Barrier movement operator having service reminders
Contents
1. 9 10 to display the existence of the alert condition and to display acontroller coupled to the timer the sensor and the counter information regarding a required service thecontroller programmed to determine whether an alert 11 The movable barrier operator of claim 7 wherein the condition exists based upon whether the elapsed length alert condition is conveyed to the user via a coded audible of time since the last maintenance and a number of sound signal 5 movements counted have reached a dynamically vari 12 movable barrier operator which opens and closes able threshold which is a function of the measurements barrier the barrier operator comprising of the measuring sensor and when the alert condition exists being programmed to present service reminder information to a user the controller being programmed 10 to dynamically vary the threshold based upon the oper ating condition 13 The movable barrier operator of claim 12 wherein the threshold is dynamically variable 14 The movable barrier operator of claim 12 wherein the 15 alert condition indicates that the barrier operator requires or soon will require maintenance a timer measuring an elapsed length of time since a last maintenance of the movable barrier operator a measuring sensor configured to measure an operating condition the measuring sensor selected from the group consisting ofthe ambient temperature sensor configured to measure the ambient temperature around the2. Advanta geously the number of usages at which the alert is provided is 25 40 45 55 60 2 variable based on the type of spring being used the distance the door travels when opening and closing or a combination ofboth Other operating parameters such as ambient tempera ture cycle count and travel distance also maybe used to dynamically vary the thresholds such that as each input parameter is reached the threshold is immediately varied Notification that maintenance is required may take on many forms In one form a light or light emitting diode LED is activated to light or backlight a display message indicating the type of maintenance required ofa user and or to illuminate a business card of a repair or installation business Alternatively an LED display maybe provided to display codes corresponding to the maintenance required Similarly aliquid crystal display LCD device maybe used to display a text message precisely indicating the required maintenance In another form an audible tone or a series oftones is emitted to indicate that the garage door operator requires mainte nance The tone maybe audibly encoded to enable the user to determine the precise nature of the maintenance required In still another form a radio frequency RF signalis transmitted to a receiving device for generating audio or visual alerts on a remote wireless device In an additional form notification is provided by turning the garage door ope
3. will send signals over a relay logic line 102 to a relay logic module 104 connected to an alternating cur 20 40 45 50 55 60 4 rent motor 106 having a power take off shaft 108 coupled to the transmission 18 of the garage door operator As further shown in FIG 3 the microcontroller 84 also is coupled to a number of input devices for receiving external data These devices include a time counter 124 a temperature sensor 120 a force sensor 122 a cycle counter 136 and a switch 140 The time counter 124 is a real time clock RTC such as the Dallas Semiconductor DS1307 for measuring elapsed time Alternatively a simple oscillator maybe used instead to generate pulses that are counted by the microcon troller 84 to determine elapsed time or the microcontroller 84 can count its own internal clock The cycle counter 136 counts the number of opening and closing operations that the garage door operator 10 executes The temperature sensor 120 which may be any commonly available temperature sensor such as the National Semicon ductor LM75 is placed outside the head unit to measure the ambient temperature of the atmosphere surrounding the garage door operator 10 The microcontroller 84 is able to query the temperature sensor 120 as needed to obtain the ambient temperature in which the garage door operator is operating The force sensor 122 measures the force required to move the door This force is an indication all the level of
