Patent Application
20240398183
A tough and ridged lockable ovular toilet cover apparatus designed to deny access to any toilet, that does not have a lid attached, by means of a spring-loaded arm system with thin, flat C-shaped metal on both sides that can be secured to the inside rim of said toilet bowl.
My invention relates to toilet fixture devices specifically designed to be secured to the toilet bowl itself and to be opened and closed when needed. More particularly, the invention relates to a toilet lid lock that is adapted to be locked and unlocked to deny access to a toilet bowl. I have referenced three patents that are in close correlation to my invention. These such patents are as follows:
Toilet locks have been available for decades and have been designed to keep infants and small children from accessing the inside of the toilet bowl itself, which can be hazardous to said children as well as the plumbing system due to foreign objects potentially getting lodged inside. Such locks are usually easy to open and gain access to the toilet bowl. Description of the prior art U.S. Pat. No. 3,477,070 discloses “A simple flexible, plastic strap having pressure adhesive discs at its opposite ends for securing said ends respectfully to the lid and bowl of a toilet fixture to deny access to the toilet bowl to irresponsible infants.” All these toilet locks are made for toilets that come with lids installed and are flimsy and easy for adults to access. The device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,663 also mounts to the outside of the toilet bowl and toilet lid. It is also flimsy and easy to bypass, allowing access to the inside of the toilet bowl. The same can be said for the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,551.
When new toilets are installed in a commercial building, the toilet only comes with an attached seat and no cover of any kind. This is standard across all constructed commercial buildings. When a plumber installs the toilet at the jobsite of a new commercial building, it has no running water and no means of flushing said toilet. There is no way to keep a person from using the toilet before it is finished and ready to use, which can take months.
In view of the foregoing, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a secure device that can be installed temporarily to a commercial grade toilet that has no lid or cover of any kind. Another object of the present invention is to deny access to the inside of the toilet to prevent foreign objects and unwanted fluids from entering the plumbing system.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a way to keep plumbers, or whomever may be installing the commercial toilet system and toilets themselves, safe from any potential biohazards that may occur due to unsafe liquids or bodily fluids that could enter the toilet and plumbing system.
Another object of the invention is to keep a finished toilet that may be out of service, locked and secure until said toilet is fixed and ready to use again.
Other objects will in part be obvious and be pointed out in the following description of the invention and the accompanying drawings, wherein is disclosed a preferred embodiment of this inventive concept.
In the drawings:
Referring in detail to the drawings, the spring-loaded locking mechanism of the invention comprises of multiple parts. Those parts being a hollow metal tube (5), with a metal bushing (16) on one end to prevent the other hollow metal tube (7) from exiting the spring-loaded tube (5). The hollow tube (7) that is being pushed by the spring (13), is flanged on the end (10) to provide the ability to catch the inside of the metal bushing (16). This prevents the tube (7) from exiting the other tube (5). This hollow metal tube (7) also has a handle (4) that is attached with a seam weld. Both hollow metal tubes are attached to a square thin, flat C-shaped piece of metal (9) with a seam weld (17). These two pieces of square thin, flat C-shaped pieces of metal (9) have a bottom portion that is designed to slide tightly over the underside of the toilet rim (15) and a top portion that slides tightly over the top of the toilet rim (15). This will then keep the spring-loaded locking mechanism from coming off the toilet rim (15) due to the force that the spring (13) inside the hollow tube (5) provides and the tightness of the square thin, flat C-shaped metal (9). The elongated top portion of the square thin, flat C-shaped metal (9) overhangs past the toilet bowl on both sides. The top left of the square thin, flat C-shaped metal has a hinge (11) that is attached via four rivets (12), two in the top elongated thin, flat C-shaped metal (9) and two in the left side of the ovular lid (3). This provides the ability to open and closed the lid (3) using the handle (6) that is attached to the right side of said lid (3) via two rivets. The top of the right side square thin, flat C-shaped metal has a small opening (8) to provide access for a square thin, flat L-shaped piece of metal (2) to pass through when opening and closing the ovular lid (3). This square thin, flat L-shaped piece of metal is attached to the underneath right side of the ovular lid (3) via two rivets. The square thin, flat L-shaped piece of metal also has multiple holes on the face of it to provide access for the shackle of a pad lock (14) the loop through and lock the invention in place.
