Abstract:
There is disclosed herein a suicide prevention door handle and shower handle wherein each is designed to eliminate any area or structure that could be used to hold a belt, piece of clothing or the like as an aid in committing suicide by hanging. In each case, the safety knob comprises a tapered rose member or faceplate along with a cylinder wedge assembly or handle.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 61/082,127, filed Jul. 18, 2008, which application is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The disclosed embodiments relate generally to safety knobs adapted to significantly reduce or eliminate the occurrence of sentinel events and more particularly, but not exclusively, to safety knobs having particular constructions that prevents the physical means for an individual to hang him/herself. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Medical facilities are aware that some of their patient population is at risk of committing suicide, specifically hanging, while being treated in the medical facility. These suicides, referred to in the industry as sentinel events, typically occur either in the bathroom or in the shower stall of the medical facility. 
     Public use bathrooms typically have bathroom stalls, including a bathroom door and doorknob. The bathroom doors can be used as a platform or location for holding a belt or a piece of clothing to aid in committing suicide by hanging. Various systems for reducing sentinel events have been proposed, such as the sentinel event reduction system set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 7,024,823 entitled Sentinel Event Reduction System, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety 
     The bathroom doorknob can also be used as a platform or location for holding a belt or a piece of clothing to aid in committing suicide by hanging. 
     Every bathroom or unit in a medical facility cannot be watched at the same time without enormous staff resources. Therefore, bathrooms, and specifically bathroom doorknobs, provide an area of opportunity for a sentinel event for patients at risk for suicide. Shower knobs also can be a problem. 
     To date, the problems of sentinel events in bathrooms are typically addressed by removing all bathroom stall hardware, including doors and doorknobs. While this reduces opportunities for sentinel events, it likewise eliminates all privacy that a patient may have. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an embodiment of a safety door knob, wherein the safety knob comprises a tapered rose member and a cylinder wedge assembly. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the safety knob of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIGS. 3   a  and  3   b  illustrate an embodiment of a safety shower valve knob. 
         FIGS. 4   a ,  4 B, and  4   c  illustrate the basic components of the shower valve knob. 
     
    
    
     It should be noted that the Figures are not drawn to scale and that elements of similar structures or functions are generally represented by like reference numerals for illustrative purposes throughout the Figures. It also should be noted that the Figures are only intended to facilitate the description of the disclosed embodiments. The Figures do not illustrate every aspect of the disclosed embodiments and do not limit the scope of the disclosed embodiments. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A safety door knob  100  overcomes the foregoing drawbacks and addresses the problems described herein. The safety knob  100  described herein has been engineered so that any attempt to use it as a hanging platform will fail. Nothing can hang off the safety knob or be wedged within the safety knob without sliding or falling off because all foreseeable hanging points are removed. The sentinel event reducing safety knob includes a uniquely-engineered knob that prevents hanging of any material on the knob for use particularly in facilities where there are at risk patients who may attempt suicide, specifically by hanging. 
     The safety knob can be used in conjunction with any door that can be hung in any conventional door frame. It is encouraged that the safety knob be used in conjunction with the door described in the above-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 7,024,823. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a preferred embodiment of the sentinel event reducing safety knob  100 . Turning to  FIG. 1 , the sentinel event reducing safety knob  100  is shown as including a cylinder wedge assembly  110 , such as an outside cylinder wedge assembly  110 _O, and a rose member  120 , such as an outside rose  120 _O, suitable for installation at a mounting structure  200 , such as a door. The outside rose  120 _O has a tapered outer surface  122 . The outside rose  120 _O also forms an internal chamber  124  (shown in  FIG. 2 ) for receiving the outside cylinder wedge assembly  110 _O. The outside cylinder wedge assembly  110 _O preferably includes a safety pull wedge  112  and a cylinder member  114 , which can comprise separate units as shown in  FIG. 2  or can be integrated into a single unit. If provided as separate units, the safety pull wedge  112  and cylinder member  114  can be coupled via one or more fasteners, such as a screw  17  (shown in  FIG. 2 ). The cylinder member  114  includes an inner surface  116  that defines an internal opening  118  within the cylinder member  114 . When the safety pull wedge  112  is disposed within the internal opening  118 , an outer surface  113  (shown in  FIG. 2 ) of the safety pull wedge  112  is flush with the inner surface  116  of the cylinder member  114 , and, hence, no space is present on the safety knob  100  to operate as a hanging point. The safety knob  100  can be activated, such as by rotating and/or translating, to extend and/or retract a locking mechanism  16 . Thereby, when the outside cylinder wedge assembly  110 _O is received within the outer rose  120 _O, the safety knob  100  provides a knob surface that is not suitable for hanging. 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the safety knob  100  of  FIG. 1 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the safety knob  100  includes both the outer rose  120 _O and the outer cylinder wedge assembly  110 _O as well as an inner rose  120 _I and an inner cylinder wedge assembly  110 _I. The inner rose  120 _I can be provided in the same manner as the outside rose  120 _O described above with reference to  FIG. 1 . The inner rose  120 _I includes an internal chamber  126  for receiving the inner cylinder wedge assembly  110 _I. The inner cylinder wedge assembly  110 _I preferably is provided in the manner set forth above with reference to the outer cylinder wedge assembly  110 _O in  FIG. 1 . 