4. dynamically adjust the threshold in response to mea surements by the measuring sensor ofthe operating con dition 2 The movable barrier of claim 1 wherein the measuring sensor comprises a temperature sensor configured to measure an ambient temperature around the movable barrier operator and wherein the controller is programmed to determine the alert condition based upon the elapsed time since the initial installation of the movable barrier operator the number of movements and the ambient temperature sensed by the tem perature sensor 3 The movable barrier operator of claim 1 wherein the alert condition indicates that the barrier operator requires or soon will require maintenance 4 The movable barrier operator of claim 1 wherein the alert condition is conveyed to the user via a visual indicator comprising an LED configured to turn off and on 5 The movable barrier operator of claim 1 wherein the alert condition is conveyed to the user via an LCD configured to display the existence of the alert condition and to display information regarding a required maintenance 6 The movable barrier operator of claim 1 wherein the alert condition is conveyed to the user via a coded audible sound signal 7 movable barrier operator installed at an initial instal lation time which opens and closes a barrier the barrier operator comprising a timer measuring an elapsed length of time since the initial installation of the movable barrier
5. fatigue ofthe springs As with the time counter 124 the force sensor 122 maybe a software function of the microcontroller 84 The results from the input devices are used in a number of ways to determine when and what type of alert is to be generated For example the measured elapsed time is used for generating an alert every thirty days to notify a user to per form an obstruction test In another example the measured elapsed time is used in conjunction with the number of counted cycles to generate an alert every six months or 1000 cycles of operating cycles whichever comes first A communications port 137 such as an RS232 universal serial bus USB or IEEE1394 typically referred to as a firewire port or any other communications interface is pro vided to enable the microcontroller 84 to communicate with an external computing device 138 such as a personal laptop or handheld computer In one mode data that is read from or written to the NVRAM 88 is output on the communications port 137 to enable a user to view the data being transferred into and out of the system using an attached computing device The switch 140 is used to specify to the microcontroller 84 various parameters relating to service intervals such as the type of spring being used in the system A dual inline package DIP switch having one or more switch levers maybe used although any similar type of switch is also acceptable Based on the position of the switch levers th
6. into which the service reminder alerts are mounted As shown by way of example only since other messages in various other configurations are also possible the display unit 60 includes several reminder message panels including Lubrication Required 162 Check Springs 164 and Test Safety Systems 166 The message panels 162 164 166 are constructed of a light weight plastic or glass material ofa predetermined color such as red or orange The messages themselves are printed using a white glass or plastic material The display unit 160 is configured with a recess not shown into which an LED in communication with the microcontrol ler 84 via the LED signal 126 is fitted The LED is fitted into the recess such that when the message panel 162 15 affixed to the display unit 160 the LED is completely covered by the message panel 162 Thus when the LED receives the LED signal 126 and turns on the message panel 162 will display brightly a service reminder message indicating the type of service required Each message panel is configured similarly such that depending on the LED being illuminated the appro priate panel and message is illuminated A speaker connected to the sound output 130 of the micro controller 84 for sounding an audible alert message is mounted behind a protective grill 168 on the display unit 160 Thus a user who may not notice the activation of LEDs will also be provided with an alert tone when the microcontroller 8
7. movable barrier operator and a force sensor configured to mea sure the force required to move the barrier acounter which counts the number of operations which are executed by the movable barrier operator and Ro Roo UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO 7 493 726 B2 Page 1 of 1 APPLICATION NO 10 145799 DATED February 24 2009 INVENTOR S James J Fitzgibbon and William G Gioia It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent is hereby corrected as shown below IN THE CLAIMS Claim 7 Column 8 Line 56 change sensor to sensor Signed and Sealed this Twelfth Day of May 2009 An Q JOHN DOLL Acting Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
