Patent Abstract:
Control devices that operate automatic door controllers and methods of operating automatic door controllers are disclosed. An embodiment of controller control device that operates with an automatic door closer includes a sensor that is attached to the door, the sensor operable to transmit data indicative of the orientation of the door. The controller also includes a receiver that is operable to receive the data from the sensor; monitor the orientation of the door based on the data received from the sensor; transmit a door closing instruction to the automatic door closer when the door orientation has been open for a first period; and pause the transmitting of door closing information to the automatic door closer for a second period when a pause input is received from a user.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/217,683 entitled “Automatic Door Closer”, filed on Aug. 25, 2011, which claimed priority to U.S. provisional patent application 61/379,347 entitled “Automatic Door Closer”, filed Sep. 1, 2010, the entirety of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Power or automatic door openers and/or closers, such a garage door openers/closers, open and close their respective doors at the press of a button. In some situations, a door can be inadvertently left open, which can be a security risk. Therefore, it is generally important to verify that the door has been fully closed when the area of the door is going to be left unattended. Checking the status of the door can be difficult when multiple people have access to the door, such as children who may not remember to close it. Furthermore, doors may be temporarily left fully or partially open for venting or other purposes, requiring the user to remember to close them at a later time. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    Control devices that operate automatic door controllers and methods of operating automatic door controllers are disclosed. An embodiment of controller control device that operates with an automatic door closer includes a sensor that is attached to the door, the sensor operable to transmit data indicative of the orientation of the door. The controller also includes a receiver that is operable to receive the data from the sensor; monitor the orientation of the door based on the data received from the sensor; transmit a door closing instruction to the automatic door closer when the door orientation has been open for a first period; and pause the transmitting of door closing information to the automatic door closer for a second period when a pause input is received from a user. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]    A further understanding of the various embodiments of the present invention may be realized by reference to the figures which are described in remaining portions of the specification. In the figures, like reference numerals may be used throughout several drawings to refer to similar components. 
           [0005]      FIG. 1  depicts a block diagram of a wirelessly coupled transmitter and receiver in an automatic door closer in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  depicts an overhead door with transmitter mounted thereon in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0007]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  depict front and back views, respectively, of an existing garage door switch connected to an automatic door closer receiver in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0008]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  depict front and back views, respectively, of another existing garage door switch connected to an automatic door closer receiver in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  depicts an embodiment of a receiver of  FIG. 2  showing the user interface; 
           [0010]      FIG. 6  depicts a flowchart of an example operation for determining and transmitting a door status in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 7  depicts a flowchart of an example operation for automatically closing a door in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 8  depicts a block diagram of a receiver portion of an automatic door closer in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention; and 
           [0013]      FIG. 9  depicts a block diagram of a transmitter portion of an automatic door closer in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    The drawings and description, in general, disclose various embodiments of a control device for controlling an automatic door opener/closer. The door opener/closer is sometimes referred to herein simply as the garage door closer or a mechanical device that changes the orientation of a door. The control device may include a sensor and transmitter mounted to a door, such as an overhead door, and a receiver connected to a garage door closer. The control device causes the door closer to automatically close the door after a delay. The delay may be paused for a period by a user on a one-time basis. For example, the control device may be set to automatically close the door if the door is ever open for a period of fifteen minutes. However, there may be one-time situations where the door needs to stay open for a long period of time, wherein after the long period, the door is to be closed after the above-described delay. The user may instruct the control device to pause the automatic door closing for a period, such as eight hours, after which, the control device will resume the process of closing the door after it has been left open for the delay period. 
         [0015]    The control device can be easily connected to existing door closers such as conventional garage door openers/closers. In some embodiments, the receiver is connected to a garage door opener button or switch and draws power from the wiring to the button, so that power is maintained to the control device even when the garage door opener button is pressed. 
