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Most people in the western world are familiar with automatic garage door technology. But do we know anything about the history and when it came into existence?

It goes back to a man called CG Johnson who is credited with inventing garage door openers that functioned automatically. It is believed he came up with this discovery in 1926 in Hartford City of Indiana.

But it took a long time for the automatic garage door technology to become popular. In fact, it was only after the second World War that electronic garage door technology could become common. This was the result of Era Motor Company developing models that can be opened through wired switches stationed at either the end of the driveway or inside the garage.

Obviously, the next step was to develop electronic garage doors that can be operated with a remote and not wired control panel. The first reports of such remote-controlled garage doors appeared in 1931. Interestingly, the remotes were not hand-held objects but were embedded in the car itself.

But then, a problem emerged. Since most garage door remote controllers were working at the same frequency, garage doors were opening even when the neighbors’ car was being parked in. This problem was solved by having mixed code pulses being used at both the ends so that having the same frequency won’t be enough for garage doors to respond. GARAGE DOOR REPAIR, MISSISSAUGA is the sort of place to get similar problems sorted out.

Over the years the garage openers have been of various types. The five varieties are: chain drive, screw drive, belt drive, jackshaft and direct drive. Chain drive doors, as the name suggests, used a chain for movement while the screw drive version depends upon the trolley being connected along the screw placed inside the track.

Belt drive garage doors have similar garage door opening technology as chain doors but employ rubber belt in place of chains. Jackshaft garage doors work through mounts on the wall at both ends of the torsion bar. Direct drive garage doors are the most sophisticated as they have a motor inside the trolley that controls the motion.

We have come a long way with modern garage door technology and it has certainly made things easier for car owners. Appreciate the experts who made this technology work and continue enjoying benefits of these automatic garage doors.