8. of advanced electronic com ponents and control techniques Despite such advances a garage door operator inherently is a mechanical device requiring the use of motors springs rails and other mechani cal parts to raise and lower a garage door Typically proper maintenance of the garage door operator requires the user to lubricate the rails of the garage door operator check for wear of the components such as the springs and test the system safety devices on a periodic basis For example it is recom mended that the feature for reversing a door in response to an obstruction be tested every month This requires the user to open the garage door fully and place a 114 thick piece of wood such as a 2x4 laid flat on the floor in the center of the door The user then pushes the transmitter or wall button to close the door The door should reverse when it strikes the wood If the door does not reverse the owner should adjust the door or the garage door operator As such regular main tenance of many components of the garage door operator is an important aspect of ensuring safe and proper trouble free operation of the garage door operator Presently maintenance schedules prescribing the service intervals and types of service required to keep the garage door operating properly typically are printed in the owners manual for the users convenience Unfortunately manuals tend to become misplaced discarded or ignored and their instruc tions forgot
9. operator a measuring sensor configured to measure an operating condition the measuring sensor selected from the group consisting ofthe ambient temperature sensor configured to measure the ambient temperature around the movable barrier operator and a force sensor configured to mea sure the force required to move the barrier a counter which counts the number of operations that are executed by the movable barrier operator and a controller coupled to the timer the counter and the sen sor the controller being programmed to determine whether an alert condition exists based upon whether the elapsed length of time since the initial installation and a number of movements counted have reached a dynami cally variable threshold which is a function of the mea surements of the measuring sensor and when the alert condition exists being programmed to present service reminder information to a user the controller being pro grammed to dynamically vary the threshold based upon the operating condition 8 The movable barrier operator of claim 7 wherein the alert condition indicates that the barrier operator requires or soon will require service 9 The movable barrier operator of claim 7 wherein the alert condition is conveyed to the user via a visual indicator comprising an LED configured to turn off and on 10 The movable barrier operator of claim 7 wherein the alert condition is conveyed to the user via an LCD configured US 7 493 726 B2
10. the ambient air temperature outside the head unit In addition the microcontroller receives input data from a cycle counter time counter and a switch that is set by the user The microcontrol ler also includes interfaces for providing output signal data to drive a number of different devices such as one or more LEDs LCDs sound speakers and RF devices A universal asynchronous receiver transmitter UART 15 provided as a serial communications port such as an EIA RS 232 port to enable the controller to communicate with a personal com puter PC BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and advantages ofthe invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which FIG 1 is a perspective view of a garage door operating system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention US 7 493 726 B2 3 FIG 2 is a block diagram of a controller mounted within the head unit of the garage door operator employed in the garage door operator shown in FIG 1 FIG 3 is a block diagram of input output devices con nected to the microcontroller within the controller shown in FIG 2 FIG 4 is a service reminder display unit for housing ser vice reminder alerting devices FIG 5 is an LED display for mounting in the display unit of FIG 4 for displaying service reminder codes FIG 6 is an LCD display for mounting in the display unit of FIG 4 for displaying text based
11. 3HU3 0 01 108110 04105 OS lt hh 08 Y3AISOSY YALNNOD YOSNAS ANIL c vel 0ct H3TIOHLNOO9OUSUDIM 801 TWNOIS 091 HO0SN3S 39H04 ect 921 TWNOIS 091 S9NILL3S HOLIMS Ovi El u31Nn09 961 Old 39IA3d ONILOdWOO U S Patent Feb 24 2009 Sheet 4 of 5 US 7 493 726 B2 160 STATUS MONITOR 166 164 LUBRICATION CHECK TEST SAFETY GARY G DOEHR REQUIRED SPRINGS SYSTEMS THE GARAGE DOOR SPECIALIST 1 888 555 5555 FOR SERVICE FIG 4 172 1 4 176 LUBRICATION REQ T FIG 6 FIG 5 U S Patent Feb 24 2009 Sheet 5 of 5 US 7 493 726 B2 200 CHECK NVRAM 204 CHECK INPUTS 208 DO CALCULATIONS ON DATA 212 DETERMINE THRESHOLDS 216 THRESHOLD REACHED 220 YES IDENTIFY PARAMETER S THAT REACHED THRESHOLD 222 DETERMINE REQUIRED ACTION 45 OUTPUT ALERT SIGNAL INDICATING REQUIRED ACTION 228 ACTION TAKEN 232 YES TURN OFF OUTPUT ALERT SIGNAL 238 FIG 7 US 7 493 726 B2 1 BARRIER MOVEMENT OPERATOR HAVING SERVICE REMINDERS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to barrier move ment operators and more particularly to service reminders indicating the need for maintenance of the barrier movement operator based on diverse operating conditions BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Garage door operators over the years continue to increase in sophistication through the use
