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Automatic Door
An automatic door, also known as an auto door, is a door that opens automatically, usually on sensing the approach of a person.
In the 1st century AD, mathematician Heron of Alexandria in Roman Egypt invented the first known automatic door. He described 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 containers. These containers acted as weights that – through a series of ropes and pulleys – would open the temple's doors at about the time people were to arrive for prayer. Heron used a similar application to open the gates to the city.[1]
In 1931, engineers Horace H. Raymond and Sheldon S. Roby of the tool and hardware manufacturer Stanley Works designed the first model of an optical device triggering the opening of an automatic door. The invention was patented and installed in Wilcox's Pier Restaurant in West Haven, Connecticut for the benefit of waiters carrying plates of food and drink. The entire system plus installation was sold for $100.[2][3]
In 1954, Dee Horton and Lew Hewitt invented the first sliding automatic door. The automatic door used a mat actuator. In 1960, they co-founded Horton Automatics Inc and placed the first commercial automatic sliding door on the market.[4]
Wellingborough (/ˈwɛlɪŋbərə/ WEL-ing-bər-ə) is a large market town in the Wellingborough district of Northamptonshire, England, 11 miles (18 km) from Northampton on the north side of the River Nene.[3][4]
Originally named "Wendelingburgh" (the stronghold of Wændel's people),[5] the Anglo-Saxon settlement is mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Wendelburie". The town was granted a royal market charter in 1201 by King John.[6]
At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 49,128.[1] The Borough Council of Wellingborough has its offices in the town centre.[7] The town is twinned with Niort in France, and with Wittlich in Germany.
The town is predicted to grow by 30 per cent under the Milton Keynes South Midlands (MKSM) study, and the government has identified Wellingborough as one of several towns in Northamptonshire where growth in jobs and housing will be directed.[8] The area will see an addition of around 10,000 homes by 2031, mainly to the east of the town.[9] Wellingborough, along with Corby and Kettering together comprise the core of the North Northamptonshire growth area, coordinated by the North Northamptonshire Joint Planning and Delivery.[10] The town also has a growing commuter population as it is on the Midland Main Line railway, operated by East Midlands Railway, with trains to London St Pancras International taking under an hour, and an interchange with Eurostar services.[11]
