Automatic Door Opening System
Format
SOECS Senior Project Demonstration
Faculty Mentor Name
Shelly Gulati
Faculty Mentor Department
Bioengineering
Abstract/Artist Statement
One of the most frequent tasks in daily life is the operation of and passage through doors. Considering an interior, household door, this process involves: twisting or turning a handle, pushing or pulling the door, moving through the opening, and returning the door to the closed position. For able-bodied people, this is extremely manageable. For the millions of people in the United States, however, who report limited mobility, such as those needing a cane, walker, wheelchair, or are elderly, raising and torsion of the arm to reach to turn a doorknob and generating the force to move the door are difficult tasks. To address this problem, we are developing an automatic door opening system that will be retrofittable to most standard, interior doors and will minimize the physical effort in passing through doors. Our final product will accomplish these goals using three components. First, a pressure pad to use the passive force of standing to activate the system. Existing alternatives utilize a wall button or clicker. However, buttons still require raising of the arm and pushing of the button and remotes are prone to misplacement. Second, an electric strike lock to wirelessly retract the lockbolt. Third, a motorized door arm. The motorized door arm will open the door upon receiving a signal from the pressure pad, hold the door open for a variable amount of time to allow the user to pass through the doorway, and close the door after the user has passed.
Location
School of Engineering & Computer Science
Start Date
27-4-2013 2:00 PM
End Date
27-4-2013 3:30 PM
Automatic Door Opening System
School of Engineering & Computer Science
One of the most frequent tasks in daily life is the operation of and passage through doors. Considering an interior, household door, this process involves: twisting or turning a handle, pushing or pulling the door, moving through the opening, and returning the door to the closed position. For able-bodied people, this is extremely manageable. For the millions of people in the United States, however, who report limited mobility, such as those needing a cane, walker, wheelchair, or are elderly, raising and torsion of the arm to reach to turn a doorknob and generating the force to move the door are difficult tasks. To address this problem, we are developing an automatic door opening system that will be retrofittable to most standard, interior doors and will minimize the physical effort in passing through doors. Our final product will accomplish these goals using three components. First, a pressure pad to use the passive force of standing to activate the system. Existing alternatives utilize a wall button or clicker. However, buttons still require raising of the arm and pushing of the button and remotes are prone to misplacement. Second, an electric strike lock to wirelessly retract the lockbolt. Third, a motorized door arm. The motorized door arm will open the door upon receiving a signal from the pressure pad, hold the door open for a variable amount of time to allow the user to pass through the doorway, and close the door after the user has passed.