US1376926A - Sanitary toilet apparatus - Google Patents

Description

C. W. FISHER.

Y SANITARY TOILET APPARATUS.

APPHCATION FILED APR. 7, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

[7706/7250]; Mil/am.-

dtcrmb C. W. FISHER.

SANITARY TOILET APPARATUS. APPLl CATION FILED APR. 7. 1919.

1,376,926. Patel lted May 3, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

CHARLES W. FISHER, 0F WELLSVILLE, KANSAS.

SANITARY TOILET APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES WV. FISHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wellsville, in the county of Franklin, State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sanitary Toilet Apparatus, of which the following is a full and exact specification.

The present invention relates to toilet apparatus and aims to provide an improved apparatus of this character whereby a temporary sanitary covering may be conveniently applied to the seats of toilet appliances for each occasion on which the toilet seat is used.

Accordingly one of the objects of the invention is to provide improved automatic means by the operation of which a temporary sanitary covering is applied in proper position over the top surface of the toilet seat, and retained in this position long enough to permit its use by the person using the toilet.

A further object is to provide an improved apparatus of this character in which a magazine containing a supply of the temporary sanitary coverings is maintained in connection with the seat, from which magazine the temporary coverings are withdrawn one at a tim each timethe toilet is used.

, In carrying out the invention in practice,

' I. have devised an apparatus in which the cover for the toilet seat is arranged to constitute a supply magazine for the temporary coverings for the seat, and the raising and lowering movement of said cover is utilized for effecting the withdrawal of said coverings and the application thereof to the seat. For accomplishing this object I provide suction means associated with the seat and operated by the movement of the cover to exert a .suctional action on the lowermost sanitary covering when said cover is in lowered position, thereby detaching the lowermost covering and retaining the 'same upon said seat as the cover is lifted.

It is also sought to provide a sanitary covering of a type adapted for the above use and also for being automatically removed from the seatand discharged when the toilet is flushed, for which purpose the covering is formed with a flap portion which depends into the bowl of the stool in posi- Specification of Letters Ifatent.

Patented May 3, 1921.

Application filed April 7, 1919. Serial No. 288,379.

tion to be subjected to the flushing action of the toilet.

With these general objects in view, the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating one form of construction which I have devised for embodying the improve ments, after which the novel features therein Wlll be set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings Figure l is a perspective view of a toilet apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2'is a side elevation of the same, partly in sectlon, and with the hinged seat cover in closed position;

F g. 3 is a plan view of the same;

Fig. 4 is an inverted plan view of the toilet seat;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail view,

taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3, but showing ,the piston in lowered posit-ion;

Fig. 6 is ase'ctlonal view, taken on the line 66 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional detail view showing a portion of the toilet seat and cover at a point where one of the suctional elements is located; and Fig. 8 is a similar detail view showing a modified form of suction means.

Referring to the drawings in detail, these illustrate the improved features in connection with an ordinary form of toilet stool 8, having a movable seat 10 as well as a movable set cover 12, each provided with hinge elements 14 for pivotally mounting said seat and cover upon the brackets 1'6 carrying the hingepins 18. In the present construction, however, th movable cover 12 is of hollow form to constitute a suitable magazine 20 for a supply of temporary sanitary paper cover1ngs 22 of the same general shape as the seat 10, but also formed with a central. tongue-shaped flap portion 24 adapted. to drop through the seat opening and depend 'within the stool as hereinafter explained.

The coverings 22 are retained within the.

magazine 20 by means of retaining lugs 26 engaging the outer margins of the cover- 22, and turn-buttons 28 engaging the inner margins and also the edges of the flap portions 24, said turn buttons being mounted on a suitable partition 30 which divides said flap portions from the outer portions of the coverings. The coverings 22 are held yieldingly in engagement with said turn buttons and retaining lugs by means of a follower erings may be removed one by one by ap- I -propriate mechanism adapted to take hold of the exposed lowermost covering of the magazine and pull thesame out of engagement withthe elements 26 and buttons 28. For the purpose of disengaging the coverings 22 as just stated, I provide a suction mechanism operated by the movement of the cover 12 in such a way as to produce a suction at the top surface of the seat 10 when said cover is in lowered position, and thereby retain one of the coverings 22 when the cover 12 is lifted. Accordingly, I provide a pump device which-comprises a stationary cylinder 36 carried by a hanger bracket 38 located=in fixed position adjacent the stool 8, as by securing said bracket to the bottom of the tank 40 of the stool, said bracket having the split clamping portions 42 for embracing the cylinder 36. The,

