Patent ID: 7855633

Claim:
A method for remotely activating a garage door opener, wherein the garage door opener activates to move a garage door between a closed position in which the garage door covers a garage opening and an opened position in which the garage door uncovers the garage opening upon receiving an activation signal based on one of a plurality of radio frequency (RF) fixed code and rolling code activation schemes, the method comprising: providing a remote control and a sensor on a vehicle; positioning the vehicle proximate to the garage opening; transmitting energy from the vehicle toward the garage opening, whereby the energy is reflected by the garage door while the garage door is in the closed position and is unreflected while the garage door is in the opened position such that a change in the reflected energy is indicative of the garage door being moved between the closed and opened positions; monitoring by the sensor the reflected energy; transmitting from the remote control to the garage door opener a sequence of different activation signals, each activation signal in the sequence of activation signals based on a respective one of the plurality of RF fixed code and rolling code activation schemes; transmitting from the sensor to the remote control a sensor signal indicating activation of the garage door opener in response to the sensor detecting a change in the reflected energy; based on the sensor signal, determining by the remote control which of the plurality of RF fixed code and rolling code activation schemes resulted in the remote control transmitting an activation signal in the sequence of activation signals that activated the garage door opener; and associating data representing the determined activation scheme with an activation input of the remote control.