GB2185271A

GB2185271A - Seat and lid assembly for a toilet bowl

Info

Publication number: GB2185271A
Application number: GB08600785A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hussain Ali Moontasir; Joseph Louis Peter D Rozarieux; Doddy Rao; Paul Crawford Corser
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-01-14
Filing date: 1986-01-14
Publication date: 1987-07-15
Also published as: GB2185271B; GB8600785D0

Abstract

A toilet seat assembly comprises a seat (10) biassed into an upright position by torsion springs (34) or other suitable biassing means, and a lid (16), preferably pivoting about the same axis as the seat, which has sufficient weight when shut to hold the seat down against the spring bias, but when the lid is lifted the seat also rises so that the toilet cannot be used from a standing position except with the seat raised. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Seat and lid assembly for a toilet bowl This invention relates to a toilet seat and lid assembly of the type having a mechanism for biasing the seat towards a raised position.

It is in many cases desirable for a toilet seat to be biassed into a raised position, when not being sat on, so that the toilet cannot be used from a standing position with the seat lowered.

Another reason for adopting such a mechanism is that in the case of modern "low flush" toilets the raised seat often abuts the cistern in an almost vertical position, being prevented by the cistern itself from swinging much past the vertical. The seat is therefore liable to fall suddenly during use.

The above considerations apply particularly in moving conveyances such as trains, ships and aircraft.

US patent 3825958 discloses a seat which is biassed towards its raised position by a torsion spring comprising a bundle,of leaf springs. The seat is inevitably kept in its raised position when not in use, and there is no lid so that the toilet bowl cannot be kept covered.

US patents 4342124 and 4438535 disclose a seat and lid assembly wherein the seat and lid are mounted on a mounting block for pivotal movement relative to the bowl between upright and lowered positions. Springs are provided for biassing the seat and lid into an abutting relationship in both positions. A magnetic latch assembly is provided to secure the lid in the upright position when the seat is required, so that the seat can be pulled down but is urged back to its upright position when not held down by the user's weight. The seat and lid must thus be both raised or both lowered except when the seat is actually being sat on.

The present invention provides a toilet seat and lid assembly comprising a pair of fixings for attachment to a toilet bowl, a seat mounted between said fixings for pivotal movement relative thereto, means for biassing the seat into an upright position and a lid mounted so as to be freely pivotable relative to the seat and the fixings.

In the assembly of the invention, when the seat is lowered it must be held down either by the weight of the closed lid or by the weight of the user. If the lid is raised, the seat will pivot upwardly towards a raised position unless deliberately held down. When both the lid and the seat are in their raised position, both are prevented from falling by the biassing means.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a shaft extends between the fixings for mounting of a seat and the lid. The lid can be freely pivotally mounted on the shaft whereas the seat is preferably keyed to the shaft for pivoting therewith. The biassing means preferably includes one or more torsion springs, which may suitably be housed at one or both ends of the shaft above the fixings.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein; Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly in section, of a seat and lid assembly in accordance with the invention, in which the major parts of the seat and lid are omitted for clarity and Figure 2 is a cross-section on the line X-X of Fig. 1.

Referring first to Fig. 1, a toilet seat 10, of which only the rear part is shown, is mounted on a shaft 12, by means of a pair of rearwardly projecting flanges 14 through which the shaft passes. The seat is keyed onto the shaft by means of a grubscrew or the like 18 passing through each of the flanges 14 into respective recesses 20 in the shaft.

A lid 16, of which again only the rearmost portion is shown, is mounted on the shaft 12 between the flanges 14, so as to be freely pivotable relative to the shaft and to the seat.

Both the seat and the lid can be of any conventional shape.

The shaft 12 is of circular cross-section throughout the major part of its length, but its ends 22 are of square cross-section as can be seen in Fig. 2. Each end of the shaft projects into a mounting assembly generally indicated by 28. The assemblies at each end of the shaft are essentially the same although only one is shown in detail.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the square end 22 of the shaft is received in a correspondingly-shaped passage through a cylindrical bearing member 24 which projects outwardly from a main housing portion 30, through a circular opening therein. The bearing member 24 is rotatably retained within the housing portion 30 by a radially extending flange 26. The seat, the shaft and the bearing member 24 can thus ,rótate together relative to the mounting assembly 28.

Within the main housing portion 30 is a cylindrical space 32 in which is retained a coil spring 34. One end 36 of the spring turns diametrically inwards and passes through a diametrically extending bore 38 in the flange 26 while the other end 40 turns radially outwards and is retained by a bore 42 in the main housing portion 30.

Bolts 50 are secured to the undersides of the main housing portions 30 by means of screws 46 passing through flanges 48. The bolts 50 are standard fixing members, passing through holes at the back of the bowl to be secured by nuts (not shown) on threaded ends 52.

The springs 34 are arranged to urge the seat 10 towards a raised position (clockwise as shown in Fig. 2). If the lid is lowered, the weight of the lid holds the seat down against the spring bias. When the lid is raised, the seat tends to pivot upwardly to its raised position unless held down manually or sat on.

The springs 34 preferably have a residual pre-loading in the raised position of the seat so that the seat is firmly held against accidentally falling.

Claims

1. A seat and lid assembly comprising a pair of fixings for attachment to a toilet bowl, a seat mounted between said fixings for pivotal movement relative thereto, means for biassing the seat into an upright position and a lid mounted to be freely pivotable relative to the seat and fixings.

2. A toilet seat assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein a shaft extends between the mounting of the seat and lid forming the pivoting axis thereof.

3. A toilet seat assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the lid is freely pivotally mounted on the shaft and the seat is keyed to the shaft for pivoting therewith.

4. A toilet seat assembly as claimed in any preceding claim wherein, the biassing means includes one or more torsion springs.

5. A toilet seat assembly as claimed in claim 4, comprising two said torsion springs, one housed at each end of the shaft.

6. A toilet seat assembly substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.