lower end of this cylinder is open to the atmosphere (see Fig. 5), while its upper end is closed and provided with a tubular connection 44 to a pipe 46 which is arranged in a channel 48 cut in the bottom face of the seat 10. At various points about the seat 10, the said pipe 46 is provided with nipples 50 extending part way through the seat and provided with nipple extensions 52 of suitable flexible material such as. rubber tubing, and of suflicient length to' project slightly above the top surface of the seat for engagement with the lowermost sanitary covering 22. Surrounding the flexible nipple extensions 52 are enlarged recesses 54 (see Fig. 7) adapted to permit the cover- 22 to be depressed somewhat within in s sai d recesses and also to facilitate the proper engagement of the nipples with said coverings by permitting such movement of the nipples as may be necessary (such as either compression or slight lateral movement) for adapting themselves to the coverings.

Operating within the cylinder 36 is a piston 56 which ,is held normally at the lower end of said cylinder by the combined action of gravity and of a spring 58, as illustrated in Figs. 5 and'6. Said piston 56. is provided with a piston rod 60 operating through a guideway 62 at the lower end of the cylinder and also through a guide passage 64 in a cross-bar 66 which is suspended by a pair of hanger rods 68 secured thereto by clamp screws 70. These rods 68 operate slidingly through guide lugs 72 at opposite ends of the cylinder 36 and have their upper ends connected to a hanger bar 74, which is connected by a pivotal link 76 to a crank arm 7 8 carried by one of the hinge pins 18 which turns with the movement of said cover 12. Thus as "said cover is moved up and down, the arm 78 and its connections, including the cross-bar 66, are likewise raised and lowered.

Latching means is provided in order that the piston may be raised concurrently with the lowering of the hinged cover and thereafter be released to the self-acting movement of said piston under its combined tween said shoulder and oneside of the cross-bar 64 so as to maintain said opening 82 and passage 64 normally out of register, a stop pin 88 limiting the movement of the latch under the action'of said spring. One

end of the latch 80 carries a roller 90 which is adapted, on raising of the cross-bar 66, to be brought into engagement with a projecting cam face member 92 secured to the lower end of the cylinder 36. This results in sliding the latch and bringing said opening 82 and passage 64 into register and con.- sequently dropping of the piston 56.

In the operation of the apparatus, a supply of temporary sanitary paper coverings 22 of the form described is placed within the magazine 20, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and I. With the hinged seat cover 12 in raised position as shown in. Fig. 1, the piston 56 is in its lowered position and supported by the latch 80. The cover 12 is nowlowered to bring the lowermost covering 22 in the magazine down upon the seat and in engagement with the flexible nipple extensions 52. At approximately this juncture, the

piston is released by the throwing of the latch 80 through engagement withthe cam face of the :projection 92. This obviously produces a suctional action through the.

tubular connections and .all of the nipples, and consequently results in the lowermost covering 22 being held in engagement therewith, so that the lifting of the cover 12 will disengage said lowermost covering and leave the same deposited upon the seat 10, the flap portion 24 of said covering simply dropping down into the stool through the.

seat opening. The suctional action produced by this suction means will remain effective long enough to retain the covering in its position until the user of the stool occupies the seat. By the time the stool is.

to be flush ed, such suctional action will have matically discharged entirely disappeared and the flushing of the stool will carry away the whole sanitary covering along with the contents' of the stool as the flap portion 24 extending down into the stool becomes wet and consequently heavy and its weight combined with the pull of the flushing action draws the lighter and now entirely disengaged remaining portion of the paper covering along with it into the bowl. Besides its function of thus enabling the entire temporary covering to be autowith the contents of the stool, this flap portion of course also affords an effective means of protection of the privates of the person using the stool agaist the splash of the water and impurities in the bowl.

In the lifting movement of the hinged cover 12 it-will be noticed that the latch is lowered to a point below the lowermost position of the piston rod 60, whereupon the latch is allowed to spring again into rodsupporting position as shown in Figs. 5 and (3, and the above operation may be repeated.

In Fig. 8 is illustrated a modified and simplified form of suction means comprising having a fiara flexible suctional nipple 52 ing mouth portion adapted to insure engagement with the paper covering 22 over an appreciable area, and also having a shoulder portion 95 for resting on the bottom of the recess 54 of the seat. The lower end of the nipple 52' projects into a recess 96 provided in the lower face of the seat 10 where the nipple is provided with a flexible flap valve 97 adapted to release the coverings are forced down upon the nipple, causing the latter to be depressed into the recess 5% while said valve temporarily opens, all as represented by the broken lines in said Fig. 8. hen the pressure on the nipple is released, said valve 97 automatically closes and the nipple assumes its full-line position, thereby producing a suctional action within the nipple in the same manner as in .the preceding construction. The nipples 52' therefore exercise the same paper-retaining function as the nipples 52 which are connected with the pump, and if made of the proper size and proportions and sufficiently flexible, constitute a simple means for embodying this feature of the invention.

