The following is a point-by-point
comparison of the Door-Aid versus its significant competitors. Although
each competitor product is different in some respect, each exhibits most
if not all of the characteristics described below.
1. CYCLING:
Door-Aid uses only on-demand cycling.
This design specification means that the Door-Aid will only operate when
needed, normally less than 10% of the time that the door is being used.
The result is a much longer economic life for the Door-Aid than for its
competitors.
In this design the Door-Aid's actuator
arm is unattached to the door itself. The existing closer, usually a
medium to high quality commercial grade closer, remains on the door. The
existing closer and the Door-Aid's actuator arm are complementary to
each other, allowing for flexibility of use of the door
(normal/assisted). In normal use no increase in resistance by the
Door-Aid occurs. In assisted use, however, the door is powered open and
powered close by the Door-Aid.
Most competitor products have the
actuator arm physically attached to the door, resulting in activity by
the closer and gearbox every time the door opens, whether or not the
motor is engaged. Although this design is the most common in the
industry, it is deficient because it causes unnecessary wear on and
premature failure of the gearbox. Some competitor products even have a
push-and-go feature that causes the motor and gearbox to engage every
time the door is partially opened. A high-traffic door may cycle between
75,000 and 130,000 times per month, resulting in excessive wear on the
unit and early failure.
Competitor products usually combine a
conventional closer valve-body with an interior or exterior spring. The
components used are often not of the quality of good commercial exterior
door closers, which provide for adjustment of back-check, latch speed
and spring tension features to meet a variety of installation
conditions. Such products often do not have the life span of a good
commercial exterior door closer.
A typical problem with competitor
low-energy door units is that many require a hard push to manually
operate the door. This requirement would not have been present before
the installation. This is because the combination of the motor gear
ratio and the resistance of the motor selected by the manufacturer is
not optimal. It should also be noted that these types of units have very
limited adjustability built into their design.
2. GEARMOTOR:
Door-Aid uses a direct current servo-gearmotor
powered by an electronically controlled DC power supply. Servo motors
are high-precision, non-cogging, high-torque devices that are smaller,
more powerful, and more efficient than their conventional counterparts.
They are also more expensive to produce and more durable in design. The
sealed, cast metal gearbox has specially designed helical and spur gears
engineered for smoothness and durability, capable of withstanding over
1,220 inch-pounds of force. The sealed gear boxes come permanently
lubricated. The motor generates 800 inch-pounds of force.
This gearmotor, now used in the Door-Aid
over three years, has been virtually free of problems. It has perhaps
the highest torque in its class, with helical-cut steel gears designed
to more than handle this level of torque on an extended cycling basis.
Thus this gearmotor is fully capable of full-time use -- as good as or
better than our competitors', yet our preference is to have a simple ON
DEMAND operation whenever possible. This design dramatically increases
the economic life of the Door-Aid.
3. ACTIVATION:
The Door-Aid comes equipped with a
wireless receiver as part of the installation package. Most Door-Aid
users also purchase one of our optional wireless activators. Most
competitor products are direct-wired, which increases complexity of
installation.
4. INSTALLATION:
The Door-Aid mounts both right and left
handed. It can be installed on the header, on the door frame itself or
on the sidewall and can be installed either right-side up or inverted.
Additionally, the Door-Aid can be installed to push or pull a door open.
This array of installation possibilities allows successful installation
even in the most difficult situations. Door-Aid requires only common
tools and no special training. The combination of wireless controls and
a simple mounting plate design has resulted in an average installation
time of less than two hours.
Competitor models mount only across the
transom or header of a door and generally cannot be installed
successfully if there is no vertical space above the door. They are
generally only left- or right-handed and are either push or both push
and pull. Some competitor devices require installation by a
factory-trained individual because of the product's complexity, which
increases the cost of the product.
