1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to sanitation and personal hygiene, and particularly to a reusable, portable toilet seat capable of being folded for compact storage and carriage for use in public restrooms and the like for removable placement atop an existing seat.
2. Description of the Related Art
The need for restrooms accessible by the general public has been widely recognized. Accordingly, public restrooms are nearly universally found in automobile service stations, restaurants, sports stadiums and facilities, public transportation facilities, and numerous other facilities usable and accessible by the public. While most persons responsible for such restroom facilities attempt to maintain the restrooms in a clean and hygienic state, this is unfortunately not always the case. In some instances the responsible staff may not have time to clean the restrooms as they should be cleaned, or may just avoid such duties. In other cases the slovenliness of a large group or the public in general can render an otherwise clean restroom into an unsanitary mess in short order.
Accordingly, it is common practice to provide disposable toilet seat covers in restrooms for use by those who wish to avoid direct contact with the toilet seat. However, not all restrooms are equipped with such covers, and in many cases the supply of covers is not replenished as soon as it is depleted. In any event, oftentimes such covers do not provide the protection desired if the toilet seat is wet, as such disposable covers are formed of a thin, lightweight tissue that is moisture absorbent.
Thus, a portable toilet seat solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The portable toilet seat is a foldable and reusable supplemental seat for removable placement upon an existing toilet seat. The device is formed to have a substantially congruent planform to a conventional toilet seat, with a plurality of suction cups extending from the bottom surface to provide for removable attachment to the existing seat. The device further includes a series of preformed folds or creases to facilitate folding the device for compact storage. A storage bag may be included with the device for further convenience.
The device comprises a relatively firm and rigid base or substrate of corrugated material (cardboard, plastic, etc.) with a sheet or layer of air-filled plastic wrap (e.g., Bubble Wrap®) thereabove. A layer of non-woven fiber batting, e.g., polyester, etc., is applied atop the air-filled plastic wrap, and the assembly is enclosed in a thin, flexible plastic cover sheet over its upper and lower surfaces. The upper and lower plies of the cover sheet are heat sealed to one another along their inner and outer peripheries in order to preclude the entry of contamination between the plies, and preferably include at least one ply that extends beyond the outer periphery of the corrugated sheet and padding layers to overlie the edges of the toilet seat and bowl. In this manner, a user of the device need not contact or grip the edge of the seat or bowl directly.
These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
The portable toilet seat is a washable and reusable toilet seat for use in public restrooms and the like where sanitation may be questionable at best. The portable toilet seat may be folded for compact storage, and may be conveniently stored and carried in a small bag or container.
The corrugated base sheet 12 has an upper surface 14 and an opposite lower surface 16. The upper surface 14 serves as an attachment surface for a flexible sheet of air-filled plastic wrap 18, e.g., Bubble Wrap®, disposed thereon. Preferably a flexible layer or sheet of non-woven fiber batting 20, e.g., polyester, etc., is provided over the air-filled plastic wrap 18, with the air-filled plastic wrap layer or sheet 18 being sandwiched between the batting layer 20 and the corrugated base sheet or layer 12. One or more alternative padded materials may be used to form the padded layer(s) atop the base sheet 12, as desired.
The various layers or sheets of material are enclosed within upper and lower covers, respectively 22 and 24, of thin, pliable, and liquid impervious plastic sheet material. The upper cover 22 is applied over the batting layer 20, and the lower cover 24 is applied directly to the lower or bottom surface 16 of the base sheet 12. The base sheet 12, air-filled plastic wrap layer 18, and batting layer 20 all have common inner peripheries 26 and opposite outer peripheries 28 (shown in
At least one of the plies or sheets comprising the upper and lower covers 22 and 24 preferably extends outwardly somewhat beyond the outer periphery 28 of the layers or sheets 12, 18, and 20, as shown in
While the draped cover extension 32 may provide some security in holding the portable seat 10 atop the conventional permanently attached seat of the toilet T, it is preferred that additional removable attachment means be provided.
In
The portable toilet seat 10 is configured for folding, to provide for compact storage of the device.
In
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/272,777, filed Nov. 2, 2009.
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Entry |
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Website, http://www.safetycentral.com/toilseatcov.html, “Charmin To Go” toilet seat cover packs, two sheets printed from the internet on Nov. 8, 2008. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20110099699 A1 | May 2011 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61272777 | Nov 2009 | US |