The present invention relates to a device to raise the seat height of a toilet (or water closet) to meet the needs of handicapped and other persons requiring additional seat height.
Many manufacturers provide toilets of seat heights that differ from the standard or uniform height of a water closet or toilet seat (which is roughly 15 inches). These elevated seats accommodate those that may be handicapped or uncomfortable with a seat having the standard height. However, if a consumer needs to have a toilet having a higher seat height, they are required to buy an entirely new toilet having the preferred height and replace their existing toilet. These steps which include purchasing a new toilet, removing and disposing of the old toilet, and the plumbing labor costs, are substantial and often can be prohibitive to the consumer.
What is needed is an improved device and system that would allow consumers to elevate the height of their existing toilet without requiring the user to purchase a new water closet and at a minimum expense to the consumer.
The device of the present invention is a platform-like device that is configured so as to be secured to a soil pipe flange in the floor of a room and beneath the base of a toilet. The device thereby elevates the height of the toilet so that it can be easier to use for a handicapped individual, or any individual seeking an increased seat height.
The device includes a plurality of bolt receiving sections configured for receiving the bolts or screws for securing the toilet to the soil pipe flange and floor and includes a central, outlet opening section configured to align with the drain outlet of the toilet and the soil pipe and wax seal or sealing member positioned in the floor.
The base of the device is mounted onto an existing flooring and soil pipe flange. The base surface is substantially smooth and flat, and includes a projection that serves as a wax ring retainer lip to accommodate an existing soil pipe flange and wax sealing material. The base and base surface of the device may be configured in a manner similar to the base surface of the toilet with which the device is to be used.
The device can be mounted to the soil pipe flange and wax seal material in the floor in the same manner as the toilet would be mounted to the soil pipe flange and wax seal material. The mounting can be done with sealing wax and screws as would be done with the base of the toilet. The device includes multiple screws which are sufficient in length to accommodate the thickness of the device and the toilet floor rim. These screws may be the screws already in use to secure the toilet to the floor or may be an alternative set of screws.
The top surface of the device can be substantially smooth and flat and may comprise a wax retainer lip in the outlet opening configured to receive the base of the toilet, which would otherwise fit into the soil pipe flange. The top surface of the device thereby simulates the soil pipe flange and wax seal arrangement that the toilet would otherwise demonstrate. On the top surface of the device, a wax seal is placed and the screws projecting above the toilet floor rim are inserted through openings in the device to secure the device to the toilet and to the floor. This fastening securely anchors the toilet and device as a single unit to the soil pipe floor flange and the existing flooring.
The device according to the present invention can be made of materials including a rigid plastic, a plastic with surfaces simulating glazed china, or any other material that may be compatible and complimentary with the consumer or manufacturer's water closet, such as porcelain.
The perimeter joint between the device and the toilet base, or the perimeter joint between the device base and the floor, can be set dry. Alternatively, it can be set with a thin application of a sealing, caulking or grout to prevent any unevenness in the planting of the toilet on the device, or in the planting of the device on the floor.
According to a further embodiment of the invention, an elevated toilet system is provided. The elevated toilet system comprises a toilet having an outlet section, and a floor section comprising a plurality of bolt receiving sections. The system further includes an elevating device comprising a top surface, a base surface, a body section in between the top surface and the base surface, an outlet opening extending through the body section and aligned with the outlet section of the toilet, and a plurality of bolt receiving sections extending through the body section and aligned with the plurality of bolt receiving sections of the toilet. Positioned beneath and interacting with the elevating device, there is a sealing material comprising an opening aligned with the elevating device outlet opening and a soil pipe aligned with the outlet opening of the elevating device, and extending beneath a floor surface and comprising a soil pipe flange extending above the floor flange surface, and a plurality of bolt receiving sections. The device is mounted to the soil pipe flange in the existing flooring. A plurality of bolts secured to the soil pipe flange are inserted through the respective plurality of bolt receiving sections of the toilet, the elevating device and the soil pipe, and provided with a nut secured to each of the plurality bolts adjacent the floor section of the toilet, so that the arrangement of the toilet, the elevating device is secured together and the floor and flange.
a shows a first cross-sectional view along axis A-A of an embodiment of the toilet elevating device according to the present invention.
b shows a second cross-sectional along axis B-B view of an embodiment of the toilet elevating device according to the present invention.
The present invention, exemplary embodiments of which are shown in
The device 10, shown for example in
An outlet opening 18 extends through the body of the device 10 in between the top surface 12 and bottom surface 14. The opening 18 substantially corresponds in size to the outlet 208 of the toilet 200. The toilet 200 can be placed on top of the device 10 with the toilet outlet 208 aligned with the opening 18 so that fluid flows out of the outlet 208 of the toilet 200 through the opening 18 in the normal operation of the toilet 200.
The device 10 further includes a plurality of mounting holes 20a and 20b which serve as bolt receiving portions. The mounting holes 20a and 20b extend through the body of the device 10. The mounting holes 20a and 20b can be dimensioned to receive the bolts or screws, such as bolts 108a and 108b, that would be used to secure the toilet 200 to the floor 100 and soil pipe flange 104. The relative positions and dimensions of the opening 18 and mounting holes 20a and 20b can vary in different embodiments of the device 10 in order to accommodate the dimensions and orientation of the soil pipe 102, soil pipe flange 104, sealing member 106 and bolts 108a and 108b. In an exemplary embodiment, the sealing member 106 is a wax sealing member and the bolts 108a and 108b are brass screws, but the present invention is not limited to the use of these two materials for the sealing member 106 and bolts 108a and 108b, but can include any other material that is used in combination with the toilet 200 that is used in combination with the device 10.
In a preferred embodiment, the top surface 12 of the device 10 is configured with an indented lip 22 surrounding the opening 18. The lip 22 may be configured for aligning with a toilet floor ring 204 so as to improve the fit of the device 10 to the toilet 200. The lip 22 may also correspond in shape and size to a wax seal or other sealing material, such as sealing member 106. The indented lip 22 may also be configured with a sealing material, such as a wax retaining ring, such that the indented lip 22 is configured in a similar manner to the soil pipe flange 104 and sealing member 106. In this manner, indented lip 22 would allow the device 10 to interact with the base of the toilet 200 in the same manner as if the toilet 200 were placed on the floor 100.
In this preferred embodiment of the invention, the base surface 14 of the device 10 is configured with a protruding lip 24 extending from and surrounding the opening 18. The protruding lip 24 is dimensioned for engaging and aligning with a sealing member 106 and the flange 104 of a soil pipe 102. The lip 24 interacts with the sealing member 106 and flange 104 to improve the fit between the device 10 and the soil pipe 102 in the floor 100.
The device 10 can be made from a variety of materials in order to compliment the toilet 200 with which the device 10 will be used. In an exemplary embodiment, the device 10 is made of a rigid, plastic material and the top surface 12 and side surfaces 16 of the device 10 are polished to simulate a glazed china or porcelain to match the toilet 200. The device 10 is not limited to being made from plastic and can also be made from other suitable materials for matching with the toilet 200 and supporting the toilet 200, such as porcelain.
Although the device 10 as shown in the drawing is substantially rectangular in shape, the device 10 can be formed into any variety of shapes, such as square, ovular or circular.
As shown in
After the device 10 has been configured onto the floor 100 and over soil pipe 102, soil pipe flange 104 and sealing member 106, the toilet 200 can be arranged over the device 10. The outlet opening 208 and the bolt receiving portions (not shown) of the toilet 200 are respectively aligned over the opening 18 and the bolt receiving portions 20a and 20b of the device 10. The toilet 200 is lowered onto the device 10, so that the bolts 108a and 108b extend through the toilet floor 202 and through the bolt receiving portions of the toilet 200. The screw tops or nuts 206a and 206b can be secured to the top of the bolts 108a and 108b adjacent to the toilet floor 202 in order to secure together the toilet 200 and the device 10, and to secure each to the floor 100 to result in a single unit. When the toilet 200 is placed onto the device 10, the floor ring 204 of the toilet 200 is configured to engage the lip 22 extending into the top surface 12 the device 10. In this manner, the interaction and arrangement between the top surface 12 of the device 10 and the toilet 200 and toilet floor 202 is also similar to the arrangement that would be between the standard configuration that would be found between the toilet 200 and toilet floor 202 and the soil pipe 102/soil pipe flange 104 and sealing member 106 when the device 10 is absent.
At the intersection of the floor 100 and the device 10, and at the intersection of the device 10 and the toilet floor 202, a thin layer of sealant, caulk or grout 110 or 210 may be applied along the perimeter of the device 10 and/or toilet floor 204.
The device 10 according to the invention may further be configured with means for stacking more than one device. For example, the top surface 12 can comprise a series of protrusions for inserting into corresponding openings in the base surface 14 of a second device 10 to secure the two together, or the devices may be configured with a series of latching mechanisms to secure two devices 10 together. Further, the indented lip 22 and protruding lip 24 may be configured with a similar size and shape so as to be compatible with each other, so that the protruding lip 24 on the bottom surface 14 of a first device 10 may be inserted into the indented lip 22 on the top surface 12 of a second device 10 to secure the two devices together. The devices 10 may thus be stacked accordingly in order to further raise or adjust the height of the toilet 200.
While there have been shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices and methods described may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto. Furthermore, in the claims means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures. Thus although a nail and a screw may not be structural equivalents in that a nail employs a cylindrical surface to secure wooden parts together, whereas a screw employs a helical surface, in the environment of fastening wooden parts, a nail and a screw may be equivalent structures.
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