Patent Publication Number: US-8115616-B2

Title: Garage door alert employing a global positioning system

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This generally relates to vehicle alert systems, and more particularly relates to a system for alerting a driver that a garage door has been left open. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Automatic garage doors are now typically opened and closed by means of an onboard transmitter activated by a driver of a vehicle. Commonly, a driver of a vehicle may forget to activate the remote transmitter to close the garage door thus increasing the risk of an unwanted intrusion. Even more commonly, a driver may question if they closed the garage door, often necessitating a return trip to check. 
     Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and system for alerting the driver of a vehicle that the garage door has been left open. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background. 
     SUMMARY 
     A system is provided for alerting a vehicle driver that an automatic garage door is left open. The system comprises an onboard transmitter for activating the automatic garage door; a GPS receiver; an alert device; and an onboard processor. The onboard processor is coupled to the onboard transmitter, the GPS receiver, and to the alert device. The onboard processor is configured to monitor a distance between the vehicle and the predetermined location. The onboard processor activates the alert device if the distance exceeds a predetermined distance. 
     A method is provided for alerting a driver of a vehicle that an automatic garage door on a garage has not been closed. The automatic garage door may be closed using an onboard transmitter on the vehicle. The method comprises determining a distance of the vehicle from the garage; and comparing the distance of the vehicle from the garage with a predetermined distance. The method also includes activating an alert device when the distance of the vehicle from the garage is at least the predetermined distance. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A more complete understanding of the subject matter may be derived by referring to the detailed description and claims when considered in conjunction with the following figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and 
         FIG. 1  is a simplified diagram of an exemplary system for alerting a driver of a vehicle that a garage door has not been closed; and 
         FIG. 2  is a flow chart of an exemplary method of alerting the driver of the vehicle that the garage door has not been closed. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF AN EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT 
     The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of the invention. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description. 
     A vehicle in an exemplary embodiment includes an onboard remote transmitter and generates an alert for the driver of the vehicle when the vehicle travels beyond a predefined distance from the garage and the onboard remote transmitter is not activated. In one embodiment an onboard GPS receiver is used to determine the vehicle&#39;s home location; i.e. the location of the garage. The onboard GPS receiver is also used to determine when the vehicle has left the predefined distance from the garage. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a system  10  for alerting a driver (not shown) when an automatic garage door  42  has been left open. In the exemplary embodiment, system  10  is implemented in a vehicle  20  and suitably includes a processor  30  (or comparator) having a first input coupled to receive GPS information from GPS receiver  26 , a second input coupled to vehicle ignition  34  for receiving an indication that vehicle ignition is activated, a third input coupled to memory module  32  for receiving stored values, and a fourth input coupled to onboard transmitter  22  for receiving an indication when onboard transmitter  22  is activated. Processor  30  has a first output coupled to memory module  32  for storing values, and a second output coupled to activate driver alert device  28 . Onboard transmitter  22  sends a signal to activate automatic garage door  42 . GPS receiver  26  receives location information signals transmitted from GPS satellites  60 . 
     In the exemplary embodiment processor  30  uses the location information from GPS receiver in at least two ways. First, processor  30  determines if vehicle  20  is starting at garage  44 . Second, if vehicle  20  is starting at garage  44 , processor  30  tracks how far vehicle  20  is from garage  44 , up to a predetermined distance. When vehicle  20  reaches the predetermined distance from garage  44 , processor  30  determines if onboard transmitter  22  has sent a signal to close automatic garage door  42 . If a signal to close the garage door has not been sent, then processor  30  alerts the driver that the garage door is open using driver alert device  28 . 
     If vehicle  20  is not at garage  44  when the vehicle starts, then processor  30  determines that a garage-door-open alert is not needed. In this case, processor  30  compares a stored location for the location of garage  44  with the starting location when vehicle ignition  34  is activated. Processor  30  determines a distance between the stored location of garage  44  and the starting location of vehicle  20 , which distance is ideally zero if vehicle  20  is in garage  44  when vehicle ignition  34  is activated. Due to non-ideal conditions, a threshold distance is used to determine if vehicle  20  is starting in garage  44 ; so that if the distance between the stored location of garage  44  and the starting location is less than the threshold distance, then processor  30  determines that vehicle  20  is starting in garage  44 . 
     After processor  30  determines that vehicle is starting at garage  44 , location information from GPS receiver is used to track the distance between vehicle  20  and garage  44 , up to a predetermined distance  50 .  FIG. 1  illustrates predetermined distance  50  as a broken line representing a distance in all directions from garage  44 . Memory module  32  stores the location of garage  44  such as at a home  40 . Memory module  32  also stores a distance value as the predetermined distance. Processor  30  receives updates from GPS receiver with a current location, and compares the current location with the stored location of garage  44  to determine a current distance from garage  44 . The current distance from garage  44  is then compared with the stored value of predetermined distance  50  to determine if vehicle  20  has reached predetermined distance  50 . Processor  30  monitors the vehicle location at regular intervals to determine when vehicle  20  has reached predetermined distance  50 . 
     If onboard transmitter  22  sends a signal to close automatic garage door  42  before vehicle  20  reaches predetermined distance  50 , then processor  30  determines that the garage-door-open alert is not needed. 
     In the exemplary embodiment onboard transmitter  22  has a signal transmission range, and when onboard transmitter is within the signal transmission range it can activate automatic garage door  42 . Predetermined distance  50  is a distance that is less than the distance of the signal transmission range; so that onboard transmitter  22  can activate automatic garage door  42  when vehicle  20  has reached predetermined distance  50 . 
