A modular garage door opener system and method including a garage door opener having a motor that is configured to be coupled to a garage door to open and close the garage door. The garage door opener includes a first accessory port including a first accessory mounting interface and a second accessory port disposed on the garage door opener including a second accessory mounting interface. An accessory device including a first mounting interface engages the first accessory mounting interface to couple the accessory device to the first accessory port. The accessory device may be disengaged from the first accessory mounting interface and then engage the second accessory mounting interface to couple the accessory device to the second accessory port. Additionally, a second accessory device may engage the first accessory port after disengagement of the accessory device.

A recoding medium storing a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations including: determining a pattern of a change in luminance, by modulating the signal to be transmitted; and transmitting the signal, by at least one light emitter changing in luminance according to the determined pattern of the change in luminance. The signal has a plurality of blocks, each block of the plurality of blocks includes (i) address information that indicates a position of a data segment in the signal and (ii) the data segment. In the transmitting, the signal is transmitted repeatedly at different times. The address information is used to identify a same location of the block data segment in the signal transmitted at a first time and in the signal transmitted at a second time, which is different from the first time. The signal has a check signal.

There is disclosed an automatic door installation 100 configured to determine the presence of an obstacle 150 in one or more detection zones remote from a door opening, comprising: at least a first door 104 slidable in a door opening along a horizontal door axis from an open configuration to a closed configuration during a door closing operation; a plurality of transmitter-receiver pairs, each transmitter-receiver pair comprising: a transmitter 116 for transmitting a beam 140 and a receiver 118 for receiving a reflection of the beam, wherein one of the transmitter 116 and the receiver 118 is coupled to the first door so that, in use, the transmitter and receiver move closer together during the door closing operation; wherein the transmitter 116 defines a transmitter axis 120 corresponding to the optical axis of the beam; wherein the receiver 118 has a field of view 142 for receiving the beam, which is oriented around a receiver axis; and wherein the transmitter axis 120 and the receiver axis 122 are configured so that the beam and the field of view overlap to define a detection zone for the transmitter-receiver pair in at least one operational configuration of the door installation. At least one of the transmitter axis 120 and the receiver axis 122 is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane and the transmitter 116 is vertically spaced apart from the receiver 118.

A door sensor may include one or more emitters configured to emit an emission beam comprising IR light during an emitting phase. The door sensor may further include one or more receptors configured to receive a reception beam comprising the IR light reflected off of a surface during a listening phase and an interference beam from an adjacent door sensor. The door sensor may further include a controller operatively coupled to a memory storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the controller, cause the controller to: determine one or more of the frequency and phase of the interference beam; determine whether the door sensor should be primary or secondary to the adjacent door sensor; and adjust a timing of one or more of the emitting phase and the listening phase to reduce interference from the adjacent door sensor.

An information communication method of transmitting a signal using a change in luminance is provided. The information communication method includes: determining a pattern of the change in luminance, by modulating the signal to be transmitted; and transmitting the signal, by at least one light emitter changing in luminance according to the determined pattern of the change in luminance. The signal has a plurality of blocks. Each block of the plurality of blocks includes (i) address information to indicate a position of a data segment in the signal, and (ii) the data segment. In the transmitting, the signal is transmitted repeatedly at different times.

A system and method detects an obstruction in the path of a vehicle access control member moving from an open position to a closed position. The method includes transmitting a detection signal along an edge of the member towards a reflective surface mounted on the member. The detection signal includes a sequence of pulses having different amplitudes with the amplitudes varying linearly moving from a first pulse to a final pulse of the sequence of pulses. The method further includes receiving a detection response signal corresponding to the detection signal following reflection of the detection signal by one of the reflective surface and the obstruction. The detection response signal includes another sequence of pulses and the method further includes generating an obstruction signal indicating whether the obstruction is in the path of the access control member responsive to differences in amplitude between adjacent pulses in the sequence of pulses.

An opening/closing body drive device includes a drive mechanism that moves an opening/closing body between an opening position and a closing position relative to a frame portion having an opening, a control unit for controlling the drive mechanism, a light source unit including a light emitting element emitting a non-visible light and radiating the non-visible light to a detection line formed of a retroreflective material along at least a part of the frame portion, and a camera including an incident lens into which the non-visible light radiated from the light source unit and reflected by the detection line enters. At least of a part of the light source unit is arranged in front of the incident lens when the incident lens is viewed along an optical axis thereof from a side of the opening.

Motorized door assemblies having a door pivoting about a pivot axis extending across opposing jambs. In one aspect, the assembly includes a motor assembly having a motor, drive gears, slip clutch, and driven shaft connected to the door to pivot it about the pivot axis. The slip clutch includes a clutch plate slideable along the driven shaft, a drive plate driven by the motor via the drive gears, and a clutch spring urging the clutch plate into engagement with the drive plate, where the clutch and drive plates have profiled and counter-profiled faces. In another aspect, a break beam emitter and receiver are mounted to respective ones of the opposing jambs along a beam axis extending parallel to the pivot axis and proximate to an edge of the door opposite the pivot axis. Interruption of a light beam projected therebetween alters operation of a motor assembly.

A modular garage door opener system and method including a garage door opener having a motor that is configured to be coupled to a garage door to open and close the garage door. The garage door opener includes a first accessory port including a first accessory mounting interface and a second accessory port disposed on the garage door opener including a second accessory mounting interface. An accessory device including a first mounting interface engages the first accessory mounting interface to couple the accessory device to the first accessory port. The accessory device may be disengaged from the first accessory mounting interface and then engage the second accessory mounting interface to couple the accessory device to the second accessory port. Additionally, a second accessory device may engage the first accessory port after disengagement of the accessory device.

The invention relates generally to the field of motorized garage door openers. In particular, the invention relates to wireless safety sensors for garage door openers and garage door opener with a wireless safety sensor. The wireless safety sensor has a wireless communication link with a main control unit of the garage door opener. The wireless safety sensor also has an internal wireless link, i.e., a detection beam link, between a master unit and a slave unit. The wireless safety sensor periodically verifies that the wireless communication link has good signal quality and maintains the quality of the wireless communication link.