None.
The presently disclosed subject matter is directed to a lifting handle and more specifically to a toilet seat lifting handle.
Women have been known to complain that their husbands and the other males with which they may live or otherwise encounter, never seem to grasp the importance of lowering the toilet seat after use. Truthfully however, in raising and lowering the toilet seat or toilet lid one exposes themselves to a myriad of germs and bacteria that jeopardize their health and well-being. As a result, many people resort to trying to use their feet or wrap toilet paper around their hands when raising and lowering the seat and lid in order to avoid contact, especially in public restrooms.
Accordingly, there is a need for a means by which the raising and lowering of a toilet seat and lid can be accomplished in a manner such that it does not expose the user to any unsanitary conditions present on the toilet seat or lid. The development of the Toilet Seat Lifting Handle fulfills this need.
The principles of the present invention provide for a toilet seat lifting device, which comprises a handle assembly which operably controls an upward movement of a toilet seat cover and a toilet seat both of which are engaged simultaneously; a clutching mechanism which is included with the handle assembly that selectively clutches an axle that is in mechanical communication with the toilet seat in an upper rotational movement; a button located on the handle assembly which selectively releases the clutch mechanism, thereby enabling manipulation of the toilet seat and a toilet seat attachment which is included with the toilet seat. The toilet seat attachment is in mechanical communication with the axle and is driven by the same.
The toilet seat lifting device also comprises a handle which has a vertical portion which has a first end and a second end and a handle horizontal portion which has a first end and a second end. The handle horizontal portion is included with the handle assembly and is removably attached to a handle receiver. The toilet seat lifting device also comprises an ergonomic grip which is coupled about an outer diameter of the first end of the handle vertical portion and a chuck which extends away along a centrally located longitudinal axial centerline of the handle horizontal portion. The chuck has a chuck pin.
The toilet seat lifting device also comprises an engagement pin which has a first end which terminates at the first end of the handle receiver. The chuck of the handle horizontal portion has a center bore permitting passage of the first end of the engagement pin therethrough while a second end of the engagement pin is fixedly attached to a first gear that resides within the first end of the axle. The toilet seat lifting device also comprises a second gear which is located within the first end of the axle positioned between the first gear and the terminal portion of the first end of the axle that is affixed to the axle in such a manner as to drive the axle. The toilet seat lifting device also comprises a Bowden cable which resides within the handle assembly. The Bowden cable has a first end that terminates within the handle vertical portion on a moving member and a second end that terminates at the terminal end of the second end of the handle horizontal portion. The toilet seat lifting device also comprises a second spring which resides within the handle vertical portion and is attached to an upper inner surface and to the moving member. Depression of the second spring operably controls the Bowden cable, which linearly displaces the engagement pin to force the first gear away from meshing with the second gear against a first spring to disengage the handle assembly from the toilet seat.
The handle assembly may be manipulated to a forward horizontal position to reengage the clutching mechanism for ease in subsequent use and may have a generally overall cylindrical body. The toilet seat cover may remain in an upward position. The button may extend outside of the top surface of the handle vertical member and may be operably attached to the second spring. A toilet seat cover attachment may rotate independently on the axle such that the toilet seat cover is not directly driven thereby. The handle vertical portion and the handle horizontal portion may be a unitary structure. The handle horizontal portion first end may be an extension of and may angle away ninety-degrees from the second end of the handle vertical portion.
The second end of the handle horizontal portion may be removably attached to the first end of the handle receiver. The handle horizontal portion may be a removable attachment to the handle receiver upon a pulling force. The second end of the handle receiver may be attached to a first end of the axle. The handle horizontal portion may be removed from the handle receiver. The engagement pin may be retained within the handle receiver and first end of the axle and may not be removed. The handle receiver may have a socket which is sized to retain the chuck. The toilet seat lifting device may also comprise a pin receiver which is located within the socket of the handle receiver to receive the chuck pin. The moving member may freely move longitudinally within the handle vertical portion.
The meshing portion of the first gear may selectively engage the meshing portion of the second gear, thus enabling the engagement pin to operably control the first gear, the second gear, the axle, and the toilet seat. The first spring may be located within the first end of the axle that biases the first gear to mesh with the second gear. The second end of the Bowden cable may be engaging and operably controlling the engagement pin when the handle horizontal portion is attached to the handle receiver. The toilet seat lifting device may be installed on at least one mount behind the rim of the toilet bowl of the toilet. The toilet seat lifting device may be an integral part of the toilet that may be a permanent and integral part of the rear of the rim of the toilet bowl.
The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following more detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which:
The best mode for carrying out the invention is presented in terms of its preferred embodiment, herein depicted within
The terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one (1) of the referenced items.
Referring now to
Referring now more closely to the device 10 and its installation on a toilet 50, the device 10 is capable of being provided with the toilet seat cover 20 and toilet seat 21 as a combined unit, capable of being installed on at least one (1) mount 25 to a rear of a rim 56 of the toilet bowl 55 of the toilet 50 in an expected manner. In an exemplary embodiment, there are two (2) mounts. The device 10, toilet seat cover 20, and toilet seat 21 may be of the same or similar material of construction, décor, and resiliency. Other embodiments may provide for the device 10 to be an integral part of the toilet 50, where the mounts 25 are a permanent and integral part of the rear of the rim 56 of the toilet bowl 55.
The handle assembly 30 is in selective mechanical communication with the clutching mechanism (housed within the handle assembly 30) which in turn drives an axle 35. The axle 35 is a solid or hollow cylindrical member that passes through each mount 25 in the exemplary embodiment. The toilet seat 20 has a toilet seat attachment 23 that is in mechanical communication with the axle 35 and is driven thereby. In some embodiments, the toilet seat attachment 23 is affixed to the axle 35; in other embodiments, the toilet seat attachment 23 is an integral part of the axle 35. The toilet seat cover 21 resides above the toilet seat 20 and rests thereon when both are disposed down on the rim 56 of the toilet bowl 55. The toilet seat cover 21 has a pair of toilet seat cover attachments 22 that extend away from the bottom of the toilet seat cover 21 and are attached to the axle 35 on either side of the toilet seat attachment 23. The toilet seat cover attachments 22 rotate independently on the axle 35 such that the toilet seat cover 20 is not directly driven thereby.
Referring now more closely to
The clutching mechanism of the device 10 comprises multiple parts to enable selective attachment and detachment of the handle assembly 30 to manipulate the toilet seat 21. The axle 35 has a first end that is selectively and operably controlled by the remainder of the handle assembly 30. An engagement pin 46 has a first end terminating at the first end of the handle receiver 32c. The chuck 44 of the handle horizontal portion 32b thus has a center bore permitting passage of the first end of the engagement pin 46 therethrough. The second end of the engagement pin 46 is fixedly attached to a first gear 47a that resides within the first end of the axle 35. Thus, the engagement pin 46 traverses about a common longitudinal axial centerline of the first end of the axle 35 and the entirety of the handle receiver 32c. When the handle horizontal portion 32b is removed from the handle receiver 32c, the engagement pin 46 is retained within the handle receiver 32c and first end of the axle 35 and cannot be removed. The first gear 47a is oriented such that the meshing portion thereof is facing the handle receiver 32c. A second gear 47b is located within the first end of the axle 35, positioned between the first gear 47a and the terminal portion of the first end of the axle 35, and is affixed to the axle 35 in such a manner as to drive the axle 35. The meshing portion of the first gear 47a selectively engages the meshing portion of the second gear 47b, thus enabling the engagement pin 46 to operably control the first gear 47a, second gear 47b, axle 35, and toilet seat 21. A first spring 41a located within the first end of the axle 35 biases the first gear 47a to mesh with the second gear 47b.
A Bowden cable 42 resides within the handle assembly 30, having a first end that terminates within the handle vertical portion 32a on a moving member 43 and a second end that terminates at the terminal end of the second end of the handle horizontal portion 32b. The second end of the Bowden cable 42 is capable of engaging and operably controlling the engagement pin 46 when the handle horizontal portion 32b is attached to the handle receiver 32c. The moving member 43 freely moves longitudinally within the handle vertical portion 32a. A second spring 41b resides within the handle vertical portion 32a and is attached to an upper inner surface thereof, and to the moving member 43. A button 40 extends outside of the top surface of the handle vertical member 32a (or the grip 31) and is operably attached to the second spring 41b. Depression of the second spring 41b operably controls the Bowden cable 42, which linearly displaces the engagement pin 46 to force the first gear 47a away from meshing with the second gear 47b, against the first spring 41a, to disengage the handle assembly 30 from operably controlling the toilet seat 21.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention can be utilized by the common user in a simple and effortless manner with little or no training. It is envisioned that the device 10 would be constructed in general accordance with
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
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Entry |
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Minixi Lift Up Automatically(None Electric) Oval Toilet Seat,Auto lifting,White. Product Listing [online]. © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. [retrieved on Apr. 4, 2019]. Retrieved from the Internet: <URL: https://www.amazon.com/Minixi-Automatically-Electric-Toilet-lifting/dp/B01BFBBVM8?th=1>. |