Abstract:
The invention is a series-operation seat-lifting and flush system applicable to conventional residential gravity-powered flap-released water-tank toilets. The system first lifts the seat with a hydraulic cylinder and then lowers the seat and flushes the toilet by venting the hydraulic cylinder to a mechanism connected to the flush-flap. Operation of a closed-fluid-circuit floor-trigger causes water to be diverted from the existing source of water to drive the mechanism.

Description:
RELEVANT FIELDS OF ART 
     The invention relates to the fields of toilets, assistive devices, flushing devices, water catch cans, lever systems driven by varying or accumulating fluid loads, and water actuated pistons. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The water-flushed toilet is one of the most significant improvements of sanitation in human history. With its proliferation, propagation of many diseases was curbed commensurately. Before the water-flushed toilet, common practice was simply to dispose liquid waste into the immediately available streets, where it would accumulate or flow into the immediately adjacent water resources. Since its use became widespread, the water-flushed toilet provided an avenue for waste to be moved to locations remote to human population centers. 
     However, in terms of advancing the objective of healthy home use, there remain areas that are begging for improvement. One is furthering sanitary handling of the toilet seat which sits directly over the bowl. The proximity of waste, and regular replacement of a volume of waste with fresh water creates an inviting environment for fostering bacteria colonies. Once present, each flush sends some water droplets out of the bowl and make contact with other parts of the toilet, particularly the toilet seat. Very forceful flushing, as is common in many rapid-volume flush toilets, is even more likely to send large volumes of waste-carrying droplets into the air, to deposit on the seat, and especially if the seat is not raised. 
     An area of the seat which is most immediately affected is the underside of the seat, which accumulates deposits earlier than the top side of the seat. Because the bottom side is negatively affected before the top, there is a potentially disproportionate exposure to users who regularly lift the seat, as compared to users who merely touch the seat by sitting upon it. Women generally sit upon the seat, while men both sit on the seat as well as stand in front of the seat. As men lift the seat more often, men are much more likely to collect deposits onto their fingers. 
     An especially affected scenario is in the case of a cohabiting or married man and woman. A man living alone might regularly leave the seat up, perhaps to avoid urinating upon it, while a woman living alone is more likely to regularly leave the seat down. However, when a man and a woman cohabitate, the man is expected to lower the seat, to prevent the woman from falling into the toilet bowl, if she failed to notice that the seat was up before attempting to sit on the toilet. 
     This scenario is a common example of an environment in which users of the toilet are exposing themselves to a higher degree of risk with respect to waste causing disease propagation. The man would regularly find himself lifting and lowering the seat, and exposing him to touching the underside of the seat at every instance in which he decides to urinate standing up. If he leaves the seat up, then the woman must touch the seat in order to lower it. As a result, cohabitation means that the total number of times that at least one of the cohabiting persons is touching the deposits is higher than the case of the man and woman living apart from one another. 
     Therefore, there is a need to generally decrease the number of instances in which a user might touch any part of the toilet. There is an especially high need to provide such a solution which decreases the need to make contact with the toilet seat. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention disclosed here addresses the problem of decreasing contact with a toilet by providing mechanisms that allow for a user to lift the toilet&#39;s seat and flush the toilet entirely without touching the toilet seat. 
     The mechanism which facilitates lifting a toilet seat makes use of water pressure available in the water delivered to a toilet for the ordinary purpose of operating the toilet. Thereafter, water used in the lifting mechanism is ejected from the lifting mechanism during lowering the seat and can be used to drive a second mechanism that flushes the toilet. Certainly, either mechanism might be used independently, as both are driven by water provided to the toilet, however, the best mode of the invention is one which arranges the lifting mechanism in series with the flushing mechanism, the path of water running first through the lifting mechanism and then downstream to the flushing mechanism. 
     One reason to use water rather than other force-conveying systems, such as a user-driven tension-carrying wire or a force-translating linkage system, is to take advantage of the force already provided to a toilet by the inflow of water pressure. The continuous availability of force from water pressure makes smooth operation of the device independent of the ability of a user to smoothly apply similarly powerful force. 
     Another contemplated advantage of using water is that removes the physical limitations of the user from negatively affecting the reliability of correctly using of the invention. Certainly, the physical limitations of a user weigh in favor of using an independently-available force that does not require the user to provide the forces necessary to lift a seat or flush a toilet. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a prior art toilet. 
         FIG. 2  shows an embodiment of the present invention as installed, at rest. 
         FIG. 3  shows an embodiment of the present invention as installed, a toilet-system, activated to lift. 
         FIG. 4  shows an embodiment of the present invention as installed, activated to flush by an embodiment of the flush device comprising a piston-cylinder. 
         FIG. 5  shows an embodiment of the present invention as installed, activated to flush by an embodiment of the flush device comprising a fluid-cup and lever. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a prior art toilet  100  is shown. It comprises a base  101 , a lid  102  connected to the base  101  by a lid hinge  103 , and a tank  104 , filled with water  105 . The tank is fed by a water source, depicted as water spigot  106 , which provides fill water to the tank  104  via a water feed line  107  and a tank fill valve  108 . The volume of the water  105  retained in the tank  104  is limited by the height of an overflow tube  109 , dictating the height of the water level in the tank  104 . The water  105  the tank is flushable into the base  101  by lifting a tank flush flap  110 . The tank flush flap  110  is connected to a flush lever  112  by a chain  111 . Sufficient force applied to the flush lever  112  translates force through the chain  111  to open the flush flap  110 . 
