Patent Application
20090211004
This disclosure relates generally to a toilet seat, and more particularly to an elevated toilet seat assembly.
Modern bathrooms are equipped with toilets having toilet seats that provide a relatively comfortable surface for individuals to utilize the facilities of the bathroom. Individuals with balance and mobility issues, such as the elderly or persons having temporary or permanent physical impairments, may have difficulty sitting on and raising from a conventional toilet seat. For example, these individuals may lack the muscles required to safely reach the toilet seat, possibly resulting in harm to the individual.
Elevated toilet seats are known that provide a raised surface to allow individuals with physical impairments to reach the toilet seat with less exertion than required with a conventional toilet seat. These elevated toilet seats typically include locking mechanisms for securing the elevated seat relative to the toilet. For example, one known elevated toilet seat includes a knob that is rotatable to engage a hook on the inside of the toilet bowl rim.
Disadvantageously, known elevated toilet seats are difficult to install and remove from the existing toilet. Typically, the tools are required to remove the elevated seat from the toilet. Additionally, elevated toilet seat designs that include rotatable knobs that engage hooks on the interior of the toilet bowl rim may be an intrusion because the knob protrudes into the living space. The components that engage the inside of the toilet bowl rib can be nauseating to clean as these extra surfaces can collect mold, fecal matter, urine and the like.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an elevated toilet seat that is easy to clean, easy to install and remove, and that is installable on existing toilet bowls of various shapes and sizes.
A bracket assembly for an elevated toilet seat includes a first bracket and a second bracket. The first bracket includes an opening. The second bracket includes a cam that selectively engages the opening. The cam is rotatable between a first position and a second position to engage the first bracket relative to the second bracket.
An elevated toilet seat assembly for a toilet bowl having an upper rim includes a toilet seat and a bracket assembly. The bracket assembly includes a first bracket and a second bracket. The first bracket is mounted to one of the toilet seat and the upper rim, and the second bracket is mounted to the other of the toilet seat and the upper rim. The second bracket includes a cam that is rotatable to selectively engage the first bracket relative to the second bracket to removably secure the toilet seat relative to the upper rim.
A method for providing an elevated seating surface for a toilet bowl includes attaching one of a first bracket and a second bracket to a toilet seat, attaching the other of the first bracket and the second bracket to an upper rim of a toilet bowl, and manipulating a cam of the second bracket to selectively engage the second bracket relative to the first bracket.
The various features and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows.
The first bracket 28 includes a first face 32 and a second face 34. In this example, the first face is angled relative to the second face 34. The second face 34 is transversely angled relative to the first face 32 such that an angle of 180 degrees is defined between the bottom surface 20 and the second face 34, in one example. The first face 32 is received and secured against a recess 36 of the toilet seat 18 of the elevated toilet seat assembly 14 (see
The first face 32 of the first bracket 28 includes openings 38. In one example, the openings 38 are elongated. The elongated openings 38 provide necessary adjustment of the first bracket 28 relative to the toilet seat 18 to accommodate toilet bowls 10 having variations in the flatness of the upper rim 12. That is, the height of the first bracket 28 relative to the toilet seat 18 and the upper rim 12 is adjustable via the openings 38.
The second face 34 of the first bracket 28 includes an opening 40. In this example, the opening 40 is a slot. The slot is generally quarter donut shaped, in one example. The opening 40 receives a cam 42 of the second bracket 30 to removably secure the toilet seat 18 relative to the upper rim 12, as is further discussed below.
The second bracket 30 includes a middle flange 44 disposed between a pair of bracket arms 46. The bracket arms include slots 48 that are utilized to secure the second bracket 30 relative to the upper rim 12 of the toilet bowl 10 (see
The middle flange 44 of the second bracket 30 includes an opening 50 for receiving the cam 42. A wave spring washer 52, a washer 54 and a fastener 56 are positioned on an opposite side of the middle flange 44 from the cam 42 to securely attach the cam 42 to the second bracket 30. The middle flange 44 also includes a hole 58 for receiving a domed protrusion 60 of the cam 42 to lock the cam 42 relative to the second bracket 30.
The cam 42 is selectively manipulated between a first position X and a second position X′ (shown in phantom lines) to engage/disengage the first bracket 28 relative to the second bracket 30 of the bracket assembly 16. For example, the cam 42 may be gripped and rotated to engage/disengage the first bracket 28 relative to the second bracket 30. In this example, the first position X represents a locked position in which the elevated toilet seat assembly 14 is securely attached to the toilet bowl 10. The second position X′ represents an unlatched position in which the first bracket 28 is released relative to the second bracket 30 and the elevated toilet seat assembly 14 is removable from the toilet bowl 10.
In the first position X, the domed protrusion 60 is received within the hole 58 of the middle flange 44 to securely lock the cam 42 and secure the first bracket 28 relative to the second bracket 30. The cam 42 is selectively rotatable, in one example, to the second position X′ to release the cam 42 and disengage the first bracket 28 relative to the second bracket 30. The hole 58 includes a slight chamfer that leads the domed protrusion 60 out of the hole 58 to release the cam 42. In one example, the cam 42 is rotated 90° to release the first bracket 28 relative to the second bracket 30. The conventional toilet seat 15 can resume normal function once the elevated toilet seat assembly 14 is unlocked and removed from the toilet bowl 10.
The foregoing description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense. A worker of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure would understand that certain modifications would come within the scope of the disclosure. For these reasons, the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of the disclosure.
