Abstract:
An elevated toilet seat that includes integral flanges or wings that allow for attachment of one or more external apparatus. The toilet seat is removably attachable to the upper surface of a toilet bowl via a bracket. The seat is snap-fit to the bracket for easy installation and removal.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/426,860, filed Nov. 15, 2002. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to toilet seats and is particularly concerned with an elevated seat that is removably attachable to both standard round and elongated toilet bowls. 
   Toilet seats are common household fixtures. However, many people may have temporary or permanent physical impairments that make reaching the seat difficult. These people, particularly the elderly, may have difficulty utilizing the muscles required to safely reach the toilet seat, possibly resulting in harm to the user. Modifications to standard toilet seats have been created to attempt to ease the strain on those who are unable to comfortably reach a standard seat. While traditional modifications may be useful in some situations, they are not designed to serve multiple purposes, particularly those outlined below. 
   Some prior art toilet seats include handles that may be designed to steady a person who requires help in safely using the seat. However, these toilet seats are primarily designed to steady the user once he or she reaches the seat itself. These seats do not also steady the user while the seat is in use. Other prior art toilet seats have handles designed primarily for sanitary purposes. However, again, these prior art toilet seats do not aid the user both in safely reaching the toilet seat and in maintaining steady balance while using the toilet. Further, these prior art seats have handles that are permanently affixed to the toilet seat, which may not be desirable where a user is extremely overweight, or where he or she requires devices to aid in movement, such as a wheelchair. Therefore, there is a strong need for a toilet seat that can assist people both in reaching the toilet seat and in remaining steady while using the seat by providing multiple, removable handles designed to aid the balance of the user. 
   Other prior art toilet seat modifiers provide a raised portion to allow the user with physical impairments to reach the toilet seat with less exertion than that required by standard seats. These raised toilet seats ease the work required by assuming a standard sitting position. However, traditional elevated toilet seats do not provide handles for both stabilization while approaching the seat and while sitting on the seat. Further, the prior art toilet seats are oftentimes bulky and may be unstable, creating an even greater risk of injury to a user by not maintaining position on the toilet rim. Therefore, there is a need for a stable, elevated toilet seat. 
   Another problem associated with prior art toilet seats involves the difficulty in their installation and removal. Those with impairments may require assistance from others, many of whom may prefer standard toilet seats. However, traditionally, in order to stabilize the toilet seat, a user must affix the entire seat with a mechanism such as a bolt, requiring the use of tools whenever the seat is to be installed or removed. This added exertion makes traditional modified toilet seats impractical in households in which not all users are impaired. There is a strong need for a toilet seat that aids those in need, while at the same time is easily installed and removed without the need for tools after initial installation. 
   Further, many people who have difficulty with movement cannot easily reach other items associated with use of a toilet, such as tissue, medications or other toiletries. Traditional toilet seats fail to address this issue, as the bulk of the seat often prohibits the addition of receptacles designed to hold a user&#39;s necessary items. As such, there is a need for these items to be within reach at all times, creating a desire for a way to attach auxiliary items, such as a basket, to a modified toilet seat. 
   Accordingly, the present invention addresses these needs. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed to an elevated toilet seat and a bracket for attaching it to a toilet bowl. One of the objects of the invention is an elevated toilet seat and bracket therefore which accommodate the wide variation in the geometry of both round and elongated toilet bowls. The connection of the seat to the bracket uses a snap-fit construction which allows easy installation or removal by end users at a low cost to the manufacturer. Optionally the elevated seat bracket can be installed on a toilet base along with a standard toilet seat, so that the existing seat can be used upon removal of the elevated toilet seat. 
   The elevated toilet seat of the present invention has a seating ring of the usual shape and dimensions. The seating ring includes a riser. The riser engages the top rim of the toilet bowl and elevates the seating surface. A pair of flanges or wings extends from the sides of the seating ring, and may further include mounting openings for armrests and/or handles and for a utility basket. The rear edge of the ring contains a receiving member integral to the ring that is capable of receiving a mounting bracket. The mounting bracket is removably attachable to a standard toilet bowl. The bracket extends into the perimeter of the toilet bowl so it can engage the receiving member of the ring. The receiving member/bracket mechanism permits the elevated seat to be selectably removed from the bowl by lifting the seat up straight up and pulling it out. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the elevated toilet seat assembly of the present invention mounted on a toilet. 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the mounting bracket of the present invention and a standard toilet seat but with the elevated seating ring removed. 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the elevated toilet seat assembly with the elevated seating ring above the rim of the bowl. 
