Abstract:
An improved convertible toilet seat includes ferromagnetic components to adhere detachably a rotatably attached child seat section to a posterior section, creating a more secure and comfortable seating surface for a child, and to enhance the adhesion of a child seat section to an anterior section when a toilet seat s raised to a vertical position. The introduction of a finger notch in the anterior section serves to make it easier for a child to lift a child seat section into position for use by a child where a partial vacuum may otherwise be created when an anterior section receives a child seat section.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/078,501, filed 12 Nov. 2014. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
       MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
       [0003]    Not applicable. 
       FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY 
       [0004]    At least some embodiments disclosed herein relate, in general, to improvements to toilet seats, and more specifically, improvements to toilet seats of changeable size for use by both children and adults. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0005]    Various forms of toilet seats, toilet seat assemblies, and toilet seat adaptors have been devised for the purpose of providing children with a smaller toilet seat opening to accommodate their smaller anatomy in a world of toilets designed principally around adult use. Certain toilet seat assembly designs presently known in the art permit the conversion of toilet seat sizes by means of a child seat section rotatably attached to a posterior section and capable of being received by an anterior portion to which it may be substantially congruent, and which may be molded so as to achieve an overlaying clam-like configuration when the child seat section is coupled to it. 
         [0006]    When an anterior portion of a toilet seat receives such a rotatably attached child seat section, the resulting opening in the toilet seat is of a conventional size designed to accommodate adult use, as the child seat section does not occlude the adult-sized central aperture in the planar seating surface created by anterior and posterior sections of the toilet seat. By lifting a child seat section away from the anterior section of a toilet seat and rotating it approximately 180 degrees about rotatable attachment means, a child seat section may be made to lie substantially flat upon the posterior section of the toilet seat, partially occluding the adult-sized toilet seat opening created by anterior and posterior sections of the toilet seat, and thereby creating a relatively smaller central aperture and substantially planar seating surface appropriate for the use of a child. 
         [0007]    In the aforesaid form of toilet seat configuration, a child seat section may be secured to an anterior section when lowered for adult use by means of a groove formed on a front edge of the underside of a child seat section, wherein said groove receives a tongue formed on a front edge of the exterior of an anterior section. One problem with this tongue and groove approach to securing a child seat section to an anterior section is that it may result in a partial vacuum between these two sections when they are coupled together, making it difficult for a small child to lift the child seat section away from an anterior portion on his or her own and making adult intervention necessary. 
         [0008]    Another issue with such a toilet seat configurations is that when a child seat section is lifted away from an anterior section and rotated 180 degrees about rotatable attachment means so as to lie substantially flat on a posterior section, the resulting substantially planar seating surface for a child&#39;s use may feel uncomfortable and unstable to a child because the child seat section is secured to the posterior section only by way of the rotatable attachment means. Existing art teaches separate mechanical means, such as ratcheting devices, for maintaining the position of a child seat section when raised, but not by attaching a child seat section to a posterior section, which can create a more comfortable and secure substantially planar seating surface for a child. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The embodiments illustrated are by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is isometric view of an embodiment of a toilet seat  10  with a child seat section  20  attached receivably onto an anterior section  16 , forming a conventional-sized central aperture  14  to accommodate the anatomy of an adult, revealing medial ferromagnetic components  42  embedded in a child seat section and corresponding posterior ferromagnetic components  40  embedded within a posterior section  18 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is isometric view of an embodiment of a toilet seat  10  with a child seat section  20  raised partially above and away from an anterior section  16  to reveal a finger notch  46  in the anterior section  16 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is an isometric view of an embodiment of a toilet seat  10  with a child seat section  20  raised and rotated approximately 180 degrees about attachment means  22  to bring it substantially flush with a posterior section  18  to form a smaller central aperture  24  to accommodate the anatomy of a child, revealing anterior section ferromagnetic components  40  embedded within an anterior section  16  and corresponding medial ferromagnetic components  42  embedded in a child seat section. 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a sectional view of an embodiment of a toilet seat  10  with a child seat section  20  lowered, illustrating a finger notch  46 , a medial ferromagnetic component  42  embedded in a child seat section  20  engaged with a corresponding anterior section ferromagnetic component  44  embedded in an anterior section  16 , and a posterior section ferromagnetic component  40  embedded in a posterior section  18 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a sectional view of an embodiment of a toilet seat  10  illustrating a child seat section  20  as it is raised and partially rotated about rotatable attachment means  22 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a sectional view of an embodiment of a toilet seat  10  illustrating a child seat section  20  when it has been rotated approximately 180 degrees about rotatable attachment means  22  to bring it substantially flush with a posterior section  18 , revealing a medial ferromagnetic component  42  embedded in a child seat section  20  engaged with a corresponding posterior ferromagnetic component  40  embedded in a posterior section  18 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]    The following description and the drawings are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding; however, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order to avoid obscuring the description. References to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” in the present disclosure are not necessarily references to the same embodiment; and, such references mean at least one. 
         [0017]    Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” or substantially similar phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments. 
