Convertible Toilet Seat

Abstract

An improved convertible toilet seat includes ferromagnetic components to adhere detachably a rotatably attached child seat section to a posterior section, creating a more secure and comfortable seating surface for a child, and to enhance the adhesion of a child seat section to an anterior section when a toilet seat s raised to a vertical position. The introduction of a finger notch in the anterior section serves to make it easier for a child to lift a child seat section into position for use by a child where a partial vacuum may otherwise be created when an anterior section receives a child seat section.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/078,501, filed 12 Nov. 2014.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not applicable.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

At least some embodiments disclosed herein relate, in general, to improvements to toilet seats, and more specifically, improvements to toilet seats of changeable size for use by both children and adults.

BACKGROUND

Various forms of toilet seats, toilet seat assemblies, and toilet seat adaptors have been devised for the purpose of providing children with a smaller toilet seat opening to accommodate their smaller anatomy in a world of toilets designed principally around adult use. Certain toilet seat assembly designs presently known in the art permit the conversion of toilet seat sizes by means of a child seat section rotatably attached to a posterior section and capable of being received by an anterior portion to which it may be substantially congruent, and which may be molded so as to achieve an overlaying clam-like configuration when the child seat section is coupled to it.

When an anterior portion of a toilet seat receives such a rotatably attached child seat section, the resulting opening in the toilet seat is of a conventional size designed to accommodate adult use, as the child seat section does not occlude the adult-sized central aperture in the planar seating surface created by anterior and posterior sections of the toilet seat. By lifting a child seat section away from the anterior section of a toilet seat and rotating it approximately 180 degrees about rotatable attachment means, a child seat section may be made to lie substantially flat upon the posterior section of the toilet seat, partially occluding the adult-sized toilet seat opening created by anterior and posterior sections of the toilet seat, and thereby creating a relatively smaller central aperture and substantially planar seating surface appropriate for the use of a child.

In the aforesaid form of toilet seat configuration, a child seat section may be secured to an anterior section when lowered for adult use by means of a groove formed on a front edge of the underside of a child seat section, wherein said groove receives a tongue formed on a front edge of the exterior of an anterior section. One problem with this tongue and groove approach to securing a child seat section to an anterior section is that it may result in a partial vacuum between these two sections when they are coupled together, making it difficult for a small child to lift the child seat section away from an anterior portion on his or her own and making adult intervention necessary.

Another issue with such a toilet seat configurations is that when a child seat section is lifted away from an anterior section and rotated 180 degrees about rotatable attachment means so as to lie substantially flat on a posterior section, the resulting substantially planar seating surface for a child's use may feel uncomfortable and unstable to a child because the child seat section is secured to the posterior section only by way of the rotatable attachment means. Existing art teaches separate mechanical means, such as ratcheting devices, for maintaining the position of a child seat section when raised, but not by attaching a child seat section to a posterior section, which can create a more comfortable and secure substantially planar seating surface for a child.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments illustrated are by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements.

FIG. 1 is isometric view of an embodiment of a toilet seat 10 with a child seat section 20 attached receivably onto an anterior section 16, forming a conventional-sized central aperture 14 to accommodate the anatomy of an adult, revealing medial ferromagnetic components 42 embedded in a child seat section and corresponding posterior ferromagnetic components 40 embedded within a posterior section 18.

FIG. 2 is isometric view of an embodiment of a toilet seat 10 with a child seat section 20 raised partially above and away from an anterior section 16 to reveal a finger notch 46 in the anterior section 16.

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a toilet seat 10 with a child seat section 20 raised and rotated approximately 180 degrees about attachment means 22 to bring it substantially flush with a posterior section 18 to form a smaller central aperture 24 to accommodate the anatomy of a child, revealing anterior section ferromagnetic components 40 embedded within an anterior section 16 and corresponding medial ferromagnetic components 42 embedded in a child seat section.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of an embodiment of a toilet seat 10 with a child seat section 20 lowered, illustrating a finger notch 46, a medial ferromagnetic component 42 embedded in a child seat section 20 engaged with a corresponding anterior section ferromagnetic component 44 embedded in an anterior section 16, and a posterior section ferromagnetic component 40 embedded in a posterior section 18.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an embodiment of a toilet seat 10 illustrating a child seat section 20 as it is raised and partially rotated about rotatable attachment means 22.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an embodiment of a toilet seat 10 illustrating a child seat section 20 when it has been rotated approximately 180 degrees about rotatable attachment means 22 to bring it substantially flush with a posterior section 18, revealing a medial ferromagnetic component 42 embedded in a child seat section 20 engaged with a corresponding posterior ferromagnetic component 40 embedded in a posterior section 18.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description and the drawings are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding; however, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order to avoid obscuring the description. References to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” in the present disclosure are not necessarily references to the same embodiment; and, such references mean at least one.

Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” or substantially similar phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a toilet seat 10 with a child seat section 20 attached receivably onto an anterior section 16, forming a conventional-sized central aperture 14 to accommodate the anatomy of an adult. In an embodiment, one or more posterior section ferromagnetic components 40 may be embedded within the posterior section 18, each such posterior section ferromagnetic component 40 positioned to pair with a medial ferromagnetic metal component 42, embedded within a child seat section 20, when a child seat section 20 is fully rotated away from an anterior section 16 about rotatable attachment means 22 to a position relatively flush with a posterior section 18, thereby enabling a child seat section 20 to adhere detachably to a posterior section 18 and creating a more stable and comfortable seating surface for a child.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a convertible toilet seat 10 with a child seat section 20 raised partially above and away from an anterior section 16. As illustrated, one or more anterior section ferromagnetic components 44 may be embedded within the anterior section 16, each such anterior section ferromagnetic component 44 positioned to pair with a medial ferromagnetic component 42 embedded within the child seat section 20 when the child seat section 20 is lowered. This design can serve, among other things, to ensure that the child seat section 20 does not move or rotate about the rotatable attachment means 22 when a toilet seat 10 is raised to a vertical position, flush against any existing lid 12 that has been raised vertically, as would typically be the case when a male urinates and wishes to avoid contaminating the toilet seat 10 with stray urine. Where a toilet has no lid to, as is the case of toilets in commercial settings for sanitary reasons, the need for an effective means to ensure a child seat section 20 is secured to an anterior section 16 when a toilet seat is raised may become more important.

A finger notch 46 may be added to an anterior section 16. This can facilitate the ability of a child to lift a child seat section 20 against any resistance caused by any partial vacuum pressure that may develop between a child seat section 20 and an anterior section 16 when a child seat section 20 is engaged with and secured to an anterior section 16. Such partial vacuums can be problematic with adjacent plastic surfaces, for example, when a child seat section 20 is engaged and secured to an anterior section 16 by means of a tongue and groove design in which either a receiving tongue formed by an anterior section 16 is received by a groove formed by a child seat section 20, or a groove is formed by an anterior section 16 and a receiving tongue is formed by a child seat section 20.

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a convertible toilet seat 10 with a child seat section 20 raised and rotated approximately 180 degrees about rotatable attachment means 22 to bring it substantially flush with a posterior section 18 to form a smaller central aperture 24 to accommodate the anatomy of a child. In an embodiment, anterior section ferromagnetic components 44 embedded in an anterior section 16 may pair with medial ferromagnetic components 42 embedded in a child seat section 20. These anterior section ferromagnetic components 44 and medial ferromagnetic components 42 together can serve to enhance further the stability and security of the adhesion of a child seat section 20 to an anterior section 16, particularly where a finger notch 46 has been incorporated to overcome any partial vacuum pressure problem between a child seat section 20 and an anterior section 16.

FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6, all of which are sectional views of an embodiment of a convertible toilet seat 10, reveal that ferromagnetic components—posterior section ferromagnetic components 40, anterior section ferromagnetic components 44, and medial ferromagnetic components 42—may, through various techniques well known in the art, be hidden from view within the respective posterior section 18, anterior section 16, and child seat section 20 of a toilet seat 10. Material costs can be reduced by associating a single medial ferromagnetic component 42 embedded in a child seat section 20 with both an anterior section ferromagnetic component 44 (when a child seat section 20 is lowered and engaged with and secured to an anterior section 16, as in FIG. 4) and a posterior section ferromagnetic component 40 (when a child seat section 20 is raised and rotated approximately 180 degrees about attachment means 22 (as in FIG. 5) to bring it substantially flush with a posterior section 18, as in FIG. 6).

