GB2505494A

GB2505494A - Anti ligature handrail comprising a continuous channel

Info

Publication number: GB2505494A
Application number: GB1215610.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Benjamin Hall; Julian Hall
Original assignee: Kingsway Enterprises UK Ltd
Current assignee: Kingsway Enterprises UK Ltd
Priority date: 2012-09-03
Filing date: 2012-09-03
Publication date: 2014-03-05
Anticipated expiration: 2032-09-03
Also published as: GB2505494B; GB201215610D0

Abstract

An elongate hand rail comprises a mounting section 20 for securing to a wall or the like and a hand grip section 12 having a longitudinal axis and a holding surface extending at least 250Â° around said longitudinal axis, the hand grip section being connected to the mounting section by a connecting section forming a continuous elongate channel 16. The channel has a surface 18 that extends downwardly from the hand grip section and then curves upwardly towards the mounting section. Preferably the mounting section is above the grip section in use. The channel surface 18 preferably has a radius that increases between the junctions 22 and 24, so that the channel increases in width, preventing objects to which a ligature might be tied from being wedged in the channel. The hand rail is designed to be free of apertures or projections to which a ligature might be attached.

Description

ANTI-LIGATURE HAND RAIL

This invention relates to a safety hand rail designed to prevent ligatures being attached to it.

Wall-mounted hand rails are provided in many institutions for vulnerable patients, who may be physically and/or mentally incapacitated or disturbed.

It is important that such hand rails be designed in such a way that a ligature cannot be attached to them to support a weight so that they cannot be used for attempted self-harm or suicide. Various designs of rail have been proposed, but while they may prevent the attachment of a ligature the design also makes them less easy to grip, particularly for example by a patient with weak or arthritic hands.

The present invention provides an elongate hand rail comprising a mounting section for securing to a wall or the like and a hand grip section having a longitudinal axis and a holding surface extending at least 2500 around said longitudinal axis, the hand grip section being connected to the support section by a continuous connecting section forming a channel between the hand grip section and the support section, the channel having a surface that extends downwardly from the hand grip section and then curves upwardly towards the support section, the connecting section having a cross-section that extends inwardly towards the support section from a junction between the hand grip section and the channel surface.

The channel surface preferably has a radius of curvature that increases in a direction from a junction of the surface with the hand grip section towards the support section.

The connecting surface preferably joins the support section at a position above the hand rail when the hand rail is mounted horizontally.

The junction between the channel surface and the hand grip section is preferably directly below the longitudinal axis of the hand grip section, or laterally further away from the support section than said longitudinal axis.

The hand grip section is preferably of tubular shape, more preferably of circular cross-section.

The support section preferably comprises a flat plate for securing the hand rail to a wall. Other types of support are however envisaged, for example a fixed frame in cases where the rail is not wall-mounted.

The hand rail of the invention may be made of various materials such as wood, metals or plastics. One preferred material is aluminium or an aluminium alloy. The handrail may be made as an extrusion of uniform cross-section.

End caps may be provided at one or both ends of the rail, to prevent a ligature from being tied around the whole length of the rail. In one preferred arrangement, an end cap at one end of the rail closes off the channel section while providing no outer surface to which a ligature might be attached. An end cap at the other end of the rail might leave the channel open to allow liquid to drain out of the channel, the end cap nonetheless providing no surface that The whole assembly should be free of apertures or projections to which a ligature could be attached.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the channel surface is formed on a web integrally formed with the hand grip and mounting suctions.

A second web may be connected to the hand grip section adjacent to the connection to the first said web, the second web extending downwardly to the support section.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of part of a hand rail in accordance with the invention, fitted with an end cap; Figure 2 shows a vertical cross-section on the line Il-Il in Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a front elevation of the end cap of Figure 1, detached from the main hand rail section; Figure 4 shows an elevation of the opposite end of the end cap of Figure 3, detached from the main hand rail section; Figure 5 shows a perspective view of an end cap similar to that of Figure 3, leaving the channel open; and Figure 6 is a front elevation of the end cap of Figure 5.

Fig. 1 shows one end of a hand rail in accordance with the invention, comprising a main hand rail section 10 with a hand grip section 12 connected to a mounting section in the form of a support plate 20 by an upper web 18 and a lower web 15. As can most easily be seen in Fig. 2, the parts of the hand rail are formed integrally, suitably by extrusion.

The upper web 18 extends from a position just below the hand grip section, curving downwardly and then upwardly to join the support plate 20, tangentially at 24, defining a channel 16 between the hand grip section and the support plate. The junction 24 is above the level of the hand grip.

The radius of the upper web 18 increases gradually in going from the hand grip section to the support plate. In one example, the hand grip section might have a radius of 20mm, the radius of curvature of the upper web 18 increasing from about 10mm at Ri to 40mm at R2 and 78mm at R3. In this way, the channel becomes gradually wider in going from the junction 22 to the support plate. This has the effect of making if very difficult to wedge any kind of article such as a shoe in the channel to attach a ligature, since the article could not support any significant weight on the ligature without itself being pulled out of the channel.

The surface of the channel 16 joins the underside of the hand grip section immediately below the longitudinal axis of that section. The lower web joins the hand grip section outside the end of the upper web having downwardly concavely towards the support plate 20, its curvature reversing around the mid-point so as to curve downwardly to join the port plate at 25.