         [0016]    The term “door closer” is used broadly herein to refer to any powered door opener and/or closer, and does not imply that the control device is limited to use on the door of a garage. Rather, the control device may be used with any overhead door or other door to which a sensor can be attached to detect whether the door is open or closed, and which can be automatically closed by the automatic door closer. 
         [0017]    Turning now to  FIG. 1 , the control device  10  includes a transmitter  12 , which is attached to the door to be monitored and closed, and a receiver  14  that may be connected to a door closer (not shown). The transmitter  12  and receiver  14  are in wireless communication using a radio frequency (RF) link  16  or other type of wireless connection. The transmitter  12  includes a position sensor  20  that detects the position of the door to which it is attached. The sensor  20  may comprise any suitable sensor for detecting the position or orientation of the door, such as a mercury switch, accelerometer, mechanical switch, proximity sensor, RFID, RF, RSSI, ball bearing tilt sensor, magnetic reed switch, optical or inductive sensors, ultrasonic sensors, infrared transmitter/receivers, etc. 
         [0018]    In some embodiments, the transmitter  12  includes a microcontroller  22  that controls the operation of the transmitter  12  and that may read position information from the sensor  20  either periodically or continuously. The microcontroller  22  transmits door position or orientation information to the receiver  14  using an RF link  24  in the transmitter  12 , or any other suitable wireless link. The sensor  20 , microcontroller  22  and RF link  24  are powered by a power source  26  such as a battery. Power status in the transmitter  12  may be reported to users, for example by transmitting power status to the receiver  14  for display, or by displaying power status on the transmitter  12  with a status light-emitting diode (LED) or other display device (not shown in  FIG. 1 ). The microcontroller  22  is replaced in some embodiments of the transmitter  12  by other devices such as a state machine, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), programmable gate array (PGA), discrete logic circuits, etc. 
         [0019]    Some embodiments of the receiver  14  includes a microcontroller  30  to control the operation of the receiver  14 . In other embodiments, the microcontroller  30  is replaced by other devices such as a state machine, discrete logic circuits, etc. The microcontroller  30  in the receiver  14  communicates with the transmitter  12  using an RF link  32  to obtain door position or orientation information. As described above, the power status of the transmitter  12  may be transmitted to the receiver  14  where it is processed by the microcontroller  30 . The microcontroller  30  automatically causes the door closer to close the door according to a number of control schemes, which are referred to as closing the door. For example, in some embodiments, the microcontroller  30  causes the door closer to close the door after a user-selected delay and if the transmitter  12  reports that the door is not fully closed. The microcontroller  30  also provides a user interface  34  in the receiver  14  that controls input devices, such as pushbuttons, and displays information on display devices, such as LEDs. 
         [0020]    In some embodiments, the microcontroller  30 , RF link  32  and user interface  34  draw power from a power harness circuit  36  connected to a garage door button interface  40 . When the switch in the garage door button interface  40  is not being pressed by a user, a voltage potential appears across the terminals of the switch, and the power harness circuit  36  draws power from this voltage potential. The power harness circuit  36  also stores power so that when the switch in the garage door button interface  40  is closed and the voltage potential drops momentarily, the power harness circuit  36  is able to continue to power the receiver  14 . In other embodiments, the receiver  14  is powered from other sources such as a battery or an external power supply. 
         [0021]    During operation, the microcontroller  30  monitors the door position as reported by the transmitter  12  and processes data from the user interface  34 . If the user interface  34  is programmed to close the door, and the transmitter  12  reports that the door is not closed, the microcontroller  30  causes the door to close by actuating the garage door button interface  40 . For example, the door closer may be designed to cause the door to close by pressing a button to create an electrical connection between two terminals. In such embodiments, the garage door button interface  40  is connected across the two terminals, and the microcontroller  30  causes the door to close by creating an electrical connection between the two terminals in the garage door button interface  40 . 
