GB2351758A

GB2351758A - A magnetic safety mounting

Info

Publication number: GB2351758A
Application number: GB9913941A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Malcolm Geoffrey Poole
Original assignee: PARSONS RACHEL CAROLYN; PARSONS ROGER WILLIAM
Current assignee: PARSONS RACHEL CAROLYN; PARSONS ROGER WILLIAM
Priority date: 1999-06-15
Filing date: 1999-06-15
Publication date: 2001-01-10
Anticipated expiration: 2019-06-15
Also published as: GB9913941D0; GB2351758B

Abstract

A safety mounting 10 comprises a permanent magnet 20, which is retained by a housing 11,12 to provide a horizontal magnetised surface 21. An element of magnetically attractive material may be attached in use to the magnetised surface 21 for the suspension of an article, such as a curtain rail. The element is held to the safety mounting 10 by magnetic forces acting substantially vertically, which are surmountable by a predetermined downward force on the element.

Description

2351758

SAFETY MOUNTINGS 5 DESCRIPTIO

Technical Field

This invention relates to safety mountings and in particular to a safety mounting providing a re-usable breakaway joint for use in suspending an article, e.g. an overhead curtain rail.

Background Art is A problem in residential institutions (e.g. hospitals) is the increasing number of persons attempting suicide by hanging themselves by the neck from suspended articles, e.g. an overhead rail for a curtain that is to be drawn round a bed.

A known safety joint addressing this problem is disclosed in GB-2308406 where a plug and socket joint is provided with resilient load-responsive retaining means that release the plug from the socket at or above a predetermined loading overcoming the resilient retention force.

A disadvantage of this known breakaway safety joint arises where the plug and socket jam up and lock together under the tilt moment arising from a load applied to the suspended rail at a point laterally distant from the joint.

Summary of the Invention

According to this invention there is provided a safety mounting comprising:

a housing for direct or indirect attachment to a building surface, a permanent magnet retained by the housing in a manner in use providing a horizontal magnetised surface, the housing providing a retainer projecting downwardly from the magnetised surface, and an element of a material that is magnetically attractive to said permanent magnet, said element being or being in use attached to - an article to be suspended by t he safety mounting, said element being dimensioned for location within said retainer and in contact with said horizontal surface such as to be held thereto by magnetic forces acting substantially vertically and surmountable by a predetermined downward force on the element.

It will be appreciated that providing the safety mounting is device with a horizontal magnetic surface allows an elongate article, e.g. a curtain rail, to be suspended from a plurality of such devices located at intervals along the elongate article's (intended) path, and that fitting of the magnetically attractive elements into their associated retainers is easily achieved. It will be appreciated also that the or each retainer in use prevents or restricts lateral movement of the element within it - and of any article attached to the element(s).

In one preferred form, the housing is provided with screw holes directed parallel to the said horizontal surface to permit fixing of the housing to a vertical wall of the building. In this case the housing is preferably provided, between the horizontal surface and an upright wall- engaging surface, with an inclined surface to hinder or prevent hanging of a cord from the housing.

In another preferred form, the housing is provided with a screw hole directed normal to said horizontal surface to permit fixing of the housing to the underside of a ceiling.

In either of these preferred forms, the housing is preferably molded of plastics material.

Advantageously the permanent magnet comprises neodymium iron-boron (NdFeB). Preferably the permanent magnet comprises NdFeB in a steel casing. This has a very strong magnetic effect on one face - preferably providing or located adjacent to said horizontal surface - and reletaively little magnetic effect on the perimeter and on the opposite face of the permanent magnet.

Brief Description of the Drawings

By way of example, embodiments of this invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of parts of a first embodiment for mounting on a vertical wall of a building, Figure 2 is a side view of the embodiment of Fig. 1, Figure 3 is a plan view of a second embodiment for mounting to the underside of a ceiling, and Figure 4 is a side view in the direction of arrow IV in Fig. 3.

The "breakaway" mounting device 10 of Figs 1 and 2 comprises a housing formed of two interfitting parts 11,12 each molded of a suitably strong plastics material. Housing part 11 has a generally right-angle form comprising a vertical limb 14 extending upwardly at right angles to, and at one end of, a generally horizontal limb 16. The limbs 14, 16 are of like width and, to each side, are interconnected by a generally triangular side web 17. A cup shaped recess 18 in limb 16 accommodates a disc-like permanent magnet 20 of steel encased neodymium-iron-boron (omitted from Fig I for clarity of illustration). The disclike magnet 20 is axially polarised and the radial face 21 with the greater magnetic effect - due to the NdFeB structure - is located lowermost in a horizontal plane and adjacent to circular opening 19 in the bight wall 15 of recess 18. It will be appreciated that the horizontal upper surface of wall 15 provides a ledge that supports the magnet 20 with its lower face 21 horizontal and that the vertical cylindrical side wall of recess 18 restrains the magnet 20 against lateral movement. The vertical edge of the circular opening 19 also serves as a retainer skirt depending below surface 21 to restrict movement of any element that is magnetically attracted to magnet 20 and in contact with its lowermost horizontal surface.

Two, vertically separated, countersunk fixing holes 24 extendhorizontally through the vertical limb 14 of housing part 11. The mounting 10 is in use attached to a wall 26 by fixing screws or bolts through the holes 24.

Additionally, each web 17 is provided with an inwardly 20 directed flange 23 that extends horizontally in spaced relation with respect to the upper face of magnet 20.

The housing part 12 serves as a cover for the housing part 11 and is molded integrally with a part-cylindrical inclined portion 25 that is to extend coveringly between the outer exposed edges of limbs 14,16 and webs 17. Housing part 12 is integrally provided with a horizontally extending plate 22 that fits between the underside of flanges 23 and the upper surface of magnet 20 such as to hold magnet 20 in position. one or more reinforcing webs 27 interconnect the upper surface of plate 22 and the concave under-surface of portion 25.

Housing parts 11,12 are provided with inter-engaging snap35 fit elements to permit the snap-fitting of cover part 12 over main part 11 after the latter has been fixed to wall 26 by the fixing screws or bolts through holes 24.

The "breakaway" safety mounting device 30 of Figs 3 and 4 comprises a generally oval body 31, its lateral lobes being provided with countersunk fixing holes 34 for use in mounting body 31 to the underside of a ceiling 36. The body 31 is formed with a cylindrical recess 38 with a circular opening 39 in the bight wall 35 of recess 38. A disc-like magnet such as 20 is located within recess 38 and supported by the ledge provided by horizontal upper surface of bight wall 35. The vertical edge of bight wall 35 not only defines the circular opening 19 but also serves to restrict movement of any element that is magnetically attracted to magnet 20 and in contact with its magnetically more attractive, lowermost, horizontal surface 21.

It will be noted that each of the above-described and illustrated embodiments provides for attachment of the permanent magnet 20 itself housed within the part (11, 31) of the device - to the wall or ceiling, rather than providing the magnet on the suspended article. This minimises the risk of a magnet being forcibly pulled away and causing a possible danger to electrical apparatus (e.g.

a heart pacemaker).

Preferably, for each said embodiment, the magnet 20 is such as to support a load of between 20kg to 35kg before debonding from the element magnetically attached to it.

It will also be appreciated that, in each said illustrated embodiment, the depending retainer provided in skirt-like fashion by the vertical boundary face of the opening 19,39 (in bight wall 15,35) is engageable by the said element when the latter is in magnetically attracted contact with the underside surface 21 of the magnet 20. This skirt-like retainer thus acts to restrain or prevent accidental horizontal sliding of the element magnetically attached thereto and either being or being mechanically attached to, the article to be suspended - e.g. support hangers for a 5 curtain rail.

