GB2471697A

GB2471697A - Anti ligature device for a blind

Info

Publication number: GB2471697A
Application number: GB0911911A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jason Taylorson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-07-09
Filing date: 2009-07-09
Publication date: 2011-01-12
Also published as: WO2011004199A3; GB0911911D0; WO2011004199A2

Abstract

An anti ligature or strangulation device for a window blind or other vertical drop window covering. The device comprises a housing unit that has a rotating member (2 Fig 1) that is connected to the housing via a pin (3 Fig 1). The pin is adapted such that it will break if a predetermined pressure is applied. The housing further comprises a cutting member, preferably a blade 5, the cutting member is positioned below the rotating member. When the pin breaks the pull cord falls off the wheel and onto the blade 5 cutting the cord and releasing. The pin may be in the form of a wedge and may have a weakened frangible section. The blade may be an angled stainless steel blade. The device is preferably in the form of an end cap for a blind.

Description

ANTI LIGATURE DEVICE

The present invention relates to a safety device for use with vertical drop coverings such as window blinds. In particular it relates to a safety device to prevent possible strangulation by the pull-cords associated with window blinds.

Typically, windows are provided with drapery or vertical drop coverings such as blinds to shield the window as required by a user. Such blinds are generally associated with pull-cords which are used to manoeuvre the material covering a window so that it can be raised or lowered as required, or in some cases so the direction of the elements that make up the blinds can be altered. Pull cords are commonly formed as loops which extend from an area near the top of the blind down to a convenient height for a user to grasp the cord.

Throughout this application window blinds or blinds can be taken to cover venetian blinds, roller blinds and other similar window coverings that are manually actuated using a pull cord.

Unfortunately, the pull cords associated with blinds can be a hazard for small children and there have been many incidents of accidental strangulation. By positioning the lower end of pull-cords at a convenient height for an adult to grasp, pull-cords are often therefore positioned at head height for a child. Accidents can very easily occur if a child becomes entangled in the pull cord, particularly if the pull cord becomes wrapped around the child's neck.

Furthermore, there is also a risk to adults, particularly where blinds are provided in secure units, hospitals or prisons where there is a possibility of vulnerable individuals deliberately using the cord to strangle themselves.

Previous attempts have been made to try to mitigate the risk of strangulation associated with pull-cords. One option is to provide the cord as a bead type structure such that the cord will snap if a significant weight is placed upon it. Whilst this can be effective, beaded cords easily become entangled due to their bead type structure which obstructs use of the associated blind or covering. This possibility of entanglement can in some cases results in an increased risk of the cord failing to work in the required manner.

Another option is to use a solid rod in place of a cord to turn and tilt the associated blinds, however this mechanism is prone to failure.

In another case, as described in US5473979, the cord has been retained in a housing made up of two moulded sections, wherein the moulded sections split apart if a child becomes entangled in the cord, such that the cord is released.

Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a device which obviates or mitigates one or more of the problems associated with the prior art or provides an alternative safety device.

According to the present invention, there is provided an anti ligature device for use with vertical drop coverings, comprising; a housing unit containing a rotating member, the rotating member being adapted to receive a pull cord around it's outer circumference and the rotating member being held in position within the housing by a pin; wherein said pin is adapted to break when placed under a predetermined pressure and wherein the housing further comprises a cutting means which, in use is positioned below the rotating member.

Advantageously, the unit is provided as an end cap for attachment to the upper beam of a window blinds, and the pin is adapted to break under a predetermined pressure, which may relate to the weight of a small child pulling on the pull cord. When a pull cord is placed around the rotating member or wheel and sufficient weight is hung from the cord then the pin will snap or give way, allowing the cord to fall from the wheel onto the cutting means or blade below, thus cutting the cord.

In the preferred embodiment, the pin is in the form of a wedge.

By providing the pin in the form of a wedge positioned between the walls of the housing, it will preferentially break or collapse at the thin edge of the wedge when pressure is placed on it. This results in the associated rotating member tilting towards the broken section and the pull cord falling from the outer circumference of the rotating member.

Alternatively the pin may be provided with a weakened frangible section.

