Toilet seat with multiple handles

An improved toilet seat is provided that includes a number of integral handles configured such that a person using the seat can stabilize or balance his or her body while exerting downward force on the seat. The toilet seat includes a seating element having an upper surface, an outer periphery that extends beyond an upper rim of a toilet bowl, a plurality of handles integrally formed in the seating element, a rear section, a narrow front section that forms at least one handle, and a transition section from the rear section to the narrow front section. Domestic, commercial, and other embodiments are also provided.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates generally to toilet seats, and specifically 
to toilet seats having handles. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Toilets and toilet seats are common household and commercial fixtures that 
are well known in the prior art. Many modifications and variations on 
standard toilet seats have been developed and documented over the years. 
For example, the shape, size, and function of toilet seats have been 
improved upon or varied according to specific applications. One 
modification of this sort has been the addition of handles to standard 
toilet seats. 
Some prior art toilet seats include one or more handles for raising and 
lowering the seat. Other known toilet seats include "handles" or fixtures 
that secure the seats in a raised or lowered position. Another 
modification provides a standard toilet seat with a handle or a fixture 
that contains deodorant or disinfectant. Although these modified toilet 
seats may be adequate for some purposes, they are not designed to suit the 
needs of a person who requires physical stabilizing assistance or 
extra-abdominal force assistance while using a toilet. In particular, such 
handles are often designed for sanitary purposes so that the toilet seat 
may be raised and lowered by touching only the handle and not the body of 
the seat itself. They cannot support the application of a significant 
amount of force. 
Certain people have difficulty maintaining their balance while sitting on a 
toilet. In particular, elderly persons, persons afflicted with 
balance-affecting disorders, or young children (whose feet may not reach 
the floor when sitting on a toilet) may require some way to stabilize 
themselves while seated. The prior art toilet seats mentioned above may 
not be adequately configured to help a person stabilize or balance himself 
or herself while using the seats. Therefore, there is a need for a toilet 
seat that can assist people who have balance, stabilizing or tremor 
problems. 
In addition, certain people have medical conditions which cause them to 
have trouble defecating due to constipation or other medical reasons. For 
example, some individuals find it difficult to sufficiently contract their 
abdominal and other lower body muscles during a bowel movement. The known 
toilet seats described above do not address this problem. It is easier to 
effectively contract the abdominal and other muscles when one sits with 
the proper posture and imparts extra-abdominal downward pressure on the 
seat area. Thus, it would be desirable to have a toilet seat configured to 
help a person effectively contract his or her abdominal and other muscles 
during a bowel movement. 
One known toilet seat, which is designed to elevate the sitting position of 
the user, includes handles that are used to lift and situate the body of 
the user. Since these handles are designed to aid wheelchair-bound 
persons, they extend upward and outward in relation to the sitting 
surface. Although this seat may be useful for its intended purpose, the 
configuration of the handles renders it ineffective for purposes of 
contracting various muscles (as described above). 
In addition, many prior art toilet seats with handles, including the 
above-discussed elevating seat, have only one or two handles. This small 
number of handles has been discovered to be particularly unsuitable for 
stability and extra-abdominal force problems because a person does not 
have a choice of gripping locations from which to choose to suit his or 
her particular instant needs. As such, there is a need for a toilet seat 
that includes a more than two of handles configured such that a user can 
quickly achieve a desired stability reinforcement or effectively force his 
or her body downward onto the seat by applying external forces from a 
direction which may best suit the instant needs. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is an advantage of the present invention that an improved 
toilet seat with multiple handles is provided with the handles being 
configured to allow a person to stabilize or balance himself or herself 
while using the seat. 
A further advantage of the present invention is that an improved toilet 
seat is provided with multiple handles configured to allow a person to 
effectively contract his or her abdominal muscles during a bowel movement. 
An additional advantage of the present invention is that an improved toilet 
seat is provided with multiple handles configured such that a user can 
effectively force his or her body downward onto the seat. 