12. 4 generates a sound output signal If the alert tone is coded then the user 15 able to decode the coded tones to determine the service required on the garage door operator 10 Alterna tively atone from the speaker 168 will alert the userto the fact that the display unit 160 needs to be examined for pending service reminder messages Alternatively the sounds from the speaker can be modulated to create speech An additional feature that is provided is a holder for a business card 163 or note paper indicating a telephone num 0 kas 5 20 40 45 55 65 6 ber of a garage door operator service technician or the like The card 163 is held in place by four corner holders 165a 1652 165c 165d underneath a lighting device 170 such as a small incandescent light bulb or white LED Alternatively a lighting device not shown is mounted behind the business card 163 to illuminate the business card 163 from the reverse side such that the business card 163 lights up when the lighting device is turned on The lighting device in the alter nate configuration is like the LEDs inserted into a recess such that the business card 163 is able to sit flush against the base unit Referring to FIG 5 an LED display 171 is shown com prising two seven segment displays 172 174 In an alternate embodiment the LED display 171 is installed in place ofthe message panels 162 164 166 FIG 4 As such when an LED signal 126 from the microc
13. 7 493 726 B2 7 old values based on a function of the present and past data received by the sensors In another aspect the system is configured with an additional variable that is used to accrue variations in the input parameters and the threshold is based on this mathematical variable The threshold values are a result of the calculations per formed on the input data and are variable depending on the change in the data values For example if the ambient tem perature experiences a decrease then the spring life may be extended by a certain time period As such the service reminder to check the springs may be delayed by an amount of time beyond that recommended in the owners manual Similarly ifthe ambient temperature experiences an increase lubrication may be required at a time slightly earlier than recommended in the manual Threshold determination is dynamic and variable in that the threshold values may change immediately as data is read from the sensors and varies based on the values of the inputs received by the sensors If the threshold values are met or exceeded an alert is generated The threshold values are then set in step 216 That is the microcontroller will generate a signal on at least one of the alert outputs if a threshold value is met or exceeded as deter mined in step 220 Instep 220 the microcontroller determines whether any of the threshold values determined in step 216 has been met or exceeded If no threshold val
14. US007493726B2 az United States Patent 10 Patent No US 7 493 726 B2 Fitzgibbon et al 45 Date of Patent Feb 24 2009 54 BARRIER MOVEMENT OPERATOR HAVING 4 464 651 A 8 1984 Duhame 49 31 SERVICE REMINDERS 5 107 439 A 4 1992 Clark 5 226 256 A 7 1993 Friesetal 49 13 75 Inventors James J Fitzgibbon Batavia IL US 5 605 013 A 2 1997 Hogston 49 31 William Gioia Winfield IL US 6 107 765 A 8 2000 Fitzgibbon et al 49 29 6 184 641 2 2001 Crimmins et al 49 31 73 Assignee The Chamberlain Group Inc 6 318 024 11 2001 Krsnak et al Elmhurst IL US 6 484 784 B1 11 2002 Weik et al 160 7 Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 cited by examiner U S C 154 b by 0 days Primary Examiner Jerry Redman 21 Appl No 10 145 799 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Fitch Even Tabin amp Flannery 22 Filed May 15 2002 57 ABSTRACT 65 Prior Publication Data US 2003 0213177 A1 Nov 20 2003 An electronic service reminder to automatically notify a user 51 Int CI as to when and what type of maintenance should be per Gt FiF 1 5 20 2006 01 formed on the garage door operator based on a variety of OD factors including time materials and operating environment 52 US CL e vereinen 49 31 49 13 49 14 The garage door
15. ation of both In a particular embodiment the display unit 160 includes a mounted RF transceiver not shown for receiving and transmitting signals to an RF trans ceiver in the controller 70 Preferably short range wireless signals are used such as Bluetooth for communicating between the transceivers However other RF signaling pro tocols also maybe used including one way communications methods Referring to FIG 7 the garage door operator is shown in operation Upon initial power on in step 200 the microcon troller checks the NVRAM in step 204 to determine whether any existing operating data is stored A checksum validation also maybe performed to ensure that the data 1s valid particu larly if the system is being activated for the first time The microcontroller then begins receiving input from the sensors including the force sensor temperature sensor and time counter in step 208 More particularly the system enters a monitoring mode of operation where the microcontroller accumulates operating data from the various input sensors as the garage door operator is used The data from the sensors includes the ambient temperature in which the garage door operator is operating a running total of the number of times the door has been lifted and closed and the force difference between opening and closing of the door Based on the input data parameters from the various sen sors the microcontroller calculates in step 212 initial thresh US