     Driver alert device  28  communicates the garage-door-open alert to the driver using indicators such as lights, images, sounds, or vibrations. In this manner driver alert device  28  produces an audible alarm, an audible voice prompt, a visual alert, or a tactile stimulation alert. The garage-door-open alert continues for a set interval, unless the driver activates onboard transmitter  22  by pressing transmitter user input device  24 , or the driver cancels the garage-door-open alert. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 2 , an exemplary method  200  for alerting a driver that automatic garage door  42  ( FIG. 1 ) is open suitably includes the broad functions of determining the current distance of vehicle  20  from garage  44  (function  206 ), and activating a garage-door-open alert (function  208 ). Other embodiments additionally determine if the vehicle is at home (function  203 ), determine if onboard transmitter  22  has been activated (function  205 ), and determine if the current distance from garage  44  is at least equal to the predetermined distance (function  207 ). Various other functions and other features may also be provided, as described in increasing detail below. 
     In the exemplary embodiment, method  200  begins when vehicle ignition  34  ( FIG. 1 ) is activated (function  202 ). Processor  30  receives a signal indicating vehicle ignition  34  was activated, and begins a process to alert the vehicle operator if the garage door is left open. GPS receiver  26  then sends the starting vehicle location to processor  30 . Memory module  32  stores the starting vehicle location, and also stores the location of garage  44 . If the stored location of garage  44  is substantially equal to the starting vehicle location, then processor  30  determines that vehicle  20  is at home (function  203 ) and the exemplary process continues. If the vehicle is not at home (function  203 ), then the exemplary process ends (function  220 ). 
     When vehicle  20  ( FIG. 1 ) is at home  40 , processor  30  monitors onboard transmitter to determine if it is activated (function  205 ). When onboard transmitter  22  is activated, processor  30  ends the process of alerting the driver (function  220 ). 
     In exemplary method  200 , memory module  32  ( FIG. 1 ) stores the garage location and processor  30  receives updates from GPS receiver with a current vehicle location. Processor  30  compares the stored starting location with the current vehicle location to determine the current distance of vehicle  20  from the garage location (function  206 ). The current distance from the garage location is compared with a stored predetermined distance (function  207 ). If the current distance of the vehicle is less than the predetermined distance (function  208 ), then the driver has not left the area near garage  44  within predetermined distance  50 , and may still activate onboard transmitter  22  to close automatic garage door  42 . Therefore, processor  30  continues to monitor onboard transmitter (function  205 ) and determine the current distance from the garage (function  206 ). 
     If the current distance from garage  44  ( FIG. 1 ) is equal to or larger than the predetermined distance (function  207 ), processor  30  activates the garage-door-open alert (function  208 ). In the exemplary embodiment the garage-door-open alert stops if the driver presses the transmitter input device  24  for onboard transmitter  22 . Exemplary method  200  then ends (function  220 ). 
     In other embodiments processor  30  may perform the functions described in method  200  in a different order and may execute functions simultaneously. Additional functions may be added or removed, and method  200  may be part of a larger process, or multiple processes. 
     Generally speaking, the various functions and features of method  200  may be carried out with any sort of hardware, software and/or firmware logic that is stored and/or executed on any platform. Some or all of method  200  may be carried out, for example, by logic executing within vehicle  20  in  FIG. 1 . In one embodiment, processor  30  executes software logic that performs each of the various functions shown in  FIG. 2 . Such logic may be stored in memory module  32  or in any other storage available to processor  30  as desired. Hence, the particular logic and hardware that implements any of the various functions shown in  FIG. 2  may vary from context to context, implementation to implementation, and embodiment to embodiment in accordance with the various features, scenarios and structures set forth in this application. The particular means used to implement each of the various functions shown in  FIG. 2 , then, could be any sort of processing structures that are capable of executing conventional software logic in any format. Such processing hardware may include processor  30  or other components of vehicle  20 , as well as any other processors or other components associated with any conventional vehicle, GPS receiver, ignition system, vehicle display and/or the like. Processor  30 , for example, may be a comparator that is configured to compare values and to produce a result based on the comparison. In one embodiment a comparator is implemented in a processor. In other embodiments, a comparator is implemented with other suitable devices. 
     While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. Processor  30 , for example, may determine that the process should end at any time, for example, if onboard transmitter  22  sends a signal to close automatic garage door  42 . Alternatively, processor  30  may determine whether to end the process of alerting the driver at the time when the vehicle reaches the predetermined distance from garage  44 . Processor  30  may determine the current distance of vehicle  20  from garage  44  by comparing the current location to the starting location, rather than the location of garage  44 . Many methods may be used to determine a starting location; as an alternative to receiving a signal from vehicle ignition  34 , processor  30  may receive a signal from a sensor to determine when a motor or an engine is started, and therefore determine the starting location. Additionally, the process of alerting the driver, including determining a starting location, may be part of a start-up routine for processor  30 . 
     It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims and the legal equivalents thereof. 
     The above description refers to elements or features being “connected” or “coupled” together. As used in this application, “connected” may refer to one element/feature being directly joined to (or directly communicating with) another element/feature, and not necessarily mechanically. Likewise, “coupled” may refer to one element/feature being directly or indirectly joined to (or directly or indirectly communicating with) another element/feature, and not necessarily mechanically. However, it should be understood that although two elements may be described above, in one embodiment, as being “connected,” in alternative embodiments similar elements may be “coupled,” and vice versa. Thus, although the schematic diagrams shown in the drawings depict example arrangements of elements, additional intervening elements, devices, features, or components may be present in an actual embodiment. It should also be understood that  FIGS. 1-2  are merely illustrative and may not be drawn to scale.