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College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department of Mechanical Engineering

ME 434

Professor Farooq Ahmad

Garage Door Opener

Joseph Sarhadian

Due: May 15, 2016

Submitted: May 15, 2016

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Introduction:

It is an electronic device or a motorized device that is used to open and close garage

doors. The first invention was an overhead door which could be lifted upwards folding parallel to

the garage ceiling. This invention was from C.G Johnson in 1921. Come 1926; he invented the

electric door opener which made it easy for those people who had trouble lifting the heavy

wooden door. This led to the formation of the overhead door cooperation which up to date is still

the leading manufacturer and service provider of the garage doors today.

The garage door opener gained its popularity after World War 2. This was when the Era

Motor Company offered a model commercial where the overhead garage door could be opened

through a keypad located on a post at the end of the drive way and a switch inside.

The electric garage doors were remote operated but not wireless. It had two wired

switches. One keypad was on a post outside while the other keypad was inside the garage door.

After some years had passed, the invention of the use of remotes came to be. There were two

remotes installed into the car. One was used as a forward thinking code pulse system while the

other remote was used to generate white noise on the right frequency to activate. Its disadvantage

was realized when while one was opening his or her garage door, the neighbor’s garage door

would also open since it would listen to the frequency and the frequencies were mostly the same.

This was fixed when the fixed code pulses were set on both the remote and the opener unit. This

made sure that the garage door only opened when the right code was heard even if the

frequencies were the same (“An Electric Door-opener”).

In 1954, Genie Corporation brought to the mass market the garage door opener and in

1956, the Chamberlain Cooperation introduced their lift master line to the mass market.

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Since garage door was made of wood, it had its disadvantages. When subjected to the

weather, it warped by the heat of the sun and was rotten by rain. This led to the introduction of

the galvanized steel garage doors. Since this was not a good insulator, they counteracted this by

putting two galvanized steel together with polystyrene insulations between them. This was called

a Styrofoam sandwich. It helped to keep the garages warm, and it also increased the length of a

garages door life by a few decades. Fiberglass was later introduced, followed by composites

which included the resin filled wood and lastly the vinyl covered aluminum which is used till

date.

Following the dangers of the automatic garage door openers which were reflected by

accidents that occurred between 1974 and 1995 where 85 US children were either dead or

suffered from permanent brain damage, the federal government mandated that all garage doors

should have safety sensors to keep the door from closing down on people. Photoelectric sensors

and pressure sensitive sensors came to being. The photoelectric sensors were the electric eyes

and were mounted 6 inches from the ground and the pressure sensitive sensors were installed on

the bottom of the door. This made the garage door reverse them and opened fully if any object

was detected under the garage door while it was closing. These sensors were improved through

the years.

The garage door opener holds the door closed in place of a lock. The electric opener

provides a small amount of force to control how far the door closes and opens. There are

counterbalance springs that are attached to the door. These springs are the ones that do the actual

lifting of the garage door. These springs are under tension to lift the garage door through the

counterbalance steel cables (“An Electric Door-opener”).

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The garage door openers are divided into three types on the basis of technology used for

opening and shutting the door. They are; chain drive opener, belt drive opener, and screw drive

opener. The chain driven opener is the cheapest and the oldest technology. It is also the most

common. The bicycle like the chain is used to pull a trolley that is connected to a metal bar

called a J- arm affixed to the garage door that moves your door up and down. It is affordable and

extremely reliable, but they are very noisy and only advantaged to those with detached garages.

In a screw driven opener, the screw rotates a steel threaded rod to move the trolley that opens

and closes the door. It has fewer components thus claimed to have less maintenance. It is

currently the speediest, but it is also very noisy thus more applicable to detached garages. The

belt drive opener uses a reinforced belt to open and close the door. The belt is made of fiberglass,

polyurethane or steel reinforced rubber. It is the quietest and noiseless hence it won’t disturb the

adjacent living areas. It is also very strong, and it is ideal for an attached garage. Even though, it

is slightly expensive, it is worth the expense (Joe Provey).

I chose to go with the belt drive opener since it is the best and most sorted to its

advantageous reason of being noiseless as compared to the rest.

Mechanical components of the garage opener:

The torsion spring- it does the heavy lifting.

• Belt- it will be made of steel reinforced rubber, and it rotates through the gear on the

operator top, and it pulls the trolley.

• Emergency release rope- it is used to operate the door manually in case of power

outage.

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• Trolley. It is connected to an arm that attaches to the top of the garage door, and it

slides back and forth on the track as the garage door opens and closes.

• Rails. For the front, back and center sections.

• U bracket.

• Header bracket.

