Patent ID: 8950732
Filing Date: 2015-02-10
Classification: B62B

Abstract:
1. A dolly for lifting a toilet from a floor wherein the toilet includes a bowl, the dolly comprising: a frame structure having a pair of spaced-apart side members which are positionable on opposite sides of the bowl of a toilet desired to be lifted from a floor; a plurality of wheels which are rotatably attached to the spaced-apart side members of the frame structure which enable the frame structure to be rolled into a positional relationship with a toilet so that the spaced-apart side members are disposed on opposite sides of the toilet bowl for purposes of lifting the toilet from the floor; a lever assembly having a pair of spaced-apart linkage members which are positioned on opposite sides of the toilet bowl when the frame structure is rolled into said positional relationship with the toilet and which are pivotally connected to the spaced-apart side members for pivotal movement relative thereto, the linkage members having bowl-lifting portions which are moved between raised and lowered conditions as the linkage members are pivotally moved relative to the frame structure, and the lever assembly further including a foot-engagable portion which is joined to the linkage members and is movable between an elevated condition and a lowered condition as the linkage members are pivotally moved relative to the frame structure to enable a user to pivotally move the linkage members relative to the frame structure with his foot and thereby move the bowl-lifting portions of the linkage members from the lowered condition to the raised condition for the purpose of lifting the toilet to an elevated condition above the floor; and a pair of spaced-apart elongated members which are disposed on opposite sides of the toilet bowl when the dolly is disposed in said positional relationship therewith, and the bowl-lifting portions of the linkage members are interposed between the spaced-apart side members of the frame structure and the spaced-apart elongated members so that the movement of the bowl-lifting portions from the lowered condition to the raised condition moves the elongated members upwardly from a lowered position into engagement with the sides of the toilet bowl; wherein the elongated members are arranged in a substantially parallel relationship with respect to one another and to the underlying floor so that as the bowl-lifting portions of the linkage members are moved from the lowered condition to the raised condition, the spaced-apart elongated members are maintained in a substantially parallel relationship with the underlying floor; and wherein the spaced-apart side members define a support surface which is oriented substantially horizontally when the dolly is positioned in said positional relationship beneath a toilet bowl as aforedescribed, and the spaced-apart elongated members define a support surface which is no higher than the support surface defined by the side members when the spaced-apart elongated members are positioned in the lowered condition, and each of the side members has two opposite ends, and the dolly includes a substantially planar foot plate which is attached between the side members at one end thereof so as to span the space therebetween and so that the plane of the foot plate is oriented at substantially a right angle with respect to the plane of the support surface defined by the side members, and the wheels and the foot plate cooperate to support the dolly in an upright orientation upon a floor so that the support surface defined by the side members is oriented substantially vertically for use of the dolly in said upright orientation.