Patent Application
20050278840
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sanitary devices for toilets and particularly to a combination sanitary toilet seat handle and toilet tissue roll holder, which is affixed to the toilet seat ring, whereby the toilet paper roll is used as a renewable sanitary grasping surface for the handle, with which the seat may be raised or lowered without touching the seat ring or lid proper.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Raising and lowering the toilet seat ring and/or lid by contacting the edge or underside of the ring and/or lid is undesirable because they tend to be unsanitary. Germs which reside on the seat can be transferred to users who touch the ring and/or lid. The subject of raising and lowering the toilet seat causes unpleasant discussions between men and women because neither wishes to have to touch the ring before or after use.
Several devices have been proposed for lifting the toilet seat ring without contacting the ring itself. Each device proposed includes a solid contact surface that can itself become contaminated with germs by their close proximity to the toilet bowl, by multiple users touching the same handle, and, for example, in public rest rooms by male users who do not lift the ring and enable urine to fall on the solid handle.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,460, issued Nov. 19, 1991 to Currin, provides an apparatus that includes a handle arrangement for lifting of a commode seat wherein the handle may be mounted to a side or bottom surface of the associated commode seat to permit ease of lifting and manipulation thereof. Modifications of the invention include a lifting handle providing a support roll for use in combination the rotatable mounting of a tissue roll to permit dispensing thereof wherein replacement support tube permits use of a handle or selectively of a sponge applicator member for the dispensing of a disinfectant therefrom.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. D441,439, issued May 1, 2001 to Nagel, discloses the ornamental design for a toilet seat lifter.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. D348,601, issued Jul. 12, 1994 to Borja, describes the ornamental design for a lifter for a toilet seat.
Prior art U.S. Patent Application #20020007532, published Jan. 24, 2002 by Gianelli, describes a sanitary air freshening handle for articles and associated methods. A disposable handle for an article is provided that includes a connecting member connected to a surface of the article, and a handle member having a proximal connecting end connected to the connecting member and a distal handle end. The handle member comprises an air-freshening scent, an anti-microbial agent, and a phosphorescent material producing a glow to help a user locate the handle member in the dark.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,246, issued Feb. 21, 1989 to De Vargas, shows a handle attachable to the underside of a toilet seat for the purpose of manually lifting or lowering the seat in a sanitary manner. The handle includes an elongated member having an attachment portion securable to the edge marginal region of the seat and a handle portion cantilevered outwardly in position for grasping by the fingers of the user. A deodorant cake is mountable from the attachment portion and the handle portion, including a display area for carrying alpha/numeric or graphic representations in either flat, relief or raised orientation. A cover or sleeve may be inserted over the handle portion, which is of sanitary composition or a band of sanitary material may be wrapped around the handle portion.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,425, issued Jan. 7, 1997 to Janik, Jr., indicates a hygienic toilet seat handle, in which a wafer container is permanently connected to a handle, and temporarily attached to the underside of a toilet seat or lid. The wafer container is attached to a base that is permanently connected to the toilet seat. The base has a top, two sides and two bottom pieces, forming an opening into which the wafer container is telescopically inserted. The handle may be made of a substance that glows in the dark, and may be coated and treated with a disinfecting material. The wafer container holds a wafer, which gradually emits deodorizing and disinfecting vapors.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,267, issued Dec. 27, 1994 to Davis, puts forth a device for lifting a toilet seat without the hands of the user directly contacting such seat wherein a flat plate is attached to the underside of the toilet seat. The flat plate has its outer end protruding only slightly beyond the edge of the seat. The said outer end is formed with a pair of downwardly angled flanges adapted to receive a pivot pin therethrough, such pivot pin extending through the end of a preferably tubular handle. The handle will normally depend from the said pivot pin but when it is to be used, such handle is lifted into a horizontal position, i.e. parallel with the seat surface, and used to raise the toilet seat. A stop is built into the outer end of the flat plate attached to the seat to prevent the pivoted handle from rising above the plane of the seat surface. Provision may be made for latching the handle into position during actual use and the handle may be used as a receptacle for deodorant if desired.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,258, issued Mar. 17, 1998 to Derouin, concerns a toilet seat-lifting handle that has scented elements. The toilet seat-lifting handle includes a support bracket coupled to the underside of a conventional toilet seat by an adhesive material. The bracket further supports a pivotally attached socket, which in turn receives a frustro-conical handle in a removable attachment. The interior of the frustro-conical handle or grip receives a quantity of scented material, which permeates outwardly through a plurality of apertures defined in the grip portion of the handle. In an alternate embodiment, an electric light is provided within the grip portion of the handle to provide illumination in low light or darkened areas and to render the handle grip easier to see. The handle grip is pivotally attached to the support bracket to facilitate pivoting the handle grip to a close alignment with the toilet seat edge avoiding undue intrusion into the remainder of the toilet facility area.