Foldable toilet support

Abstract

A foldable toilet support includes a pair of arms and a horizontal rack. A connecting pole is connected to the middle portion of each arm at one side thereof. The horizontal rack is pivotably connected to the arms via the connecting poles. The opposite unfixed side of the horizontal rack is secured with the arms at opposite side thereof to control the movement of the arms. The foldable toilet support of the present invention is fully foldable thereby greatly reducing occupying space thereof.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to toilet supports, and particularly to a foldable toilet support.

(b) Description of the Prior Art

Referring to FIGS. 8-9, a conventional toilet for handicapped persons comprises a toilet support 20 and a commode 10 seated on the toilet support 20. The height of the commode 10 is adjustable to fit the handicaped persons by adjusting the toilet support 20.

Conventionally, supporting beams of the toilet support 20 are joined together by welding (as shown in FIG. 8) which results in the toilet support 20 ocuppying a large space in conveyance. The packaging cost is therefore increased. In order to reduce the conveyance cost, the supporting beams of the toilet support 20 are joined together by screws (as shown in FIG. 9). However, using screws causes assembly and disassembly of the toilet support 20 to be complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a foldable toilet support which is conveniently assembled and disassembled for reducing conveyance cost thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a foldable toilet support of which arms and a horizontal rack are joined by a pivotable connecting pole so that the arms and the horizontal rack are pivotable to fold relative to each other thereby reducing volume thereof.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a foldable toilet support which includes a horizontal rack having tie-ins and arms engaging with the tie-ins thereby preventing the arms from moving for forming a stationary toilet support.

To achieve the above-mentioned objects, a toilet support in accordance with the present invention comprises a pair of arms and a horizontal rack connected between the arms for supporting a commode thereon. Each of the arms comprises a converted U-shaped main body, a pair of retractable sleeves, a connecting pole, a positioning ring, a beam and a hand gripping part. A tube is installed at one end of the connecting pole in a radial direction thereof. Positioning hoodles are mounted in the connecting pole adjacent the tube. The beam is connected between two vertical rods of the main body. The tube is positioned on the main body by the positioning ring cooperating with the beam. The hand gripping part is attached to a horizontal rod of the main body. The pair of sleeves is mounted to the bottom ends of the vertical rods of the main body. The horizontal rack comprises a pair of parallel valves and a bracket fixedly connected between the valves. One valve defines a slot at bottoms of opposite ends thereof. A pair of tie-ins is installed at opposite ends of the other valve. The valve with the slot is engaged with the connecting pole and the hoodle of the connecting pole is received in the slot to allow the horizontal rack to be pivotable between the arms within a limited angle, and the tie-ins of the horizontal rack are secured with the other one of the vertical rods of the main body.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will be drawn from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention together with the attached drawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an assembled view of a foldable toilet support in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an asssembled view of the foldable toilet support of FIG. 1 with a commode seated thereon;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the foldable toilet support of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the assembled foldable toilet support;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of one portion of the assembled foldable toilet support;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of another portion of the assembled foldable toilet support;

FIG. 7 is a sketch view showing the spporting rack at a folded position;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a commode and a conventional toilet support being assembled by welding; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a toilet and a conventional toilet support being assembled by screws.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1-2, a foldable toilet support in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a pair of arms 1 and a horizontal rack 2 for supporting a commode 3 thereon.

Referring also to FIG. 3, the arm 1 comprises a converted U-shaped main body 11, a pair of retractable sleeves 12, a connecting pole 13, a positioning ring 14, a beam 15 and a hand gripping part 16. A pair of locating hoodles 111 is respectively installed in bottom ends of two vertical rods of the main body 11 for securing the sleeves 12 to the main body 11. The retractable sleeves 12 defines a plurality of spaced holes 121. A tube 131 is secured at one end of the connecting pole 13. The inner diameter of the tube 131 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the vertical rods of the main body 11. A locating hoodle 132 is installed at one end of the connecting pole 13 adjacent the tube 131. After the positioning ring 14 and the tube 131 of the connecting pole 13 are sequentially attached to the main body 11, the beam 15 is secured to the vertical rods of the main body 11 by screws. The connecting pole 13 is positioned at the vertical rods of the main body 11 by the ring 14 cooperating with the beam 15. The hand gripping part 16 is attached to the horizontal rod of the main body 11. The pair of retractable sleeves 12 is then mounted to the bottom ends of the vertical rods of the main body 11 (as shown in FIG. 4). The arm 1 is thus assembled.