         [0022]    Reference is made to  FIG. 2 , which illustrates a garage door, sometimes referred to as an overhead door or simply a door  50 , on which the transmitter  12  may be mounted. In this example, the door  50  is made of a number of horizontal panels (e.g.,  52 ), with the transmitter  12  mounted to the top panel  52 . The top panel  52  is in the fully vertical position only when the door  50  is closed, otherwise, the top panel  52  will be in an angled or horizontal orientation. In this embodiment, the sensor  20  is adapted to detect when the top panel  52  to which it is attached is in the fully vertical position or not. If the top panel  52  is not fully vertical, then the door  50  is open or partially open. The transmitter  12  may be attached to the door  50  in any suitable manner, such as with screws, double sided tape, adhesives, etc. 
         [0023]    Turning now to  FIGS. 3A and 3B , an example of an existing single-button garage door closer unit  60  is illustrated in front view ( FIG. 3A ) and rear view ( FIG. 3B ). The unit  60  has a push button  62  which is pressed by a user to open and close the door. The unit  60  may also include one or more mounting holes  64  and  66  or other attachment devices. A pair of electrical terminals  70  and  72 , such as screws, are located on the unit  60  and may be located in the back of the unit  60 . Wires  74  and  76  are connected to the terminals  70  and  72 . The wires  74 ,  76  are used to send a signal, such as an open or close signal to the door closer (not shown). When the user presses the button  62 , the unit  60  shorts across and electrically connects the terminals  70  and  72 , which causes a signal to be sent to the door closer. 
         [0024]    The receiver  14 ,  FIG. 1 , is connected to the unit  60  by an electrical cable  84 , with one wire  80  in the cable  84  being connected to one of the terminals  70  and the other wire  82  being connected to the other terminal  72 . The receiver  14  causes the door to close by shorting across the terminals  70  and  72 , mimicking a manual press of the button  62 . 
         [0025]    In one embodiment of the installation of the receiver  14 , the unit  60  is removed, and the wires  74  and  76  are loosened. The wires  80  and  82  from the receiver  14 ,  FIG. 1 , are connected to the terminals  70  and  72 , and the terminals  70  and  72  are re-tightened with both the original wires  74  and  76  and new wires  80  and  82  from the receiver  14 . The receiver  14  may be installed in addition to the existing unit  60  so that they are connected in parallel. Proper polarity of the wires  80  and  82  may be indicated by color-coding, for example using a red wire (e.g.,  80 ) to be connected to the positive terminal  70  of the unit  60  (commonly brass, or gold colored), and using a black wire to be connected to the negative terminal  72  of the garage door opener switch  60  (commonly silver). 
         [0026]    The description herein generically refers to closing the door  50 ,  FIG. 2 , by actuating the unit  60  using the receiver  14 . It is important to note that the receiver  14  cause the door closer to activate by shorting the terminals  70 ,  72  after a pre-determined amount of time or according to other control schemes. Therefore, if the door  50  is open or partially open, the direction of travel of the door  50  is determined by the door closer. Some door closer models allow the door to be left partially open in either direction. Other models will only allow the door to be left partially open when the door was previously opening or traveling in the up direction. In some embodiments of the control device  10 , if the receiver  14  activates the door closer and the door  50  opens instead of closes, the control device  10  will re-activate and close the door  50  within a predetermined period, such as 1 minute, because it still senses that the door  50  is open. 
         [0027]    Reference is made to  FIGS. 4A and 4B  which show front and back plan views of different embodiments of an existing garage door opener unit  110 . The unit  110  may include a multi-function switch with multiple buttons and indicators. In the embodiment of  FIG. 4 , the unit  100  includes a single switch  112 , which is a push button switch, and a single indicator  114 . The connection to the receiver  14  is similar to the embodiment of  FIGS. 3A and 3B . The unit  110  is removed from the wall, exposing a circuit board or other access panel  116 , and the wires  74  and  76  that control the door  50  being monitored are loosened. The wires  80  and  82  from the receiver  14  are connected to the terminals  70  and  72 , and the terminals  70  and  72  are re-tightened with both the original wires  74  and  76  and new wires  80  and  82  from the receiver  14 . It follows that the receiver  14  is electrically connected in parallel with the unit  110 . In some embodiments, the above-described connection causes the receiver  14  to be connected in parallel with the switch  112 . 
