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Simple Technology Opens the Door for Innovation Pneumatics Support Easy-Maintenance Accessibility
September, 2008
By Barbara Carss
Simple pneumatic technology drives a cost-efficient automatic door opener that four young designers from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) are seeking to patent. Their prototype, which was built with components purchased at a local hardware/automotive store, compresses air as able-bodied pedestrians open the door manually and stores it in a small air tank that is later used to power the automatic opening function.
"With our first version, it could be used anywhere where there is sufficient traffic flow. A certain percentage of able-bodied people must use the door for it to maintain energy for the automatic opening," says Mike MacLeod, one of the design team members that developed the prototype as a part of a fourth-year design course in UOIT's manufacturing engineering program. "Depending on the tank size, it can consecutively open 10 to 14 times automatically before requiring manual openings to recharge it."
Another envisioned adaptation of the design would include a small backup micro-compressor to ensure the compressed air supply isn't exhausted - an application that would be suited to a healthcare facility or seniors' residence where a greater percentage of users might require assistance.
With an adequate compressed air supply, the mechanism offers the life-safety and energy efficiency benefits of operating in the absence of electrical power. The designers project that the capital cost should be largely comparable to electronic door openers, and there are also potential labour and maintenance savings.
"Where the savings really come into play is that a lot of electronic door openers use proprietary software in them so every time you need maintenance done, a technician has to come from the company," MacLeod observes. "With a system like this, there is no software. Anyone can make adjustments. All you need is a screwdriver."
This emphasis on simple solutions is the essence of manufacturing engineering, which focuses on the design and production process as well as the end result. The design team rejected a more complicated approach that would have stored energy in a battery powering an electronic door opener because it involved more parts and was less efficient and cost-effective.
Instead, they looked for ways to combine the system's components with the dampers that prevent doors from slamming. "We aimed to make this close in price to a commercial damper, so you would have the damping with the added benefit of an automatic opener," MacLeod says.
UOIT's Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization (OTTC) has been working with the designers - MacLeod, Mark Bernacki, Ben Fagan and Matt Van Wieringen - to try to bring their concept into wider production. Patent applications were submitted in November 2007 and this now protects the designers' proprietary rights, even before patents are awarded, and enables them to look for investors. UOIT and the design group are hoping to license the rights to a door manufacturer and develop further prototypes with an industry partner.
The initial prototype cost $350 to $400 to build, but economies of scale should drive that price down with mass production. "It's simple off-the-shelf technology," MacLeod notes. "Pneumatic components are relatively inexpensive. They are mechanical parts that have been around for 100 years and there is nothing complex about them."
MacLeod, Bernacki, Fagan and Van Wieringen were part of UOIT's first graduating class in manufacturing engineering in June 2008. In addition to garnering an A+ in their fourth-year design course, the team's prototype design won an UOIT innovation award, placed second in a national contest for safe design, and was one of two Canadian projects selected to take part in an international competition - Talente 2008 - to showcase student innovation in applied arts and technology, held in Munich, Germany in March 2008.
MacLeod is now working as a lab specialist at UOIT and plans to continue on with post-graduate engineering studies. His three fellow designers are also pursuing post-graduate degrees in engineering.
UOIT, Ontario's newest university, opened its doors to its first 1,000 students in September 2003 and has subsequently rolled out nine degree programs, all in technically focused applied science disciplines. University administrators have placed a priority on forging research and development links with industry and, in particular, they are attempting to position UOIT as a centre of excellence for materials and manufacturing and energy related disciplines. This capitalizes on the campus's strategic location in Oshawa, Ontario, in close proximity to major automotive industry operations and Ontario Power Generation's headquarters and Pickering and Darlington nuclear generating facilities.
The Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization is part of the mandate. "The OTTC is committed to assisting our students and faculty in turning their ideas into real solutions that benefit society," says Dr. Mike Szarka, the OTTC's Manager.
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