Students developed a mechanism for easily closing the mamad (residential secure space) door
A girl from one of the “Gaza envelope” communities appeared in the media and described the difficulties she encounters when the sirens go off warning of a rocket attack – that was all it took to spark the creativity of Aviv Dadush, an SCE Mechanical Engineering graduate. The young girl noted that one of the biggest challenges she faces when she hears a siren and has to find shelter is the mamad (residential secure space) door. This is a challenge because this door is very heavy, making operation of the locking mechanism all the more difficult. Dadush, who had not yet begun his final project at the college heard the problem she described and decided to develop an easy and simple locking mechanism for the mamad door, one that would be suitable for all types of doors currently found on the market. Another student joined the project, Tres Shapirko, a departmental outstanding student, and after working on the project together for almost one year together with their two advisors – Dr. Zuk Turbovich and Dr. Yoav Biton – Tres and Dadosh presented their active prototype at the departmental project conference during the college Mechanical Engineering Week.
“When I heard the interview with the girl about the door, I felt that as a future mechanical engineer I could try to find solutions to a problem that most likely other people also encounter. I took the problem the girl raised to the head of the department, Dr. Gdalya Mazor, who immediately rose to the occasion and gave his approval to advance the engineering idea as a final project. For such a big project we had to ask Dr. Yoav Biton and Dr. Zuk Turbovich to be the project advisors, and together we began studying mamad doors, the locking mechanism and possible solutions – all on a door we received as a research donation from PALRAZ”.
“During our research we found that difficulty closing the door had to do with the rubber strip around the door”, recounted the two students. “The sealant has an important function in preventing the penetration of gases and offers protection against high impact projectiles. After studying tens of doors we found that the user must apply the equivalent of 30 kilogram force in order to close the door. Finally, after examining several ideas we used the knowledge we gained during our degree studies and reached a solution comprised of two parts - one on the door and the other on the door frame. Our solution enables individuals to easily close the door, without reducing or impairing the required sealing level. The mechanisms we developed in fact divide the locking process into two – first: when closing the door, when the first mechanism is activated and locks the door using a tongue part, similar to the seatbelt mechanism in a car. The second part of the locking process takes place by easily and simply lifting the door knob, using the principle of moments that is activated by a cogwheel and a comb-wheel. With our solution, children and the elderly, or anyone that has difficulty with the current mechanism, can now easily close the door, and of course it can also be opened from the outside”.
Dadush and Shapirko are currently working on interesting relevant entities in their invention in the aim of reaching as many homes in Israel as possible: “after tests we conducted with the IDF Home-Front Command in compliance with strict production standards, we recently received approval to register our invention as a patent with a copyright. We are currently in contact with several investors, after several companies and NGOs also saw the project and identified the potential”. In summary the two noted that they are working on additional developments in the field, while marketing the existing product: “We have several more ideas about how to upgrade our patent, but in the meantime we see a promising future for our invention and believe that in the coming years new buildings will be built with the unique mechanism we developed”.