         [0028]    The receiver  14  may be installed in addition to and/or adjacent the existing unit  110 . Again, proper polarity of the wires  80  and  82  may be indicated by color-coding, for example using a red wire (e.g.,  80 ) to be connected to the positive terminal  70  of the unit  110  (commonly brass, or gold colored), and using a black wire to be connected to the negative terminal  72  of the unit  110  (commonly silver). Using the proper polarity enables the receiver  14  to draw power from the wires  74 ,  76 . The unit  110  may then be reattached as it was before the connection to the receiver  14 . 
         [0029]    An example user interface  34  on the receiver  14  is illustrated in  FIG. 5 . The user interface  34  includes a plurality of delay buttons  132 , a pause button  134 , and an off button  136 . The above-described buttons may be push-type switches that open or close a circuit upon being pressed. The delay buttons  132  activate the amount of time that the receiver  14  waits before it cause the door  50 ,  FIG. 2 , to close. In the embodiment of  FIG. 4 , there are three delays that a user may select, one minute, five minutes, and fifteen minutes. The pause button  134  activates a one-time pause that pauses the door closing procedures. More specifically, the transmission of signals to close the door  50  that are transmitted from the receiver  14  are paused when the pause button  134  is activated. The off button causes the receiver  14  to turn off. 
         [0030]    In addition to the switches described above, the user interface  130  may have a plurality of lights or indicators  140 , such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The delay buttons  132  are each associated with a delay indicator  140 . The delay indicators  140  provide the user information as to how long of a delay will occur before the receiver  14  transmits a signal to the door closer causing the door to close. The pause switch  134  is associated with a pause indicator  142 . The pause indicator  142  provides the user with information regarding the status of the pause function. If the pause indicator  142  is illuminated, the pause feature may be active so that the delays occur after the time set by the pause function. After the one-time pause, the receiver  14  may return to closing the door  50  after the delay has expired. 
         [0031]    As described above, the receiver  14  also includes an off indicator  144 . The off indicator may illuminate when the receiver  14  has been turned off. As described above, the receiver  14  may receive power from the door closer, so leaving the off indicator  144  illuminated will not adversely affect the receiver  14 . The receiver of  FIG. 5  includes a low battery indicator  146 , that provides an indication when the battery  26  in the transmitter  12 ,  FIG. 2 , is low. 
         [0032]    It is noted that the user interface  34  is not limited to the example activation time delays or even to the use of fixed discrete activation time delays. The user interface  34  may be adapted to allow specific time delays to be programmed, or to use triggering events other than elapsed time delays, such as time of day. Furthermore, the control device  10  may include any suitable interface, including keypads, rotary switches, slide switches, toggle switches, touch sensitive screens, text or graphical displays, remote control such as using a computer, cellular telephone or other devices, etc. 
         [0033]    Having described the components of the control device  10 ,  FIG. 1 , the operation of the transmitter  12  and receiver  14  will now be described. Reference is made to  FIG. 6 , which is a flow chart illustrating the operation of an embodiment of the transmitter  12 . In this embodiment, the microcontroller  22  in the transmitter  12  includes a watchdog timer that resets the microcontroller  22  if the watchdog timer is not cleared before it reaches a predetermined value. In this embodiment, the operation of the transmitter  12  includes periodically clearing the watchdog timer as described in step  150 . The position sensor  20  is read at step  152  by the microcontroller  22 . At step  154 , the position or orientation information received from the position sensor  20  is transmitted to the receiver  14 . The transmission may be by wireless communications, such as the use of a RF signal using the RF link  16 . The RF signal may include a packet that includes a range of data, including for example, a door open or closed indication, and a low battery indicator. In one embodiment, the RF link  16  is address-based, with the transmitter  12  using the receiver  14  address to send the RF packet and with the receiver  14  responding to acknowledge receipt of the RF packet. The microcontroller  30  is then placed in a sleep mode to conserve power at step  156  until the process repeats. For example, in one embodiment, the microcontroller  30  is placed in the sleep mode for about eight seconds. Therefore, the door position data and other data is read and reported every eight seconds. 
