TOP MOUNT FASTENING SYSTEM FOR A TOILET WITH RETAINING FEATURE
A fastening system for a toilet seat and/or cover includes a bolt, a nut, a hinge, and a retainer. The nut is coupled to the bolt and includes a locking member defining a plurality of teeth. The hinge is disposed between a head of the bolt and the nut. The retainer is configured to engage with the locking member and the hinge. The fastening system is configured to detachably couple a toilet seat to a toilet body. The fastening system is configured to be installed onto the toilet body from a single side of the toilet body.
The present application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 62/818,383, filed on Mar. 14, 2019, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety.
FIELDThe present technology is generally related to toilet assemblies and devices and methods for securing them.
SUMMARYIn one aspect, a fastening system for a toilet seat and/or cover includes a bolt, a nut, a hinge, and a retainer. The nut is coupled to the bolt and includes a locking member defining a plurality of teeth. The hinge is disposed between a head of the bolt and the nut. The retainer is configured to engage with the locking member and the hinge. The fastening system is configured to detachably couple a toilet seat to a toilet body. The fastening system is configured to be installed onto the toilet body from a single side of the toilet body.
In another aspect, a method of installing a fastening system onto a toilet body includes engaging a retainer with a hinge, inserting a bolt through an opening in the hinge and into a sleeve of the hinge. The sleeve includes a plurality of slots extending upwardly from a lower end of the sleeve. The method also includes engaging a nut with the bolt. The nut includes (i) a locking member defining a plurality of teeth, and (ii) an anti-spin tab. The method additionally includes inserting the sleeve, the bolt, and the nut through a through-hole opening in the toilet body. The method further includes advancing the nut onto the bolt to engage at least one of the plurality of teeth with the retainer.
In yet another aspect, a hinge assembly of a toilet seat includes a body, a sleeve, and a retainer. The body defines an opening. The sleeve extends away from the body in a direction parallel to an axis of the opening. The sleeve includes a plurality of slots extending upwardly from a lower end of the sleeve. The plurality of slots defines a plurality of fingers. The retainer is coupled to the body and positioned adjacent to an upper end of the sleeve. The retainer includes a lock tab extending inwardly from a perimeter of the opening.
Various embodiments are described hereinafter. It should be noted that the specific embodiments are not intended as an exhaustive description or as a limitation to the broader aspects discussed herein. One aspect described in conjunction with a particular embodiment is not necessarily limited to that embodiment and can be practiced with any other embodiment(s).
As used herein, “about” will be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art and will vary to some extent depending upon the context in which it is used. If there are uses of the term which are not clear to persons of ordinary skill in the art, given the context in which it is used, “about” will mean up to plus or minus 10% of the particular term.
The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the elements (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the embodiments and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the claims unless otherwise stated. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential.
Referring generally to the Figures, systems for mounting a toilet seat to a toilet body are shown, according to various illustrative embodiments. The systems eliminate the need to access multiple sides of a mounting hole in the toilet body in order to secure the toilet seat in position with respect to the toilet body. In some embodiments, the systems also include a locking member that prevents the toilet seat from becoming detached from the toilet body or separating from the system during assembly onto the toilet body.
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A method of coupling the hinge 404 to the toilet body includes inserting the locking member 416 through the opening 419 to engage the locking member 416 with the retainer 408. The method additionally includes inserting the top mount fastening system 400 in a mounting hole 42 in the toilet body from a single side (e.g., and upper side, a top side) of the toilet body. The bolt 402 may be inserted into the system 400 either before or after the remainder of the system 400 is engaged with the toilet body. Once engaged with the toilet body, the head of the bolt 402 is rotated, pulling the nut 406 toward the head of the bolt 402 and into the sleeve 412. A first end of the nut 406 includes a tapered surface 432 configured to engage with a plurality of fingers 434 formed by the slots 430 in the sleeve 412. As shown in
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While certain embodiments have been illustrated and described, it should be understood that changes and modifications can be made therein in accordance with ordinary skill in the art without departing from the technology in its broader aspects as defined in the following claims.
The embodiments, illustratively described herein may suitably be practiced in the absence of any element or elements, limitation or limitations, not specifically disclosed herein. Thus, for example, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “containing,” etc. shall be read expansively and without limitation. Additionally, the terms and expressions employed herein have been used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the claimed technology. Additionally, the phrase “consisting essentially of” will be understood to include those elements specifically recited and those additional elements that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed technology. The phrase “consisting of” excludes any element not specified.
The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particular embodiments described in this application. Many modifications and variations can be made without departing from its spirit and scope, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Functionally equivalent methods and compositions within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to those enumerated herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to particular methods, reagents, compounds compositions or biological systems, which can of course vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting.
As will be understood by one skilled in the art, for any and all purposes, particularly in terms of providing a written description, all ranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subranges and combinations of subranges thereof. Any listed range can be easily recognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range being broken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein can be readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third, etc. As will also be understood by one skilled in the art all language such as “up to,” “at least,” “greater than,” “less than,” and the like, include the number recited and refer to ranges which can be subsequently broken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, as will be understood by one skilled in the art, a range includes each individual member.
Other embodiments are set forth in the following claims.
Claims
1. A fastening system, comprising:
- a bolt;
- a nut coupled to the bolt, the nut including a locking member defining a plurality of teeth;
- a hinge disposed between a head of the bolt and the nut; and
- a retainer configured to engage with the locking member and the hinge, wherein the fastening system is configured to detachably couple a toilet seat to a toilet body, and wherein the fastening system is configured to be installed onto the toilet body from a single side of the toilet body.
2. The fastening system of claim 1, wherein the retainer is slidably engaged with the hinge, wherein the retainer includes a lock tab, and wherein the lock tab is engaged with at least one of the plurality of teeth.
3. The fastening system of claim 1, wherein the hinge comprises an expanding hinge sleeve extending parallel to an axis of an opening defined by the hinge, and wherein the expanding hinge sleeve defines a plurality of slots extending upwardly from a lower end of the expanding hinge sleeve, and wherein at least one slot is sized to receive an anti-spin tab on one of the nut and the bolt.
4. The fastening system of claim 3, wherein one of the bolt and the nut defines a tapered surface configured to engage with a plurality of fingers on the expanding hinge sleeve, and wherein the fingers are configured to expand outwardly in a radial direction when engaged with the tapered surface.
5. The fastening system of claim 1, further comprising at least one of a crush rib or a crush ring extending outwardly from the hinge and configured to engage with the toilet body.
6. The fastening system of claim 1, wherein the retainer is at least partially disposed within a recessed portion of the hinge.
7. The fastening system of claim 6, wherein the retainer comprises a locating member extending outwardly from an outer perimeter of the retainer, and wherein the hinge has a corresponding receptacle sized to receive the locating member.
8. The fastening system of claim 1, wherein the retainer is rotatably coupled to the hinge.
9. The fastening system of claim 1, further comprising a cover coupled to the hinge and extending over the retainer.
10. The fastening system of claim 1, wherein a threaded portion of the bolt includes at least one relief cut at an intermediate position between opposing ends of the threaded portion.
11. The fastening system of claim 1, wherein the hinge defines an opening sized to receive the bolt therein, and wherein the hinge defines a slot contiguous with the opening and sized to receive the locking member therein.
12. A method of installing a fastening system onto a toilet body, comprising:
- engaging a retainer with a hinge;
- inserting a bolt through an opening in the hinge and into a sleeve of the hinge, the sleeve comprising a plurality of slots extending upwardly from a lower end of the sleeve;
- engaging a nut with the bolt, the nut comprising a locking member and an anti-spin tab, the locking member defining a plurality of teeth;
- inserting the sleeve, the bolt, and the nut through a through-hole opening in the toilet body; and
- advancing the nut onto the bolt to engage at least one of the plurality of teeth with the retainer.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein engaging the retainer with the hinge comprises positioning the retainer in a recessed portion of the hinge.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the retainer comprises a lock tab, and wherein advancing the nut comprises tightening the nut onto the bolt until at least one of the plurality of teeth engage with the lock tab.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of slots of the sleeve define a plurality of fingers, wherein advancing the nut onto the bolt comprises engaging the nut with the fingers to expand the fingers outwardly in a radial direction and toward the toilet body.
16. A hinge assembly of a toilet seat, comprising:
- a body defining an opening;
- a sleeve extending away from the body in a direction parallel to an axis of the opening, the sleeve comprising a plurality of slots extending upwardly from a lower end of the sleeve, the plurality of slots defining a plurality of fingers; and
- a retainer coupled to the body and positioned adjacent to an upper end of the sleeve, the retainer comprising a lock tab extending inwardly from a perimeter of the opening.
17. The hinge assembly of claim 16, wherein the sleeve is integrally formed with the body as a single unitary structure.
18. The hinge assembly of claim 16, wherein the body defines a recessed portion sized to receive the retainer therein.
19. The hinge assembly of claim 16, wherein the retainer is rotatably coupled to the body.
20. The hinge assembly of claim 16, further comprising a cover coupled to the body and extending over the retainer.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 12, 2020
Publication Date: Sep 17, 2020
Inventor: Michael R. Leibfried (Lancaster, WI)
Application Number: 16/817,383