16. e microcontroller 84 is able to determine thresholds for identifying a need for ser vice The microcontroller 84 cross references the switch set tings with the particular characteristics ofthe installed spring which are stored in the NVRAM 88 Spring characteristics may include information relating to the predicted lifespan of the spring optimum operating parameters and spring con stant among others For example the switch settings are used to identify whether the spring is a five thousand ten thousand or fifty thousand cycle spring Additional levers on the switch 140 or even another switch not shown also are provided to specify to the microcontrol ler 84 the type or weight of the garage door that the garage door operator 10 is lifting and lowering The switch settings include preprogrammed positions for indicating within what range of weights the garage door falls By determining the number of counted operating cycles the measured forces on the spring and the measured elapsed US 7 493 726 B2 5 time the threshold at which an alert is generated is deter mined For example ifthe forces on the garage door show that the springs are no longer counter balancing the total weight of the door and the door is now 50 pounds heavier then the spring cycle threshold is shortened and an alert is generated after a relatively fewer number of operating cycles The con verse is true as well Thus advantageously by having a pre cisely ta
17. ge door operator 10 which includes the head unit 12 has a controller 70 that includes the antenna 32 The controller 70 includes a power supply 72 that receives alternating current from an alternating current source such as 110 volt AC and converts the alternating current to 5 volts zero and 24 volts DC The 5 volt supply is fed along a line 74 to a number of other elements in the controller 70 The 24 volt supply is fed along the line 76 to other elements ofthe controller 70 The controller 70 includes a super regenerative receiver 80 coupled via a line 82 to supply demodulated digital signals to a microcontroller 84 The receiver 80 15 energized by a line 85 coupled to the line 74 Signals may be received by the controller 70 at the antenna 32 and fed to the receiver 80 The microcontroller 84 is also coupled by a bus 86 to an NVRAM 88 which stores set points and other customized digital data related to the operation of the control unit An obstacle detector 90 which comprises the emitter 42 and the infrared detector 46 is coupled via an obstacle detector bus 92 to the microcontroller 84 The obstacle detector bus 92 includes lines 44 and 48 The wall switch 39 is connected via the connecting wires 39a to a switch biasing module 96 that is powered from the 5 volt supply line 74 and supplies signals to and 15 controlled by the microcontroller 84 a bus 100 coupled to the microcontroller 84 The microcontroller 84 in response to switch closures
18. ilored maintenance regimen the life ofthe springs is extended The microcontroller 84 also provides several output ports that the garage door operator 10 uses to produce signals alerting users that maintenance ofthe garage door operator 10 maybe necessary The microcontroller 84 provides an LED output signal 126 for driving an LED not shown or an LED display 172 174 FIG 4 Alternatively or in addition to the LED output signal 126 the microcontroller 84 provides an LCD signal 128 for enabling text based messages to be dis played on anLCD 176 FIG 4 A sound output 130 generates signals for driving a speaker preferably placed behind a pro tective speaker grill 168 FIG 4 The sound output signal 130 maybe modulated so that a user is able to determine the type of maintenance that is required by simply listening to the sound coming from the speaker In addition an RF transmitter 132 is provided as well to enable wireless messages to be sent to an RF signal receiving device for enabling alerts from the microcontroller 84 to be transmitted to a remote wireless device not shown orto the display unit 160 FIG 4 The RF transmitter 132 also maybe configured as a transceiver device that is capable of receiving and transmitting RF commands from a remote source not shown or from the display unit 160 Referring to FIG 4 several exemplary embodiments ofthe service reminder are shown The display unit 160 is config ured as a housing unit
