AU2007221797A1 - A device for raising and lowering a toilet seat and lid - Google Patents

Description

S&FRef: 829217

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT Name and Address of Applicant Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: BRSV Project Group Pty Limited, an Australian Company, ACN 121 727 900, of 801/2 Rider Blvd., Rhodes, New South Wales, 2138, Australia Brett Sutcliffe Spruson Ferguson St Martins Tower Level 31 Market Street Sydney NSW 2000 (CCN 3710000177) A device for raising and lowering a toilet seat and lid Associated Provisional Application Details: [33] Country:

AU

[31] Appl'n No(s): 2006905474 [32] Application Date: 04 Oct 2006 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- 5845c(972917_1) -1c A DEVICE FOR RAISING AND LOWERING o A TOILET SEAT AND LID SField of the Invention The present invention relates to toilets, and in particular to, a device for raising and lowering a seat and/or lid of a toilet from a lavatory pan or bowl without human contact.

C Background of the Invention The modern above-ground toilet is common throughout the western world and generally includes a toilet bowl having an upper rim or surface and a cistern or tank io including the flushing mechanism connected to the bowl by way of a duct. A toilet seat and/or lid are mounted on the upper rim adjacent the cistern. The seat/lid is connected to the upper rim by a pivot or hinge mechanism so that a user can raise or lower the seat/lid by hand.

When a human contacts the toilet there is a significant risk of bacterial cross contamination from faecal coliform or the like. If for example, a human raises/lowers the toilet seat/lid with their hands, the contamination risk is dramatically increased.

It would therefore be advantageous to provide a sensor that could be remotely controlled by a human without requiring physical contact to independently raise and/or lower the seat and/or lid depending upon requirements. This will eliminate the need to touch the seat and/or lid reducing the risks of bacterial cross contamination.

There is also a need to assist young children, the elderly and the disabled with raising and lowering a toilet seat/lid.

Object of the Invention It is an object of the present invention to substantially overcome or at least ameliorate one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to at least provide a useful alternative.

Summary of the Invention There is firstly disclosed herein a device for automatically raising and lowering a toilet seat and/or toilet lid from a toilet bowl, the bowl having an upper surface surrounding a bowl opening; said device including: a housing to be supported on said bowl; a drive mechanism to be located substantially within said housing and having a shaft with a longitudinal axis, said shaft being connected to said toilet seat and/or toilet lid 961450-1:KEH -2to provide for angular movement of said toilet seat and/or toilet lid about said axis 0 between a raised position where said seat and/or lid extends upwardly from said upper surface and a lowered position where said seat and/or lid is adjacent said upper surface; motor means to drive said drive mechanism; power means to energise said motor means; and ~a sensor being operable by a user to send a signal to said motor means to activate said drive mechanism to raise and/or lower said toilet seat and/or toilet lid, the sensor not requiring physical contact with a user to be operated to send said signal.

Preferably, said device includes a first drive mechanism having said shaft, said 1o shaft being a first shaft to be connected to said toilet lid, and a second drive mechanism having a second shaft to be connected to said toilet seat, said shafts being operable to independently move said toilet seat and/or lid between said raised and/or lowered positions.

Preferably, said shafts are separately formed.

Preferably, said sensor is a first sensor operable by a user to send a signal to said motor means to activate said first drive mechanism to move said toilet lid, said device including a second sensor operable by a user to send a signal to said motor means to activate said second drive mechanism to move said toilet seat, between the raised and/or lowered positions.

Preferably, said sensors are located on respective sides of a toilet cistern facing said user.

Preferably, including fastening means to secure said device to said toilet bowl.

Preferably, said housing includes a mounting member to pivotably connect said lid and/or seat to said housing.

Preferably, said mounting member includes an aperture to receive said shafts.

Preferably, said housing includes a first chamber to receive said first drive mechanism and a second chamber to receive said second drive mechanism, said first and second chambers being located on adjacent sides of said housing with respect to said toilet bowl.

Preferably, said housing includes a third chamber to receive said power source.

Preferably, said power means is a battery.

961450-1:KEH -3- Brief Description of the Drawings O A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of an example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a toilet assembly having a device in accordance with the present invention with the toilet lid and seat shown in the lowered position; Figure 2 is the assembly of Figure 1 with the toilet lid and seat shown in the Sraised position; Figure 3 is a parts exploded view of the assembly of Figure 1; SFigure 4 is a partial sectional view of the device of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a detailed view of the device of Figure 1; and Figure 6 is a perspective view of the housing of the device of Figure 1.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments There is schematically depicted in the accompanying drawings, a device 1 for automatically raising and lowering a toilet seat 5 and/or toilet lid 10 from a toilet bowl Is The bowl 15 has an upper surface 20 surrounding a bowl opening 25. A housing 30 is supported on the bowl 15. A drive mechanism 35 is located substantially within the housing 30 and includes a shaft 40 having a longitudinal axis The shaft 40 is connected to the toilet seat 5 and/or toilet lid 10 to provide for angular movement of the toilet seat 5 and/or toilet lid 10 about the axis XX between a raised position (see Figure 2) where the seat 5 and/or lid 10 extends upwardly from the upper surface 20, and a lower position (see Figure 1) where the seat 5 and/or lid 10 is adjacent the upper surface The device 1 further includes motor means 45 to drive the drive mechanism 40, power means 50 to energise the motor means 45 and a sensor 55 operable by a user to send a signal to the motor means 45 to activate the drive mechanism 40 to raise and/or lower the seat 5 and/or lid As best seen in Figures 4 and 5, the device 1 includes first and second drive mechanisms 45 on adjacent sides of the housing 30. The mechanisms 45 have first and second shafts 40 to be connected to the toilet seat 5 and/or toilet lid 10. The shafts 40 are operable to independently move the toilet seat 5 and/or lid 10 between the raised and/or lowered positions. In a preferred form, the shafts 40 are separately formed. In an alternate form, the shafts 40 could be connected. Fastening means (not shown) secure the housing 30 to the toilet bowl 15. The housing 30 includes a mounting member 70 to pivotally connect the lid 10 and/or seat 5 to the housing 30. In a preferred form, the 961450-1:KEH -4mounting member 70 includes apertures 72 to receive the shafts 40 to locate and pivot the O seat 5 and/or lid 10. The housing 30 further includes a first chamber 80 to receive the first drive mechanism 35 and a second chamber 85 to receive the second drive mechanism The first and second chambers 80, 85 are located on adjacent sides of the housing with respect to the toilet bowl 15. The housing 30 could also include a third chamber to receive the power source 50. In a preferred form, the power source 50 is a battery.

SA device 1 includes a first sensor 55 operable by a user to send a signal to the motor means 45 to activate the first drive mechanism 35 to move the toilet lid 10 and a 0 second sensor 55 operable by a user to send a signal to the motor means 45 to activate the 1o second drive mechanism 35 to move the toilet seat 5, between the raised and/or lowered positions. In the preferred form, the sensors 55 are located on respective sides of a toilet cistern 65 facing the user.

In use, the device 1 allows a user to open and close the toilet seat/lid 5,10 without physically touching the seat/lid 5,10. This will eliminate the risk of bacterial cross-contamination especially in public toilets. The sensors 55 in a preferred form have four basic functions; the first to operate the lid 10, the user waves their hand over the right hand side sensor 55; the second to operate the lid and seat, the user waves their hand over the left hand side sensor 55; thirdly to close the lid, the user waves their hand over the right hand side sensor 55, and lastly to close the lid and seat the user waves their hand over the left hand side sensor 55. However, it should be understood that different combinations or functions to move the seat/lid 5,10 could be programmed into the device 1.

Advantageously, the device 1 is of a simple construction and can be supplied in a kit form or the like to be easily installed by an unskilled person to an existing toilet. The power means 50 in a preferred form can be a low voltage device, a high voltage device, utilise energy generated by water flow, utilise a pressure means, a combination thereof or be hard wired into an electricity grid. The sensors 55 can be mounted in several positions including the sides of the lid 10, cistern 65, on the wall supporting the cistern 65 or other locations. The signal to perform the required operation from the sensors 55 will be transmitted to the motor means 45 by cable, wireless or the like. A control card (not shown) could also be utilised to receive and convert the signal from the sensors 55 and send the signal and power to the motor means 45 to lift or close the lid 10, seat 5 or both.

The control card could determine the position of the lid 10 and seat 5. The control card 961450-1:KEH could also sense and stop the opening and closing motion when the lid 10 and seat 5 have O reached their open or closed positions. The motor means 45 may drive through a reduction gear box (not shown) or the like which reduces the motor speed allowing the opening and closing function to be smooth. The gear box may also be of a planetary construction consisting of plastic or metal gears or the like and the gear box may also have a built-in pre-set torque limiting feature that will allow the seat 5 or lid 10 to be Smanually opened or closed without damage to the reduction gear box or motor means The reduction gear box may also have an external mounted pre-set torque limiting coupling 42 that will allow the seat 5 or lid 10 to be manually opened or closed without io damage to the reduction gear box or motor means 45. The lid 10 and seat 5 may also have a counter balance by springs, weights or the like to reduce the lifting and closing effort required by the device 1 thus reducing power consumption for operation. The device 1 could also include Micro-Guard(TM) or the like which is an additive that is applied to a surface of an article and kills bacteria.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms.

961450-1 :KEH

Claims (5)

1. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein said device includes a first drive mechanism having said shaft, said shaft being a first shaft to be connected to said toilet lid, and a second drive mechanism having a second shaft to be connected to said toilet seat, said shafts being operable to independently move said toilet seat and/or lid between said raised and/or lowered positions.
2. 3. The device according to claim 2, wherein said shafts are separately formed.
3. 4. The device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said sensor is a first sensor operable by a user to send a signal to said motor means to activate said first drive mechanism to move said toilet lid, said device including a second sensor operable by a user to send a signal to said motor means to activate said second drive mechanism to move said toilet seat, between the raised and/or lowered positions. The device according to claim 4, wherein said sensors are located on respective sides of a toilet cistern facing said user.
4. 6. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, further including fastening means to secure said device to said toilet bowl.
5. 961450-1:KEH -7- 7. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said O housing includes a mounting member to pivotably connect said lid and/or seat to said housing. 8. The device according to claim 7, wherein said mounting member includes an aperture to receive said shafts. 9. The device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein said housing N, includes a first chamber to receive said first drive mechanism and a second chamber to Sreceive said second drive mechanism, said first and second chambers being located on adjacent sides of said housing with respect to said toilet bowl. 10. The device according to claim 9, wherein said housing includes a third chamber to receive said power means. 11. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said power means is a battery. 12. A device for automatically raising and lowering a toilet seat and/or toilet lid from a toilet bowl, substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 to 6. Dated 3 October, 2007 BRSV Project Group Pty Limited Patent Attorneys for the Applicant/Nominated Person SPRUSON FERGUSON 961450-1:KEH