US3395408A - Toilet bowl guard - Google Patents

Description

6, 1968 G. E. WEBER ETAL 3,395,408

TOILET BOWL GUARD Filed April 12, 1965 GREGORY E. WEBER, DAVID P. MC CONNELL,

INVENTORS' ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,395,408 TOILET BOWL GUARD Gregory E. Weber, 7837 Sepulveda Blvd., Van Nuys, Calif. 91405, and David P. McConnell, Van Nuys, Calif.; said McConnell assignor to said Weber Filed Apr. 12, 1965, Ser. No. 447,147

' Claims. (Cl. 4-253) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for preventing children from opening toilet covers comprising suction cups fastened to the underside of the toilet seat and toilet lid for making suction cup seals between the seat and toilet bowl and between the lid and seat. The suction cup on the underside of the lid is smaller than the suction cup on the underside of the seat so that when an adult lifts the cover the seat remains down until it is separately lifted.

This invention relates to latching means and, while not limited thereby, relates particularly to latching devices for preventing children from opening toilet lids.

Household toilets generally consist of a bowl filled with water for receiving refuse, a ring-shaped seat pivotally mounted on the bowl for supporting a person over the bowl, and a lid pivotally mounted on the bowl for covering the central area of the seat when the toilet is not in use. The top or rim of the toilet bowl is generally located only about one and one-half feet above the bathroom floor, for enabling its convenient use. The relatively low height of the bowl rim allows small children to reach it and drink or play with the water in the bowl, or drop objects therein. Of course, the filth with which a toilet comes in contact makes it an undesirable place for young children to reach into or drink from. Furthermore, clogging arising from objects dropped into the bowl and the reluctance with which parents reach into a toilet bowl to retrieve objects makes it desirable to seal the bowl opening from young children.

When the toilet is not in use, the seat and lid can be placed over the bowl rim to cover the bowl. However, the weight of the lid and seat are generally so small that a young child can lift them. While children often cannot lift the lid or seat to a vertical position, it is only necessary to lift the lid and seat several inches to enable a child to reach into a bowl. In order to drop objects into the bowl, only the lid need be raised. The force needed to raise the lid or the lid and seat is only a few pounds or less. Children of the age of as little as two years or less generally find such lifting relatively easy.

Various lever-type latches and locks could be used to hold down the lid and seat. Such devices would generally require manipulation of a lever in order to release the lid and seat. For a hold-down device to be acceptable, the release and latching of the lid and seat must be automatic or nearly so because adults do not wish to spend even a few extra seconds to use the toilet or relock it after use. Other attributes would also be required in order to gain acceptance by parents.

Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for quickly and easily locking the lid and/or seat of a toilet to the bowl thereof, in such a manner that small children cannot gain access to the toilet bowl while adults may gain access in a simple manner.

Another object is to provide a toilet bowl lid and/or seat latching device which is very readily installed.

Another object is to provide a latching device which is simple, inexpensive and resistant to corrosion.

Another object is to provide an efficient latching assembly for an apparatus with two independent covering elements, one normally placed over the other, which assembly enables the removal of the outer covering element prior to the removal of the inner covering element, merely by applying opening force to either of the two covering elements.

The foregoing and other objects are realized by latching assemblies generally comprising suction cups. In one embodiment of the invention, for holding a toilet lid and seat to the bowl, the latching assembly includes two double suction cup assemblies: a lower double cup assembly for securing the toilet seat to the toilet bowl rim and an upper double cup assembly for securing the lid to the seat. One suction cup of the lower cup assembly is permanently fastened to the underside of the seat with its other suction cup free to engage the bowl when the seat is lowered thereon. One suction cup of the upper cup assembly is permanently fastened to the underside of the lid with its other suction cup free to engage the seat when the lid is lowered. An adult can overcome the suction holding force of perhaps fifteen pounds to lift the lid or seat, but a small child cannot do so.

The lower double cup assembly, for holding the bowl and seat together, generally includes cups of larger area than those of the upper cup assembly which holds the lid to the seat. Thus, if only the toilet lid is lifted, the seat remains secured to the bowl to prepare the toilet for that use wherein a person sits on the seat.

While double suction cups can be used, other fastening means can be used, particularly in the permanent fastening of the latching device to the underside of the toilet seat or lid. Thus, a single suction cup which includes a screw or gluing surface for fastening it to the underside of a toilet seat or lid can be used.