• Door bracket.

• Idler pulley.

• Curved door arm section.

• Straight door arm section.

• Chain and cable.

• Chain spreader with screws.

• Safety sensor bracket.

Assembly and installation hardware:

• Motor and the gear. The motor is a ½ hp, 6 amp machine hooked to a 120-volt outlet.

With this feature, it can overcome the inertia of a stopped door and it also slows down the

door in transit to prevent it from crashing to the garage floor.

• Drive guide. It is also known as the T-rail. It connects the operator to the trolley. The

trolley is then connected to the door. Its work is to guide and shield the belt as it moves the

door open and closed.

• Height adjustment. The distance of the door traveled is determined by the operator

settings. It can also adjust the force of the doors motion so as the door can stop moving if

grabbed.

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• Inverter and battery. DC is used in most garage- door operators so as to allow smaller,

more efficient motors. The inverter is used to charge the battery backup system which

kicks in when the power is out.

The electrical components and circuit of a garage door opener:

• Capacitor. It stores electrical energy and provide bursts of power that are stronger than

the power normally flowing through a circuit switch.

• Keyless entry pad.

• Remote control transmitter.

• Garage door monitor.

• Door control.

• Door control button

• Switch.

• Light bulbs.

Installation:

Safety should be maintained, and the recommended tools should be used. Before

beginning, make sure the garage door opens and closes smoothly. The ropes and cords attached

to the door should be removed. The garage door locks should also be removed as well. The door

should be closed. The rails should first be assembled. The trolley should be placed on the front

rail. The back rail is connected to u bracket. The motor unit is also connected to the back rail.

The rails are connected using the bolt (Lowe).

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As for the motor unit, you first remove the fasteners from the top of the motor unit. You

then attach the rail to the motor unit and afterward attach the chain spreader.run the cable

through the cut- out the window and then install the idler pulley. Connect the cable to the front of

the trolley. Route the cable around rail assembly and motor unit sprocket. Attach the chain to

trolley threaded shaft and then attach the nut and lock washer to trolley threaded shaft. You then

insert the trolley threaded shaft into round hole in the trolley. Tighten the chain to the desired

chain tension.

When it comes to the header bracket, you first locate and mark the center of the garage

door on door and wall and extended onto the ceiling. You then determine the highest point of

travel and draw a horizontal line for header bracket placement. When mounting it, you fist mark

the bracket holes, then drill the marked points and attach the bracket. You then attach the rail to

the header bracket (Albert Jackson, and David Day).

When positioning and hanging motor unit, you will first open the door to full open position

and rest the rail on a 2×4 to position opener at the proper angle for hanging from the ceiling.

Attach hanging brackets to the ceiling and fasten the motor unit to hanging brackets. When this

is done, you then remove the 2×4 and close the door.

In fastening the door bracket, you position the door bracket on the face of the door.The top

edge of the bracket should be directly below any structural support across the top of the door.

Drill the holes and then fasten the door bracket using self-threading screws (Hearst).

Attach the emergency release rope and handle and secure it with an overhand knot and heat

seal rope. After you have finished, you pull the emergency rope to disengage the trolley. Then

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slide the trolley back and connect straight door arm to the trolley. Connect the curved door arm

to the door bracket, ensures the door is fully closed and connect the door arms.

When installing the door control, you first strip the control wire then connect the wire to

the door control. Afterward, position the door control, route door control wire to motor unit and

secure with insulated staples. Then permanently mount two safety labels using staples. Be

careful not to staple the wires. Remove the door control cover, attach the door to the wall and

replace the cover when you are done. Finally, connect the door control wires to the motor unit

(Fixr).

Remove the lens from the tabs when installing light bulbs by flexing the sides of the light

lens. Rotate the light lens down and install standard light bulbs into the sockets. In addition, the

protector system, assemble safety reversing systems, mount the brackets on the garage door

track, run safety sensor wire to motor unit an secure them with insulated staples, strip all safety

sensor wires and separate them then twist like colored wires together. Connect the safety sensors

to the motor unit.

Besides the above, the power unit should be at least seven feet above the floor for the

safety of the tall people. The manual disconnect cord should be six feet tall. When installing

permanent wiring, the power to the garage should be shut until the wiring is complete. To avoid

shock, the openers power cord should be grounded (Fixr).

The push button control should be installed five feet above the ground for easy reach of

adults to open the door but not children.the idlers assembly is then connected to the power units

bracket. When it comes to mounting the power unit, you should first figure out how high the

power unit should be so that it can clear the door when it is opened. You should then open the

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door completely ad see how much power needs to be adjusted. After this, you should attach the

power unit to the garage ceiling with the mounting straps if height adjustment is not needed. The

linkage assembly should then be adjusted.

