Device for lowering toilet seats

A device for lowering a toilet seat of a toilet from an upright position to a lowered position. The device includes a lever attached to a flushing handle of the toilet, an end portion of the lever moving from a first position to a second position when the handle is pivoted to flush the toilet. The device further includes an arm coupled to a toilet seat lid, the arm moving from a first position and to a second position, in moving to the second position, the arm moving the toilet seat from its upright position thereby causing the toilet seat to fall from its upright position to its lowered position. A linkage having a first end coupled to the end portion of the lever and a second end coupled to the arm is provided such that, as the end portion of the lever moves from its first position to its second position in response to pivoting of the handle to flush the toilet, the arm moves from its first position to its second position moving the toilet seat from its upright position and thereby causing the toilet seat to fall from its upright position to its lowered position.

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Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a toilet accessories and, more particularly, to a device for lowering a toilet seat upon flushing the toilet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A long enduring complaint by women is that men often forget to lower a toilet seat after urinating in a toilet. A woman subsequently using the toilet may fail to recognize that the seat is upright, especially under conditions of low illumination in the bathroom or where there is an urgency to use the toilet, and will fall into the toilet bowl. In addition to obvious embarrassment of falling into the toilet bowl, there is also a significant risk of injury especially for elderly or overweight persons.

Several prior art patents disclose toilet seat lowering devices that attempt to address this problem. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,839,928 to Probasco discloses a device comprising a wedge member coupled to but spaced from the toilet handle. When the handle is pivoted downwardly to flush the toilet, the wedge member slides between the vertically positioned toilet seat and the toilet lid causing the seat to be nudged from its vertical position and thereby falling to its lowered position by force of gravity.

The device disclosed in the '928 patent is problematic. To work properly, the wedge member must be precisely aligned with the small gap between the toilet seat and lid when both are in an upright position. Because of the limited arcuate movement of the toilet handle, the wedge member moves in a very short arcuate path, thus, the precise positioning of the wedge member is even more critical. Since the distance and offset between the handle and the seat-lid gap will vary both by toilet and by toilet seat assembly may vary, custom fitting of the device will be needed to determine and conform to the necessary spacing and offset between the wedge member and the handle. Thus, a single prefabricated device will not function for all toilets and seat assemblies.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,897 to Lavender discloses a device that closes both the toilet seat and lid when the handle is pivoted for flushing. The device disclosed in the '897 patent includes a guide block that is attached to the toilet tank. A push pad on the end of a trip wire pushes against the lid to close the toilet seat and lid. Again, the device disclosed in the '897 patent is problematic. First the guide block must be affixed to the toilet tank. Further, since the movement of the trip wire is determined by the very short arcuate movement of the handle, the movement of the push pad outwardly from the guide block is very limited. Thus, the length of the guide block and its positioning on the toilet tank is critical and will vary from toilet to toilet and seat assembly to seat assembly. Additionally, given the overlap between the toilet set and toilet lid, there does not appear to be any way to lower the seat without simultaneously lowering the lid. Depending on the personal preferences of the persons residing in a residence, it may not be desirable to always close the lid upon flushing the toilet.

What is needed is a toilet seat lowering device that provides for dependable lowering of the toilet seat upon flushing the toilet. What is also needed is a device that is easy to install on all types of conventional toilets and does not require precise measuring and/or positioning of components on the toilet or toilet seat assembly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One object of the present invention is to provide a toilet seat lowering device that dependably lower the seat of a toilet upon flushing the toilet. Another object of the present invention is to provide a toilet set lowering device that is easy to install on all types of conventional toilets and does not require precise measuring and/or positioning of components on the toilet or toilet seat assembly.

The present invention is directed to a device for lowering a toilet seat of a toilet from an upright position to a lowered position. In one embodiment, the device includes:

a) a handle assembly including lever attached to a flushing handle of the toilet, an end portion of the lever moving from a first position to a second position when the handle is pivoted from a first position to a second position to flush the toilet;

b) an actuation assembly including an arm coupled to a toilet seat lid, the arm moving between a first position and a second position, in moving to the second position, the arm moving the toilet seat from its upright position thereby causing the toilet seat to fall from its upright position to its lowered position; and

c) a linkage having a first end coupled to the end portion of the lever and a second end coupled to the arm such that, as the end portion of the lever moves from its first position to its second position in response to pivoting of the handle to flush the toilet, the arm moves from its first position to its second position moving the toilet seat from its upright position and thereby causing the toilet seat to fall from its upright position to its lowered position.

In a second embodiment, the device includes:

a) a handle assembly including a lever attached to a flushing handle of the toilet, an end portion of the lever moving from a first position to a second position when the handle is pivoted from a first position to a second position to flush the toilet;

b) an actuation assembly including an arm coupled to the toilet, the arm moving between a first position and a second position, in moving to the second position, the arm moving the toilet seat from its upright position thereby causing the toilet seat to fall from its upright position to its lowered position;

c) a linkage having a first end coupled to the end portion of the lever and a second end coupled to the arm such that, as the end portion of the lever moves from its first position to its second position in response to pivoting of the handle to flush the toilet, the arm moves from its first position to its second position moving the toilet seat from its upright position and thereby causing the toilet seat to fall from its upright position to its lowered position; and

d) wherein the arm is coupled to a front surface of a tank of the toilet and the arm bears against a toilet seat lid adjacent the toilet set to move the toilet seat from its upright position.

These and other objects, advantages, and features of the exemplary embodiment of the invention are described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is perspective view of a first embodiment of a toilet seat lowering device of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is top view, partly in plan and partly in section of a handle assembly of the toilet seat lowering device of FIG. 1 as seen from a plane indicated by the line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the handle assembly of FIG. 2 as seen from a plane indicated by the line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an actuation assembly of the toilet set lowering device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the actuation assembly of FIG. 4 in an actuated position; and

FIG. 6 is a side elevation view of an actuation assembly of a second embodiment of a toilet seat lowering device of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION First Preferred Embodiment

One preferred embodiment of the toilet seat lowering device of the present invention is shown generally at 100 in FIGS. 1-5. The device 100 is used in conjunction with a toilet 10 having a bowl 12, a tank 14 and a toilet seat assembly 16 including a seat 18 and a seat lid 20. In a conventional manner, the seat 18 and the lid 20 are pivotally attached to fastening members 21 (FIG. 5) which, in turn, is affixed to an upper surface 24 of the bowl 12, near the tank 14, with bolts and nuts. In a conventional manner, the bolts pass through respective aligned openings in the bowl 12 and are secured by respective nuts.

When the toilet 10 is used by a male for urination, the seat 18 and the lid 20 are in an upright position in which the lid 20 leans against an upper portion 22 of the tank 14, just past a vertical position, and the seat 18 leans against the lid 20, again, just past a vertical position of the seat 18. The vertical axis is labeled as Y in FIG. 5, while the upright position of the seat 18 is denoted by the dashed line labeled UR in FIG. 5. When the handle 102 is actuated, that is, pivoted downwardly, to flush the toilet, the device 100 functions to lower a toilet seat 10 from its upright position to a lowered position, that is, a positioned represented by the dashed line labeled LW, where the seat 18 rests against the upper surface 24 of the bowl 12.

The device includes a handle assembly 110, an actuation assembly 130 and a flexible linkage 150 extending between the handle assembly 110 and the actuation assembly 130. The handle assembly 110 includes a handle 112, lever 114 extending from the handle 112, a flange 116 coupled to the tank 14 and a handle mounting collar 120 which secures the flange 116 and the handle 112. The flange 116 is stationary, while the handle pivots with respect to the tank 14 and the mounting collar 120. Preferably, the lever 114 will be integrated into the handle 112 as a one piece unit during fabrication of the handle, but for existing systems, the lever could be added to a handle by appropriate fasteners and/or adhesives.

Looking from front to back, the handle mounting collar 120 includes an enlarged head portion 121, a smaller, middle square portion 122 and a distal threaded portion 123. The mounting collar 120 defines a throughbore 124. A valve actuating extension 125 of the handle 112 extends through the throughbore 124 and into the tank 14. The flange 116 includes a rectangular opening 118 which fits snugly around the square portion 122 of the mounting collar 120 of the handle assembly 110 thereby preventing the flange from rotating. The handle 112 pivots on the enlarged head portion 121.

The threaded portion 123 of the collar 120 extends rearwardly from the square portion 122 through a mounting opening 28 of the tank 14. A mounting nut 128 is threaded on mounting collar threaded portion 123 to secure the handle 112 and the flange 116 to the tank 14. When the mounting collar 120 is secured in place, the flange 116 is also secured as the enlarged head portion 121 bears against the flange 116, sandwiching it between the head portion 121 and the front surface 30 of the tank 14. An enlarged diameter step 126 of the extension 125 of the handle 112 bears against an end 127 of the mounting collar 120 to secure the handle 112 with respect to the mounting collar. A distal end of the extension 125 is coupled to a valve (not shown) positioned in the tank 14 such that when the handle 112 is pivoted downwardly, the extension 125 is pivoted upwardly to open the tank valve and release water stored in the tank into the bowl 12 to flush the toilet 10 in a conventional manner.

The linkage 150 which preferably is a length of flexible bike brake cable, includes an inner wire 152 and an outer housing 154. The inner wire 152 slides longitudinally within the outer housing 154. One end portion 156 of the inner wire 152 is affixed to the lever 114, while the opposite end portion 158 of the inner wire 152 is affixed to an extending lip 132 of a hinged arm 134 of the actuation assembly 130. A return spring 160 is disposed between a ferrule 162 (FIG. 3) overlying one end of the outer housing 154 bears and an outwardly extending shoulder 117 of the flange 116. A ferrule 164 (FIG. 4) overlying an opposite end of the outer housing 154 abuts an outwardly extending shoulder 136 of a support 138 of the actuation assembly 130. The presence of the outer housing 154 insures that when the end portion 156 of the inner wire 152 is moved, the end portion 158 moves accordingly. The flexibility of the linkage 150 advantageously provides that the device 100 may be used on a wide variety of toilets regardless of the distance between the handle 112 and seat 18 or the offset between the handle 112 and the seat 18.

The actuation assembly 130 includes the arm 134 which is pivotally mounted to the support 138. The support 138 is affixed to a forwardly facing surface 26 of the lid 20. A return spring 138 is disposed between a shoulder 136 of the support 138 and the arm lip 132. A hinge 142 attaches the arm 134 to the support 138. The return spring may be a coil spring (as shown in the drawings), a leaf spring or any other suitable spring or resilient material that functions as a return spring. Additionally, the arm and support may be fabricated of a resilient material with memory that returns the arm to its original position after flushing thereby eliminating the need for a hinge between the arm and the support.

As explained above, upon pivoting the handle 112 downwardly, the valve mechanism is actuated to flush the toilet with water stored in the tank 14. At the same time, the lever 114 is pivoted upwardly. The upward pivoting over the lever 114 pulls the end portion 156 of the inner wire 152 upwardly as well. The movement of the inner wire 152 causes the end portion 158 of the inner wire 152 to be pulled downwardly. Since the end portion 158 of the inner wire 152 is affixed to the pivoting arm 134, the arm pivots downwardly contacting the rearward facing surface 32 of the seat 18.

The length of the arm 134 and the degree of pivot of the arm with respect to the support 138 is sufficient such that as the handle 112 is depressed, the arm 134 contacts and moves the seat 18 from its upright position UR (leaning against the lid 20) past the vertical position Y to a tilted, unstable position (labeled as US in FIG. 5). In the tilted, unstable position US, the seat 18 is sufficiently off-vertical such that gravitational force on the seat 18 causes the seat to fall to its lowered position LW. To avoid undue noise and/or damage to the seat 18 as it hits the upper surface 24 of the bowl 12, one or more air filled bellows or cushions 170 are affixed to a forward facing surface 34 of the seat 18 to soften the force of impact.

When the handle 112 is pivoted downwardly to flush the toilet 10, the return spring 160 disposed between the linkage outer housing 154 and the shoulder 117 of the flange 116 is compressed. Upon release of the handle 112, the spring 160 functions to pivot the handle 112 upwardly to its normal position. When the handle 112 returns to its normal position, the handle extension 125 returns to its normal position thereby allowing the tank valve to close and the tank 14 to refill with water.

Additionally, when the handle 112 is pivoted downwardly to flush the toilet 10, the hinged arm 134 pivots downwardly and the return spring 140 is compressed between the support shoulder 136 and the hinged arm lip 132. When the handle 112 is released, the return spring 140 acts to push the hinged arm 134 upwardly to its normal position and, at the same time, the attached end portion 158 of inner wire 152 of the linkage 150 is pulled upwardly to its normal position. Thus, when the handle 112 is released, the combination of the two return springs 140, 160 function to return the handle 112, the hinged arm 134 and the inner wire 152 to their respective normal, pre-flush positions.

For aesthetic and ease of cleaning purposes, the actuation assembly 130 preferably is enclosed completely or partially in a flexible plastic sheath or cover. Similarly the flange 116 and return spring 160 may be enclosed in plastic for aesthetic and cleaning reasons. The toilet seat lowering device 100 of the present invention is simple in design and is easy to manufacture. The device 100 requires no modification to the toilet bowl or tank 12, 14. The device 100 is easy to install on either new toilets or on already in use toilets. It is envisioned that the device 100 will be sold as part of a toilet seat assembly with attached handle assembly. For an existing toilet, the present toilet seat assembly and present handle would be removed. The toilet seat assembly 16 with the actuation assembly 130 already installed would be bolted to the toilet bowl. The seat 18 would already include one or more bellows 170 affixed to the bottom (forward facing) surface 34.

The handle assembly 110, which would be attached to the actuation assembly 130 via the linkage 150, would then be mounted in the tank mounting opening 28 as described above. The device 100 is durable and requires no maintenance during its useful life.

Second Preferred Embodiment

It should be appreciated that the device 100 of the present invention, if desired, is easily modified to simultaneously lower both the seat 18 and the lid 20 by simply attaching the actuation assembly 130 to the front surface 30 of the tank 14 instead of the front surface 30 of the lid 20. This is shown in a second embodiment of the device 100′ in FIG. 5, wherein the actuator assembly is mounted to a front surface 30 of the tank 14. When the handle is flushed, the arm 134 bears against and moves the toilet seat lid 20 which, in turn, bears against and moves the toilet seat 18 to move both the lid and the toilet set to their respective lowered positions. The actuation assembly 130 may be mounted to the front surface 30 of the tank 14 by any convention means including adhesive or may be integrated into the front surface of the tank during fabrication of the tank 14.

While the present invention has been described with a degree of particularity, it is the intent that the invention includes all modifications and alterations from the disclosed design falling with the spirit or scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A device for lowering a toilet seat of a toilet from an upright position to a lowered position, the device comprising:

a) a handle assembly including a lever attached to a flushing handle of the toilet, an end portion of the lever moving from a first position to a second position when the handle is pivoted from a first position to a second position to flush the toilet;
b) an actuation assembly including an arm coupled to a toilet seat lid, the arm moving between a first position and a second position, in moving to the second position, the arm moving the toilet seat from its upright position thereby causing the toilet seat to fall from its upright position to its lowered position; and
c) a linkage having a first end coupled to the end portion of the lever and a second end coupled to the arm such that, as the end portion of the lever moves from its first position to its second position in response to pivoting of the handle to flush the toilet, the arm moves from its first position to its second position moving the toilet seat from its upright position and thereby causing the toilet seat to fall from its upright position to its lowered position.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the arm bears against the toilet seat to move the toilet seat from its upright position.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the linkage is a cable comprising an inner wire and an outer housing, opposite end portions of the inner wire affixed to the arm and the lever respectively.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the lever is integral with the handle.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the actuation assembly includes a support affixed to the toilet seat lid and wherein the arm is pivotally attached to the support.

6. The device of claim 5 wherein a spring is disposed between the support and the arm to bias the arm to its first position.

7. The device of claim 3 wherein the handle assembly includes a flange and a spring, the cable inner wire extending through an opening in the flange and the spring disposed between the cable outer housing and the flange to bias the handle to its first position.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein the handle assembly includes a mounting collar extending through a handle mounting opening of a tank of the toilet, the flange being mounted on the mounting collar and disposed between the handle and the toilet tank.

9. The device of claim 1 further including a bellows affixed to a forwardly facing surface of the toilet seat to cushion the seat as it falls from the upright position to the lowered position.

10. A device for lowering a toilet seat of a toilet from an upright position to a lowered position, the device comprising:

a) a handle assembly including a lever attached to a flushing handle of the toilet, an end portion of the lever moving from a first position to a second position when the handle is pivoted from a first position to a second position to flush the toilet;
b) an actuation assembly including an arm coupled to the toilet, the arm moving between a first position and a second position, in moving to the second position, the arm moving the toilet seat from its upright position thereby causing the toilet seat to fall from its upright position to its lowered position; and
c) a linkage having a first end coupled to the end portion of the lever and a second end coupled to the arm such that, as the end portion of the lever moves from its first position to its second position in response to pivoting of the handle to flush the toilet, the arm moves from its first position to its second position moving the toilet seat from its upright position and thereby causing the toilet seat to fall from its upright position to its lowered position.

11. The device of claim 10 wherein the arm is coupled to a front surface of a tank of the toilet and the arm bears against a toilet seat lid adjacent the toilet set to move the toilet seat from its upright position.

12. The device of claim 10 wherein the linkage is a cable comprising an inner wire and an outer housing, opposite end portions of the inner wire affixed to the arm and the lever respectively.

13. The device of claim 10 wherein the lever is integral with the handle.

14. The device of claim 10 wherein the actuation assembly includes a support affixed to the toilet seat lid and wherein the arm is pivotally attached to the support.

15. The device of claim 14 wherein a spring is disposed between the support and the arm to bias the arm to its first position.

16. The device of claim 12 wherein the handle assembly includes a flange and a spring, the cable inner wire extending through an opening in the flange and the spring disposed between the cable outer housing and the flange to bias the handle to its first position.

17. The device of claim 16 wherein the handle assembly includes a mounting collar extending through a handle mounting opening of a tank of the toilet, the flange being mounted on the mounting collar and disposed between the handle and the toilet tank.

18. The device of claim 10 further including a bellows affixed to a forwardly facing surface of the toilet seat to cushion the seat as it falls from the upright position to the lowered position.

19. A toilet seat assembly adapted to be installed on a toilet, the assembly comprising:

a) a toilet seat and a toilet seat lid, the toilet seat moving between an upright position and a lowered position;
b) a toilet seat lowering assembly including: 1) a handle assembly including a flushing handle pivotally mounted to the toilet and a lever attached to the flushing handle of the toilet, an end portion of the lever moving from a first position to a second position when the handle is pivoted from a first position to a second position to flush the toilet; 2) an actuation assembly including an arm coupled to a toilet seat lid, the arm moving between a first position and a second position, in moving to the second position, the arm moving the toilet seat from its upright position thereby causing the toilet seat to fall from its upright position to its lowered position; and 3) a linkage having a first end coupled to the end portion of the lever and a second end coupled to the arm such that, as the end portion of the lever moves from its first position to its second position in response to pivoting of the handle to flush the toilet, the arm moves from its first position to its second position moving the toilet seat from its upright position and thereby causing the toilet seat to fall from its upright position to its lowered position.
Patent History
Publication number: 20060143811
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 5, 2005
Publication Date: Jul 6, 2006
Inventor: Kambiz Romina (Marietta, OH)
Application Number: 11/029,880
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: 4/246.100
International Classification: A47K 13/10 (20060101);