The above and other advantages of the present invention are carried out in 
one form by a toilet seat for use by persons in need of stabilization 
assistance. The toilet seat is used in cooperation with a toilet bowl 
having an upper rim. The seat includes an outer periphery that extends 
beyond the upper rim of the toilet bowl. An upper surface of the seat 
substantially defines a seating plane. A left section of the seat has at 
least two handles formed by openings extending through the seat proximate 
the periphery thereof so that the left section handles are integrally 
formed into the seat and are approximately coplanar with the seating 
plane. A right section of the seat has at least two handles formed by 
openings extending through the seat proximate the periphery thereof so 
that the right section handles are integrally formed into the seat and are 
approximately coplanar with the seating plane.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring to FIGS. 1-5, a toilet seat 10 according to a preferred 
embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. In general, toilet 
seat 10 may be sized to fit any conventional domestic or commercial 
toilet. Toilet bowl assemblies are well known, therefore this description 
will not address ordinary aspects of toilet bowls unless they are required 
for an understanding of the present invention. Briefly, toilet seat 10 
includes a seating element 12 having an upper surface 14, an outer 
periphery 20, a plurality of handles 22 integrally formed in seating 
element 12, a rear section 28, a narrow front section 30, and a transition 
section 32 between rear section 28 and narrow front section 30. 
Certain aspects of toilet seat 10 may be similar to conventional toilet 
seats. For example, seating element 12 includes upper surface 14 upon 
which a user sits during use. Like other toilet seats, upper surface 14 is 
preferably contoured to provide a comfortable sitting surface. As another 
example, toilet seat 10 may be configured in a "closed front" shape 
typically associated with domestic uses (see FIG. 2), or in a horseshoe 
shape typically associated with commercial uses (see FIG. 8). Of course, 
in either configuration toilet seat 10 includes an opening 16 formed 
therein. In addition, toilet seat 10 may be pivotally connected to a 
toilet bowl (not shown) with or without a toilet bowl cover (not shown). 
Seating element 12 is preferably constructed from a material commonly used 
for toilet seats, such as plastic, wood, and the like. 
As mentioned above, seating element 12 includes upper surface 14. Upper 
surface 14 substantially defines a seating plane 18, which is 
approximately horizontal when toilet seat 10 is in a lowered position (see 
FIGS. 3-4). Seating element 12 is defined by outer periphery 20, and is 
shaped to accommodate handles 22 (described in detail below). With brief 
reference to FIG. 9, outer periphery 20 extends beyond an upper rim 24 of 
a toilet bowl 26 such that a person seated on toilet seat 10 has access to 
handles 22. In addition to allowing access to handles 22, this preferred 
configuration also ensures that a user does not contact upper rim 24 (or 
any other part of toilet bowl 26) during use. 
With reference again to FIGS. 1-5, seating element 12 is preferably shaped 
for comfort and ease of use. As shown, rear section 28 is preferably wider 
than narrow front section 30. According to one aspect of the present 
invention, transition section 32 from rear section 28 to narrow front 
section 30 is shaped to accommodate the legs of a person seated on toilet 
seat 10. As shown in FIG. 10, a user may straddle narrow front section 30 
during use with his or her legs resting comfortably near transition 
section 32. Of course, if a commercial (horseshoe shaped) embodiment of 
toilet seat 10 is contemplated, then narrow front section 30 may not be 
implemented (see FIG. 8). 
According to a preferred embodiment, toilet seat 10 includes handles 22 
located at various positions around outer periphery 20. In the preferred 
embodiment handles 22 are integrally formed within seating element 12. Due 
to the "closed front" nature of the preferred embodiment, a front handle 
22f may be located at narrow front section 30. The variety of locations 
for handles 22 allows a person to select from a number of grasping 
positions to best serve his or her individual needs. As described above, 
handles 22 are accessible to a user due to the extension of outer 
periphery 20 beyond upper rim 24 of toilet bowl 26 (see FIGS. 9-10). 