In an embodiment, ferromagnetic components 40, 42, 44 may all comprise permanent magnets, oriented as to polarity such that a medial ferromagnetic component 42 will be attracted to any associated posterior ferromagnetic component 40 and thus cause a child seat section 20 that may be substantially flush with a posterior section 18 to adhere detachably thereto, and likewise, attracted to any anterior section ferromagnetic component 44 when a child seat section 20 is lowered onto an anterior section 16 so as to ensure that a child seat section 20 may adhere detachably to said associated anterior section 16. In an embodiment, a medial ferromagnetic component 42 may comprise a ferromagnetic material that is not itself magnetized, such as a steel plate, and magnets utilized only for the posterior section ferromagnetic component 42 and the anterior section ferromagnetic component 44. In an embodiment, a medial ferromagnetic component 42 may be a magnet, while any associated posterior section ferromagnetic component 40 or any associated anterior section ferromagnetic component 44 may comprise a ferromagnetic material that is not itself magnetized.

In this specification, the disclosure has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will be evident that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope as set forth in the following claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.

Claims

1. A toilet seat comprising:

a posterior section;

an anterior section;

a child seat section;

rotatable attachment means by which said child seat section may be joined to said posterior section;

one or more medial ferromagnetic components; and

one or more a posterior ferromagnetic components.

2. The toilet seat of claim 1, in which the one or more medial ferromagnetic components and the one or more posterior ferromagnetic components are magnets.

3. The toilet seat of claim 1, in which the one or more medial ferromagnetic components are magnets, and the one or more posterior ferromagnetic components are comprised of one or more ferromagnetic materials that are not magnetized.

4. The toilet seat of claim 1, in which the one or more medial ferromagnetic components comprised of one or more ferromagnetic materials that are not magnetized, and the one or more posterior ferromagnetic components are magnets.

5. The toilet seat of claim 1, further comprising:

one or more anterior ferromagnetic components.

6. The toilet seat of claim 2, further comprising one or more anterior ferromagnetic components that are magnets.

7. The toilet seat of claim 2, further comprising one or more anterior ferromagnetic components that are comprised of one or more ferromagnetic materials that are not magnetized.

8. The toilet seat of claim 3, further comprising one or more anterior ferromagnetic components that are magnets.

9. The toilet seat of claim 3, further comprising one or more anterior ferromagnetic components that are comprised of one or more ferromagnetic materials that are not magnetized.

10. The toilet seat of claim 4, further comprising one or more anterior ferromagnetic components that are magnets.

11. The toilet seat of claim 1, in which the anterior section includes a finger notch.

12. A toilet seat comprising:

a posterior section;

an anterior section;

a child seat section;

rotatable attachment means by which said child seat section may be joined to said posterior section;

one or more medial ferromagnetic components;

one or more posterior ferromagnetic components; and

one or more anterior ferromagnetic components.

13. The toilet seat of claim 12, in which the one or more posterior ferromagnetic components and the one or more anterior ferromagnetic components are magnets, and the one or more medial ferromagnetic components are comprised of one or more ferromagnetic materials that are not magnetized.

14. The toilet seat of claim 13, in which the one or more medial ferromagnetic components are comprised of steel.

15. The toilet seat of claim 12, in which the one or more posterior ferromagnetic components and the one or more anterior ferromagnetic components are comprised of one or more ferromagnetic materials that are not magnetized, and the one or more medial ferromagnetic components are magnets.

16. The toilet seat of claim 15, in which the one or more posterior ferromagnetic components and the one or more anterior ferromagnetic components are comprised of steel.

17. The toilet seat of claim 12, in which the anterior section includes a finger notch.

18. The toilet seat of claim 13, in which the anterior section includes a finger notch.

19. The toilet seat of claim 15, in which the anterior section includes a finger notch.

20. A toilet seat comprising:

a posterior section;

an anterior section comprising a finger notch;

a child seat section;

rotatable attachment means by which said child seat section may be joined to said posterior section;

one or more medial ferromagnetic components comprised of one or more ferromagnetic materials that are not magnetized;

one or more posterior ferromagnetic components that are magnets; and

one or more anterior ferromagnetic components that are magnets.