       FIG. 4  is an enlarged, exploded perspective view of the mounting bracket. 
       FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the elevated toilet seat assembly of the present invention. 
       FIG. 6  is a rear perspective view of the elevated toilet seat assembly. 
       FIG. 7  is a top plan view of the mounting bracket. 
       FIG. 8  is a section taken along line  8 — 8  of  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 9  is a top plan view of a latch. 
       FIG. 10  is a bottom plan view of a latch. 
       FIG. 11  is a section taken along line  11 — 11  of  FIG. 10 . 
       FIG. 12  is a bottom plan view of the seating ring. 
       FIG. 13  is a section taken along line  13 — 13  of  FIG. 12 . 
       FIG. 14  is a front elevation view of the seating ring. 
       FIG. 15  is a rear elevation view of the seating ring. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIGS. 1–3  illustrate the elevated toilet seat assembly of the present invention generally at  10 . The toilet seat assembly has two major components, a seating ring  12  and a mounting bracket  14 . The seating ring  12  has the usual shape and dimensions for supporting a user on a toilet. The mounting bracket  14  is attached to a toilet bowl. The seating ring  12  is removably mountable on the toilet bowl and is retained thereon by releasable engagement with the mounting bracket  14 . This engagement will be explained further below. 
     FIG. 2  shows a conventional toilet  16  and the mounting bracket  14  installed thereon. The toilet includes a base  18  supporting a bowl  20 . The top of the bowl has an upper rim  22  that includes a top land  24 . The rim defines an opening  26  which in this case has an oval shape. The oval opening has a major diameter and a minor diameter. The bowl  20  may be connected to the usual water closet shown at  28 . The mounting bracket  14  rests on the top land  24  of the rim at the rear edge thereof. It is retained in place by bolts  30 . As shown in this embodiment the bolts  30  may also mount a conventional toilet seat  32 . The hinges  34  of the seat  32  may rest on top of the bracket  14  and the bolts  30  extend through the hinges to retain the conventional seat. 
   Details of the mounting bracket  14  are evident in  FIGS. 4–8 . The mounting bracket  14  is an elongated plate having a central, relatively flat body or base portion  36 . Mounting holes  38  are formed in the body portion. These holes  38  are located on the same template as the standard holes in the toilet bowl rim  22  so that holes  38  will line up with the holes in the bowl. Bolts  30  ( FIG. 2 ) extend through these holes  38  and are retained by nuts  40  to fasten the mounting bracket  14  to the toilet bowl  20 . The mounting bracket further includes end portions  42 ,  44  which join the base portion  36 . The length of the base portion  36  is such that the end portions  42 ,  44  are located beyond the outer perimeter of the toilet bowl when the mounting bracket is installed on a toilet bowl. This is important for providing a solid foundation for the attachment elements which will now be described. 
   Attached to the front edge of the end portions  42 ,  44  are two first attachment elements  46 . Each first attachment element has a jaw  48  and a latch  50 . The jaw is formed by an upright support  52  and a horizontal plate  54 . As can be seen the support  52  extends upwardly from one of the end portions  42  or  44  and the plate  54  extends outwardly from the top edge of the support  52 . The support  52  and plate  54  are reinforced by a gusset  56 . Immediately behind the support  52  and on either side of the gusset  56  are a pair of holes  58 . These receive attachment bolts  60  ( FIG. 4 ) which, together with nuts  62 , fasten the latch  50  to the underside of the end portion of the mounting bracket. 
   Details of the latch  50  are shown in  FIGS. 9–11 . The latch includes a base plate  64  and an upstanding pawl  66 . The front edge of the pawl is beveled as at  68 . A central ledge  70  is formed on the base plate and bolt holes  72  are formed in the plate behind the ledge. There are depressions  74  on the underside of the plate  64 . An elastomeric spacer  76  has holes  78  therein aligned with the holes  72  and  58  for receiving the bolts  60 . The spacer  76  provides a cushion between the latch  50  and the end portions  42 ,  44  to allow for some flexure of the latch during insertion and removal of the seating ring&#39;s attachment elements. It can be seen that the jaw and latch extend from the mounting bracket&#39;s end portions-in facing, spaced relation to one another that defines a receiving socket  79  ( FIGS. 3 and 4 ) between them. 