19. ontroller 84 FIG 3 is gen erated the LED display 171 will output a alphanumeric code representative ofthe maintenance required by the garage door operator 10 The user is then able to cross reference the code to a user manual or a chart that maybe located near the display unit 160 Referring to FIG 6 an LCD display 176 is shown wherein in an alternate embodiment the LCD display 176 is installed into the display unit instead of either the LED display 171 or the message panels 162 164 166 A particular advantage of the LCD display 176 is its ability to display text based mes sages In particular the microcontroller 84 FIG 3 produces an LCD signal that enables a variety of specific messages to be displayed on the LCD display 176 to explicitly indicate to the user the service that needs to be performed on the garage door operator In another aspect the microcontroller 84 is programmed to generate an LCD display signal that scrolls across the face of the display thereby enabling short mes sages to appear Such messages may include specific operat ing parameter information or the name and number of a preferred service provider Referring to FIGS 4 6 in the foregoing discussion it was shown that the alerting devices mounted on the display unit 160 are connected to their respective signaling lines from the microcontroller 84 It is to be noted that the connection 15 accomplished in one of many ways including wired wireless or a combin
20. operator is configured to automatically gen 58 Field of Classification Search 49 13 erate an electronic service reminder in the form of an audible UD 49 14 31 29 318 466 or visual alert based on one or more operating parameters of See application file for complete search history the garage door operator meeting or exceeding a predefined 56 References Cited threshold The predefined threshold is variable based on the values of the operating parameters U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 4 336 595 A 6 1982 Adams et al 14 Claims 5 Drawing Sheets a y Sf START 200 220 YES IDENTIFY PARAMETER S THAT REACHED THRESHOLD 222 DETERMINE REQUIRED ACTION 224 OUTPUT ALERT SIGNAL INDICATING REQUIRED ACTION 228 ACTION TAKEN 232 YES TURN OFF OUTPUT ALERT SIGNAL m U S Patent Feb 24 2009 Sheet 1 of 5 US 7 493 726 B2 P EN y N US 7 493 726 B2 Sheet 2 of 5 Feb 24 2009 U S Patent 3 Id 6 1 2 LL HOLIMS 5 001 9 V6 Q O 98 tc 2 2 l 06 YOLOALAG 3 10Vl1S80 WoOllLdO 28 08 43 13934 027 HOSN3S 3univuadwar ze AN a o c6 US 7 493 726 B2 Sheet 3 of 5 Feb 24 2009 U S Patent INVHAN vel 1naino HON QV
21. rator overhead light on and off Thus there is provided a garage door operator that is able to actively and automatically communicate mainte nance requirements to a user relative to conventional garage door operators that require the user to refer to a printed manual for standard time schedules The described embodiments are directed to a movable bar rier operator such as a garage door operator which includes a head unit housing an electric motor The motor is adapted to drive a transmission that is connectable to the movable bar rier A wired or wireless switch or a combination thereof is in communication with a controller housed within the head unit for commanding the head unit to raise or lower the garage door The controller includes a microcontroller or other pro cessing device interfaced to a non volatile memory NVRAM for storing and retrieving operator related data and other data accumulated by the controller A receiver commu nication with the controller is provided for receiving radio frequency RF signals from the wireless switch An overhead light typically associated with garage door openers is turned off and on by the controller The microcontroller is configured to receive and send vari ous different kinds of data during operation For example the microcontroller is interfaced to a force sensor and an ambient temperature sensor for receiving input data regarding the upward and downward forces generated by the door and
22. service reminder mes sages and FIG 7 is a flow diagram of a service reminder routine executed by the microcontroller DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings and especially to FIG 1 more specifically a movable barrier door operator or garage door operator is generally shown therein and referred to by numeral 10 includes a head unit 12 mounted within a garage 14 The head unit 12 is mounted to the ceiling ofthe garage 14 and includes a rail 18 extending therefrom with a releasable trolley 20 attached having an arm 22 extending to a multiple paneled garage door 24 positioned for movement along a pair of door rails 26 and 28 The system includes a hand held transmitter unit 30 adapted to send signals to an antenna 32 positioned on the head unit 12 and coupled to a receiver as shown hereinafter An external control pad 34 is positioned on the outside ofthe garage having a plurality of buttons thereon and communicates via radio frequency transmission with the antenna 32 of the head unit 12 A switch module 39 is mounted on a wall of the garage The switch module 39 is connected to the head unit by a pair of wires 39a The switch module 39 includes a learn switch 395 a light switch 39c a lock switch 394 and a command switch 39e An optical emit ter 42 is connected via a power and signal line 44 to the head unit 12 An optical detector 46 is connected to the head unit 12 via a wire 48 As shown in FIG 2 the gara
