Shade System End Tips with Dual-Hardness Breakaway Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
In behavioral health facilities, existing shade systems do not effectively prevent patients from using shade components to harm themselves, as they can be used as tie-off points for securing cords or ropes, and existing end tips require high dynamic loading to break away, posing a risk.
Innovation Solution
The shade system incorporates end tips made of two materials with different hardnesses, where the harder material is molded over a softer material, allowing the end tips to break apart at a threshold load of at least 10 lbs, preventing use as tie-off points and ensuring detachment from the track without requiring sudden impulse, and the tracks are angled to eliminate potential attachment points.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing end tips are used, then they maintain durability during normal operation, but they require high dynamic loading to break away, posing a self-harm risk
Solution Approach 1:
The end tip is divided into two distinct sections: a head portion made of harder material for durability during normal operation, and a body portion made of softer material that breaks at a lower threshold load to prevent self-harm. This segmentation allows each section to fulfill its specific function independently.
Solution Approach 2:
Different materials with different hardness properties are applied to different parts of the end tip. The head portion uses harder material (higher hardness) to resist wear during normal operation, while the body portion uses softer material (lower hardness) that breaks at a manageable static load threshold, creating localized quality differences to address both durability and safety concerns.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If end tips break at low load, then self-harm risk is reduced, but accidental detachment during normal operation may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The hardness parameter is changed between different sections of the end tip. The head portion has higher hardness to maintain structural integrity and resist accidental detachment during normal operation, while the body portion has lower hardness to break at a threshold load, creating a controlled failure mode that prevents self-harm without compromising overall reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The end tip is constructed as a composite structure combining two materials with different mechanical properties - a harder material for the head portion and a softer material for the body portion. This composite construction enables the end tip to exhibit both high durability during normal operation and controlled breakage at threshold load.
3Ease of manufacture
If end tips are made of single material, then manufacturing is simple, but they cannot provide both durability and controlled breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The end tip is segmented into two sections with different materials, each optimized for its specific function. This segmentation enables the component to provide both durability during normal operation and controlled breakage at threshold load, achieving dual function capability while maintaining manufacturability through modular construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The use of composite materials with different hardness properties allows the end tip to simultaneously provide durability and controlled breakage functionality. The harder head portion resists wear and accidental detachment, while the softer body portion breaks at threshold load to prevent self-harm.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of an end tip configured to travel in a track of a shade system are disclosed. The end tip includes a body portion having a diameter and including a first section and a second section. The first section has a head portion and is made of a first material having a first hardness, and the second section is made of a second material having a second hardness. The head portion has a width that is wider than the diameter of the body portion, and the first hardness is higher than the second hardness. Also disclosed is a shade system including first and second tracks, a shade, and end tips. The first and second sections of the end tips are configured to separate when a threshold load is applied to the end tips.