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,519, issued Aug. 30, 1994 to Cusenza, illustrates a sanitary flexible lifting handle for lifting the seat of a toilet. The seat has a bore extending therethrough for retaining the sanitary flexible lifting handle. The handle includes a first peg portion located in the bore in the seat, a spring connected to the first peg portion and extending from the bore of the seat, a second peg portion connected to the other end of the spring and a flexible sheath encasing the first and second peg portions and the spring which is press-fit in the bore of the seat. Rubber washer ends are connected to the exposed faces of the peg portions at the ends of the sheath and assist in flexibly retaining the lifting handle in the bore of the seat.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,324, issued Aug. 28, 1990 to Lirette, is for a structure to facilitate lifting a toilet seat and a toilet seat lid in a manner that will reduce contact with possible unsanitary surfaces and eliminate the necessity of bending over to grasp and lift the toilet seat and toilet seat lid. The lifter includes a pivotally supported handle structure mounted on the toilet seat and provided with an elongated rod generally paralleling the external edge of the toilet seat. The device is also provided with a pair of generally parallel outwardly extending forward and rearward rod-like structures at the end thereof thereby enabling a person to engage the forward rod-like structure with a knee and push it downwardly and rearwardly, thus causing the rearward rod-like structure to move upwardly and forwardly to provide a handle at an elevated position which can be grasped and moved upwardly by exerting a lifting force thereon thereby lifting the seat and seat lid when it is resting on the seat.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,907, issued Dec. 19, 1978 to Vaughan, provides a toilet seat lifter for protecting the hands of a user of the toilet against bacteria. The lifter is adapted to be attached to a toilet seat and includes a spherical hand-engaging portion, which can be readily removed for cleaning and sanitizing.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 2,236,576, issued Apr. 1, 1941 to Loebner, shows a sanitary toilet seat raiser consisting of a handle rotatably mounted on a toilet seat so that the position of the handle may be changed to positions handy to reach whether the toilet seat is up or down.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 3,783,455, issued Jan. 8, 1974 to Vanderbrook, claims a toilet operating assembly for protecting the hands of a user against germs. The operating assembly attaches to a toilet seat and includes a partially housed vapor-emitting wick, separating and operating handle and the toilet seat.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,341, issued Nov. 6, 2001 to Zwezdaryk, claims a toilet cover that provides a chair for covering a bathroom toilet with a tank, a hinged seat, a bowl, and a flushing handle. The chair has a tank cover for covering the tank of the toilet, and a bowl cover connected to the tank cover for covering the hinged seat and the bowl of the toilet. The bowl cover has a hinged seat cover and a front portion. The front portion has a protrusion for receiving the front part of the bowl of the toilet to allow the front part of the bowl to extend outwardly beyond a remainder of the front portion. The chair also has a pair of armrests coupled with the tank cover, each armrest having a front portion and a back portion. The armrests are undercut to create a space between the bowl cover and the front portion of the arm rests to admit a user's thighs. The claim further has first and second pedal assemblies operably connected to the hinged seat cover and the hinged seat cover and hinged seat from the closed to the opened positions. A toilet paper dispensing compartment at the front portion in armrest is appropriately sized and shaped to hold a roll of toilet paper on a retaining peg.
What is needed is a combination sanitary toilet seat handle and toilet roll holder wherein the roll serves as the handle for lifting the toilet seat so that the user is always touching a clean sanitary surface and, furthermore, such a device which positions the toilet paper roll in a conveniently reachable position relative to a user of the toilet in either a sitting or standing position and so that the toilet tissue roll is sufficiently distant from the toilet seat so that the toilet tissue roll is not wet or soiled.
An object of the present invention is to provide a combination sanitary toilet seat handle and toilet roll holder wherein the roll serves as the handle for lifting the toilet seat so that the user is always touching a clean sanitary surface and further such a device which positions the toilet paper roll in a conveniently reachable position relative to a user of the toilet in either a sitting or standing position and so that the toilet tissue roll is sufficiently distant from the toilet seat so that the toilet tissue roll is not wet or soiled.
Another object of the present invention is to provide at least one embodiment of the invention in which the toilet tissue roll is always oriented horizontally for convenience of use and ease of grasping as a handle as well as to prevent the toilet tissue from unrolling.
One more object of the present invention is to provide an embodiment of the invention in which the toilet tissue roll handle may be used to raise and lower both the toilet seat ring and the toilet seat cover as desired.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a combination handle and tissue roll holder having a main member that can be rigid, semi-flexible, or flexible, and can be adjustable in length to suit the users or installation type.
In brief, a combination toilet seat handle and toilet tissue roll holder for manually raising or lowering a toilet seat ring and/or lid without a user having to touch the toilet seat proper. Instead, the user can raise and lower the seat by only touching a readily available tissue roll. The combination handle-roll holder also includes improved positioning of a handle to make the raising and lowering the seat more accessible to users, particularly those who have difficulty bending over. By combining the handle and tissue holder, the user can visibly determine whether the grip surface is contaminated or not, and then touch a piece of renewably clean paper to raise and lower the seat. The combination handle and roll holder can be attached to the seat using mechanical fasteners, adhesive, strong magnets embedded in mating surfaces, an opening(s) for a slip fit, or it can be molded integrally as part of the seat during the manufacture of the seat. The combination handle-holder uses a member that can be rigid, semi-flexible, or flexible to accommodate various levels of stiffness or yielding when contacted by persons. The member can be adjustable in length to achieve different positions adaptable to the users and application.