         [0034]    Reference is made to  FIG. 7 , which is a flow chart illustrating the operation of one embodiment of the receiver  14 . As with the transmitter  12 , a watchdog timer in the microcontroller  30  is cleared at step  380 . Data, such as RF packets, from the transmitter  12  are serviced at step  382  by acknowledging the packets to the transmitter  12  and reading the information contained in the packets. The data in the packets may include information such as the orientation of the door  50  and the status of a battery located in the transmitter  12 . 
         [0035]    In step  384  the delay as set by the switches  132 ,  FIG. 5 , is determined. In the embodiments described herein, there are three possible delays, one minute, five minutes, and fifteen minutes. It is noted that the delay may only be determined if the door  50  is determined to be open. Processing proceeds to decision block  386  where a determination is made as to whether the pause has been initiated. As described above, the pause is initiated by the user pressing the pause switch  134 . If the pause has been initiated, a one-time pause is initiated, which keeps the door  50  open for the time set by the pause. In some embodiments, the pause is eight hours. After the pause period, normal operation of the receiver  14  works by closing the door  50  after the delay period set by the switches  134 . If the decision of decision block  386  is affirmative, processing proceeds to step  388  and paused for the time of the pause. In some embodiments, the delay time is processed after the pause time. For example, if the delay is one minute and the pause set for a period of eight hours, the total time that the door will be open is eight hours and one minute. If the decision of decision block  386  is negative, processing proceeds to step  390  where processing is delayed for the amount of time set by the switches  132 . It is noted that the delay is automatic and the pause is a one-time function set each time by the user. 
         [0036]    Processing from both step  388  and  390  proceeds to step  392  where a determination is made as to whether the door  50  has been closed. In some situations, the door  50  may have been closed during the delay or the pause. For example, a use may have closed the door during the delay and/or pause period. If a signal is sent to the door closer and the door  50  is closed, the closed door  50  may open. By assuring that the door  50  is open, initiating the switch  62  will cause the door  50  to close. If the door  50  is closed, processing returns to step  380 . If the door  50  is open, processing proceeds to step  394  where a signal is sent to close the door  50 . After the door  50  has closed, processing returns to step  380 . 
         [0037]    Reference is made to  FIG. 8 , which is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of the receiver  14  in the automatic door closer  10 . The microcontroller  30  and other active devices in the receiver  14  are powered in this embodiment by the power harness circuit  36 . The power harness circuit  36  in the receiver  14  is connected to the existing garage door opener switch  60 ,  FIG. 3B , or  110 ,  FIG. 4B , through a two lead input  200 , one lead of which is used as a voltage input  202  and the other lead is used as ground  204 . The voltage input  202  is connected to a voltage regulator  206  through a diode  210 . The output of the voltage regulator  206  is connected to a super-capacitor  212  (or other power storage device) through another diode  214 . When the button (e.g.,  62 ) is pressed, the diode  214  prevents current from flowing from the super-capacitor  212  back toward the input  200 , maintaining power in the receiver  14  when the voltage input  202  is grounded through the button (e.g.,  62 ). A transient voltage suppressor  216  may be connected to the voltage input  202  to protect the receiver  14  against voltage transients. Additional voltage regulators may be included as desired to provide multiple voltage levels in the receiver  14 . 
