Abstract
The force applied to sliding doors and the shape and dimensions of the operating parts were examined in terms of friendliness for users including elderly people in order to determine the basic design requirements for sliding doors. The maximum force applied to operating parts installed on a wall was measured using 18 subjects (five males and five females 75 years old on average, and six males and three females 29 years old on average). The maximum force applied by elderly males was 42N on average; that for elderly females 44N; that for younger females was 60N; and that for younger males was 139N. Younger subjects produced stronger force with deeper operating parts (3-15mm); however, the relationship between the shape and size of a part and the maximum force in case of elder subjects remained unclear. A sensory evaluation test was conducted to check the influence of applied force and the shape and dimensions of operating parts on opening and closing sliding doors using a full-sized mock sliding door. Three levels of applied force (10N, 20N and 30N) were tested using five different parts: a bar handle (25.4mm in diameter, 500mm in length), convex hand grips with finger-holds of 6mm, 15mm and 30mm in size, and a concave hand grip with a depth of 15mm. Sixteen subjects, including five males and five females 77 years old on average and two males and four females 26 years old on average, performed the action of opening and closing a sliding door to evaluate its user friendliness at five levels. While the applied force of 10N was highly evaluated, 30N was poorly valued regardless of the shape and dimensions of the operating part. The most remarkable effect was observed in the case of 20N, the shallower hand grip was strictly assessed and the bar handle was highly appreciated.