It is advantageous to have a handle that allows raising and lowering of the ring and/or lid using the normally clean toilet tissue roll. The tissue roll makes available a surface that is frequently renewed with a clean paper surface to touch, the surface can be renewed by the user each time if desired by first stripping off a small amount of paper, the tissue roll can, with relative ease, be visually observed to be dry and devoid of certain contamination, unlike a solid handle. Furthermore, the position of the combination handle and roll holder can be situated away from the toilet bowl but more accessible to grasp than the seat ring and/or lid. The positioning can be such that the combination handle/holder requires less bending to grasp by the user, which can aid handicapped persons and make the raising/lowering process easier for all persons. An adhesive-backed foam section is applied to the toilet tank lid or tank to prevent banging of the toilet seat against the tank and/or tank lid. The foam section can have text and/or graphics for instruction and/or advertising.
An advantage of the present invention is that the user is always touching a clean renewable sanitary surface.
Another advantage of the present invention is the toilet paper roll is in a conveniently reachable position.
An additional advantage of the present invention is that chemicals are not needed to provide the sanitary touching surface.
One more advantage of the present invention is that it prevents the toilet tissue from unrolling.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the toilet tissue will not become soiled or wet during use of the toilet.
A corollary advantage of the present invention is that the arm is adjustable in length to suit the user.
An associated advantage of the present invention is that it may be made to accommodate various levels of stiffness or yielding when contacted by persons.
Still another advantage of the present invention is that it may be formed in the manufacture of the toilet seat, or sold as a retrofit handle for an existing toilet.
A further advantage of the present invention is that it is easy to install.
A successive advantage of the present invention is that is simple to use.
A different advantage of the present invention is that it is inexpensive to manufacture.
An extra advantage of the present invention is that the user can visibly determine whether the grip surface is contaminated or not.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it prevents the spreading of microorganisms.
These and other details of my invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are furnished only by way of illustration and not in limitation of the invention, and in which drawings:
In
The device 20A, 20B and 20C comprises an arm 23A, 23B and 23C permanently attached to a toilet seat ring 32 in a rigid connection adapted to enable the toilet seat ring 32 and a toilet seat cover 31 to be moved and supported by the arm 23A, 23B and 23C in movement of the arm. The arm 23A, 23B and 23C extends away from the toilet seat ring 32 in one or more directions and the arm is configured to extend outwardly and upwardly away from the toilet seat ring 32 so that the toilet tissue roll 40 mounted on the device is positioned so that a toilet tissue roll 40 may be grasped within arms reach by a seated user to dispense toilet tissue and by a standing user to dispense toilet tissue and to grasp the toilet tissue roll as a handle to raise and lower the toilet seat ring 32 attached thereto. The arm 23A, 23B and 23C may be structured alternately as a rigid member, a semi-flexible member, a flexible member, a length adjustable member, a spring-loaded member, a spring-like material member, and a coil spring member.
In
In
The means for attaching the arm 23A, 23B and 23C to a toilet seat ring 32 may comprise screws 22, adhesives, high gauss magnets, an elongated element from the arm insertable in a mating opening in a toilet seat ring, an arm molded together with a toilet seat ring in a molding process, or a tab from the arm insertable into a recess pocket with flanges in the toilet seat ring.
The device also comprises a toilet tissue roll retainer 15 and 15C permanently attached to an outer end of the arm 23A, 23B and 23C by a rigid connection to the arm so that the roll retainer 15 and 15C is positioned horizontally with a toilet seat ring 32 in a down position, shown in
In
In
In
The device 20A, 20B and 20C further comprises an adhesive-backed soft pad (not shown) that is attachable to a toilet 30 tank to prevent banging of a toilet seat cover 31 against the tank, the soft pad having indicia thereon, such as graphics for instruction and or advertisement.
The device 20A, 20B and 20C may be manufactured as a part of the toilet seat ring 32 or as an add-on option for an existing toilet 30.
In practice, the end cap 26 and 26B would be removed from the tissue roll retainer 15 and 15C, a fresh toilet tissue roll 40 would be placed on the tissue roll retainer 15 and 15 C, and the end cap 26 and 26B securely replaced. The user would check the tissue roll 40 before each use to visibly determine whether the grip surface is contaminated or not. The surface can be renewed by the user each time if desired, by first stripping off a small amount of paper. When the tissue roll 40 is clean, the user may then grip the surface of the roll 40 and lift the roll 40, thereby lifting the toilet ring seat 32 as well. The toilet seat ring 32 may also be lowered by using the tissue roll 40 as a gripping surface.
To lower the toilet seat ring 32 and seat cover 31 of the alternate device 20C using the spring loaded pawl 21C, seen in
It is understood that the preceding description is given merely by way of illustration and not in limitation of the invention and that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.
