Universal garage door opener

• US 6,072,404 A
• Filed: 04/29/1997
• Issued: 06/06/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Delphi Technologies, Inc. (Aptiv PLC)
• Original Assignee: Eaton Corp. (Wisconsin) (Eaton Corporation PLC.)
• Inventors: Nolan, James, Shreve, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Holloway, III, Edwin C.
• Application Number:
  US08/841,291
• Time in Patent Office: 1,134 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.69, 340/825.72, 340/825.22, 340/825.63, 455/76, 708/271, 330/293
• US Class Current: 340/12.16
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00793 by Hertzian waves
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00865 remotely by wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00857 where the code of the data carrier can be programmed
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 19/28 using pulse code

Abstract

A universal garage door opener (UGDO) that records and recreates a carrier frequency signal from a wide range of commercially available garage door openers. A receiver portion of the UGDO includes a detector for removing a carrier wave of the received carrier frequency signal. The carrier frequency signal is applied to a frequency synthesizer including a dual modulus prescaler divider chain. The carrier frequency signal is divided down by the divider chain and compared to a divided reference frequency signal to determine the carrier frequency. The dual modulus divider chain starts at a maximum divide ratio, and periodically changes the divide ratio until the divided carrier frequency signal is within a predetermined resolution range of the divided reference frequency signal. A JK flip flop is used to hold a phase detect output signal of the frequency synthesizer indicative of the divided carrier frequency signal. A carrier frequency signal from a variable controlled oscillator is applied to the frequency synthesizer to be divided down by the dual modulus prescaler divider chain. The phase detect output signal from the frequency synthesizer is used to adjust the center frequency of the VCO so that the divided VCO frequency signal conforms to the original carrier frequency signal. The output carrier frequency of the VCO is also applied to an amplifier that is responsive to a modulation signal to modulate the carrier frequency in accordance with the originally stored demodulation signal from the carrier frequency signal.

Claims

1. A universal garage door opener (10) comprising:

a receiver antenna (18,64) responsive to a modulated carrier frequency signal;

a detector (22,78) responsive to the modulated carrier frequency signal from the receiver antenna (18,64), said detector (22,78) demodulating the carrier frequency signal and providing a demodulation signal indicative of the modulation of the carrier frequency signal;

a frequency synthesizer (34,96) responsive to the modulated carrier frequency signal from the receiver antenna (18,64), said frequency synthesizer (34,96) selectively providing a known reference frequency signal, said frequency synthesizer (34,96) dividing the carrier frequency signal by a known value to generate a divided carrier frequency signal and comparing the divided carrier frequency signal to the reference frequency signal to determine the frequency of the carrier frequency signal, said frequency synthesizer (34,96) providing a phase detect output signal indicative of the comparison between the divided carrier frequency signal and the reference frequency signal; and

a control device (12,90) responsive to the demodulation signal from the detector (22,78) and the phase detect output signal from the frequency synthesizer (34,96), said control device (12,90) controlling the operation of the frequency synthesizer (34,96) for selectively changing the known value from a maximum divide ratio to a lesser divide ratio until the divided carrier frequency signal is within a predetermined resolution range of the divided reference frequency signal.

2. The universal garage door opener according to claim 1 wherein the frequency synthesizer includes means for establishing a divide ratio and means for dividing the carrier frequency signal, said means for dividing using the divide ratio to divide the carrier frequency signal.

3. The universal garage door opener according to claim 2 wherein the means for dividing the carrier frequency signal is a dual modulus prescaler divider chain.

4. The universal garage door opener (10) according to claim 3 wherein the means for establishing a divide ratio includes a first counter holding a first count value and a second counter holding a second count value, said means for dividing the carrier frequency signal dividing by the first count value at one time, varying the prescaler to a new divisor, and dividing the carrier frequency signal by the second count value at another time, wherein the first count value divides the carrier frequency by more than the second count value.

5. The universal garage door opener according to claim 1 further comprising a flip flop device, said flip flop device being responsive to the demodulation signal from the detector as a clock signal and the phase detect output signal from the frequency synthesizer, said flip flop device holding the output signal from the synthesizer over consecutive clock pulses in the clock signal and applying the phase detect output signal from the synthesizer to the control device.

6. The universal garage door opener according to claim 1 wherein the phase detect output signal from the frequency synthesizer is applied to a comparator so as to compare the phase detect output signal to a known threshold value.

7. The universal garage door opener according to claim 1 further comprising a receiver amplifier, said receiver amplifier being an amplifier chain including first, second and third amplifier stages, wherein a first series inductor-capacitor amplifier filter couples the first amplifier stage to the second amplifier stage, and a second series inductor-capacitor amplifier filter couples the second stage to the third amplifier stage.

8. The universal garage door opener according to claim 1 further comprising a pulse stretcher diode, said pulse stretcher diode being responsive to the phase detect output signal, said stretcher diode stretching pulses in the phase detect output signal to provide enhanced detection capabilities.

