US3341867A - Adjustable toilet seat - Google Patents

Description

sept. 19, 1967 ADJUSTABLE TOILET SEAT Filed May 24, 1965 United States Patent O 3,341,867 ADJUSTABLE TOILET SEAT Roy Norman Keen, Gaston, Ind. (Rte. 5, Portland, Ind. 47371) Filed May 24, 1965, Ser. No. 458,012 1 Claim. (Cl. 4-239) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to an adjustable toilet seat apparatus.

One problem involved in the manufacture and use of toilet seats is the fact that children should be provided with a smaller opening through the seat than adults so that the children are properly supported while using the seat. Various attachments for this purpose have been conceived. Some such attachments require inconvenient removal from the basic toilet seat before an adult can use the toilet. Other such attachments are either uncomfortable for an adult or are uncomfortable for a child. Consequently, it is a primary object f the present invention to provide an improved adjustable toilet seat.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved attachment for a toilet seat.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a toilet seat arrangement which is adjustable to vary the size of the opening through the seat in such a way that the toilet seat arrangement is comfortable for both adults and children.

Related objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds.

One embodiment of the present invention might include a ring shaped seat hingedly connected to the rearward portion of a toilet bowl, a pair of adapter members each pivotally connected to an opposite side of the seat toward the forward portion of the seat, each of the adapter members projecting rearwardly and curving inwardly toward one another so as to overlap the seat, said adapter members being swingable inwardly to various positions wherein said adapter members substantially reduce the size of the opening through said ring shaped seat particularly at the rearward portion thereof.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claim,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toilet having the adjustable toilet seat arrangement of the present invention mounted thereon.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the structure of FIG. 1 with alternative positions of the adapter member shown in 4broken lines.

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken along the line 3 3 of FIG. 2 in the `direction of the arrows.

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken along the line 4 4 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows.

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a toilet bowl 10 having a ring shaped conventional toilet seat 11 hingedly connected thereto by means of the hinge arrangement 12 which also hingedly connects the cover 15 to the toilet bowl. A pair of adapter members 16 and 17 are pivotally connected to the seat 11 by means of screws 20 which extend through the ring shaped seat 11 and are threaded into inserts 21 (FIG. 3) mounted inthe seat 11. If desired to provide a looser pivotal connection of the adapters 16 and 17 to the seat 11, nuts may be used in combination with the screws 20 to provide a greater distance between the head of the screw and seat' 11. These nuts would be received on the threaded end of each screw and tightened together.

As mentioned above, the construction of the seat 11 is conventional. The seat 11, however, is provided with particular features which adapt it for use as a part of the combination forming a portion of the present invention. For example, the seat 11 is provided with a boss 22 which receives the insert 21 and better adapts the seat 11 for mounting of the attachments 16 and 17 thereto. Also the seat 11 is provided with a projecting portion 25 which includes a rubber distal end portion 26 adapted to engage the toilet bowl 10 for supporting the seat 11 on the toilet bowl.

Referring to FIG. 4, each of the adapters 16 and 17 has mounted on its lower surface 27 a suction cup 30 which is used to secure the particular adapter to the seat 11 when the adapter members 16 and 17 are swung to the inward position illustrated in FIG. 2 in solid lines. Also illustrated in FIG. 2 is an outward position or outwardly swung position of the adapter members 16 and 17, this position being shown in dotted lines. When the adapter members 16 and 17 are in this outward position, the seat 11 is used generally in conventional manner by an adult and there is no need for securing the adapter members 16 and 17 to the seat. At various intermediate positions between the two positions illustrated in FIG. 2 the suction cup 30 can be used to secure the adapters 16 and 17 to the seat 11.

One of the most important concepts or features of the present invention is the fact that the adapter members are pivoted on the forward portion of the seat 11 so that the adjustment in the opening 31 through the complete combination is at the rearward portion of the opening. Referring to FIG. 2, the adapters 16 and 17 are shown in a position approaching their innermost position. It `can be seen that the rcenter of the opening 31 through the combination is moved forwardly of the complete combination. Thus a child sitting on the assembly of FIG. 2 could easily bend his knees and would not have to maintain his legs in a straightened condition while using the apparatus of the present invention. Assuming now that an adult uses the seat and Aswings the attachment members 16 and 17 outwardly to the dotted line position of FIG. 2, the enlargement of the opening 31 through the combination is effected exactly where the adults anatomy differs from the child, that is, at the rearward portion of the seat. It will be evident from the above description that the present invention provides an improved attachment for a toilet seat which is comfortable for both adults and children.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modications that come within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claim are also desired to be protected. For example, `one further embodiment within the scope of the invention comprises the use of a flexible wire or metal 4strap to pivotally connect the adapter to the conventional seat in place of the screw 20.

The invention claimed is:

In a toilet seat arrangement including a toilet bowl and a ring shaped seat hingedly connected to the rearward portion of said toilet bowl, the improvement which comprises: a pair of adapter members each pivotally connected to an opposite side of said seat toward the forward portion of said seat, each of said adapter members projecting rearwardly and curving inwardly toward one another so as to overlap said seat, said adapter members being swingable inwardly to various lpositions wherein said adapter members substantially i'educe the size of the opening through said ring shaped seat particularly at the rearward portion thereof, a pair of suction cups each mounted on the lower outward surface of the distal portion of said adapter members, said suction cups engaging and :securing the adapter members to said seat when said adapter members are in said various positions, said adapter members being swingable outwardly to a position wherein the opening through said ring is completely unobstructed, said adapter members lower surfaces being curved in a concave shape complementary to the shape of said ring shaped seat.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 195,514 9/1877 Kutscher 4-235 X 1,438,491 12/ 1922 Hilpert 4-239 2,266,641 12/ 1941 Joyce et al. 4-235 FOREIGN PATENTS 593,882 10/1947 Great Britain.

20 LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

HAROLD I. GROSS, Examiner.

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