With technological advancements, things become easier to use. For example, one concept of automatic door is you can book a car online if you want to travel anywhere. Similarly, when you go to a grocery store or a big mall, the doors automatically open without putting an effort at the door.
Nowadays, automatic doors are so standard that you may not even be able to picture a world in which doors need to open manually. Automated doors enable us to achieve hands-free entry and exit over several decades.
Developers, owners, and commercial property owners are probably always looking for new ways to enhance their properties. A seamless, hands-free entry experience for tenants, visitors, and building employees is made possible with automatic doors.
What Is The Automatic Door Mechanism?
It may be pretty interesting to learn the mechanism of automatic doors, which are everywhere we go. Upon receiving an activation signal from the sensor, the door controller activates the gear motor to open the door. A door begins closing after a predetermined period if no one is inside the activation area.
Door operator
Drive devices and controllers make up automated door operators. Gear motors are among them.
Maintenance switch
Easily switches the door operator on/off during maintenance.
Activation sensor
Signals sent by the sensors activate the door’s openings and closings.
Safety sensor
A beam sensor detects people or objects on the door track where activation sensors cannot see them.
Fanlight
A glass or other material that hangs between the ceiling and the header.
Sliding door panel
Stainless steel, aluminum, and tempered glass are naturally in use.
Fixed door panel
The door panel is not sliding and remains at its place with efficiency.
We have all come into contact with automatic door openers in our lifetime. We pass through automatic doors at shopping malls, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, corporate offices, and banks. As this modern engineering solution applies to almost every area of our lives, it has made life easier. With technology, devices and sensors function by detecting weight changes, heat, motion, or temperature changes.
Let’s Learn: How Does an Automatic Door Mechanism work?
Furthermore, the different ways these doors open make it easier for people to access and exit buildings and reduce the total area they occupy. Door panels often slide across one another while automatic doors open to the side. The functionality of each door sensor varies. To understand this, let’s begin with the types.
Pressure Sensors System in Automatic Door
By its name, the system uses changes in pressure or weight to detect abnormalities. Pressure sensors are placed strategically so that when someone passes the door, they must walk over them under a mat or pathway. By detecting a change in pressure, the sensors trigger the different mechanisms and open the door. As long as the weight is on the sensors, the doors will remain open. In this way, an individual’s risk of being struck by a closing door is eliminated.
A weight change must surpass the set limit for the sensor to be triggered, which is usually set below average human body weight.
Infrared Sensors System in Automatic Door
A temperature detecting device is installed on the door in this system. A person walks towards the door, and the door opens as soon as it senses the heat put out by the body. After a certain amount of time, the door closes. In spite of its many benefits, this system has some flaws as well. As the system only opens the doors for a set amount of time, it might be a concern if a person walks too slowly. In order to prevent accidents or failures, this system fits with another system, such as weight sensors.
Motion Detector System in Automatic Door
As the system works by sensing an individual’s motion, it is the most widely used method globally. The system detects any movement in front or behind doors and automatically opens them when it detects the movement. A microwave ray sensor sits on the side of the entrances to detect motion. An antenna pointing outwards releases these beams. It is also good, though this system may not always be able to identify movement if the user is standing or moving slowly. To avoid such things from happening, these systems integrate with another system.
Video Intercom System In Automatic Door
Using a video intercom system, automatic doors can also detect when to operate. The door opens by detecting a signal from a video system, not by sensing motion or pressure. Any device that has been programed to the camera system can generate signals, such as keycards, fobs, smartphones, etc. Smart video intercoms are perfect for commercial and multifamily properties that need to restrict entry to only authorized users.
Fire and safety regulations require a video intercom or access control system in most multifamily and retail buildings. Smart video intercoms and access control systems also improve the customer experience. In addition, when the video intercom connects to the cloud, building staff can easily manage property access permissions remotely.
Proximity Sensors System In Automatic Door
Proximity sensors are available on several types of automatic doors. They look for changes in the project field using an electromagnetic or infrared beam that’s usually mounts above the door. A proximity sensor only needs to detect a difference in the shaft to open the door. A proximity sensor is programed to react to various types of movement, depending on the type. A few sensors can work exclusively with metal (ideal if your company uses forklifts), while others are more effective with wood or plastic. Transport facilities, waste control facilities, and large warehouses and factories are among the most common facilities that use proximity sensors.
Loop Detectors System
Loop detectors frequently appear on automatic doors in areas where forklifts and other vehicles pass frequently. A loop detector is a circuit board device that is connected to a series of wires. The wires create a loop of electromagnetic current. The loop detector responds to an upset of current by a forklift or car by opening the door. There is a loop detector at the entrance and exit of most facilities so that the doors will not close until drivers have reached a safe distance.
Remote Transmitters System
Many automatic doors are controlled by remote transmitters, which require a person to click a button or enter a code. Confusing, right? Nope. For instance, the key code for the building or the remote you use to control your TV.
Benefits of Automatic Door
As we have outlined how automatic doors work, let’s discuss why it matters. Mainly in this day and age, we don’t ignore the flexibility for busy people with their lives. How can automatic doors benefit your life, and why should you invest in them?
Convenience
People carrying heavy objects find it quite convenient to pass through these automatic doors since they don’t require any effort on their part. Also, elderly people find it challenging to open heavy or narrow doorways, so this system would also be helpful in such scenarios.
Combustion of energy
Frequently, manual doors are left open by someone who has just left the building or walked in. Thus, it increases the workload and energy consumption of the cooling or heating system and affects the temperature inside the building. Automated doors also reduce energy consumption.
Streamlined Workflow
Automated doors make it easier for people to move in and out of working spaces where they have to move often while holding objects. Such areas include hospitals, grocery stores and restaurants.
Access without a key
Individuals can pass through automatic doors without having to touch any handles. This will help to reduce the possibility of infection. Automatic door sensors are essential in pandemic times when we are making places more contactless to prevent the further spread of the virus during pandemic 2019.
Touchless entry is possible with automatic doors because people can pass through the entryway without touching it. Touchless entry is popular with apartment residents because it stops the need for locals to touch high-risk surfaces, making their property safer for everyone.
Final Words about Automatic Door
Automatic doors are needed for touchless entry in a multifamily home or retail building with restricted access.
The operation of an automatic door requires the use of sensory devices. Since such technology does not come at an affordable price, the whole automated door opening system is considerably more expensive than a traditional door. Due to the type of sensors, automatic doors can sometimes fail to detect a change in motion, resulting in it not triggering further mechanisms to open the door.
However, even after considering the cons of automatic door systems, this technology is highly suitable and used worldwide to ease movement in every manner, as its pros outweigh the cons. The chances of a system failure are broken and can be reduced by coupling two systems together as one primary and one secondary. The collaboration between hardware and tech companies is developing automatic doors that can be controlled via different technologies to ease users.