   Turning now to the seating ring  12 ,  FIGS. 5 ,  6  and  12 – 14  illustrate the details of the seating ring. The ring comprises two main parts, a shell  80  and a riser  82 . The shell sits on top of the riser and is attached thereto or is integrally formed therewith. The shell is the portion of the seating ring which the user will contact. The shell  80  includes a generally oval upper seating surface  84  which defines a central opening  86 . A front skirt  88  depends from the front edge of the seating surface  84 . The skirt  88  and seating surface  84  merge with first and second flanges or wings  90 ,  92  on either side of the seating ring. The flanges extend outwardly from the seating surface  84  such that the flanges will lie substantially outside the perimeter of the toilet bowl rim  22  when the seat is mounted on the bowl  20 . 
   As seen in  FIG. 12 , the riser  82  has a generally oval portion  94  joining a laterally extending shoulder  96  at the rear of the seating ring. The shoulder has formed therein two second attachment elements  98 . The second attachment elements each include a receptacle  100  and a pocket  102 , both formed as indentations in the shoulder  96 . The receptacle and pocket define a bar or catch  104  between them. A lip  106  ( FIG. 13 ) is formed on the underside of the catch for engagement with the pawl  66  of the latch  50 . The latch  50  is flexible due to the movement allowed by the spacer  76 . This movement allows the second attachment elements  98  to engage the first attachment elements  46  in a snap fit. This is done by inserting the jaws  48  into the receptacles  100  and pivoting the ring  12  down and back until the lip  106  slides up over the beveled edge  68  on the pawl  66  and snaps in behind the pawl. The pawl then resides in the pocket  102 . To remove the ring  12 , it is lifted until the catch  104  is released from the pawl  66  and then the ring can be pulled away from the toilet. 
   It will be noted that the oval portion  94  of the riser does not extend laterally underneath the flanges  90 ,  92  but instead follows the shape of the toilet bowl and thus, remains inside of the flanges. It can best be seen in  FIG. 14  that the flanges  90 ,  92  are, in effect, cantilevered from the riser  82 . The oval portion  94  also has two crescent-shaped extensions  108 . Together the extensions define a partial oval that has a slightly reduced major and minor outer diameter compared to those of the oval portion  94 . This permits the extensions  108  to fit inside the inner diameter of the toilet bowl&#39;s rim  22 . Thus, the bottom surface of the oval portion  94  sits on the top land  24  of the toilet bowl rim while the extensions  108  fit just inside the rim  22 . The extensions  108  extend slightly into the bowl in telescoping relation. The extensions therefore prevent the riser  82  from shifting laterally or otherwise slipping off the top of the bowl. The riser oval portion  94  can have a thickness (that is, a vertical height) of anywhere from an inch or so to six to eight inches or more, depending on the amount of elevation desired. 
   The flanges  90 ,  92  have a thickness that allows sufficient reinforcing ribs (not shown) on their underside so that the flanges can be weight bearing, i.e., a user can put his or her hands on the flanges to assist in lowering themselves or in standing up. Preferably the user will put his or her weight on a pair of arm rests, shown in  FIG. 1  at  110 . The arm rests have upright legs  112  with pegs of reduced diameter at the bottom of the legs. The tops of the legs are joined by a handle or grip portion  114 . The pegs can be mounted in receptacles  116  ( FIG. 5 ) that are formed in the flanges  90 ,  92 . A user can put his or her hands on the handle grip portion  114  to push up from the seat, or to lower themselves onto the seat. 
   As seen in  FIG. 5 , the flanges  90 ,  92  each have a further central socket  118  that can receive a mounting bracket of an optional auxiliary basket  120 . The basket includes a container portion. The basket&#39;s mounting bracket suspends the container over the side of the flanges  90 ,  92 . The container can hold whatever items are desired to have conveniently stored nearby. 
   It can be seen that the elevated toilet seat as described provides several advantages for users who have difficulty sitting and standing. The riser  82  raises the height of the shell  80  so that a user need not sit as far down to be supported on the seating ring. This helps prevent accidents resulting from a user basically falling onto the toilet. Then, because the user is sitting up higher, there is less difficulty in standing up from the seat. The arm rests  110  also allow the user to use his or her arms to assist in rising to a standing position. Having the handles on the seat precludes the need to find a nearby structure on which to push off. The arrangement of the flanges and bracket helps distribute the load more evenly around the rim of the toilet. If a user is putting weight on the handles, much of that load is transferred to the mounting bracket  14  and thus to the rear edge of the toilet bowl. 
   It will be understood that the embodiments of the present invention which have been described are illustrative of some of the principles and applications of the present invention. Numerous modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. For example, while the first and second attachment elements are shown as a male clamping arrangement received in a female catch, the attachment elements could have other configurations of interengaging members. It is preferred that the attachment elements not involve any separate fasteners such as bolts, pins or the like.