     Safety knob  100  can be used with any conventional latching mechanism  16 . An illustrative latching mechanism is shown in  FIG. 2 . The latching mechanism  16  is disposed within the mounting structure  200  and can be activated by the safety knob  100  via conventional hardware  300 . The conventional hardware  300  can be installed within an opening  210  formed by the mounting structure  200 . The hardware  300  can be disposed within and extend through the opening  210  and includes an outside end region  310 _O for coupling with the outside cylinder wedge assembly  110 _O and an inside end region  310 _I for coupling with the inside cylinder wedge assembly  110 _I. 
     The outside end region  310 _O of the hardware  300  can pass through an opening (not shown) formed within the outside rose  120 _O and communicating with the internal chamber  124 . Extending within the internal chamber  124 , the outside end region  310 _O can couple with the outside cylinder wedge assembly  110 _O. Similarly, the inside end region  310 _I of the hardware  300  can pass through an opening  128  formed within the inner rose  120 _I and communicating with the internal chamber  126 . Extending within the internal chamber  126 , the inside end region  310 _I can couple with the inside cylinder wedge assembly  110 _I. 
     The inside cylinder wedge assembly  110 _I and the outside cylinder wedge assembly  110 _O each thereby communicate with the hardware  300  and can be activated, such as by rotating and/or translating, to extend and/or retract the locking mechanism  16 . 
     The inside cylinder wedge assembly  110 _I attaches to the inside end region  310 _I. The inside end region  310 _I can include an inside knob bushing  7  and an inside needle roller bearing  8 , and can be coupled with the inside cylinder wedge assembly  110 _I via one or more fasteners  9 . Similarly, the outside cylinder wedge assembly  110 _O attaches to the outside end region  310 _O. The outside end region  310 _O can include an outside knob bushing  27  and a outside needle roller bearing  28 , and can be coupled with the outside cylinder wedge assembly  110 _O via one or more fasteners  29 . 
     A spindle  12  passes through the opening  210 , interacting with the latching mechanism  16 , extends into the internal chamber  124  of the outer rose  120 _O, and mates with the outside knob bushing  27 . Posts  14  include an internally threaded region  5  for receiving screws  15 . The posts  14  are respectively received within channels  220  formed within the opening  210  and maintain the orientation of the safety knob  100 . 
     Turning now to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a safety shower valve handle  240  is shown as a mixing valve handle recessed in a beveled faceplate  242 . The mixing valve handle  240  is connected to a control knob  244  by suitable screws  246 . The control knob is threaded onto the valve spindle  248  of the water mixing valve  250  which is within the shower wall. 
     Thus, this suicide prevention shower handle can replace any non-push type shower handle and faceplate. It preferably is made of high impact Corian material which will not rust nor corrode. The handle  240  and control knob  244  are securely bolted together with the lip  252  of the faceplate  242  between them as seen in  FIG. 3   b.  This design prevents the handle from either being pulled apart or pushed in by a patient. It also prevents anything from being slipped behind the handle and used as a hanging point. 
     The disclosed embodiments are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, and specific examples thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the disclosed embodiments are not to be limited to the particular forms or methods disclosed, but to the contrary, the disclosed embodiments are to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives.