If yes, the subroutine skips to block


594


. If no, the subroutine sets the measured power line time in RAM at block


588


. The subroutine then resets the power line high time counter at block


590


and resets the phase timer register in block


592


.




At block


596


, the subroutine checks if the motor power level is set at 100 percent. If yes, the subroutine turns on the motor phase control output at block


606


. If no, the subroutine checks if the motor power level is set at 0 percent at block


599


. If yes, the subroutine turns off the motor phase control output at block


604


. If no, the phase timer register is decremented at block


600


and the result is checked for sign. If positive the subroutine branches to block


606


; if negative the subroutine branches to block


604


.




The subroutine continues at block


608


where the incoming RPM signal (at pin P


31


of microprocessor


300


) is digitally filtered. Then the time prescaling task switcher (which loops through 8 tasks identified at blocks


620


,


630


,


640


,


650


) is incremented at block


610


. The task switcher varies from 0 to 7. At block


612


, the subroutine branches to the proper task depending on the value of the task switcher.




If the task switcher is at value 2 (this occurs every 4 milliseconds), the execute motor state machine subroutine is called at block


620


. If the task is value 0 or 4 (this occurs every 2 milliseconds), the wall control switches are debounced at block


630


. If the task value is 6 (this occurs every 4 milliseconds), the execute 4 ms timer subroutine is called at block


640


. If the task is value 1, 3, 5 or 7, the 1 millisecond timer subroutine is called at block


650


. Upon completion of the called subroutine, the 0.256 millisecond timer subroutine returns at block


614


.




Details of the 1 ms timer subroutine (block


650


) are shown in

FIGS. 10A-10C

. When this subroutine is called, the first step is to update the A/D converters on the UP and DOWN force setting potentiometers (P


34


and P


35


of microprocessor


300


) at block


652


. At block


654


, the subroutine checks if the A/D conversion (comparison at comparators


320


and


322


) is complete. If yes, the measured potentiometer values are stored at block


656


. Then the stored values (which vary from 0 to 127) are divided by 2 to obtain the 64 level force setting at block


658


. If no, the subroutine decrements the infrared obstacle detector timeout timer at block


660


. In block


662


, the subroutine checks if the timer has reached zero. If no, the subroutine skips to block


672


. If yes, the subroutine resets the infrared obstacle detector timeout timer at block


664


. The flag setting for the obstacle detector signal is checked at block


666


. If no, the one-shot break flag is set at block


668


. If yes, the flag is set indicating the obstacle detector signal is absent at block


670


.




At block


672


, the subroutine increments the radio time out register. Then the infrared obstacle detector reversal timer is decremented at block


674


. The pass point input is debounced at block


676


. The 125 millisecond prescaler is incremented at block


678


. Then the prescaler is checked if it has reached 63 milliseconds at block


680


. If yes, the fault blinking LED is updated at block


682


. If no, the prescaler is checked if it has reached 125 ms at block


684


. If yes, the 125 ms timer subroutine is executed at block


686


. If no, the routine returns at block


688


.




The 125 millisecond timer subroutine (block


690


) is used to manage the power level of the motor


118


. At block


692


, the subroutine updates the RS-232 mode timer and exits the RS-232 mode timer if necessary. The same pair of wires is used for both wall control switches and RS-232 communication. If RS-232 communication is received while in the wall control mode, the RS-232 mode is entered. If four seconds passes since the last RS-232 word was received, then the RS-232 timer times out and reverts to the wall control mode. At block


694


the subroutine checks if the motor is set to be stopped. If yes, the subroutine skips to block


716


and sets the motor's power level to 0 percent. If no, the subroutine checks if the pre-travel safety light is flashing at block


696


(if the optional flasher module has been installed, a light will flash for 2 seconds before the motor is permitted to travel and then flash at a predetermined interval during motor travel). If yes, the subroutine skips to block


716


and sets the motor's power level to 0 percent.




If no, the subroutine checks if the microprocessor


300


is in the last phase of a limit training mode at block


698


. If yes, the subroutine skips to block


710


. If no, the subroutine checks if the microprocessor


300


is in another part of the limit training mode at block


700


. If no, the subroutine skips to block


710


. If yes, the subroutine checks if the minimum speed (as determined by the force settings) is greater than 40 percent at block


704


. If no, the power level is set to 40 percent at block


708


. If yes, the power level is set equal to the minimum speed stored in MinSpeed Register at block


706


.




At block


710


the subroutine checks if the flag is set to slow down. If yes, the subroutine checks if the motor is running above or below minimum speed at block


714


. If above minimum speed, the power level of the motor is decremented one step increment (one step increment is preferably 5% of maximum motor speed) at block


722


. If below the minimum speed, the power level of the motor is incremented one step increment (which is preferably 5% of maximum motor speed) to minimum speed at block


720


.




If the flag is not set to slow down at block


710


, the subroutine checks if the motor is running at maximum allowable speed at block


712


. If no, the power level of the motor is incremented one step increment (which is preferably 5% of maximum motor speed) at block


720


. If yes, the flag is set for motor ramp-up speed complete.




The subroutine continues at block


724


where it checks if the period of the rectified AC power line (pin P


24


of microprocessor


300


) is greater than or equal to 9 ms. If no, the subroutine fetches the motor's phase control information (indexed from the power level) from the 60 Hz look-up table stored in ROM at block


728


. If yes, the subroutine fetches the motor's phase control information (indexed from the power level) from the 50 Hz look-up table stored in ROM at block


726


.




The subroutine tests for a user enable/disable of the infrared obstacle detector-controlled worklight feature at block


730


. Then the user radio learning timers, ZZWIN (at the wall keypad if installed) and AUXLEARNSW (radio on air and worklight command) are updated at block


732


. The software watchdog timer is updated at block


734


and the fault blinking LED is updated at block


736


. The subroutine returns at block


738


.




The 4 millisecond timer subroutine is used to check on various systems which do not require updating as often as more critical systems. Referring to

FIGS. 12A and 12B

, the subroutine is called at block


640


. At block


750


, the RPM safety timers are updated. These timers are used to determine if the door has engaged the floor. The RPM safety timer is a one second delay before the operator begins to look for a falling door, i.e., one second after stopping. There are two different forces used in the garage door operator. The first type force are the forces determined by the UP and DOWN force potentiometers. These force levels determine the speed at which the door travels in the UP and DOWN directions. The second type of force is determined by the decrease in motor speed due to an external force being applied to the door (an obstacle or the floor). This programmed or pre-selected external force is the maximum force that the system will accept before an auto-reverse or stop is commanded.




At block


752


the 0.5 second RPM timer is checked to see if it has expired. If yes, the 0.5 second timer is reset at block


754


. At block


756


safety checks are performed on the RPM seen during the last 0.5 seconds to prevent the door from falling. The 0.5 second timer is chosen so the maximum force achieved at the trolley will reach 50 kilograms in 0.5 seconds if the motor is operating at 100 percent of power.




At block


758


, the subroutine updates the 1 second timer for the optional light flasher module. In this embodiment, the preferred flash period is 1 second. At block


760


the radio dead time and dropout timers are updated. At block


762


the learn switch is debounced. At block


764


the status of the worklight is updated in accordance with the various light timers. At block


766


the optional wall control blink timer is updated. The optional wall control includes a light which blinks when the door is being commanded to auto-reverse in response to an infrared obstacle detector signal break. At block


768


the subroutine returns.




Further details of the asynchronous RPM signal interrupt, block


434


, are shown in

FIGS. 13A and 13B

. This signal, which is provided to microprocessor


300


at pin P


31


, is used to control the motor speed and the position detector. Door position is determined by a value relative to the pass point. The pass point is set at 0. Positions above the pass point are negative; positions below the pass point are positive. When the door travels to the UP limit, the position detector (or counter) determines the position based on the number of RPM pulses to the UP limit number. When the door travels DOWN to the DOWN limit, the position detector counts the number of RPM pulses to the DOWN limit number. The UP and DOWN limit numbers are stored in a register.




At block


782


the RPM interrupt subroutine calculates the period of the incoming RPM signal. If the door is traveling UP, the subroutine calculates the difference between two successive pulses. If the door is traveling DOWN, the subroutine calculates the difference between two successive pulses. At block


784


, the subroutine divides the period by 8 to fit into a binary word. At block


786


the subroutine checks if the motor speed is ramping up. This is the max force mode. RPM timeout will vary from 10 to 500 milliseconds. Note that these times are recommended for a DC motor. If an AC motor is used, the maximum time would be scaled down to typically 24 milliseconds. A 24 millisecond period is slower than the breakdown RPM of the motor and therefore beyond the maximum possible force of most preferred motors. If yes, the RPM timeout is set at 500 milliseconds (0.5 seconds) at block


790


. If no, the subroutine sets the RPM timeout as the rounded-up value of the force setting in block


788


.




At block


792


the subroutine checks for the direction of travel. This is found in the state machine register. If the door is traveling DOWN, the position counter is incremented at block


796


and the pass point debouncer is sampled at block


800


. At block


804


, the subroutine checks for the falling edge of the pass point signal. If the falling edge is present, the subroutine returns at block


814


. If there is a pass point falling edge, the subroutine checks for the lowest pass point (in cases where more than one pass point is used). If this is not the lowest pass point, the subroutine returns at block


814


. If it is the only pass point or the lowest pass point, the position counter is zeroed and the subroutine returns at block


814


.




If the door is traveling UP, the subroutine decrements the position counter at block


794


and samples the pass point debouncer at block


798


. Then it checks for the rising edge of the pass point signal at block


802


. If there is no pass point signal rising edge, the subroutine returns at block


814


. If there is, it checks for the lowest pass point at block


806


. If no the subroutine returns at block


814


. If yes, the subroutine zeroes the position counter and returns at block


814


.




The motor state machine subroutine, block


620


, is shown in FIG.


14


. It keeps track of the state of the motor. At block


820


, the subroutine updates the false obstacle detector signal output, which is used in systems that do not require an infrared obstacle detector. At block


822


, the subroutine checks if the software watchdog timer has reached too high a value. If yes, a system reset is commanded at block


824


. If no, at block


826


, it checks the state of the motor stored in the motor state register located in EEPROM


302


and executes the appropriate subroutine.




If the door is traveling UP, the UP direction subroutine at block


832


is executed. If the door is traveling DOWN, the DOWN direction subroutine is executed at block


828


. If the door is stopped in the middle of the travel path, the stop in midtravel subroutine is executed at block


838


. If the door is fully closed, the DOWN position subroutine is executed at block


830


. If the door is fully open, the UP position subroutine is executed at block


834


. If the door is reversing, the auto-reverse subroutine is executed at block


836


.




When the door is stopped in midtravel, the subroutine at block


838


is called, as shown in FIG.


15


. In block


840


the subroutine updates the relay safety system (ensuring that relays K


1


and K


2


are open). The subroutine checks for a received wall command or radio command. If there is no received command, the subroutine updates the worklight status and returns. If yes, the motor power is set to 20 percent at block


844


and the motor state is set to traveling DOWN at block


846


. The worklight status is updated and the subroutine returns at block


850


. If the door is stopped in midtravel and a door command is received, the door is set to close. The next time the system calls the motor state machine subroutine, the motor state machine will call the DOWN direction subroutine. The door must close to the DOWN limit before it can be opened to the full UP limit.




If the state machine indicates the door is in the DOWN position (i.e. the DOWN limit position), the DOWN position subroutine, block


830


, at

FIG. 16

is called. When the door is in the DOWN position, the subroutine checks if a wall control or radio command has been received. If no, the subroutine updates the light and returns at block


858


. If yes, the motor power is set to 20 percent at block


854


and the motor state register is set to show the state is traveling UP at block


856


. The subroutine then updates the light and returns at block


858


.




The UP direction subroutine, block


832


, is shown in

FIGS. 17A-17C

. At block


860


the subroutine waits until the main loop refreshes the UP limit from EEPROM


302


. Then it checks if 40 milliseconds have passed since closing of the light relay K


3


at block


862


. If not, the subroutine returns. If yes, the subroutine checks for flashing the warning light prior to travel at block


866


(only if the optional flasher module is installed). If the light is flashing, the status of the blinking light is updated and the subroutine returns at block


868


. If not, the flashing is terminated, the motor UP relay is turned on at block


870


. Then the subroutine waits until 1 second has passed after the motor was turned on at block


872


. If no, the subroutine skips to block


888


. If yes, the subroutine checks for the RPM signal timeout. If no, the subroutine checks if the motor speed is ramping up at block


876


by checking the value of the RAMPFLAG register in RAM (i.e., UP, DOWN, FULLSPEED, STOP). If yes, the subroutine skips to block


888


. If no, the subroutine checks if the measured RPM is longer than the allowable RPM period at block


878


. If no, the subroutine continues at block


888


.




If the RPM signal has timed out at block


874


or the measured time period is longer than allowable at block


878


, the subroutine branches to block


880


. At block


880


, the reason is set as force obstruction. At block


882


, if the training limits are being set, the training status is updated. At block


884


the motor power is set to zero and the state is set as stopped in midtravel. At block


886


the subroutine returns.




At block


888


the subroutine checks if the door's exact position is known. If it is not, the door's distance from the UP limit is updated in block


890


by subtracting the UP limit stored in RAM from the position of the door also stored in RAM. Then the subroutine checks at block


892


if the door is beyond its UP limit. If yes, the subroutine sets the reason as reaching the limit in block


894


. Then the subroutine checks if the limits are being trained. If yes, the limit training machine is updated at block


898


. If no, the motor's power is set as zero and the motor state is set at the UP position in block


900


. Then the subroutine returns at block


902


.




If the door is not beyond its UP limit, the subroutine checks if the door is being manually positioned in the training cycle at block


904


. If not, the door position within the slowdown distance of the limit is checked at block


906


. If yes, the motor slow down flag is set at block


910


. If the door is being positioned manually at block


904


or the door is not within the slow down distance, the subroutine skips to block


912


. At block


912


the subroutine checks if a wall control or radio command has been received. If yes, the motor power is set at zero and the state is set at stopped in midtravel at block


916


. If no, the system checks if the motor has been running for over 27 seconds at block


914


. If yes, the motor power is set at zero and the motor state is set at stopped in midtravel at block


916


. Then the subroutine returns at block


918


.




Referring to

FIG. 18

, the auto-reverse subroutine block


836


is described. (Force reversal is stopping the motor for 0.5 seconds, then traveling UP.) At block


920


the subroutine updates the 0.5 second reversal timer (the force reversal timer described above). Then the subroutine checks at block


922


for expiration of the force-reversal timer. If yes, the motor power is set to 20 percent at block


924


and the motor state is set to traveling UP at block


926


and the subroutine returns at block


932


. If the timer has not expired, the subroutine checks for receipt of a wall command or radio command at block


928


. If yes, the motor power is set to zero and the state is set at stopped in midtravel at block


930


, then the subroutine returns at block


932


. If no, the subroutine returns at block


932


.




The UP position routine, block


834


, is shown in FIG.


19


. Door travel limits training is started with the door in the UP position. At block


934


, the subroutine updates the relay safety system. Then the subroutine checks for receipt of a wall command or radio command at block


936


indicating an intervening user command. If yes, the motor power is set to 20 percent at block


938


and the state is set at traveling DOWN in block


940


. Then the light is updated and the subroutine returns at block


950


. If no wall command has been received, the subroutine checks for training the limits at block


942


. If no, the light is updated and the subroutine returns at block


950


. If yes, the limit training state machine is updated at block


944


. Then the-subroutine checks if it is time to travel DOWN at block


946


. If no, the subroutine updates the light and returns at block


950


. If it is time to travel DOWN, the state is set at traveling DOWN at block


948


and the system returns at block


950


.




The DOWN direction subroutine, block


828


, is shown in

FIGS. 20A-20D

. At block


952


, the subroutine waits until the main loop routine refreshes the DOWN limit from EEPROM


302


. For safety purposes, only the main loop or the remote transmitter (radio) can access data stored in or written to the EEPROM


302


. Because EEPROM communication is handled within software, it is necessary to ensure that two software routines do not try to communicate with the EEPROM at the same time (and have a data collision). Therefore, EEPROM communication is allowed only in the Main Loop and in the Radio routine, with the Main loop having a busy flag to prevent the radio from communicating with the EEPROM at the same time. At block


954


, the subroutine checks if 40 milliseconds has passed since closing of the light relay K


3


. If no, the subroutine returns at block


956


. If yes, the subroutine checks if the warning light is flashing (for 2 seconds if the optional flasher module is installed) prior to travel at block


958


. If yes, the subroutine updates the status of the flashing light and returns at block


960


. If no, or the flashing is completed, the subroutine turns on the DOWN motor relay K


2


at block


962


. At block


964


the subroutine checks if one second has passed since the motor is first turned on. The system ignores the force on the motor for the first one second. This allows the motor time to overcome the inertia of the door (and exceed the programmed force settings) without having to adjust the programmed force settings for ramp up, normal travel and slow down. Force is effectively set to maximum during ramp up to overcome sticky doors.




If the one second time has not passed, the subroutine skips to block


984


. If the one second time limit has passed, the subroutine checks for the RPM signal time out at block


966


. If no, the subroutine checks if the motor speed is currently being ramped up at block


968


(this is a maximum force condition). If yes, the routine skips to block


984


. If no, the subroutine checks if the measured RPM period is longer than the allowable RPM period. If no, the Subroutine continues at block


984


.




If either the RPM signal has timed out (block


966


) or the RPM period is longer than allowable (block


970


), this is an indication of an obstruction or the door has reached the DOWN limit position, and the subroutine skips to block


972


. At block


972


, the subroutine checks if the door is positioned beyond the DOWN limit setting. If it is, the subroutine skips to block


990


where it checks if the motor has been powered for at least one second. This one second power period after the DOWN limit has been reached provides for the door to close fully against the floor. This is especially important when DC motors are used. The one second period overcomes the internal braking effect of the DC motor on shut-off. Auto-reverse is disabled after the position detector reaches the DOWN limit.




If the motor has been running for one second, at block


990


, the subroutine sets the reason as reaching the limit at block


994


. The subroutine then checks if the limits are being trained at block


998


. If yes, the limit training machine is updated at block


1002


. If no, the motor's power is set to zero and the motor state is set at the DOWN position in block


1006


. In block


1008


the subroutine returns.




If the motor has not been running for at least one second at block


990


, the subroutine sets the reason as early limit at block


1026


. Then the subroutine sets the motor power at zero and the motor state as auto-reverse at block


1028


and returns at block


1030


.




Returning to block


984


, the subroutine checks if the door's position is currently unknown. If yes, the subroutine skips to block


1004


. If no, the subroutine updates the door's distance from the DOWN limit using internal RAM in microprocessor


300


in block


986


. Then the subroutine checks at block


988


if the door is three inches beyond the DOWN limit. If yes, the subroutine skips to block


990


. If no, the subroutine checks if the door is being positioned manually in the training cycle at block


992


. If yes, the subroutine skips to block


1004


. If no, the subroutine checks if the door is within the slow DOWN distance of the limit at block


996


. If no, the subroutine skips to block


1004


. If yes, the subroutine sets the motor slow down flag at block


1000


.




At block


1004


, the subroutine checks if a wall control command or radio command has been received. If yes, the subroutine sets the motor power at zero and the state as auto-reverse at block


1012


. If no, the subroutine checks if the motor has been running for over 27 seconds at block


1010


. If yes, the subroutine sets the motor power at zero and the state at auto-reverse. If no, the subroutine checks if the obstacle detector signal has been missing for 12 milliseconds or more at block


1014


indicating the presence of the obstacle or the failure of the detector. If no, the subroutine returns at block


1018


. If yes, the subroutine checks if the wall control or radio signal is being held to override the infrared obstacle detector at block


1016


. If yes, the subroutine returns at block


1018


. If no, the subroutine sets the reason as infrared obstacle detector obstruction at block


1020


. The subroutine then sets the motor power at zero and the state as auto-reverse at block


1022


and returns at block


1024


. (The auto-reverse routine stops the motor for 0.5 seconds then causes the door to travel up.)




The appendix attached hereto includes a source listing of a series of routines used to operate a movable barrier operator in accordance with the present invention.







































































































































































































































































































While there has been illustrated and described a particular embodiment of the present invention, it will be appreciated that numerous changes and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art, and it is intended in the appended claims to cover all those changes and modifications which followed in the true spirit and scope of the present invention.