23. ten In many cases subsequent home or business owners never are provided the opportunity of reading the owners manual before acquiring the garage door operator As a result maintenance schedules may not be followed over significantly long time periods resulting in unnecessary wear and tear of the equipment and eventual premature failure SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention there is provided an electronic service reminder to automatically notify a user as to when and what type of maintenance should be per formed on the garage door operator based on a variety of time materials and environmental factors For example the garage door operator produces a notification alert based on the amount of time since the garage door operator was ini tially installed or since maintenance was performed on the operator previously Other variables also are used in deter mining the maintenance schedule such as the travel distance ofthe garage door the life expectancy ofthe door and springs and the ambient temperature Thus the garage door operator is configured to automatically generate an electronic service reminder in the form of an audible or visual alert based on an operating parameter of the garage door operator meeting or exceeding a predefined threshold For example ifthe garage door has been opened and closed a predefined number oftimes then analert will notify the user that the springs on the door should be checked
24. ue has been met or exceeded in step 220 the microcontroller returns to step 208 and contin ues collecting operating data However if a threshold value has been reached or exceeded during operation of the garage door operator in step 222 the particular parameter or param eters that reached the threshold limit is identified Based on the identity of the parameters and the algorithm used in deter mining threshold values the particular type of maintenance required is determined in step 224 In step 228 an output alert signal is generated by the microcontroller to illuminate the proper LED message panel or display the appropriate LCD text message and sound the appropriate tones Subsequent to the service reminder alert being generated the system in step 232 determines whether any action has been taken in response to the reminder message sufficient to disable the output alert signal Several valid responses are available First a test of the safety system maybe conducted that includes reversal of the garage door due to a force obstruction to confirm that the safety system has been tested Alternatively the system may turn off the alert based on a period of elapsed time or number of operations of the garage door operator lifting and lowering the garage door Additional valid responses include one or more operations from the wall orkeyless entry controls a poweron reset or even any specific command input as determined by the user Accordingly if an
25. y ofthe enumerated responses are received the microcontroller will turn off the outputs in step 236 and continue accumulat ing operating data in step 208 While the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof it is evident that many alterna tives modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light ofthe foregoing description Accord ingly it is intended to embrace all such alternatives modifi cations and variations as fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims What is claimed is 1 movable barrier operator installed at an initial instal lation time which opens and closes a barrier the barrier operator comprising atimer measuring an elapsed length oftime since the initial installation of the movable barrier operator 0 15 30 40 45 55 60 65 8 a counter which counts the number of operations that are executed by the movable barrier operator a measuring sensor configured to measure an operating condition of the barrier operator and acontroller coupled to the timer the sensor and counter the controller programmed to determine whether an alert condition exists based upon whether the elapsed length of time since the initial installation and a number of movements counted have reached a threshold and when the alert condition exists present service reminder information to a user the controller configured to
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