Imagine you went to a supermarket. At the end of the market, the trolley was filled and the goods were billed. After taking the bill, the salesman handed you the market and you went to the exit door of the supermarket.
But if you have shopping bags in both hands, how do you open the exit door?
With automatic doors or automatic doors we don’t have to think about these things. Because when you get close to the automatic door, it opens by itself. Sliding glass doors, almost like magic, move from side to side.
Although it looks like magic, we all know that these doors do not work with the help of magic. Automatic doors work entirely with the help of science and technology.
The technology that the automatic doors are based on is the sensor. The job of a sensor is to sense something.
With the help of sensors, an idea about the surrounding environment is obtained. Most of the automatic doors we see have sensors mounted on the side of the door. The door opens or closes automatically under the guidance of these sensors.
History Of Automatic Doors
It may seem that automatic doors have been invented with the development of modern technology. But thousands of years ago there were automatic doors. Even a first-century Greek mathematician and physicist worked with this idea.
It is believed that the mathematician known as ‘Hiron of Alexandria’ or Hiron of Alexandria was the first to come up with the idea of automatic doors. He named it ‘The 37th Instrument’.
The design and technique of this door called ‘No. 37 Yantra’ was very simple and excellent. Hiron’s idea was that when the priest and his followers entered the temple, the huge doors would magically open by themselves.
In fact he cleverly built a mechanism underground just in front of the door.
When the priest stepped forward and lit the fire on the main altar of the temple, the heat generated from the fire started a mechanical action. Using weights and pulleys, Hiron devised a mechanical device that automatically opened the doors of the shrine due to heat.
Such an arrangement was truly unbelievable at that time. The followers believed that the Lord himself was opening the door as a sign of his satisfaction with the priest.
Inspired by the success of his own technique, Heron tried to create such automatic doors in front of other establishments. But he was not very successful in this.
Many years later, in 1931, two engineers named Raymond and Robbie devised a plan to create an automatic door for general use. They patent their designs or designs.
According to their patent, this door was installed in a restaurant in Connecticut, USA. Employees at the restaurant were amazed at this incredible feat of technology. Waiters could easily walk through the door holding plates, cups, glasses etc. As a result, this technology became popular with customers as well as with them.
Sensors are used in most of today’s modern automatic doors or automatic doors. The door opens or closes according to the instructions of the sensor. But what kind of sensors are used in automatic doors?
Pressure Sensor
In the 1960s, ‘control mats’ were used as sensors. Human movement could be detected with the help of control mats. These mats sense variations in weight or pressure at a specific location on the ground or behind a door.
The door opens when a weight greater than the specified weight is applied to the designated area of the control mat. And these mats are made in such a way that the door stays closed when anything less than what a normal human weighs is placed.
The advantage of this arrangement is that as long as there is pressure on the mat, the door remains open. That is, even if a person walks past the door, the door remains open. This not only facilitates easy movement, but also prevents the door from closing on someone’s face when they enter through the door.
Many modern automatic doors use a pressure sensor as a ‘backup sensor’. In this case, when the main sensor fails, the pressure sensor acts as a backup sensor.
The pressure sensor senses the presence of people by measuring the surrounding weight and helps automatically open the door.
A Motion Detector Or Optical Sensor Capable Of Detecting Motion
Many automatic doors these days use ‘motion detection sensors’ or ‘optical sensors’. These sensors are placed on the side of the door, with the help of which the door opens or closes.
As the name suggests, the function of this sensor is to detect motion. For this, microwave waves are emitted through an antenna above the door. This wave of 10.5 GHz is usually applied to the bottom and outside of the door.
Although these sensors work quite well, there is one problem. The problem is, this sensor can only detect motion. So if a person is standing near the door or if an old person walks very slowly near the door, this sensor may not work properly. There is danger of accidents.
Infrared Sensor
This specialized sensor detects infrared light and with its help the door opens or closes. This sensor basically senses the change in temperature around the door. Thus when a person approaches the door, his body heat sensor starts working and the door opens.
How Automatic Doors Work
All types of sensors can work by themselves. But multiple sensors are often used on the same door, so that if one sensor is not working, the others can work.
For example, when there is something moving near the door, the motion sensor works.
But if someone approaches the door very slowly or stands in front of the door, the pressure sensor will work better to open the door. Because the pressure sensor detects the change in weight to understand whether people are standing somewhere. This sensor will keep the door open until the weight is reduced.
Not sensors can understand the position of people in front of the door, but how to open or close the door?
For this the sensors are connected to an electrical ‘drive train’. This part is again connected to the door through a ‘rubber belt’, whose function is to control the speed of opening or closing of the door.
And under the door there are rollers, so that the door can easily move from one side to the other.
Automatic Door Facility
As technology advances, many establishments are installing automatic doors. And common people are also widely adopting this technology.
Automatic doors have several advantages. This technology has brought many positive changes especially in healthcare, tourism and other service or service dependent industries. But how are we benefiting from automatic doors?
Temperature Control And Power Saving
One of the benefits of using automatic doors in commercial establishments is energy savings. Because automatic doors help reduce energy consumption.
When the door of a room is open, heat is exchanged between the inside and outside of the room. If the door is left open for a long time, it puts a lot of pressure on the air conditioning system inside the room. As a result, more electricity is consumed.
But with automatic doors it is possible to keep the indoor temperature unchanged. In addition, it also reduces dust and dirt in the office or market.
No Hand Touch
Automatic doors operate without the touch of hands. As a result, the use of automatic doors in the healthcare and tourism industries has become particularly important.
The Covid-19 pandemic, in particular, has shown how important touch-free lifestyles can become during times of infection. And how effective it is to control the spread of the virus by maintaining social distancing during a pandemic.
So automatic doors have become popular even post-pandemic. The use of these doors is increasing especially in hospitals and healthcare institutions.
Similarly, in order to comply with hygiene rules, automatic doors are also increasing in popularity in restaurants.
last Word
Nowadays using automatic doors has become quite safe and convenient. But this door
Working on the design or how to improve the design.
Moreover, automatic doors or automatic doors have developed a special importance in contactless lifestyle to prevent epidemics. This technology is also of special importance in the post-Covid era.
Many companies that manufacture automatic doors are trying to develop such automatic doors, which will work with the sound of finger tap or voice command. Many more such features will be added to the automatic door in the near future.
