Toilet Seat Alarm Handle
The present invention which provides a novel means for raising and lowering the seat on a toilet bowl is composed of a housing unit which has a base portion and a handle portion, means for attaching the base portion to the bottom side of the toilet seat, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), an infrared emitter, a signal processor, an infrared receiver module, a speaker, a LED module, a power source, a ball switch, and a power detector. It is to provide a method and an apparatus in a sanitary application or especially in a public toilet, whereby the method and apparatus achieve a clean and hygienic way of raising the toilet seat, and also alert the user to lower the toilet seat after use.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to sanitary accessories for toilet seats and, specifically, to an easily attached handle to assist in the lifting and lowering of the toilet seat with an integrated reminder function that reminds the user when the seat is in the up position during use and, alerts the user when the seat has not been lowered.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A toilet is a plumbing fixture and disposal system primarily intended for the disposal of bodily waste, such as urine and fecal matter. The most common type of toilet in modern cities is the flush toilet, in which water takes away the waste through sewers to a waste treatment plant. Examples are public toilets, public lavatories, or public conveniences which are toilets that are accessible to general public with common access from the street. There are many different accessories for the toilet and the most basic one is the toilet seat. The toilet seat is generally hinged at its rear edge so that the seat can be rotated with the hinge pins from a usable position where the seat sits on top of the bowl to a storage position where the seat is raised vertically. It has been the conventional practice to raise and lower toilet seats by manually grasping the edge of the seat and lifting or lowering the seat accordingly. One of the problems with toilet seats is that due to the nature of toilet use, toilets frequently become unsanitary. This problem is especially acute with public accessible facilities. The use of toilet seats also frequently involves the need to either raise or lower it. Toilet seats have the potential to transmit infectious diseases from one user to another.
For example, during periods of high use of a public accessible toilet, the toilet surfaces may be contaminated with various germs and contaminants ranging from urine, feces, blood, or other waste materials. This is unsanitary and unhealthy for the users of the toilet to raise or lower the contaminated toilet seat before or after use. In recent years, the importance of toilet seat hygiene, and in particular, public toilet seat hygiene, has come to people's attention and raised great public attention. Thus, a healthy and secured way of raising or lowering the toilet seat before or after use can address concerns regarding sanitation of toilet seats. To maintain the required hygiene standards, many different methods have been utilized, many of which have not been applied on a large scale because of their various disadvantages including practicality, cosmetic looks, and manufacture costs. Therefore, a great majority of private and public toilet seats are still manually lifted and lowered.
Due to the unsanitary nature of toilet surfaces and toilet seats, it is necessary to create a means to allow a user to raise or lower a toilet seat without direct contact with the toilet seat and/or rim. It is also advisable that such means should be easily attached to the toilet seat and easy to locate without expensive parts or difficult installations.
Another long-standing problem exists when men in particular do not lower the toilet seat after use. This may cause an unpleasant and highly unsanitary situation upon a user who might potentially sit on the toilet with the toilet seat in the up position.
Therefore, there is a strong need to provide a novel means of raising and lowering a toilet seat that is both sanitary and economical. Also, an alert system is used to inform the user of the position of the toilet seat and alert the user if the seat is not properly lowered so as to maintain sanitation.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, the above problems and difficulties are obviated by the present invention which provides a novel means of raising and lowering the seat. The present invention is attached to a toilet seat that is pivotally mounted on the toilet bowl and incorporates an elongated handle that has an attachment portion adhesively secured to the underside of the seat and includes a handle portion which cantilevers outwardly from the edge of the seat for a user to grab. Also, the attachment of the handle may be achieved by screws, tongue and groove methods, tapes or other adhesive coatings.