9. The universal garage door opener according to claim 1 further comprising a comparator, said comparator being responsive to the demodulation signal from the detector, said comparator providing a square wave amplitude level signal indicative of the modulation of the carrier frequency signal that is logically compatible with the control device.

10. The universal garage door opener according to claim 1 further comprising a receiver switch, said control device switching the receiver switch between an on state and an off state so as to provide power to receiver components when the universal garage door opener is in a receive mode and switch off power to the receiver components when the universal garage door opener is not in the receive mode so as to reduce power consumption.

11. The universal garage door opener according to claim 1 further comprising a variable controlled oscillator, said variable controlled oscillator generating an oscillator carrier frequency signal at a particular tuned center frequency, said frequency synthesizer being responsive to the oscillator carrier frequency signal.

12. The universal garage door opener according to claim 11 wherein the frequency synthesizer is responsive to a divide value from the control device, said frequency synthesizer dividing the oscillator carrier frequency signal by the divide value to generate a divided oscillator carrier frequency signal, said frequency synthesizer comparing the divided oscillator carrier frequency signal to the reference frequency signal, said phase detect output signal being indicative of a difference between the divided oscillator carrier frequency signal and the reference frequency signal.

13. The universal garage door opener according to claim 11 wherein the phase detect output signal is applied to a filtering circuit in the variable controlled oscillator so as to adjust the center frequency of the oscillator carrier frequency signal.

14. The universal garage door opener according to claim 11 further comprising a transmitter amplifier, said transmitter amplifier being responsive to the oscillator carrier frequency signal from the variable controlled oscillator and a modulation signal from the control device indicative of the demodulation signal, said transmitter amplifier modulating the oscillator carrier frequency signal so as to recreate the modulated carrier frequency signal.

15. The universal garage door opener (10) according to claim 14 further comprising a fixed tuned filter circuit (178, 180), said fixed tuned filter circuit (178, 180) being responsive to the recreated modulated carrier frequency signal from the transmitter amplifier (56, 166) so as to generate the maximum allowable radiated power of the modulated carrier frequency output signal without additional attenuation circuitry.

16. The universal garage door opener (10) according to claim 11 further comprising a transmitter antenna (60, 176), said transmitter antenna (60, 160) being a printed circuit board electromagnetic field antenna that is tuned for frequency and spatial response.

17. The universal garage door opener according to claim 1 further comprising a transmitter switch, said control device switching the transmitter switch between an on state and an off state so as to switch power on to transmitter components when the universal garage door opener is in a transmit mode, and to switch power off to the transmitter components when the universal garage door opener is not in the transmit mode so as to reduce power consumption.

18. The universal garage door opener according to claim 1 further comprising a plurality of input switch diodes, where an input signal applied to one of the input switch diodes causes the control device to scan input terminals connected to the input switches so as to determine which switch has been activated.

19. The universal garage door opener (10) according to claim 1 wherein all of the circuit components of the universal garage door opener (10) are configured on one side of a single printed circuit board.

20. The universal garage door opener according to claim 1 wherein the control device is a microprocessor and wherein the demodulation signal from the detector is remapped to a time base of the microprocessor.

21. A universal garage door opener (10) comprising:

a receiver antenna (18,64) responsive to a modulated carrier frequency signal;

means for separating the modulated carrier frequency signal into a first path and a second path;

a detector (22,78) responsive to the modulated carrier frequency signal from the receiver antenna (18,64) along the first path, said detector (22,78) demodulating the carrier frequency signal and providing a modulation signal indicative of the modulation of the carrier frequency signal;

a frequency synthesizer (34,96) including a dual modulus prescaler divider chain and being responsive to the modulated carrier frequency signal from the receiver antenna (18,64) along the second path, said frequency synthesizer (34,96) providing a phase detect output signal indicative of the frequency of the carrier frequency signal; and

a control device (12,90) responsive to the demodulation signal from the detector (22,78) and the output signal from the frequency synthesizer (34,96), said control device (12,90) controlling the operation of the frequency synthesizer (34,96) for dividing down the modulated carrier frequency signal by the divider chain until the divided carrier signal is within a predetermined resolution range of a divided reference frequency signal from the divider chain.

22. The universal garage door opener (10) according to claim 21 wherein the frequency synthesizer (34, 96) includes a dual modulus prescaler divider chain and a means for providing a known reference frequency signal, said dual modulus prescaler divider chain dividing the carrier frequency signal by a known value to generate a divided carrier frequency signal and comparing the divided carrier frequency signal to the reference frequency signal to determine the frequency of the carrier signal, wherein the phase detect output signal is indicative of the comparison between the divided carrier frequency signal and the reference frequency signal.

