Toilet seat lid with handle

Abstract

In a toilet seat and covering lid combination pivotally mounted to the rear of a toilet bowl, wherein the seat and lid are normally in a horizontal at-rest closed position on top of the toilet bowl, an improvement comprising an extension of the curved front edge of a semielliptical lid protruding about one-half to three inches beyond the toilet seat when the lid is in a closed position such that a person can easily grasp the lid with little risk of contacting the toilet seat.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application is related to and claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/754,125 filed Dec. 27, 2005.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates, in general, to a lifting means for toilet-seat lids, and, more particularly, this invention relates to a built-in handle for more sanitary raising and lowering of a toilet-seat lid.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Prior to the conception and development of the present invention, toilet-seat lids have been raised and lowered by using a finger or fingers under the front edge of the lid such that it is difficult to prevent one's fingers from touching the toilet seat below. In public restrooms in particular, individuals may become exposed to harmful germs, or at least be fearful of that. In the typical home bathroom, it is desirable to normally keep the lid down covering the toilet seat so as to prevent loose items from dropping or getting knocked into the toilet. However, raising the conventional toilet-seat lid can pose a problem for the elderly, people with arthritis, and those in wheelchairs.

Consequently, there is a need for a simple, more sanitary, yet inexpensive method to raise and lower toilet-seat lids. Various devices have been proposed over the years for attachment to a toilet-seat lid, either temporarily or permanently, to enable a person to lift the lid, and sometimes the seat as well, without the fingers coming in contact with the seat or toilet bowl. For women and those using wheelchairs, only the lid needs to be raised.

Proposed solutions to the problem, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,318,518, 6,842,916, 6,415,454 and 5,461,733 describe devices that attach to conventional toilet seats. These devices may need to be attached just prior to lifting the lid, or if left attached, they can be an obstruction to those moving around nearby, especially those in wheelchairs. There is also a likely problem with these attachments falling off periodically.

Thus, there is a need for a simple modification of the toilet-seat lid that would address the aforementioned problems and be inexpensive to build into fabrication.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a toilet seat and cover lid combination pivotally mounted to the rear of a toilet bowl, wherein the seat and lid are normally in a horizontal at-rest closed position on top of said toilet bowl, an improvement comprising an extension of the curved front edge of the lid protruding about one-half to three inches beyond the forward edge of the toilet seat when the lid is in a closed position essentially covering the toilet seat, allowing for more sanitary lifting of the toilet-seat lid.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, one of the primary objects of the present invention to provide an improved toilet-seat lid with an extension beyond the seat itself such that, when both are in the horizontal resting position, the lid can be raised without a person's fingers contacting the seat.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive, yet attractive, toilet-seat lid that has a permanent, yet unobtrusive, built-in, easy-to-grasp extension for lifting.

In addition to the various objects and advantages of the present invention described with some degree of specificity above, it should be obvious that additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those persons who are skilled in the relevant art from the following more detailed description of the invention, particularly, when such description is taken in conjunction with the attached drawing figures and with the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts the problem with the prior art and currently available toilet-seat lids, and how contact of the seat with the fingers is nearly unavoidable when lifting the lid.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a typical toilet showing the improved toilet-seat lid in a partially raised position.

FIG. 3 illustrates the engagement of a human hand with the lid extension.

DESCRIPTION OF A PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

Prior to proceeding to the more detailed description of the present invention, it should be noted that, for the sake of clarity and understanding, identical components which have identical functions have been identified with identical reference numerals throughout the several views illustrated in the drawing figures.

Referring to FIG. 2, in a toilet and seat arrangement 10, with a toilet seat 14 and a covering lid 12 jointly hinged near the rear of toilet bowl 20, the improvement 16 is depicted with the lid 12 in a partially raised position.

Referring to FIG. 3, with the toilet seat 14 and the lid 12 at rest in a horizontal position on top of toilet bowl 20, it is shown how the extension 16 on lid 12 extends beyond seat 14 such that a person's hand can grasp it without coming close to touching the seat 14. In this preferred embodiment of the invention, the extension also defines a crescent shaped opening 18 for additional ease of grasping.

While a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in sufficient detail above to enable a person skilled in the relevant art to make and use the same it should be obvious that various other adaptations and modifications can be envisioned by those persons skilled in such art without departing from either the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. In a toilet seat and lid combination pivotally mounted to the rear of a toilet bowl, wherein said seat and lid are normally in a horizontal at-rest closed position on top of said toilet bowl, the improvement comprising an extension of curved front edge of said lid protruding about one-half to three inches beyond said toilet seat when said lid is in said closed position essentially covering said toilet seat.

2. The improvement, according to claim 1, wherein said extension of said curved front edge of said lid forms one curved end of a semielliptical shaped lid thus lengthening its longer elliptical semiaxis.

3. The improvement, according to claim 1, wherein said extension is molded into said lid during fabrication of said lid.

4. The improvement, according to claim 2, wherein said extension defines a crescent-shaped aperture open sufficiently to engage one or more fingers of a person lifting said lid.

5. The improvement, according to claim 1, wherein said extension is attached to said curved front edge of said lid using a permanent adhesive.