Figure 1: The final look after everything is installed

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Figure 2: The garage door opener operator

Part Number Part Name

1 Motor and gear

2 Drive guide

3 Height adjustment

4 Invert and battery

It is operated by a counterbalance system which means that it employs force to offset the

door weight. In this design, we used the torsion spring which is usually mounted horizontally

above the door opening. As the door closes, cables attached to the doors bottom corners causes

the springs to wind up. The winding of the springs energizes the system. When the door is

opened, the springs unwind and the energy is transferred to the door and helps lift it. The electric

opener in turn only provides a small amount of force to control how far the door closes and

opens (Joe Provey).

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Optional Smart features:

Remote control: Garage electric door manufacturers has added a remote control as an

optional feature for their clients. These remote controls uses the wireless system to transmit

information to the receiver which is the garage opener. The remote uses a designated frequency

to open or close the door depending on the position of the door. The transmitter used in most of

these gadgets uses a frequency of 315MHz to avoid conflicting signals with other wireless

gadgets like the Land Mobile Radio System (The Home Depot).

Lights: electric garage door opener manufacturers sell their gadgets with a lighting system

that turns on wherever the door opens.

Carbon monoxide detector: this is an additional feature that opens the door wherever an

excessive amount of exhaust fumes is detected.

Other smart features present in the market include; fingerprint based wireless keypads,

remote lockout, solenoid-operated deadbolts, and key chain remotes (The Home Depot).

Cost of the project:

In cost analysis electric wiring, labor costs, and equipment costs were the main factor. For

laboring it was assumed that assembling of the unit, fabricate the support bracketing, attaching

and adjusting the drive mechanism, connecting the head unit to the existing power receptacle,

and installing the opener switch and program remote control was done. For material and supply it

was assumed to do flashing and exterior grade caulking, corrosion resistant fasteners, and use

weather stripping sealants.

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Item Quantity Cost per Item:

Low

Cost per

Item : High

Labour 2 hrs $62.15 $140.80

Equipment

Belt Drive door

opener

1 $ 196 $390

Door Costs 1 doors $157.49 $237.62

Material and Supply 1 doors $20.00 $25.00

Door equipment

allowance: 12"

miter saw,

pneumatic framing

nailer, and 3 1/4"

electric planer

$28.5 $48.00

Totals - Cost to

Install Automatic

Electric Garage

Door Opener

1 doors $464.14 $841.42

Average Cost Per

Door

1 $464.14 $841.42

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Comparison to other systems available:

Model.

Feature.

Choosen model Genie quiet lift

800.

Sommer ¾ hp

direct drive.

Door style Gatehuse sectional

double wide

Sectional single and

double wide

Gatehouse sectional

double wide

Maximum door

height (feet)

7 7 7

Maximum lifting

capacity (pounds)

550 350 550

Total horse power 3/4 ½ ¾

Lift system Belt. Belt. Chain.

Home automation

capability.

MyQ Homelink and car 2

u

Homelink.

Timer Yes. - -

Backup power

source

Yes - -

Remote controls 2 2 2

Remote control

style.

3 buttons 3buttons 3 buttons

Number of lights. 2 2 2

Light delay 4.5 minutes 3 minutes 3 minutes

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Maximum wattage 200 120 120

Keyless entry pad yes - -

Lock manual Yes Yes Yes

Rolling code Yes yes Yes

Automatic reverse Yes Yes Yes

Infrared beam Yes Yes Yes

Motion detector

lights

Yes Yes Yes

Manual release Yes - -

Motor warranty Lifetime 10 years. Lifetime.

Chain/ belt

warranty

Lifetime. 1 year. lifetime.

Parts warranty 5 years 1 year Lifetime.

(GarageAutomatics.com: Garaga).

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Wi-Fi Garage Door Opener

In this project the Wi-Fi garage door opener will be constructed. The Ardurino host a

little web page on local network which can be access from any devices connected to the network,

such as smartphone. This set the garage door opening machanism into motion. Stepper motor and

easy driver been used to show the rotation clockwise and counterclockwise when command was

given through smartphone. Easy driver also gives ability to turn the stepper motor for a certain

angle. Usb serial adapter been used to power the ardurino and transfer the data from computer to

ardurino.

Parts needed:

Converter as shown in the figure 3 below. Its characteristics are: USB TO 5V Serial TX, RX,

Miniature-USB, ATMEGA8U2, 6POS Header

Figure 3 – Converter

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Arduino Ethernet, model: R3 A000068

Figure 4 - Arduino Ethernet, model: R3 A000068

Stepper Motor. Its characteristics are: Model Nema 17 - 48mm Body, Bipolar 2A

59Ncm(84oz.in), and a 4-lead W/ 1m Cable to be connected to a 3D Printer or a CNC

Figure 5 - Stepper Motor

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The main disadvantage of the use of a stepper motor is that it is not effective when the

application requires movement over long distances, such as the requirements for this project.

However, it was selected due to its simplicity. It also has other advantages such as:

a) Accurate open loop control without the need for a feedback mechanism,

b) Wide rotational speed range since the motor’s speed is proportional to the controller’s

input pulses’ frequency.

c) No contact brushes hence reliable.

d) Possibility of low speed rotation in case the load is directly coupled to the stepper

motor’s shaft.

e) The motor is efficient at stopping, starting, and even reversing its direction.

f) Maintenance of full torque when it is at the standstill position.

g) Provision of movement repeatability and precise positioning.

Jumpers (male to male)

Figure 7 – Male to Female Jumper Wire

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A 9V DC Wall Adapter Power Supply with 650mA

Figure 8 – Wall Adapter Power Supply

Step Motor Easy Driver for Arduino

A. The easy driver has three GND (ground) pins. They are all connected together

through the board.

B. M+ is the power supply to the easy driver. The user needs to make sure that the power

supply should be between 6V to 30V with 2A current.

C. There are 2 pins for each of A and B coils which are the stepper motor connections.

D. STEP is a Logic Input. Any transition on this pin from low to high will trigger the

motor one step forward. Based on logic selection the voltage can vary from 0 to 5V.

E. DIR is a logic input. This pin controls the stepper motor rotation when the state

changes from high to low or low to high. Based on logic selection the voltage can

vary from 0 to 5V.

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F. MS1 and MS2: They are the logic inputs which control the microstepping mode.

They can operate (1

8) (

1

4) (

1

2) and full step (2 phase). If we don’t pulling either

MS1or MS2 low, normally by default the easy driver hold MS1 and MS2 high, and

that results of a (1

8) microstep mode. Table 1 demonstrates the truth table.

Figure 6 - Generic Easy Driver Step Motor Driver V44 A3967 for Arduino

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MS2 MS1 Resolution

Low Low Full Step (2 Phase )

High Low Half Step

Low High Quarter Step

High High Eight Step

Table 1- Truth Table

Soldering:

The easy driver and stepper motor required soldering before connected to the breadboard.

The easy driver came with twenty pin header, and since twelve of the pin header was needed for

soldering the easy driver, the extra pin header was used for stepper motor soldering. The Figure 7

showing the stepper motor and easy driver after soldering.

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Figure 7- Easy driver and Stepper motor after soldering

Wiring Up

First connect the easy driver on breadboard. Then Arduino and stepper motor connected

to easy driver on breadboard by male to male jumping wire. Figure 8 below shows the 2D setup

of this connection.

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Figure 8 - 2D setup of this connection

Figure 9 shows the actual connection of the components.

Figure 9 - Actual connection of the component

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Code for stepper motor:

The code presented below shows the input and output used on easy driver and Arduino.

Figure 7 – Stepper motor code

Code for Wi-Fi:

First of all, the IP address of the local network was obtained. As shown in figure 10, the

IP address can be obtained by typing in “ipconfig” in command prompt windows and hitting

enter. The “IPv4 address” is a core protocol that provides the local IP address.

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Figure 10 – Obtaining IP address

After obtaining the IP address, the user is able to connect to the server, but first, the directory

should be opened to view the stored files. By typing in “cd C:\users\josep\sketch_may09b” and

hitting enter; the directory is accessed as Figure 11 demonstrates. Lastly we type in “node

server.js” to start the server.

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Figure 11 – Accessing the files

When the user connects to the IP address of the server he or she can access the webpage

with a button to either open or close the garage door. Ideally, when the user clicks on the button,

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a command is sent to the webserver, which is then sent to the Arduino. Figure 12 demonstrates

the webpage.

Figure 12: Webpage with a button

The server runs Node.js and Socket.IO to handle communication between the user and

the Arduino. The language used for the server is JavaScript. The webpage that the user sees is

written in HTML and CSS. There is a python script that was written to act as a client for the

Arduino. Moreover, the python script is what receives the commands from the server and prints

it through python serial to the Arduino. When the Arduino receives the command, it calls a

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function to either open or close the garage door. Figure 13 demonstrates the final code used to

connect to Ethernet.

Figure 12: Connecting to the Ethernet

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Final Design of the Electric Garage Door Opener:

The Figure 14 below displays the final setup of the electric garage door opener.

