Anti-Ligature Hinge Cap With Projections for Ligature Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional door hinges pose a ligature risk, potentially harming users by allowing objects to be hung on them, necessitating the development of anti-ligature products to enhance safety in facilities.
Innovation Solution
An anti-ligature hinge system featuring a continuous hinge with an anti-ligature cap that includes projections or recesses to prevent objects from being hung, coupled to the door and frame with connectors, and designed with angled surfaces to minimize sharp edges, ensuring flush installation and secure attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If traditional door hinges are used, then ease of manufacture and installation are maintained, but ligature safety is compromised due to protruding edges and gaps where objects can be hung
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful protruding edges and gaps are extracted from the hinge structure by introducing a separate cap component that covers these dangerous features. The cap is attached to the hinge leaves and protrudes to cover the exposed edges, effectively removing the ligature risk elements while keeping the original hinge structure intact.
Solution Approach 2:
The cap structure is designed to nest over the hinge leaves, with the cap body covering the protruding edges and the anti-ligature features nesting within the cap structure. This nested arrangement allows the safety features to be integrated without significantly increasing the overall footprint or complexity of the hinge assembly.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If anti-ligature caps with projections and recesses are added, then safety against ligature is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The anti-ligature cap is segmented into distinct functional features: a body portion covering the hinge edges, protrusions extending from the cap body to block ligature points, and recesses formed in the cap structure. These segmented features can be manufactured separately and then assembled, simplifying the overall manufacturing process compared to creating a single complex integrated component.
Solution Approach 2:
The cap structure implements local quality by providing different geometric features at different locations: smooth covering surfaces at critical ligature points, protrusions at specific edges, and recesses in strategic positions. This localized approach allows each feature to address specific safety concerns without requiring the entire cap structure to be overly complex.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the anti-ligature cap is designed to be flush with the leaf portion, then safety is improved by eliminating protruding surfaces, but installation precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cap structure incorporates preliminary alignment features such as positioning protrusions and corresponding recesses that guide the cap into proper alignment during installation. These pre-designed alignment mechanisms ensure the cap sits flush with the hinge leaves without requiring excessive precision from the installer, as the features self-align during the assembly process.
Data Source
AI summary
An anti-ligature door system that utilizes an anti-ligature hinge to operatively couple the door to the door frame. The anti-ligature hinge has an assembled leaf portion formed from a pair of leaves that are operatively coupled together using one or more pins. The anti-ligature cap that is operatively coupled to the leaf portion has a body with one or more projections extending therefrom. The one or more projections may comprise a leaf projection that is configured to be located between the first leaf and the second leaf and operatively coupled to the first leaf or the second leaf. The one or more projections may further comprise a knuckle projection that is configured to be operatively coupled to a knuckle of the first leaf or the second leaf, such as by being inserted into a knuckle aperture formed by the inner surface of the knuckle.