The novel features that are considered characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, both as to its organization and method of operation, as well as additional objects and advantages thereof will best be understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side sectional view of a toilet including double suction cup assemblies;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of two double suction cup assemblies shown in use on a toilet;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a toilet including double suction cup assemblies of the type shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 wherein the lid is in a raised or vertical position; and

FIG. 4 is a front, partially sectional view of a toilet including two separate suction cups fastened to the seat in place of the bumpers usually found thereon.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1 which illustrates a toilet bowl 10 having a front portion 12 and back portion 14, with a bowl rim 16 formed around the top thereof. An axle 18 is mounted on the back portion of the rim. A ring-shaped toilet seat 20 is provided which includes a back portion 22 pivotally mounted on the axle and a front portion 24 free to move onto and away from the front of the bowl. A primarily disk-shaped lid 26 includes a back portion 28 having a back portion 28 having a bracket 30' pivotally mounted on the axle, and a front portion 33 free to move against and away from the front of the seat.

A pair of rubber bumpers 32 is attached to the underside 34 of the seat on each ring-half of the seat. The bumpers 32 serve to cushion the fall of the seat on the bowl rim and also serve as two spaced support points. Additionally, the two bumpers 32 and the axle 18 provide a three point support of the seat to prevent rocking of the seat, which would be annoying to a person seated thereon. A second pair of bumpers 36 is attached to the underside 38 of the lid and they serve to cushion the fall of the lid on the seat, and also to prevent rocking of the lid when a person sits or stands on the lid.

In accordance with the present invention, first and second double suction cup assemblies 40' and 42 of soft rubber or other elastomeric material are provided to hold down the lid and seat. As shown in greater detail in FIG. 2, a first double suction cup assembly 40 includes an upper cup 44, a lower cup 46, and a stern portion 48 extending between them. The upper cup 44 is shown in a flattened configuration whereby it holds to the underside 34 of the seat. In order to more permanently fasten the upper cup 44 to the seat, a thin layer 50 of glue is provided between the cup and seat. The lower cup 46 is shown spaced above the rim 16 of the toilet bowl 14 and in a rounded or cup shape which it retains until it contacts the bowl rim 16. If the seat is allowed to fall, the lower cup 46 will be flattened against the rim and achieve a configuration similar to that of the upper cup 44.

The second double suction cup assembly 42 attached to the lid 26 includes an upper cup 52, a lower angled cup 54, and a stem 56 between them. The upper cup 52 is shown flattened and held to the underside 38 of the lid by a layer of glue 58. In FIG. 2, the angled cup 54 is shown spaced above the seat near the radially inner portion 21 thereof. The angled cup has a cup shape when away from the seat, and assumes a flattened shape when the lid is allowed to fall onto the seat so that the angled cup holds to the seat by the suction.

The angled cup 54 is oriented so that its rim or outer circumferential portion makes a maximum angle A of about with the horizontal, or in other words, the cup faces 160 away from the upper cup 52 (instead of 180 as in the case of the double cups 44 and 46 of the first assembly 40). The reason for inclining the cup 54 is so that it securely engages the beveled inner portion 21 of the top of the seat. The seat 20 is beveled to conform to the human buttock and support a person in comfort. If the angled cup 54 were to face downwardly instead of at an angle, it would be difficult to form a good suction engagement between it and the seat. It has been found that an angle of about 20 is best for engaging toilet seats of the most commonly found configuration, in toilet assemblies where the front of the seat extends about two inches past the front of the lid. However, cups formed at angles of between 10 and also can satisfactorily engage the seat. A major factor limiting the allowable departure from an angle of 20 for cups used with most toilet seats is the stiffness of the elastomeric material of which the cup is constructed. For a stiff material, the lid 26 must be pushed down very hard to engage the angled cup 54 with a seat, if the face and seat are not approximately parallel when they are brought into contact. Furthermore, where the cup and contacting seat surface are not parallel, there is a tendency for the cup to break loose from the seat, or even for the upper cup 52 to be loosened because of the stresses. For soft rubber, such as the fifty shore rubber of which models of the invention were made, considerable deviation from parallelism is allowable. However, even for soft materials a deviation of more than about 10 is usually unsatisfactory where long life and secure holding must be assured.

The size of the free cups 46 and 54 determines the lifting force required to lift the seat and lid, respectively. It is found that small children cannot supply a lifting force of more than several pounds to a toilet seat or lid which is placed at the usual height of about 18 inches. A restraining capability of more than about 10 pounds is generally sufficient to prevent lifting of the seat or lid while a restraining force of less than about 20 pounds enables an adult to lift them without great difficulty. Lifting forces of from slightly less than 10 to about 20 pounds are obtained with cups of the type illustrated, which include airpockets 60 at their centers, where the cup diameters are between 1 and 1% inches. Accordingly, cups with diameters of between 1 and 1% inches are often preferable for use in connection with toilet seats and lids, where the installation is as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3.