Preferably the pin is, in use, positioned such that each side of the pin is held on a seat or retaining section within the housing.

Preferably the cutting means is a blade.

Most preferably, the blade is an angled blade.

In the preferred embodiment the blade is made from stainless steel.

By providing an angled blade, any cord that is pulled onto the blade will be cut more effectively as the downward force on the cord will act to pull the cord down onto the blade and will also pull the cord along the blade towards its lowest point.

The pull cord may be a string, a chain or other suitable cord type structure.

In a preferred embodiment, the housing is provided with sufficient space either side of the cutting means to allow the rotating member to travel past the blade.

By providing sufficient room either side of the blade for the rotating member or wheel to pass, this ensures that even if the wheel was to fall from the pin when the pin collapses the cord will still come into contact with the blade and will not be blocked by the wheel.

The space either side of the cutting means may be either an internal chamber within the housing or, more preferably, a section of the housing provided with an open section or channel in the housing wall.

In the preferred embodiment the housing is in the form of an end-cap for use with the operating mechanism of a set of blinds.

It is also preferred that the housing is formed from an integrally moulded plastic.

In order to provide a better understanding of the present invention, a preferred embodiment will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following drawings in which; Figure 1 shows a top view of the present invention; and Figure 2 shows a base view of the present invention; and Figure 3 shows a side view showing face A of the present invention; and Figure 4 shows a side view showing face C of the present invention; and Figure 5 shows a wedge shaped pin in situ according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention can be seen in figures 1 to 4. The invention relates to an end cap I which is for attachment to the upper beam of a set of blinds and is adapted to cooperatively work with a pull cord to manoeuvre the blinds into a desired position. The end-cap 1 is in the form of a housing which contains a rotatable wheel 2 which is held in position within the housing by a wedge shaped pin 3 running axially through the centre of the wheel 2. The wedge shaped pin 3 is formed as part of the housing and allows the wheel 2 to freely rotate (the pin 3 can be seen most clearly in figure 5). There is a pull-cord 4 provided, which in general use is positioned around the outer circumference of the wheel 2 such that it extends up one side of the wheel, over the top, and then down the other side of the wheel (as is best seen in figure 3). In use, the ends 4a and 4b of the pull cord 4 extend down from the end cap to a point which can easily be reached by an individual wanting to actuate the blind mechanism.

In alternative embodiments the wedge shaped pin may be provided in different forms, for example as a straight pin with a weakened or frangible section. The pin may be formed integrally with the housing or may be a separately formed element, each end of which sits on seat or shoulder sections formed on the inner surface of the housing or within retaining sections formed within the housing. The wheel must be able to rotate. It is also possible that the wheel is formed integrally with the pin, providing that the pin is shaped to allow rotation within the housing. In all cases the pin must be adapted to break, collapse or fracture in some manner when placed under a predetermined amount of stress or pressure. The predetermined amount of stress or pressure required to break the pin must be slightly less than that associated with the hanging weight of a small child but more than the standard pressure that will be placed on the system by simply operating the opening and closing of the blinds.

The end-cap 1 is also provided with a cutting blade 5 which is positioned such that when the end-cap 1 is in use attached to a set of blinds, the blade 5 is positioned below the level of the wheel 2. The blade 5 is positioned such that the cutting surface 7 is facing toward the wheel 2. In addition, in the preferred embodiment the blade 5 is positioned such that it runs substantially perpendicular to the diameter of the wheel 2. This ensures that in use the trailing edges of the pull-cord 4a and 4b hang down either side of the blade 5.

In use, the end-cap 1 is fitted to the upper beam of a set of blinds such that the manipulation of the pull cord 4 will operate the opening and closing of the blinds. A trailing edge of the pull cord 4 will extend down one side of the blinds to a point which allows for easy manipulation by a user. If a child or adult becomes entangled in the pull cord 4 such that their body weight is held by the pull-cord, for example in the case that a child was to fall and accidentally hang from the pull-cord 4, then the pin 3 will break or give way at the thinner side 6 due to the downward pressure exerted on the wheel 2 and therefore on the pin 3 by the pull cord 4. Once the pin 3 breaks preferentially at the thin end 6, it is pulled down at one end and the wheel 2 tilts accordingly. The pull cord is then dislodged from the outer circumference of the wheel 2 and falls from the wheel down to the cutting surface 7 of the blade 5. As the pull cord 4 is disposed such that one end is hanging down one side of the blade 5 and one end down the other side, then this results in the cord 4 being cut by the cutting surface 7 of the blade 5, releasing the cord 4 and preventing anything hanging from the cord 4.

The preferred embodiment utilises a blade 5 where the cutting surface 7 of the blade 5 is angled in respect of the wheel 2 (as can best be seen in figure 4). When looking along the length of the blade, the cutting surface is closer to the wheel at one side than the other. Therefore, if the pull cord 4 is pulled onto the blade 5, the downward force that pulls it onto the blade will also act to drag the pull cord 4 along the blade from the higher to lower end, resulting in a more efficient cutting of the pull cord 4. Further efficiency of cutting can be obtained if the angled blade 5 is provided as a slightly serrated surface.

It can also be envisage that the blade 5 may be provided as a straight blade rather than an angled blade providing that is sufficiently sharp.

There is also a built-in failsafe mechanism for instances where the pin 3 breaks in such a manner that the entire wheel 2 falls rather than only the pull-cord 4. The circumference of the wheel 2 is less than the space provided at either side of the blade, such that the wheel 2 is able to freely fall past the blade 5 and not get caught above the blade 5. This ensures that, as the pull-cord 4 is positioned such that each end falls either side of the blade 5, that the pull cord 4 will still come into contact with the blade 5 even if the wheel 2was to fall.

In variations of the present invention, alternative pull cords or housing shapes can be envisaged. In additional cutting means can be envisaged other than a standard blade. In all cases the end-cap is configured to act as a safety device wherein sufficient weight being placed on the pull cord results in the breaking of the pin and the resulting self cutting of the cord to prevent anything hanging from the cord. It is also envisaged that although the preferred embodiment can withstand a weight on the cord which is just less than that of a hanging infant, lower or higher weight thresholds could be used as require, for example a lower weight threshold for pin breakage could be used when the aim is to avoid animals becoming entangled in the cord.

Claims

Claims 1. An anti ligature device for use with vertical drop coverings, corn pri sing; a housing unit for attachrnent to vertical blinds containing a rotating rnernber, the rotating rnernber being adapted to receive a pull cord around it's outer circurnference and the rotating rnernber being held in position within the housing by a pin; wherein said pin is adapted to break when placed under a predeterrnined pressure and wherein the housing further cornprises a cutting rneans which, in use is positioned below the rotating rnernber.
2. An anti ligature device as in Clairn 1 wherein the pin is in the forrn of a wedge.
3. An anti ligature device as in Clairn 1 wherein the pin is provided with a weakened frangible section.
4. An anti ligature device as in any of CIa irns 1 to 3 wherein the pin is, in use, positioned such that each side of the pin is held on a seat or retaining section within the housing.
5. An anti ligature device as in any of the previous Clairns wherein the cutting rneans is a blade.
6. An anti ligature device as in Clairn 5 wherein the blade is an angled blade.
7. An anti ligature device as in either of Clairns 5 or 6 wherein the blade is rnade frorn stainless steel.
8. An anti ligature device as in any of the previous Claims wherein the pull cord is a string, a chain or other suitable cord type structure.
9. An anti ligature device as in any of the previous Claims wherein the housing is provided with a gap greater than the circumference of the wheel on at least one side of the cutting means to allow the rotating member to travel past the cutting means if the pin is caused to break.
10.An anti ligature device as in Claim 9 wherein the space at the side of the cutting means is an internal chamber within the housing.
11. An anti ligature device as in Claim 9 wherein the space at the side of the cutting means is a section of the housing provided with an open section or channel in the housing wall.
1 2.An anti ligature device as in any of the previous Claims wherein the housing is in the form of an end-cap for use with the operating mechanism of a set of blinds.
1 3.An anti ligature device as in any of the previous Claims wherein the housing is formed from an integrally moulded plastic.