The rack 2 comprises a pair of parallel valves 21 and a bracket 22 connected between the valves 21. The inner diameter of the valve 21 fits the outer diameter of the connecting pole 13. A pair of slots 211 is defined at the bottom portions of opposite ends of one of the valves 21. The width of the slot 211 corresponds to the hoodle 132 of the connecting pole 13. A pair of tie-ins 212 each with an opened-groove is installed at opposite ends of the other valve 21.

The valve 21 with slots 211 is attached to the connecting pole 13 and the locating hoodle 132 is received in the slot 211. Thus, the rack 2 is pivotable between the pair of arms 1 within a limited angle (as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6). The valve 21 with the tie-ins 212 is attached to the other vertical rods of the main bodies 11. Thus, the foldable toilet support is assembled.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 7, in storing and shipping the foldable toilet support, the tie-ins 212 of the rack 2 is moved upwardly to disengage from the main body 1 to allow the rack 2 to be pivotable about the connecting pole 13 between the pair of arms 11. The arms 11 located at opposite sides of the rack 2 are pivotable to overlay on opposite sides of the rack 2. Thus, the space that the foldable toilet support occupies is greatly reduced, which facilitates to store and ship the foldable toilet support and reduces the packaging cost.

Furthermore, in the foldable toilet support described above, the using of the retractable sleeves 12 causes the height of the foldable toilet support to be adjustable to fit the user. The retractable sleeves 12 are connected to the arms 1 via the hoodles 111 engaging with the corresponding locating holes 121 of the retractable sleeves 12. In assembly and disassembly, no additional tool is required which simplifies the process of assembly and disassembly.

Referring to FIG. 2, when the commode 3 is seated on the bracket 22 for using, a backrest 4 is configured. The backrest 4 is for supporting the cover 31 of the toilet 3. The backrest 4 is attached to a predetermined position of the arms 1 (as shown in FIG. 3) via papilionaceous screws 41 which facilitates operation by hand. Thus, the foldable toilet support of the present invention meets the object of the present invention that the foldable toilet support can be readily assembled and disassembled without using of a tool. Therefore, in addition to reduce the packaging cost, the foldable toilet support of the present invention has another advantage, i.e., simplifying the process of assembly and disassembly.

It is understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit thereof. Thus, the present examples and embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not to be limited to the details given therein.

Claims

1. A foldable toilet support comprising:

a pair of arms; and

a horizontal rack connected between the arms;

wherein each of the arms comprises a converted U-shaped main body, a pair of retractable sleeves, a connecting pole, a positioning ring, a beam and a hand gripping part, a tube is installed at one end of the connecting pole in a radial direction thereof, positioning hoodles are mounted in the connecting pole adjacent the tube, the beam is connected between two vertical rods of the main body, the tube is positioned on the main body by the positioning ring cooperating with the beam, the hand gripping part is attached to a horizontal rod of the main body, and the pair of sleeves is mounted to the bottom ends of the vertical rods of the main body;

wherein the horizontal rack comprises a pair of parallel valves and a bracket fixedly connected between the valves, one valve defines a slot at bottoms of opposite ends thereof, and a pair of tie-ins is installed at opposite ends of the other valve; and

wherein the valve with the slot is engaged with the connecting pole and the hoodle of the connecting pole is received in the slot to allow the horizontal rack to be pivotable between the arms within a limited angle, and the tie-ins of the horizontal rack are secured with the other one of the vertical rods of the main body.

2. The foldable toilet support as described in claim 1, wherein locating hoodles are installed at bottom portions of the vertical rods of the main body.

3. The foldable toilet support as described in claim 1, wherein the retractable sleeve defines a plurality of spaced locating holes.

4. The foldable toilet support as described in claim 1, wherein the inner diameter of the tube is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the vertical rod.

5. The foldable toilet support as described in claim 1, wherein the inner diameter of the valve fits the diameter of the connecting pole.

6. The foldable toilet support as described in claim 1, wherein the width of the slot fits the hoodle.

7. The foldable toilet support as described in claim 1, wherein a backrest is attached to the upper portion of the main bodies by papilionaceous screws.