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History
of Automatic Doors
 Heron
Invents First Automatic Door
Alexandria, Egypt -
About 2000 years ago Heron of
Alexandria a.k.a. Hero was a great mathematician and mechanics inventor
that was born around 10 AD. Some historians say earlier
and some say later. Although it seems no one can agree exactly when
Heron was born, the scientific community recognizes the important
contributions this man has made to civilization or could have made if
discovered sooner.
Heron authored two books know
as the Pneumatica. His work was lost for some centuries, but
when found it described his theories and his experiments and constructive
works in pneumatics, steam and water pressure. One can only wonder
if human civilization would have mechanized sooner if his works were not
lost.
Heron describes in detail and
through drawings many mechanical devices operated by air, water or steam
pressure. Most of these devices he actually constructed. These
include a steam turbine engine he called an aeolipile (Greek for wind
ball), a toy jet propelled vehicle, automated dancing puppets, a steam
powered fire engine, a water clock, heavy lifting machines, a coin
operated vending
machine, a pipe organ and a machine
to automatically change scenery in the cities theatre. One of
Heron's designs for a steam engine was discovered in 1668. Heron's
designs may have served as inspiration to Thomas Savery who invented a
steam engine in 1698 to pump water from mine shafts. Later Thomas
Watt invented the modern piston driven steam engine in 1765. But
back to automatic doors........ Heron describes not one, but two different
automatic door applications. The first application used heat from a
fire lit by the city's temple priest. After, a few hours
atmospheric pressure built up in a brass vessel causing it to pump water
into adjacent holding containers. These holding containers acted as
weights, that through a series of ropes and pulleys would open the
temple's doors, at just about the time people were to arrive for
prayer. Heron used a similar application to open the gates to the
city.
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