Door-Mounted Pressure Sensor for Cord Detection and Automatic Unlatching
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Solution Overview
Problem
In psychiatric institutions, patients often attempt suicide by hanging themselves with cords looped over their room doors, which can go undetected until it's too late due to private rooms with unlocked doors, leading to a high incidence of successful suicides.
Innovation Solution
A pressure sensor system is installed at the top of the door that detects the weight of a cord draped over it, triggering an alarm and automatically unlatching the door to release the cord, preventing the suicide attempt before staff can intervene.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If private rooms with unlocked doors are provided to patients, then patient autonomy and comfort are improved, but suicide detection capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The pressure sensor is installed on the door to detect cord placement in advance of the suicide act. The system performs preliminary detection of the hazard (cord draped over door) before the patient can complete the suicide, allowing early warning and intervention while maintaining patient autonomy in the unlocked room environment.
2Reliability
If staff monitoring is increased to detect suicide attempts, then suicide prevention capability is improved, but patient privacy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The pressure sensor acts as an intermediary detection device that monitors for suicide hazards without requiring continuous staff presence or direct observation of the patient. The sensor detects the presence of a cord on the door and triggers an alarm, providing reliable suicide prevention capability while preserving patient privacy by avoiding constant human monitoring.
3Reliability
If door latching is made secure to prevent unauthorized opening, then patient safety is improved, but automatic intervention capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The unlatching mechanism is pre-positioned and spring-loaded, ready to automatically release the door latch when the pressure sensor detects a cord. This preliminary preparation allows the system to provide both secure door latching for patient safety and automatic intervention capability when suicide is detected, resolving the contradiction between security and automation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system significantly reduces the incidence of successful suicides by immediately alerting staff and physically intervening to release the cord, preventing strangulation, even before they arrive.
Implementation Method 1
an elongated pressure sensor mountable on the inside surface at the upper portion thereof, the sensor having an exposed surface facing away from the inside surface, the surface being responsive to force applied thereagainst by a segment of a cord when draped over the top of the door and hanging downward
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus for counteracting a suicide attempt of a person trying to hang himself from a cord extended over the top edge of a door which door has an inside upper surface facing the interior of the room, the apparatus including an elongated pressure sensor mountable on that inside upper surface of the door, the sensor having an exposed surface facing away from the inside surface of the door, that exposed surface being responsive to a force applied thereagainst by a segment of a cord when it is draped over the top of the door and hanging downward adjacent the inside surface, and the apparatus being adapted to forward an alarm signal indicating the sensing of the force by the cord, and an electrical controller to forward an alarm signal indicating that the sensor has sensed the downward force.