With additional reference to FIG. 10, the use of toilet seat 10 will be 
described. A person may utilize handles 22 separately or in combination to 
help himself or herself sit down on or stand up from toilet seat 10. 
Similarly, handles 22 may be utilized by a person to stabilize or balance 
himself or herself while seated. Furthermore, if an individual is having 
difficulty defecating, then handles 22 may be grasped and utilized to 
enhance the contraction of the abdominal or other muscles. By having at 
least three and preferably more handles distributed around seat 10, the 
user has a selection of locations to grasp. Thus, the user can quickly 
grab a handle which best suits his or her instant stabilization or 
extra-abdominal force needs. 
According to the preferred embodiment, a plurality of side handles 22s are 
substantially oval in shape, and sized to accommodate at least one hand of 
a user. Front handle 22f is preferably sized larger than side handles 22s 
to accommodate both hands, if necessary. As shown in FIG. 10, toilet seat 
10 is configured to allow a user to fit his or her fingers through seating 
element 12, grasp handles 22, and, if necessary, pull upward on handles 22 
to force his or her body downward onto seating element 12. This action 
makes it easier for a user to contract his or her abdominal muscles during 
a bowel movement. 
To facilitate the production of sufficient force, handles 22 are 
approximately coplanar with seating plane 18 (see FIGS. 3-4). Due to the 
thickness and contour of toilet seat 10, handles 22 may be slightly above 
or slightly below seating plane 18, as shown. Since handles 22 are 
approximately level with seating plane 18, rather than well above the 
surface of seating plane 18, the geometry of the user's arms allows for 
the exertion of greater downward forces. In addition, handles 22 are 
preferably located near to the user's body, otherwise relatively smaller 
downward forces for a given amount of user arm exertion would also be 
produced. Side handles 22s are formed in a right section 34 and a left 
section 36 of seating element 12. According to one preferred aspect, side 
handles 22s are approximately aligned with the front-to-back center of 
gravity of a person seated on toilet seat 10 (see FIG. 10). This alignment 
allows a person to maintain his or her vertical orientation and balance 
while using toilet seat 10. In addition, the preferred location and 
configuration of handles 22 are ergonomical, which increases the comfort 
of toilet seat 10. 
With reference now to FIG. 6, a second embodiment of the present invention 
is illustrated. As shown, the second embodiment includes a plurality of 
fingerhole groups 38 instead of handles. Fingerhole groups 38 require less 
material near outer periphery 20, thus the second embodiment may be 
utilized where space restrictions prevent the use of the preferred 
embodiment described above. As described above, the second embodiment may 
be configured for use in domestic (closed front) or commercial (horseshoe) 
applications. 
With reference to FIG. 7, a third embodiment of the present invention is 
illustrated. As shown, the third embodiment includes a plurality of 
indentations 40 formed in a lower surface 42 of seating element 12. 
Indentations 40 provide grasping locations for a user without creating 
holes in seating element 12. As described above in connection with the 
second embodiment, this embodiment may also be utilized where space 
restrictions prevent the use of the "handle" embodiment of the present 
invention. The third embodiment may also be configured with a closed front 
or horseshoe shape. 
In summary, the present invention provides an improved multiple handle 
toilet seat that allows a person to stabilize or balance himself or 
herself while using the seat. In addition, an improved toilet seat is 
provided that allows a person to effectively contract his or her abdominal 
muscles during a bowel movement. A toilet seat is also provided with 
multiple handles configured such that a user can effectively force his or 
her body downward onto the seat from a variety of different locations. 
The above description is of preferred embodiments of the present invention, 
and the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described and 
illustrated. For example, various descriptors such as front, side, upper, 
and lower have been used in a relative sense to maintain consistency with 
the Figures. These descriptors have been used in an ordinary manner and 
should not be construed as limiting in any way. Furthermore, many 
variations and modifications will be evident to those skilled in this art, 
and such variations and modifications are intended to be included within 
the spirit and scope of the invention, as expressed in the following 
claims.