It will be appreciated that, by provided for the magnetic forces between magnet 20 and the element that is magnetically attracted thereto to be applied generally vertically - due to the magnet's contact face 21 being in a horizontal plane - the predetermined vertical force required to break the magnetic bond between the two will be applied even when the load producing that force is applied at a distance from the device 10,30 in the form of an applied tilting moment. Indeed, where a rigid rail is supported by two devices such as 10 or 30, and is broken away from one of those devices, an angular divergence is automatically imposed between the rail's magnetically attractive element and the permanent magnet 20 of the other device, and as this divergence increases the bond between the other device's magnet 20 and the element is progressively reduced or weakened and there is no jamming or locking-up of the items.

It will be noted that the ceiling mounted device 30 is fixed directly to the ceiling and provides no fixed point spaced from the ceiling over which a cord can be hung (for use in a suicide attempt). Although the wall-mounted device 10 is fixed to a wall in spaced relation between both floor and ceiling, it is provided with an inclined face 25 extending over the entirety of its area (when viewed in plan) and therefore likewise provides no fixed point spaced from the ceiling over which a cord can be hung (for use in a suicide attempt).

In a modification, the body 31 of the ceiling mounted device 30 may be omitted and the permanent magnet 20 may then be attached, uncased, directly to the ceiling by a screw or bolt directed axially through a hole in the magnet 20.

It will be appreciated that mounting devices (such as 10 or 30) according to this invention can be used to suspend a wide variety of articles, and the present invention is not restricted to suspending curtain rails. other screening items, such as insect netting, venetian blinds, roller blinds and the like can also be suspended from such safety mounting devices - as can hooks from which hospital items (e.g. drip bags of saline, blood etc.) can be hung. In all such cases, the magnetic mounting device employed will break its magnetic bond when a predetermined minimium load is applied.

Also, instead of the housing being attached directly to a building surface (as shown in the illustrated embodiments) it may be indirectly attached e.g. to the bottom end of a vertical rod that is itself fixedly attached by its top end to the ceiling.

Other modifications and embodiments of the invention, which will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art, are to be deemed within the ambit and scope of the invention, and the particular embodiment (s) hereinbef ore described may be varied in construction and detail, e.g. interchanging (where appropriate or desired) different features of each, without departing from the scope of the patent monopoly hereby sought.

Claims

CLAIMS 5

1 A safety mounting comprising:

a housing for direct or indirect attachment to a building surface, a permanent magnet retained by the housing in a manner in use providing a horizontal magnetised surface, the housing providing a retainer projecting downwardly from the magnetised surface, and an element of a material that is magnetically attractive to said permanent magnet, said element being or being in use attached to - an article to be suspended by the safety mounting, said element being dimensioned for location within said retainer and in contact with said horizontal surface such as to be held thereto by magnetic forces acting substantially vertically and surmountable by a predetermined downward force on the element.

2. A safety mounting according to Claim 1, wherein the housing is provided with screw holes directed parallel to the said horizontal surface to permit fixing of the housing to a vertical wall of the building.

3. A safety mounting according to Claim 2, wherein the housing is provided, between the horizontal surface and an upright wall-engaging surface, with an inclined surface to hinder or prevent hanging of a cord from the housing.

4. A safety mounting according to Claim 1, wherein the housing is provided with a screw hole directed normal to said horizontal surface to permit fixing of the housing to the underside of a ceiling.

5. A safety mounting according to any preceding Claim, wherein housing is molded of plastics material.

6. A safety mounting according to any preceding Claim, wherein the permanent magnet comprises neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB).

7. A safety mounting according to any preceding Claim, wherein the permanent magnet comprises NdFeB in a steel casing.

8. A safety mounting substantially as herein described with reference to and/or as - illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

9. A plurality of safety mounting devices, each according to any preceding Claim, and in conjunction with an elongate article, e.g. a curtain rail, suspended from a 15 plurality of said devices, the latter being located at intervals along the path of the elongate article.