         [0038]    A switch  220  such as a Darlington transistor, MOSFET transistor or any other suitable switch is connected between the microcontroller  30  and the voltage input  202 , enabling the microcontroller  30  to short the voltage input  202  to ground  204  to activate the garage door opener and close the overhead door  50 . A polyswitch  222  may be connected between the switch  220  and the voltage input  202 , providing overcurrent protection to the switch  220 . The polyswitch  222  allows current to flow through the switch  220  until a current limit is reached, when the resistance of the polyswitch  222  increases and limits the current through the switch  220 . Once the microcontroller  30  turns off the switch  220  and the polyswitch  222  cools, the resistance of the polyswitch  222  resets and returns to a normal low value. In other embodiments, a resistor or other device can be used to limit current through the switch  220 , as long as it is high enough to trigger the garage door opener. 
         [0039]    A feedback signal  224  from the voltage input  202  can be connected to the microcontroller  30 , enabling the microcontroller  30  to detect when the button  62  in the garage door opener switch  60  is pressed by a user. The feedback signal  224  may pass through a resistor  226  to limit current if desired. The user interface  34  may be adapted for example to reset a timer in the microcontroller  30  when the user presses the button  62 , starting the countdown to the activation time delay over. 
         [0040]    A program port  230  may also be connected to the microcontroller  30 , providing external access to change or update firmware in the microcontroller  30 . Any suitable interface may be provided for the program port  230 , based on the specific microcontroller  30  selected. 
         [0041]    The RF link  32  connected to the microcontroller  30  may include a radio transceiver  234  and antenna  236 , or other devices suitable for transmitting and receiving information on the RF link  16 ,  FIG. 1 . The wireless protocol for the RF link  32  may be handled internally in the microcontroller  30  or in an external RF device as desired. Although the RF link  32  in the receiver  14  primarily receives information from the transmitter  12 , it may also transmit information to establish communication with the transmitter  12  according to the wireless protocol selected. Again, additional regulators may be included in the receiver  14  as needed to provide different voltage levels, for example if the microcontroller  30  and the transceiver  234  operate at different voltages. 
         [0042]    Output devices such as the LEDs  140 - 146  and an audio device  240  are also connected to the microcontroller  30 , enabling the microcontroller  30  to implement the user interface  34 ,  FIG. 5 , and provide information to the user as described above. Again, the receiver  14  is not limited to the example described herein, and may use alternate switching devices, power sources, controlling circuitry, etc. 
         [0043]    Reference is made to  FIG. 9 , which shows an embodiment of a transmitter  12  in the control device  10  in block diagram format. The position sensor  20  is connected to the microcontroller  22  to report the position of the door  50 ,  FIG. 1 . The microcontroller  22  may be adapted to monitor the sensor  20  continuously or periodically, for example on the order of seconds or tens of seconds. The microcontroller  22  in the transmitter  12  communicates wirelessly with the receiver  14  via the RF link  24 , which may include a radio transceiver  250  and antenna  252 . A program port  254  may be provided as in the receiver  14 , enabling updates to firmware in the microcontroller  22 . An LED  256  or other indicator may be connected to the microcontroller  22  so that it can provide visual feedback to the user about battery status or other conditions. An audible indicator may be used in addition to or in place of the LED  256 . The microcontroller  22  and other active components in the receiver  14  may be powered by the power source  26 , such as a battery, referenced to a local ground  260 . As with the receiver  14 , the automatic door closer  10  is not limited to the use of a microcontroller  22  and may be adapted to any of a variety of other suitable control systems. 
         [0044]    The control unit  10  may be embodied as an add-on or accessory to an existing garage door opener, or may be built into a garage door opener. The control unit  10  increases security and convenience in operating a door such as an overhead or garage door, automatically closing the door if inadvertently left open or if intentionally and temporarily left open. The control unit  10  is simple to install and to operate, and can help to prevent costly break-ins. 
         [0045]    In conclusion, the present invention provides novel systems, devices, methods and arrangements for automatically closing a powered door. While detailed descriptions of one or more embodiments of the invention have been given above, various alternatives, modifications, and equivalents will be apparent to those skilled in the art without varying from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the above description should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 4