In order to place a closed toilet in position to receive a person on its seat, only the lid 26 is lifted while the seat remains on the bowl rim 16. The seat is prevented from lifting by providing a bowl-rim engaging cup 46 of the first cup assembly which is larger than the angled seatengaging cup 54 of the second cup assembly. Cup assemblies have been constructed with a bowl rim engaging cup 46 of approximately 1% inch diameter and an angled seat engaging cup 54 of 1% inch diameter. The angled cup 54 released when about 11 pounds lifting force was applied while the cup 46 released when about 14 pounds was applied. Thus, the lid could be released without bringing the seat with it.

Care must be exercised in the installation of the double cup assemblies 40 and 42 on the lid and seat in order to assure their proper functioning. The assembly 40 should be installed so that the free cup 46 thereof is centered over the rim 16, to assure making of a vacuum seal therewith, while the assembly 42 should be installed so that the free angled cup 54 is far enough from the radially inner edge of the seat (when the lid rests on the seat) to assure a good seal all around the cup. While glue may be used to assure permanent fastening, the assemblies 40 and 42 may be temporarily held to the underside of the lid and seat by the suction of their upper cups 44 and 52. This method is useful in testing the invention before permanently gluing it in place to see if it will function properly. To enable temporary installation, the upper cups 44 and 52 of each assembly is made larger than its lower cups 46 and 54, respectively. Thus the upper cups will hold as though glued in place while the lower cups release. Actually, the holding power of the upper cups is suflicient to enable installation without gluing although gluing is more reliable. For lower cups 46 and 54 of 1% inch and 1% inch diameters respectively, upper cups of 1 inch and 1% inch diameters, respectively, have been found satisfactory.

The length of the stems 48 and 56 of the cup assemblies are important to the proper functioning of the invention. As shown in FIG. 1, most toilets include pairs of bumpers 32 and 36 attached to the undersides of the seat 20 and lid 26. In order for the free suction cups 46 and 54 to form a tight vacuum seal, they must flatten against the bowl rim 16 and upper side of seat 24, respectively, before the bumpers contact the rim or seat and prevent further downward movement of the seat or lid. Thus, the distance between the cups 44 and 46 of the first cup assembly, when the cups are flattened, must be greater than the space between the front of the rim 16 and front of the seat 20 when the bumper 32 touches the rim. Additionally, the distance between the flattened cups should not be much greater than that space between rim and seat or else the bumpers will not provide lateral stability for a person on the seat. Bumpers in common use are typically about A inch in depth, and the seat is attached to the axle 22 so its underside 34 is about parallel to the rim 16 when the seat is on the rim, although the degree of parallelism varies with usual tolerances in such fixtures. To enable functioning with most toilets, the distance between flattened cups should be greater than inch and less than inch. A total height of the cup assembly 40 of /2. inch when the cups 44 and 46 are flattened is sufficient to assure proper operation with toilet seats and bumpers within the usual range of mounting dimensions. A similar range of heights is adequate for the cup assembly 42, where height is measured between the centers of outer planes of the flattened cups.

While suction or gluing can be used to fasten the cups, other fastening means such as screws and nails can be used in place of the upper cups 44 and 52. For example, cup assemblies can be used having a suction cup at one end and a plate with holes for enabling its fastening to be screws, or a plate without holes for enabling attachment by gluing.

The use of one cup assembly attached to the seat and one to the lid as illustrated in FIGURES 1, 2, and 3 is a relatively simple arrangement. However, in some situations it is desirable to employ at least two cup assemblies for the seat and/ or the lid. FIG. 4 illustrates a toilet which utilizes two cup assemblies 70 to hold the toilet seat 72 to the toilet bowl rim 74. Each cup assembly 70 includes a suction cup 76 for holding the seat to the rim and releasing them when sufiicient force is applied to the seat, a plug 78 for fitting into a hole in the underside of the seat, and a stem portion 80 connecting the cup and plug. The cup assembly 70 is adapted to fit into the same holes in the seat 72 wherein bumpers are usually installed. Thus, to install the cup assembly, the bumpers usually present are removed from the holes in the seat and the plugs 78 placed in the holes. To assures that the cup assemblies will remain in place, it is usually desirable to apply glue to the plugs 78 and top of the stem 80 which contacts the seat 72. Of course, other installation means, such as screws or a double suction cup assembly can be used instead of the plugs 78.