Therefore, one of the primary objects of the present invention is to provide a novel device that can alert users to lower the seat of a toilet and can be simply and economically manufactured. In addition, the device can be easily installed on conventional seats without alteration of the toilet.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel handle that is attachable to the underside of a seat so that it may be grabbed by a user and to raise or lower the seat in a sanitary and convenient manner.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel handle that is attachable to a pivoting seat whereby the user may raise or lower the seat without touching the seat itself and wherein the handle includes microchip controlled sensors and alarm in a preferred area of the handle.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a simple and economical means for raising and lowering a pivoted seat attached to a toilet bowl that is safe and sanitary and wherein the means includes a ball switch to detect the position of the toilet seat and switch on and off a system power for transmitting detection signals.
In view of the above, it is an object of the invention to provide a method and an apparatus in a sanitary application or especially in a public toilet, whereby the method and apparatus achieve the cleaning and hygienic way of raising the toilet seat, remind the user when the toilet seat is in the upper position during use, and also alert the user to lower the toilet seat after use. Particularly, the invention aims to completely avoid touching the surface of the toilet seat. The invention further aims to avoid or overcome the disadvantages of the prior art, and to achieve additional advantages, as apparent from the present specification. The attainment of these objects is, however, not a mandatory feature or limitation of the present invention.
The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood with reference to the following description and the accompanying drawings.
An example embodiment of the invention will be discussed in connection with a toilet system installed in a public toilet, which is merely schematically indicated. The invention is to provide a method and an apparatus in a stationary application or especially in a public toilet, whereby the method and apparatus achieve the cleaning and hygienic way of raising the toilet seat, and also alert the user to lower the toilet seat after use. Particularly, the invention aims to completely avoid touching the surface of the toilet seat.
Referring to
Claims
1. A toilet seat alarm handle, for detecting and signaling when a toilet seat is left in a raised position, comprising:
- A housing unit which has a base portion with upper and lower planar surfaces configured so as to fit with said upper planar surface against the bottom side of the toilet seat and a handle portion with upper and lower planar surfaces unitarily constructed with said base portion so as to have one end affixed to said base portion and another end extending outwardly from said base portion, the handle portion being thicker than said base portion and said lower planar surface of said base portion is in the same plane as the lower planar surface of said handle portion;
- means for attaching the base portion to the bottom side of the toilet seat;
- a Central Processing Unit (CPU), contained within said housing unit;
- an infrared emitter, connected to CPU to emit infrared signal;
- an infrared receiver module, connected to said CPU, the said infrared signal which detected by said infrared receiver module to process the signal for CPU;
- a speaker, connected to said CPU to produce alert sound;
- a LED module, connected to said CPU to display alert signal;
- a power source, contained within said housing unit;
- a ball switch, in circuit with the power source and CPU, which, upon actuation by the ball position in response to the toilet seat being left in an up position, causes the power source to provide power to start up CPU; and
- a power detector contained within said housing unit and in circuit with said power source and CPU, for detecting when the power source is low in power.
2. The toilet seat alarm handle as recited in claim 1, wherein the housing unit having opposite ends and a peg located at each of said ends, said pegs inserted into predefined holes located upon an underside surface of a toilet seat to secure the toilet seat alarm handle thereto.
3. The toilet seat alarm handle as recited in claim 1, wherein the means for attaching the base portion to the bottom side of the toilet seat is adhesive.
4. The toilet seat alarm handle as recited in claim 1, wherein the power source is battery.
5. The toilet seat alarm handle as recited in claim 1, wherein the power source is power from power grid.
6. The toilet seat alarm handle as recited in claim 1, wherein the ball switch is pendulum type ball switch.
7. The toilet seat alarm handle as recited in claim 1, wherein the speaker is a buzzer.
8. The toilet seat alarm handle as recited in claim 1, wherein the LED module is a three color RGB display.
9. The toilet seat alarm handle as recited in claim 1, wherein the CPU is connected to said recording module.
10. The toilet seat alarm handle as recited in claim 9, wherein the recording module has switches to control recording the sound to be played.
11. The toilet seat alarm handle as recited in claim 9, wherein the recording module has a microphone and a recorder speaker connected to the recording module.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 12, 2008
Publication Date: Mar 18, 2010
Inventor: Marc Chikara Imamura (Lihue, HI)
Application Number: 12/209,954