         [0018]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view of an embodiment of a toilet seat  10  with a child seat section  20  attached receivably onto an anterior section  16 , forming a conventional-sized central aperture  14  to accommodate the anatomy of an adult. In an embodiment, one or more posterior section ferromagnetic components  40  may be embedded within the posterior section  18 , each such posterior section ferromagnetic component  40  positioned to pair with a medial ferromagnetic metal component  42 , embedded within a child seat section  20 , when a child seat section  20  is fully rotated away from an anterior section  16  about rotatable attachment means  22  to a position relatively flush with a posterior section  18 , thereby enabling a child seat section  20  to adhere detachably to a posterior section  18  and creating a more stable and comfortable seating surface for a child. 
         [0019]      FIG. 2  is an isometric view of an embodiment of a convertible toilet seat  10  with a child seat section  20  raised partially above and away from an anterior section  16 . As illustrated, one or more anterior section ferromagnetic components  44  may be embedded within the anterior section  16 , each such anterior section ferromagnetic component  44  positioned to pair with a medial ferromagnetic component  42  embedded within the child seat section  20  when the child seat section  20  is lowered. This design can serve, among other things, to ensure that the child seat section  20  does not move or rotate about the rotatable attachment means  22  when a toilet seat  10  is raised to a vertical position, flush against any existing lid  12  that has been raised vertically, as would typically be the case when a male urinates and wishes to avoid contaminating the toilet seat  10  with stray urine. Where a toilet has no lid to, as is the case of toilets in commercial settings for sanitary reasons, the need for an effective means to ensure a child seat section  20  is secured to an anterior section  16  when a toilet seat is raised may become more important. 
         [0020]    A finger notch  46  may be added to an anterior section  16 . This can facilitate the ability of a child to lift a child seat section  20  against any resistance caused by any partial vacuum pressure that may develop between a child seat section  20  and an anterior section  16  when a child seat section  20  is engaged with and secured to an anterior section  16 . Such partial vacuums can be problematic with adjacent plastic surfaces, for example, when a child seat section  20  is engaged and secured to an anterior section  16  by means of a tongue and groove design in which either a receiving tongue formed by an anterior section  16  is received by a groove formed by a child seat section  20 , or a groove is formed by an anterior section  16  and a receiving tongue is formed by a child seat section  20 . 
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is an isometric view of an embodiment of a convertible toilet seat  10  with a child seat section  20  raised and rotated approximately 180 degrees about rotatable attachment means  22  to bring it substantially flush with a posterior section  18  to form a smaller central aperture  24  to accommodate the anatomy of a child. In an embodiment, anterior section ferromagnetic components  44  embedded in an anterior section  16  may pair with medial ferromagnetic components  42  embedded in a child seat section  20 . These anterior section ferromagnetic components  44  and medial ferromagnetic components  42  together can serve to enhance further the stability and security of the adhesion of a child seat section  20  to an anterior section  16 , particularly where a finger notch  46  has been incorporated to overcome any partial vacuum pressure problem between a child seat section  20  and an anterior section  16 . 
         [0022]      FIG. 4 ,  FIG. 5 , and  FIG. 6 , all of which are sectional views of an embodiment of a convertible toilet seat  10 , reveal that ferromagnetic components—posterior section ferromagnetic components  40 , anterior section ferromagnetic components  44 , and medial ferromagnetic components  42 —may, through various techniques well known in the art, be hidden from view within the respective posterior section  18 , anterior section  16 , and child seat section  20  of a toilet seat  10 . Material costs can be reduced by associating a single medial ferromagnetic component  42  embedded in a child seat section  20  with both an anterior section ferromagnetic component  44  (when a child seat section  20  is lowered and engaged with and secured to an anterior section  16 , as in  FIG. 4 ) and a posterior section ferromagnetic component  40  (when a child seat section  20  is raised and rotated approximately 180 degrees about attachment means  22  (as in  FIG. 5 ) to bring it substantially flush with a posterior section  18 , as in  FIG. 6 ). 
         [0023]    In an embodiment, ferromagnetic components  40 ,  42 ,  44  may all comprise permanent magnets, oriented as to polarity such that a medial ferromagnetic component  42  will be attracted to any associated posterior ferromagnetic component  40  and thus cause a child seat section  20  that may be substantially flush with a posterior section  18  to adhere detachably thereto, and likewise, attracted to any anterior section ferromagnetic component  44  when a child seat section  20  is lowered onto an anterior section  16  so as to ensure that a child seat section  20  may adhere detachably to said associated anterior section  16 . In an embodiment, a medial ferromagnetic component  42  may comprise a ferromagnetic material that is not itself magnetized, such as a steel plate, and magnets utilized only for the posterior section ferromagnetic component  42  and the anterior section ferromagnetic component  44 . In an embodiment, a medial ferromagnetic component  42  may be a magnet, while any associated posterior section ferromagnetic component  40  or any associated anterior section ferromagnetic component  44  may comprise a ferromagnetic material that is not itself magnetized. 
         [0024]    In this specification, the disclosure has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will be evident that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope as set forth in the following claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.