23. The universal garage door opener according to claim 21 further comprising a flip flop device, said flip flop device being responsive to the demodulation signal from the detector as a clock signal and the output signal from the frequency synthesizer, said flip flop device holding the output signal from the synthesizer over consecutive clock pulses in the clock signal and applying the output signal from the synthesizer to the control device.

24. The universal garage door opener according to claim 21 further comprising a pulse stretcher diode, said pulse stretcher diode being responsive to the output signal from the synthesizer, said stretcher diode stretching pulses in the output signal to provide enhanced detection capabilities.

25. The universal garage door opener according to claim 21 further comprising a receiver switch, said control device switching the receiver switch between an on state and an off state so as to provide power to receiver components when the universal garage door opener is in a receive mode and switch off power to the receiver components when the universal garage door opener is not in the receive mode so as to reduce power consumption.

26. The universal garage door opener according to claim 21 further comprising a variable controlled oscillator, said variable controlled oscillator generating an oscillator carrier frequency signal at a particular tuned center frequency, said frequency synthesizer being responsive to the oscillator carrier frequency signal, said universal garage door opener further comprising a transmitter amplifier, said transmitter amplifier being responsive to the oscillator carrier frequency signal from the variable controlled oscillator and a modulation signal from the control device indicative of the demodulation signal, said transmitter amplifier modulating the oscillator carrier frequency signal so as to recreate the modulated carrier frequency signal.

27. The universal garage door opener (10) according to claim 26 further comprising a fixed tuned filter circuit (178, 180), said fixed tuned filter circuit (178, 180) being responsive to the recreated modulated carrier frequency signal from the transmitter amplifier (56, 166) so as to generate the maximum allowable radiated power of the modulated carrier frequency output signal without additional attenuation circuitry.

28. The universal garage door opener (10) according to claim 26 further comprising a transmitter antenna (60, 176), said transmitter antenna (60, 176) being a printed circuit board electromagnetic field antenna that is tuned for frequency and spatial response.

29. The universal garage door opener according to claim 26 further comprising a transmitter switch, said control device switching the transmitter switch between an on state and an off state so as to switch power on to transmitter components when the universal garage door opener is in a transmit mode, and to switch power off to the transmitter components when the universal garage door opener is not in the transmit mode so as to reduce power consumption.

30. The universal garage door opener (10) according to claim 21 wherein all of the circuit components of the universal garage door opener (10) are configured on one side of a single printed circuit board.

31. The universal garage door opener according to claim 21 further comprising a plurality of input switch diodes, where an input signal applied to one of the input switch diodes causes the control device to scan input terminals connected to the input switches so as to determine which switch has been activated.

32. A universal garage door opener (10) comprising:

a receiver antenna (18,64) responsive to a modulated carrier frequency signal;

a detector (22,78) responsive to the modulated carrier frequency signal from the receiver antenna (18,64), said detector (22,78) demodulating the carrier frequency signal and providing a demodulation signal indicative of the modulation of the carrier frequency signal;

a frequency synthesizer (34,96) including a dual modulus prescaler divider chain and being responsive to the modulated carrier frequency signal from the receiver antenna (18,64), said frequency synthesizer (34,96) providing a phase detect output signal indicative of the frequency of the carrier frequency signal;

a pluses stretcher diode (124) responsive to the phase detect output signal, said stretcher diode (124) stretching pulses in the phase detect output signal to provide enhanced detection capabilities; and

a control device (12,90) responsive to the demodulation signal from the detector (22,78) and the phase detect output signal from the frequency synthesizer (34,96), said control device (12,90) controlling the operation of the frequency synthesizer (34,96) for dividing down the modulated carrier frequency signal by the divider chain until the divided carrier signal is within a predetermined resolution range of a divided reference frequency signal from the divider chain.

33. The universal garage door opener according to claim 32 further comprising a flip flop device, said flip flop device being responsive to the demodulation signal from the detector as a clock signal and the phase detect output signal from the frequency synthesizer, said flip flop device holding the output signal from the synthesizer over consecutive clock pulses in the clock signal and applying the phase detect output signal from the synthesizer to the control device.

34. A method of decoding the frequency of a frequency signal including a stream of consecutive pulses, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a circuit that is responsive to the frequency signal;

determining a shortest pulse width of the frequency signal from one waveform transition to a next waveform transition over a predetermined period of time, said step of determining the shortest pulse width including measuring both positive going pulse widths and negative going pulse widths;

selecting a sampling frequency within the circuit that has a rate that is faster than one half of the shortest pulse width so as to stretch the width of the pulses in the frequency signal to create stretched pulses;

representing the shortest pulse width as two samples in a memory of the circuit as a basis function in order to represent the stream of consecutive pulses in terms of the basis function;

determining whether there is an even number or an odd number of consecutive high or low samples for a particular pulse width; and

remapping the frequency signal to the time base of the circuit by removing the stretched pulses from the frequency signal.

35. The method according to claim 34 wherein the frequency signal is a signal from a garage door opener.