The employment of two cup assemblies 70 allow the use of smaller suction cups 76 to achieve the same holding capability as for the single assembly 40 illustrated FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. However, the placement of the cups nearer the axle 82 on which the seat pivots instead of at the front of the seat, results in the need for cups of only slightly smaller size instead of one-half the size (area). It should be noted that similar installation of two cup assemblies can be used for the lid 84 to hold it to the seat.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, many further modifications may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims which follow herein.

We claim:

1. A toilet bowl guard for holding a toilet bowl, toilet seat, and toilet lid together comprising:

a first holding means including a first end for fastening to the underside of said toilet seat and a second end having a suction cup for releasably securing to the rim of a toilet bowl; and

a second holding means including a first end for fastening to the underside of said toilet lid and a second end having a suction cup for releasably securing to the upper side of said toilet seat.

2. A toilet bowl guard for holding a toilet seat and toilet lid together comprising:

fastening means for fastening to the fiat underside of said toilet lid;

stem means extending from said fastening means; and

suction cup means disposed on the end of said stem means opposite said fastening means, said suction cup means facing in a direction which makes an angle of at least about from the normal direction to said flat underside of said lid, whereby to enable said suction cup means to hold onto the radially inner portion of the upper side of said toilet seat.

3. A toilet bowl guard for a toilet comprising:

a first suction cup for permanent attachment to one movable element of said toilet;

a second suction cup for releasably securing to another element of said toilet, said second cup having a smaller area than said first cup; and

stem means connecting said first and second cups together.

4. A toilet bowl guard as defined in claim 3 wherein:

the area of said second cup is equal to that of a round suction cup of a diameter between one and one and three-quarters inches, whereby to enable an adult to remove said second cup while preventing a small child from doing so.

5. A toilet bowl guard for use in connection with a toilet having a bowl, seat and lid comprising:

a first suction cup for holding said seat to said bowl and for releasing said seat upon the application of a first predetermined separating force; and

second suction cup for holding said seat and lid together and for releasing them upon the application of a second predetermined releasing force, said second predetermined releasing force being less than said first releasing force, whereby to enable the lifting of said lid without lifting said seat from said bowl.

6. In a toilet including a ring shaped seat with a beveled radial inner portion and including a lid, the combination with said toilet of:

fastening means for fastening to the underside of said lid at the front thereof;

stem means joined to said fastening means and extending therefrom; and

cup means of elastomeric material disposed on the end of said stem means opposite said fastening means, said :cup mean-s facing in a direction which is angled from the normal direction to said underside of said lid, whereby to enable said cup means to form a vacuum with said beveled portion of said seat.

7. Holding assembly means for a toilet having a first element fitting over said toilet and having a second element fitting over said first element comprising:

a suction cup for disposal between said toilet and said first element, said first suction cup constructed for releasing upon the application of a first predetermined force; and

a suction cup for disposal between said first element and said second element, said second suction cup constructed for releasing upon the application of a second predetermined force which is larger than said first predetermined force.

8. A suction cup holding assembly for a toilet having a first cover element and having a second cover element disposable over said first cover element comprising:

a first fastening means for disposal between said toilet and said first cover element, including at least one suction cup for attaching and releasing said first element upon the application of a separating force thereto; and

a second fastening means for dispostal between said first cover element and said second cover element, including at least one suction cup for attaching and releasing said second element from said first element, the cup area of said at least one suction cup of said first fastening means being greater than the area of said at least one suction cup of said second fastening means.

9. A suction cup holding assembly for a toilet having a first element fitting over said toilet and having a second element fitting over said first element comprising:

a first fastening means including two suction cups facing primarily in opposite directions and connected by a stem portion, one of said cups being larger than the other, for enabling the repeated attachment and releasing of said toilet and first element; and

a second fastening means including two suction cups facing primarily in opposite directions and connected by a stem portion wherein one of said cups is larger than the other, for enabling the repeated attachment and releasing of said first and second elements.

10. A toilet bowl guard for a toilet comprising:

a cup for permanent attachment to one movable element of said toilet;

a suction cup for releasably securing to another ele- :ment of said toilet; and

stem means connecting said first and second cups together.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Woodruff 4-253 Partenico 248--206 Des Roches 4-253 Palmieri 4253 LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

10 D. MASSENBERG, Assistant Examiner.

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