Figure 12: the final setup of the electric garage door opener

Conclusion:

This project aims to ensure that an individual has the capability of controling and

monitoring his/her garage door froma remote location through the use of a smartphone or an

internt enbled device. The opener is expected to directly connect with the WiFi netwrk at the

owner’s home. According to the assessment above, different models comes with different

features and flexibilities interms of warranty, price, additional features, efficiency and power. I

believe that the model discussed meets all the requirement and is the best model as compared to

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the others in the market. Further comparison with the two popular models shows that, the

choosen model comes with an automatic timer, backup power source, a keyless entry pad and a

manual release while the other models do not have. Even though the Sommer ¾ hp direct drive

comes with the best warrant deal, its also bears a great disadvantage: It uses a chain lift system

which is noisy and only preferred to detached garages which are becoming extinct. Although the

aspect of noise might be considered as a disadvantage, another perspective of the same might

make it turn out to be advantageous. The racket caused by the metallic noises and slight

vibrations might be a form of warning in case an unauthorized person enters the garage.Though

the choosen model is slightly expensive, it is worth the expense due to its quality features. While

sourcing for the best electric garage door opener, it is important to factor in security as an

important component since one of the main functions of a door is to provide security against

intruders. In addion, it is important to consider whether you will want a chain, belt or since from

their difference, comes efficiecy, durability, and cost. Finally, another significant design

consideration was safety. The weight of garage doors make them have the capability of causing

serious injuries or even death to people. Therefore, it is vital that the garage door opener be

designed in such a way that automatically reverses the door in case there is an object that is

blocking the door. In addition, this calls for motion sensors to detect the movement of animals or

children that occur while the door of the garage is closing.

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Works Cited

1. Albert Jackson and David Day. Popular Mechanics Complete Home How-To. Sterling,

2009. Print.

2. The Home Depot. "Garage Door Opener." Products and Services. 3 May 2006. Web. 25

Apr. 2016.

3. Hearst. "How It Works: Garage Door Opener." How It Works: Garage Door Opener.

Hearst Communications, Inc., 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

<http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/outdoor-projects/how-to/a6041/garage-door-

opener-how-it-works/>.

4. GarageAutomatics.com. "Sommer 1042V002." Garage Automatics. 2016. Web. 25 Apr.

2016. <http://www.garageautomatics.com/sommer-1042v002/>.

5. Fixr. "How Much Does It Cost to Install a Garage Door Opener?" Fixr. 2016. Web. 25

Apr. 2016. <http://www.fixr.com/costs/garage-door-opener-installation>.

6. Lowe. "Get It Installed in Three Simple Steps." Garage Door Opener Install. 2016. Web.

25 Apr. 2016. <http://www.lowes.com/cd_Garage Door Opener Install_584085927_>.

7. Garaga. "3 Types of Residential Garage Door Openers." Comparing 3 Types of Garage

Door Openers. Garaga, 25 Sept. 2015. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

<http://www.garaga.com/blog/en/comparing-3-types-of-garage-door-openers/>.

8. Purch. "Garage Door Openers Reviews." Top Ten Reviews. Purch, 2016. Web. 25 Apr.

2016. <http://garage-door-openers-review.toptenreviews.com/>.

9. Joe Provey. "Garage Door Openers 101." Bobvila, 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

<http://www.bobvila.com/articles/garage-door-openers-101/#.Vx04Hfl9600>.

10. “An Electric Door-opener”. “An Electric Door-opener”. Science 13.324 (1889): 294–294.

Web.

11. “Garage Door Child Safety” Falling Garage Doors -- A Crushing Concern. 2009. Web.

10 May 2016. <http://www.garagedoorchildsafety.com/solutions_falling.html>

12. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Non­Reversing Automatic Garage Door

Openers are a Hazard. N.d. web. 10 May 2016.

<http://www.cpsc.gov//PageFiles/121504/523.pdf>

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13. Genie Pro. Automatic Chain Drive/Belt Drive Garage Door Operator System. N.d. web.

10 May 2016.

<http://www.geniecompany.com/data/products/dealer/ProMax.Stealth_3507535556.pdf>

14. “Garage Door Repair.” Garage Door Opener – Screw vs. Belt vs. Chain. 03 Sep 2014.

Web. 10 May 2016. <http://www.garagedoorrepair.com/2014/09/garage-door-openers-

screw-drive-vs-belt-drive-vs-chain-drive/>

15. Chamberlain. Openers with MyQ Included. 2016. Web. 10 May 2016.

<http://www.chamberlain.com/smartphone-control-products/smartphone-garage-door-

openers>