Folding commode

Abstract

A folding commode, having two front legs and two back legs. Each front leg is connected to a respective one of the back legs by an arm so that one front leg, one back leg and one arm form a U-shaped side member. A front cross bar is removably connected between the front legs. The front legs pivot relative to the back legs. A rear cross bar is connected between the back legs. A back bar extends between and is removably attached to the back legs. A seat bracket is fixed to the front crossbar and is pivotably connected to the rear crossbar. A seat is releasably attached to the seat bracket. The front legs and the front crossbar are movable between a storage position and a use position.

Description

This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application 60/998,334 filed Oct. 10, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to personal commodes, and particularly to foldable commodes, and more particularly to bariatric folding commodes. Although numerous types of commodes are known in the art, a common problem is that the commodes take up a great deal of floor space and thus are awkward to use and move. This problem is compounded when dealing with individuals that require a commode to be considerably larger and stronger than a conventional commode. These larger, bariatric commodes take up even more space and are even more cumbersome than normal size commodes. Furthermore, the commodes are difficult to assemble, and once assembled are difficult to move out of the way or disassemble.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a foldable commode which has a folded storage position and an unfolded use position. The commode being constructed so as to be easily assembled and easily folded to permit the commode to be stored out of the way yet readily available for use without taking up a large amount of floor space as would be the case with a non-folding commode.

Pursuant to this object and others which will become apparent hereafter, one aspect of the present invention resides in a folding commode having two front legs and two back legs wherein each front leg is connected to a respective one of the back legs by an arm so that one front leg, one back leg and one arm together form a U-shaped side member of the commode. A front crossbar is connected between the front legs and a rear crossbar is connected between the back legs. Both the front and rear crossbars are horizontal and parallel to each other. The rear crossbar has a central section that is offset toward the front crossbar. A tube is attached to each end of the rear crossbar so as to be perpendicular to the rear crossbar. Each of the back legs is pivotably mounted in a respective one of the tubes, so that the entire U-shaped side member can pivot relative to the rear crossbar.

A seat bracket extends between the front crossbar and the rear crossbar. The seat bracket is fixed to the front crossbar and is pivotable about the rear crossbar. A seat, a waste bucket and a waste bucket holder are releasably attached to this seat bracket. A lid is provided to cover the seat when not in use.

A U-shaped back bar extends between the back legs and serves to reinforce the structure while providing a backrest for the lid. The back bar is releasably attached to the back legs so that the back bar can be easily removed if desired.

The front crossbar is removably connected to the front legs so that the front crossbar and the seat bracket can pivot around the rear crossbar.

The legs are each adjustable in length in that each leg is made up of two parts that engage each other in a telescoping fashion. One part has a plurality of holes which define different heights of the leg and the other part has a spring or a snap button or pin which engages in a desired hole to maintain the desired length of the leg. To change the length, one merely needs to depress the button so that it no longer engages in the hole.

Furthermore, each back leg, which is connected to the front leg via the arm, is pivotably mounted in a respective one of the tubes of the rear crossbar. This pivoting allows the front leg, arm and back leg to pivot about an axis of the back leg between a use position and a folded position. In the folded position the front leg can rest substantially against the front or back of the rear crossbar when the front crossbar is disconnected from the front legs. The front legs can also be easily pivoted back into the use position in which the front crossbar attaches to the front legs so as to permit use of the commode. The front legs are held in the use position by a hole/spring pin arrangement in the hollow stub and the front crossbar, whereby the pin and the hole line up in the appropriate position of the front legs for attachment of the crossbar and use of the commode. In this position, the pin springs into the opening and prevents the back leg from pivoting. Once it is desired to again fold the commode, the user simply needs to depress the spring pins to release the front crossbar from the front legs.

In another embodiment of the invention, plastic contoured armrests are provided on the arms to make the arm more ergonomically comfortable.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the inventive folding commode.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the commode folded into a disassembled state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The commode has front legs 1 and rear legs 2. Each front leg 1 is connected to one of the rear legs 2 by an arm 3 so that the front leg 1, rear leg 2 and arm 3 form a U-shape. In the illustrated embodiment, each arm 3 is covered by a plastic armrest 4 which is contoured to be more comfortable to the user of the commode.

A front crossbar 5 extends horizontally between the front legs 1. A rear crossbar 6 extends horizontally between the back legs 2 and substantially parallel to the front crossbar 5. A seat bracket 7 is fixed to the front crossbar 5 and is pivotably connected to the rear crossbar 6. The front crossbar 5 is releasably connected to the front legs 1 so that the seat bracket 7 and the front crossbar 5 can pivot up or down toward the back legs 2.

A U-shaped back bar 8 is connected between the back legs 2 to provide extra stability to the commode structure. The back bar 8 can be releasably attached by, for example, screws and wing nuts, or by providing a short sleeve on each back leg 2 into which the ends of the back bar 8 can slide and engage with a hole and spring-button or pin system.

A waste bucket holder 9 and a toilet seat 10 are supported on the seat bracket 7. A waste bucket is held by the bucket holder 9. Furthermore, a lid 11 is attached to either the seat or the rear crossbar 6 so that it can pivot between an open position as shown in the drawing and a closed position in which the lid 11 covers the seat 10. The back bar 8 is shaped so as to extend rearwardly from the back legs 2 and provide a support for the lid 11 when in the open position.