It is apparent from the foregoing that an efficient and comparatively simple arrangement and construction have been provided for carrying out the desired objects of the invention. A cheap, clean and effective sanitary covering for the toilet seat is provided for each time the stool is used, the same being applied and removed without other operation than that of simply lowering and raising the hinged cover in the same manner as is now ordinarily done on each occasion of the stools use. No part of the apparatus is therefore required to be touched air when the paper.

except such portion of the cover 12 as is necessary to be engaged for its operation, and the user of the toilet thereafter comes in contact merely with the fresh and clean sanitary covering 22 which is automatically applied to the seat for his own individual the flap of said covering affording use, and the further advantage of protecting him against contact with any impurities within the toilet bowl.

Obviously the need of such sanitary apparatus is especially apparent and its use particularly advantageous in connection with public toilets where there are no restrici Having described the invention, what I claim is:

1. In a sanitary toilet apparatus, the combination with a toilet seat, of a movable cover for said seat, said cover being provided with a magazine containing temporarysanitary coverings for said seat, and

means actuated automatically by the movementof said cover for removing one of said coverings from the magazine and depositing the same upon said'seat.

2. In a sanitary toilet apparatus, the combination with a toilet seat, of a movable cover for said seat, said cover being provided with a magazine containing temporary sanltary coverlngs for said seat, and

suction means operated by the lowering of said cover for detaching one of said cover lngs from the magazine and depositing the same upon the seat as said cover is lifted.

3. In a sanitary toilet apparatus, the comv bination with a toilet seat provided with'a plurality of suction nipples distributed over its upper face, of a movable cover for said seat provided with a magazine containing temporary sanitary coverings for the seat, and means actuated by the movement of the cover for producing a suctional action through said nipples as the latter are engaged byv the lowermost of said coverings and thereby retaining said lowermost covermg upon the seat when said cover is lifted.

4. In a sanitary toilet apparatus, the combination with a toilet seat provided with a plurality of suction nipples distributed over its upper face, of a movable cover for said seat provided with a magazine containing temporary sanitary coverings for the seat,

and means including a pumping device having a piston automatically actuated by the movement of said cover to produce a suctional action through said nipples as the latter are engaged .by the lowermost of said coverings and thereby retaining said lowermost covering upon the seat when said cover is lifted.

5. In a sanitary toilet apparatus, the combination with a toilet seat, of a movable cover for said seat, said, cover being provided with a magazine containing temporary sanitary coverings for said seat, and suction means operated by the lowering of said cover for detaching one of said coverings from the magazine and depositing the same upon the seat as said cover is lifted, said suction means including a plurality of flexible nipples distributed over the upper through said nipples as the latter are engaged by the lowermost of said coverings for retaining,-said lowermost covering upon the seat, and means whereby said piston is actuated in one direction by the lowering of said cover and thereafter released for selfmovement to produce said suctional action. 7 7. In a sanitary toilet apparatus, the combination with a toilet seat, of' a movable cover. for said seat, said cover being provided with a magazine containing temporary sanitarycoverings for said seat, each of said coverings having a central tongue-shaped flap portion, and suction means operated by the lowering of said cover for detaching one of said coverings from the magazine and depositing the same upon the seat with said flap'portion of the covering depending within the central portion of the seat. .8. In a sanitary toilet apparatus, the combination with a toilet seat, of a movable cover for said seat, said cover being provided with a magazine containing temporary sanitary coverings for the seat and with retaining elements engaging the margins of the outermost covering for holding the coverings within the magazine, means within the magazine for forcing said coverings yieldingly in engagement with said retaining elements, and means actuated automatically by the movement of said cover for disengaging the outermost of said coverings from the magazine and depositing the same upon said seat.

9. In a sanitary toilet apparatus, the combination with a toilet seat, of a movable cover for said seat, said cover being pro: vided with a magazine containing tempo rary sanitary coverings tor the seat, each of said coverings having a central flap portion, said magazine being provided with retaining elementsengaging the margins of the outermost covering and its flap portion for holding the coverings within the magazine, and means actuated automatically by; the movement of said cover for disengaging the outermost of said coverings from the magazine and depositing the same 'upon said seat with said flap portion of the covering depending within the central portion of the seat. J

In witness whereof I aflix my si nature.

CHARLES W.'FI S ER.-

Images