Abstract:
The present invention provides a toilet comprising a locking component that locks a toilet component (e.g. a toilet seat or toilet lid) in an open, closed, or intermediate position. The holding or locking of the toilet component can be provided by a hinge, a spring, or some other appropriate manner.

Description:
[0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 60/476,070 filed on Jun. 4, 2003 incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Additionally, this application is a Continuation in Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/860,264 filed on Jun. 2, 2004. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The field of the invention is toilet seats.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     It has been observed that, for a typical toilet seat or lid, raising it less than 90 degrees and then releasing it will result in the seat/lid crashing down against the bowl or seat of the toilet. This poses a safety hazard in that the force of the seat/lid crashing down can hurt someone having a finger or other body part caught between the seat/lid and the bowl/seat. Even if no one gets hurt, the noise of the seat/lid closing can be an annoyance.  
         [0004]     There is a need for toilet seats that address these problems.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     The present invention provides a toilet comprising a locking component that locks a toilet component (e.g. a toilet seat or toilet lid) in an open, closed, or intermediate position. The holding or locking of the toilet component can be provided by a hinge, a spring, or some other appropriate manner.  
         [0006]     It is contemplated that toilet seats and lids may be improved by (a) using bumpers to cushion the contact between the seat and lid, and (b) using a hinge adapted to prevent the seat and/or lid from returning to its closed/down position without being pushed down or otherwise manually released.  
         [0007]     In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention a toilet comprising a locking component that locks a toilet component in an open, closed or intermediate position is disclosed.  
         [0008]     In an exemplary embodiment, a toilet seat is disclosed wherein the toilet seat has bumpers coupled to a lid.  
         [0009]     In an exemplary embodiment, a toilet seat is disclosed wherein the toilet component is a seat.  
         [0010]     In an exemplary embodiment, a toilet seat is disclosed wherein the toilet component is a lid.  
         [0011]     In an exemplary embodiment, the bumpers are comprised of rubber.  
         [0012]     In an exemplary embodiment, the locking component has a hinge assembly.  
         [0013]     In an exemplary embodiment, the hinge assembly has ratchets.  
         [0014]     In an exemplary embodiment, the hinge assembly has a spring.  
         [0015]     In an exemplary embodiment, the toilet seat has a release mechanism that releases the toilet component from the open, closed or intermediate position.  
         [0016]     Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0017]      FIG. 1 A  is a prospective view schematic of a ratcheted toilet in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 1B  is a schematic of a hinge assembly in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 2  illustrates angles between a toilet seat and toilet lid.  
         [0020]      FIG. 3  illustrates the relationship between the lid position and the force required to move the lid further up and/or down. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0021]     Referring first to  FIG. 1A , a toilet  100  comprises a lid  110 , a seat  120 , a bowl  130 , and a hinge assembly  140 . Lid  110  comprises pivot arms  111 A and  111 B, and bumpers  112 . Seat  120  comprises pivot arms  111 A and  111 B. Hinge Assembly  140  comprises end caps  141 A and  141 B, center assembly  142  and pin  143 .  
         [0022]     Lid  1   10  may be any type of toilet lid but is preferred to include resilient bumpers  112 , and to have pivot arms  111 A and  111 B adapted to interact with hinge assembly  140 . Hinge assembly  140  functions to lock the lid which means that the lid may be lifted (rotated away from the bowl  130 ) and released without the force of gravity pulling it back against seat  120 . The bumpers are preferably constructed of rubber but other suitable materials include plastics, metals, and so on.  
         [0023]     Seat  120  may be any type of toilet seat but is preferred to have pivot arms  121 A and  121 B adapted to interact with hinge assembly  140  such that the seat is upwardly biased. It should be understood that both the seat and the lid may be locked by utilizing a locking component  151  in an open, closed or intermediate position, but in preferred embodiments, it is the seat that is locked. It should also be noted that in some less preferred embodiments only the lid will be adapted to be positioned (positionable) in the manner described above while in others only the seat will be so positionable. For the sake of clarity, much of the remainder disclosure will discuss only the lid as it would be clear to one of average skill in the art that the features described may be and preferably will be equally applicable to toilet seats as well.  
         [0024]     It is contemplated that in some embodiments it may be desirable to include a release mechanism  149  in hinge assembly  140  to allow the lid to move freely up and down. in other embodiments the release mechanism  149  may be needed to change the position of the lid. In those other embodiments, without actuation of the release mechanism  149 , the lid: i) cannot be moved from a closed to an intermediate or open position; ii)cannot be moved from an intermediate position to an open or closed position or another intermediate position; and iii) cannot be moved from an open position to an intermediate or closed position.  
         [0025]     As depicted in  FIG. 1 B , it is contemplated that hinge assembly  140  may be adapted to allow end caps  141 A and  141 B to be pulled away from center assembly  142  (and the pivot arms  111 A,  111 B,  121 A, and  121 B) in order to release the lid. Springs  159  may be used to bias the end caps in a non-release position. In alternative embodiments, the hinge assembly  140  which may comprise a locking component  151  that locks the seat in a closed, opened, or intermediate position. It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that locking component  151  may be achieved at least partially by using a hinge and/or spring  159  as well as other known techniques.  
         [0026]      FIGS. 2A-2D  show four (4) positions of lid  110  in which lid  110  forms an angle (A 1 -A 4 ) of less than 90 degrees with seat  120  and rim  131  of bowl  130 . In preferred embodiments lid  110  will be positionable to any angle at least less than or equal to 90 degrees. In less preferred embodiments, lid  110  may be positionable to a finite set of positions where the total number of positions is at least three (i.e. closed or 0 degrees, open or approximately 90 degrees, and an intermediate position where the angle is between 0 and 90 degrees). The locking component  151  may comprise any mechanism that allows lid  110  to be positioned in such a manner.  
         [0027]      FIGS. 3A-3C  illustrate some of the essentially infinite possible relationships between lid position and the force required to move the lid further up or down. In.  FIG. 3A , the force required to move the lid does not change depending on the current position of the lid or whether the lid is moving up or down. In  FIG. 3B , the force required to move the lid up is less than the force required to move the lid down, regardless of current seat position. In  FIG. 3C , the force required to move the lid up is always equal to the force required to move it down regardless of the current position of the lid, but the force required varies between positions. It is contemplated that in some instances it may be desirable to increase the amount of force required to move the lid as the lid approaches its closed position while in others the reverse may be true.  
         [0028]     In  FIG. 3C , the force required to move the lid up is always equal to the force required to move it down regardless of the current position of the lid, but the force required varies between positions. It is contemplated that in some instances it may be desirable to increase the amount of force required to move the lid as the lid approaches its closed position while in others the reverse may be true.  
         [0029]     Thus, specific embodiments and applications of a ratcheted toilet seat and lid have been disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced.