GARAGE DOOR SAFETY REVERSE SENSOR
It is so uncommon to leave your garage door partially opened. When an electrical garage door is operator is activated using a remote, an increased risk to a pinned individual if the door travels further in the closing direction or an operator is unresponsive upon user activation of the control. Why would a garage door travel in an undesired direction or not open upon control activation? Depending upon how the user arranged the partially open condition (stop on close or stop on open), the operator may seek to continue in the interrupted direction. Successfully activating the control could conceivably make the situation worse. In times of an emergency, the rescuing individual may panic and press control buttons multiple times in rapid succession. This form of input could be misinterpreted by the logic of the door operator. What does the electronic network do when provided with a unique sequence of commands? It may do nothing or operate in a manner that worsens the situation. Most garage doors operators are built in with a safety reverse sensor. As usage and technology has evolved, so did the safety requirements to reflect advanced safety capabilities and potential hazards arising from user. A garage door should stop should there be any obstruction is detected in the path of the door. The sensor is built to start from a partially open position to stop and then raise a minimum of 2 inches when an obstruction is detected. This is intended to assure that the door will not further pin an individual as well as provide sufficient clearance to release the pinned individual. Once the door stops at its preset distance (2 or more inches), and the obstruction is removed and no longer detected, normal operation is restored. The door operator is subsequently capable of repeating this safety function should the need arise. Methods of validating the proper function of these new features after installation may vary depending on the system and entrapment protection technology used. For example, photo-eyes may simply be blocked to simulate an obstruction while an edge sensor may require a compression force. Other specialized sensory means may require more unique approaches to simulate an obstruction. Installation and user instructions indicate how to properly install and maintain the operating system as well as provide guidance on how to test the system for its entrapment protection capabilities.
Kobus Labuschagne is the principal garage door technician and the owner of Autogate South Africa. Visit his website for more info on garage door sensors. www.autogate.co.za
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