Because the webs 15 and 18 come together to join the underside of the hand grip section 12, together they only take up about 30° of the circumference of the hand grip section, which thus has a surface that is unobstructed aroundsome 330° of its circumference. A diameter of 4cm makes the rail easier to grip even with arthritic or otherwise weakened hands.

Upper and lower screw holes 26, 28 can be provided at intervals along the length of the rail, which may be of any desired length, for securing the rail and end caps to a wall. The upper screw holes 26 are located along the top edge of the support plate, to maximise the weight that the hand rail can support.

The end cap 30 of Fig. 1 is also shown in front elevation in Fig. 3 and in side elevation, detached from the rail, in Fig. 4. It can be seen from Fig. 4 that this end cap has a cross section matching that of the main rail section, making the rail continuous up to an end wall 32 of the end cap. Within the end wall, space 36 continues the channel 16.

A pipe stub 34 projects from a part 35 of the end cap having a circular cross-section, the diameter of the section 35 matching that of the hand grip section of the rail, and the pipe stub 34 having a diameter typically about 25mm, matching that of the diameter of the tubular hand grip so as to give a snug fit. A section of the end cap is shaped to match a space defined between the support plate 20 and the upper and lower webs 15, 18, projecting into that space, again with a snug fit so that the outer surface of the end cap closely matches that of the main hand rail section to give a smooth transition from one to the other without ridges or other projections. End wall 32 curves forwards and inwardly towards the hand grip of the rail and its upper edge slopes downwardly, so that in conjunction with the convex shape of the outer part of lower web 37, the end cap generally tapers towards the rail, giving nowhere for a ligature to hold.

As can be seen in Fig. 4, the channel-end recess 36 of the end cap is defined by a web 40, having a surface matching that of the channel in the main hand rail section, this surface merging smoothly into the end wall 36, again without ridges or other projections. The webs 37 and 40 merge into a back plate 45 which forms a continuation of the support plate 20 of the main hand rail section.

It is preferable to have at least one end of the hand rail closed off smoothly by an end cap such as the end cap 30 of Figs. 2 to 3, to prevent a ligature being tied around both ends of the rail, but in order to prevent water collecting in the channel 16, the other end of the rail may have an open-ended cap such as that shown in Figs. 5 and 6. This end cap 50 is shaped to close off the same end of the rail as in Fig. 1, but if used to close off the opposite end its shape would of course be the mirror image of that shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

This end cap has the same section meeting the main hand rail section as end cap 30, with projecting stubs 60, 62 to fit respective apertures in the hand rail, and an upper web 54 defining a channel 55, but in this case the channel is open at the end remote from the main hand rail section to allow drainage. The closure web 64 closes off the base between upper web 54 and a lower web 56 that matches the lower webl5 of the main hand rail section.

The pipe stub 62 projects from a rounded section 58 that again offers no ridges or projections around which a ligature could successfully be tied. In particular it has a rounded upper surface 65. The end wall 64 curves forwards and inwards in the same way as the end wall 32 of end cap 30.

The outer surfaces of the hand rail of the invention are generally made as smooth as possible to prevent ligatures gaining any purchase. Aluminium is therefore particularly suitable for the purpose.

Claims

CLAIMS1. An elongate hand rail comprising a mounting section for securing to a wall or the like and hand grip section having a longitudinal axis and a holding surface extending at least 2500 around said longitudinal axis, the hand grip section being connected to the mounting section by a continuous connecting section forming a channel between the hand grip section and the mounting section, the channel having a surface that extends downwardly from the hand grip section and then curves upwardly towards the mounting section, the connecting section having a cross-section that extends inwardly towards the mounting section from a junction between the hand grip section and the channel surface.
2. A hand rail according to claim 1 wherein the channel surface has a radius of curvature that increases in a direction towards the mounting section from a junction of the surface with the hand grip section.
3. A hand rail according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the connecting surface join the mounting section at a position above the hand rail when the hand rail is mounted horizontally.
4. A hand rail according to any preceding claim wherein the junction between the channel surface and the hand grip section is directly below the longitudinal axis of the hand grip section, or laterally further away from the mounting section than said longitudinal axis.
5. A hand rail according to any preceding claim wherein the hand grip section is of tubular shape.
6. A hand rail according to claim 5 wherein the hand grip section is of circular cross section.
7. A hand rail according to any preceding claim wherein the support section comprises a flat plate for securing the hand rail to a wall.
8. A hand rail according to any preceding claim wherein the channel surface is formed on a web integrally formed with the hand grip and support sections.
9. A hand rail according to claim 8 wherein a second web is connected to the hand grip section adjacent to the connection to the first said web and extends downwardly to the support section.
10. A hand rail according to any preceding claim formed as an extrusion of uniform cross-section.
11. A hand rail according to any preceding claim, formed of metal or plastics material.
12. A hand rail according to claim 11 formed of aluminium or an aluminium alloy.
13. A hand rail according to any preceding claim that is free of apertures.
14. A hand rail according to any preceding claim wherein at least one end of the rail is fitted with an end cap closing the end of the channel to prevent a ligature from being tied around the whole length of the rail.
15. A hand rail assembly substantially as herein described with reference to and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.