Claims
  • 1. A method of controlling a barrier operator comprising an electric motor for moving a barrier between open and closed positions, the method comprising:storing a barrier travel value representing the distance between open and closed positions; receiving a request to move the barrier; controlling the motor to move the barrier at a speed computed from the stored barrier travel value.
  • 2. A method of controlling a barrier in accordance with claim 1 comprising generating the barrier travel value during a learning mode of operation.
  • 3. A barrier operator for moving a barrier between open and closed positions:an electric motor assembly connected to the barrier and responsive to motor control signals for moving the barrier between the open and the closed positions; storage apparatus for storing a barrier travel value representing the distance between the open position and the closed position; and a controller responsive to the stored barrier travel value for sending motor control signals to the motor assembly to control a speed of movement of the barrier in accordance with the travel value.
  • 4. A barrier operator in accordance with claim 3 comprising apparatus for automatically measuring the distance of travel of the barrier and for generating the barrier travel value.
  • 5. A barrier operator in accordance with claim 3 comprising user adjustable apparatus representing forces to be applied to the barrier and the controller responds to the user adjustable apparatus for sending motor control signals in accordance with the user adjustable apparatus.
  • 6. A barrier operator in accordance with claim 5 wherein the user adjustable apparatus comprises a first adjustable apparatus representing forces to be applied to the barrier when moving toward the closed position and a second adjustable apparatus representing forces to be applied to the barrier when moving toward the open position.
  • 7. A movable barrier operator which automatically detects barrier size, comprising:an electric motor having a maximum output speed; a transmission connected to the motor to be driven thereby and to the movable barrier to be moved; a position detector for sensing the position of the barrier with respect to a frame of reference; and a controller, responsive to the position detector, for calculating a time of travel between a first barrier travel limit and a second barrier travel limit and responsive to the calculated time of barrier travel, for automatically adjusting a barrier travel speed.
  • 8. A movable barrier operator according to claim 7 wherein the barrier comprises a segmented panel door and wherein the controller adjusts the barrier travel speed such that a maximum barrier travel speed is based on one hundred percent of the motor's maximum output speed.
  • 9. A movable barrier operator according to claim 8 further comprising a routine for varying the motor speed in accordance with a predetermined set of values, wherein in accordance with the predetermined set of values, a speed of the motor is linearly varied from zero to a maximum speed and from the maximum speed to zero.
  • 10. A movable barrier operator according to claim 7 wherein the barrier comprises a single panel door and wherein the controller adjusts the barrier travel speed such that a maximum barrier travel speed is based on percentage less than one hundred percent of the motor's maximum output speed.
  • 11. A movable barrier operator according to claim 10 further comprising a routine for varying the motor speed in accordance with a predetermined set of values, wherein in accordance with the predetermined set of values, a speed of the motor speed is linearly varied from zero to the motor's scaled output speed and from the motor's scaled output speed to zero.
  • 12. A movable barrier operator which automatically detects barrier size, comprising:an electric motor having a maximum output speed; a transmission connected to the electric motor to be driven thereby and to a movable barrier to be moved; a position detector for sensing the position of the movable barrier with respect to a frame of reference; and a controller, responsive to the position detector, for determining movable barrier travel between a first barrier travel limit and a second barrier travel limit and responsive to the determined movable barrier travel, for automatically adjusting a barrier travel speed.
  • 13. A movable barrier operator according to claim 12 wherein the movable barrier comprises a segmented panel door and wherein the controller adjusts the barrier travel speed such that a maximum barrier travel speed is based on one hundred percent of the motor's maximum output speed.
  • 14. A movable barrier operator according to claim 12 wherein the movable barrier comprises a single panel door and wherein the controller adjusts the barrier travel speed such that a maximum barrier travel speed is based on a percentage less than one hundred percent of the motor's maximum output speed.
  • 15. A movable barrier operator according to claim 12 wherein the controller's determination of barrier travel is made by counting the number of rotational displacement pulses between the first and second barrier travel limits.
Parent Case Info

This is a division of prior application Ser. No. 09/161,840, filed Sep. 28, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,475, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

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