Both the lid 11 and the toilet seat 10 can have downwardly projecting clips 15 that snap onto the rear crossbar 6 so as to allow the seat 10 and lid 11 to pivot on the crossbar 6.

A portion of the rear crossbar 6 at each end of the crossbar is angled rearwardly.

Each of the legs 1, 2 is made up of two telescoping parts 1a, 1b; 2a, 2b so that the length of the legs can be adjusted. In the illustrated embodiment, the lower portions 1a, 2a of the legs have a series of adjacent holes 12 and the upper portions 1b, 2b have a spring loaded pin that engages in one of the holes 12 in the lower portion 1a, 2a to maintain the leg at the desired length. To change the length of the leg, all that is needed is depressing of the pin 13 so that the two portions of the leg can slide relative to one another to a new desired length. Each upper portion 1b, 2b is fixed to a respective one of the rearwardly angled ends of the rear crossbar so that the upper portions 1b, 2b are substantially perpendicular to the rear crossbar 6.

Additionally, each back leg 2 has a top portion 2c that is fixed to the arm 3 and the front leg 1. This top portion 2c is pivotably connected to the upper portion 2b of the back leg so that the front leg can be pivoted between a use position as shown in the drawing and a folded position in which the front leg is pivoted back against the rear crossbar 6 when the front crossbar 5 is disconnected from the front legs 1 and pivoted down against the back legs 2. The front legs can be pivoted toward the rear crossbar 6 by disconnecting the front legs from the front crossbar 5. Conversely, the front legs are held in the use position of the commode by attaching the front legs to the front crossbar 5.

The front crossbar 5 can be attached to the front legs by a hole and spring button/pin system. To accomplish this, a short hollow stub 16 projects laterally from each front leg so that the stubs face one another. Each stub 16 has a rearwardly directed hole in a sidewall thereof. Each end of the front crossbar 5 is engagable in one of the hollow stubs 16. As described previously in connection with the legs, each end of the front crossbar 5 has a spring button or pin that snaps into the hole of the stub 16.

The commode can therefore be placed into a folded position by disconnecting the front crossbar 5 from the front legs 1 and pivoting the front crossbar down toward the back legs 2. Next the front legs 1 are pivoted back toward the rear crossbar 6 to provide the folded orientation of the commode. Of course, the seat 10 and bucket 9 must be removed before folding the commode. For convenience, the seat and lid can also be removed before folding the commode.

FIG. 2 shows the commode in a folded orientation with the seat, lid, bucket and back bar removed. It is not required to remove the back bar for folding the commode.

Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited but by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A folding commode, comprising:

two front legs;

two back legs, each front leg being connected to a respective one of the back legs by an arm so that one front leg, one back leg and one arm form a U-shaped side member;

a front cross bar removably connected between the front legs;

a rear cross bar connected between the back legs;

a back bar extending between and removably attached to the back legs;

a seat bracket fixed to the front crossbar and pivotably connected to the rear crossbar; and

a seat releasably attached to the seat bracket, wherein the front legs and the front crossbar are movable between a storage position and a use position.

2. The folding commode according to claim 1, wherein the front legs each have a two-part telescoping construction whereby length of the legs can be adjusted.

3. The folding commode according to claim 2, wherein the parts of each front leg include a hole and spring pin system whereby one of the leg parts has a plurality of vertically spaced holes and another of the parts of the leg has a spring pin so that the spring pin can snap into a selected hole corresponding to a desired leg length.

4. The folding commode according to claim 1, wherein each of the front legs has a laterally projecting hollow stub so that the stub of one front leg faces the stub of the other front leg, the front crossbar having a cross sectional configuration that permits each end of the front crossbar to engage in a respective one of the hollow stubs.

5. The folding commode according to claim 4, wherein the front crossbar attaches to the hollow stubs by a hole and spring pin system.

6. The folding commode according to claim 1, wherein the seat has downwardly directed clips, which clips are engagable with the rear crossbar.

7. The folding commode according to claim 1, wherein the arms are covered by an armrest that is contoured.

8. The folding commode according to claim 1, wherein the rear crossbar has ends that are angled rearwardly.

9. The folding commode according to claim 8, wherein the back legs each have a two-part telescoping construction whereby length of the legs can be adjusted.

10. The folding commode according to claim 9, wherein the parts of each back leg include a hole and spring pin system whereby one of the leg parts has a plurality of vertically spaced holes and another of the parts of the leg has a spring pin so that the spring pin can snap into a selected hole corresponding to a desired leg length.

11. The folding commode according to claim 8, wherein each rearwardly angled end of the rear crossbar is fixed to a sleeve perpendicular to the end of the rear crossbar, each back leg being pivotably mounted in a respective one of the sleeves so that the U-shaped side member can pivot between the storage position and the use position.

12. The folding commode according to claim 11, wherein in the storage position the front legs are pivoted toward the rear crossbar and the front crossbar is pivoted downwardly toward the back legs.

13. The folding commode according to claim 11, wherein in the use position the front crossbar is connected to the front legs.