       FIGS. 2-5  depict toilet system embodiments of the present invention that providing lift and flush mechanisms that comprise some components similar to those found in the prior art toilet of  FIG. 1 , as well as fully novel components of the present invention without equivalents found in prior art toilets. Components similar to those in the prior art include base  101 , seat  102 , hinge  103 , tank  104 , water  105 , spigot  106 , feed line  107 , overflow tube  109 , and flap  110 . 
     Toilet system  200  is shown with a sectioned view of its tank  104  to provide a better view of components applied to the tank  104 . To also aid view of the present invention, some components shown in  FIG. 1  have been omitted from  FIGS. 2-5 . Components shown in the prior art toilet system  100  that are omitted from view in  FIGS. 2-5  include fill valve  108 , and a primary or independently operating flush mechanism, such as flush lever  112  and chain  111 , though use of these components is contemplated in most functional embodiments of the present invention. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , In addition to the aforesaid components which are similar to the prior art toilet  100 , Toilet system  200  comprises components that are dissimilar to those found in the prior art, including a trigger button  201 , an actuator  202  connected at one end to a base plate  203 , and connected at its other end to a 3-way valve  204  by a valve lever  205 . Base plate  203  is rigidly retained between the base  101  and the hinge  103 , and three-way valve  204  is rigidly retained on base plate  203 . Toilet system  200  also comprises a lift cylinder  206 , pivotably connected at its lower end to the base plate  203 , and pivotably connected at its upper end to a seat plate  207 . The seat plate  207  is rigidly attached to the underside of seat  102 . 
     A flushing mechanism is disposed in tank  104 , comprising a piston-cylinder-type flush cylinder  208  attached to the overflow tube  109 . The flush cylinder  208  is attached at its upper end to the overflow tube  109  by a bracket  209 , and the pistons cylinder  208  has at its lower end a piston rod  210 . The piston rod  210  is connected to the toilet tank flush lap  110 . 
       FIG. 3  shows the lifting mechanism components, referred to above, in operation to lift the toilet seat  102  of the toilet system  200 . The trigger  201  is connected to the valve actuator  202  as a closed fluid circuit by a flexible trigger line  301 . The remaining componentry of the toilet system  200  is water-operated. Water is drawn from the spigot  106  by a T-fitting  302 , diverting water from the fill line  107  into a cylinder fill line  303 . The cylinder fill line  303  provides water to the inlet of the three way valve  204 . 
     Depressing the trigger  201  causes a fluid in the closed circuit system to shift through trigger line  301  to the actuator  202 . The actuator  202  then extends, articulating the lever  205  of the three way valve  204 , opening the three way valve  204  to the lift cylinder  206 . Water then passes, upon the three way valve  204  opening, from the cylinder fill line  303 , through the three way valve  204 , into a cylinder conduit  304 . The water provided through the cylinder conduit  304  enters the lift cylinder  206  and causes the upper end of the lift cylinder  206  to extend, forcing the seat plate  207  upward. 
     Elevating the seat plate  207 , which is pivotably connected to the lift cylinder  206 , rigidly attached to seat  102 , and limited to the arc of seat  102 &#39;s motion with respect to hinge  103 , causes seat plate  207  to pivot with respect to the upper end of the lift cylinder  206 . Likewise, being rigidly attached to the seat plate  207 , seat  102  thereby also pivots with respect to the upper end of the lift cylinder  206 , articulating in an upward arc about its hinge  103 , away from the base  101 . In this moment of operation, as long as the trigger  201  remains depressed, seat  102  remains elevated. A user may then stand in front of the toilet system  200 , and proceed to urinate standing up without the need to touch the toilet system  200  in order to lift and hold-up the seat  102 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , the toilet system  200  is depicted in a flushing position. The trigger  201  is released, and the fluid of the closed circuit system returns from the actuator  202  to the trigger  201  via the trigger line  301 . Fluid departing from the actuator  202  retracts the actuator  202 , causing the actuator  202  to articulate the lever  205  upward to its original position. Returning the lever  205  returns the three-way valve  204  to return to its original position, which closes off the cylinder fill line  303  from the cylinder conduit  304 , and opens the cylinder conduit  304  to the outlet of three way valve  204 . 
     The outlet of valve  204  is connected to a flush water line  401 . By connecting the cylinder conduit  304  to flush water line  401 , the water inside the lift cylinder  206  is then provided with an exit route, through the cylinder conduit  304 , through the three way valve  204 , and out to the flush water line  401 . During its descent, the weight of the seat  102 , acting on the lift cylinder  206  via the seat bracket  207 , provides compressive force on the water inside the lift cylinder  206 , and causes the water inside the lift cylinder  206  to exit the lift cylinder and escape through the 3-way valve  204  to the flush water line  401 . 
     The water in flush water line  401  is carried to the tank  104 , and into the flush cylinder port  402 , located near the lower end of the flush cylinder  208 . Water arriving into the flush port  402  fills the flush cylinder  208 , lifting a piston inside the flush cylinder  208 , such that a piston rod  210 , connected to the piston, is retracted into the flush cylinder  208 . Retracting the piston rod  210  lifts the flap  110 . Lifting the flap  110  opens the tank  104  to the base  101 , and the water in the tank  105  then escapes the tank  104 . In this way, releasing the trigger  201  has the effect of both lowering the seat  102 , and then subsequently flushing the toilet system  200  with the same water that held the lift cylinder  206  extended upward under the weight of the seat  102 . 
       FIGS. 3 &amp; 4  therefore disclose a toilet system  200  which can be operated entirely without hands contacting either the seat  102  or any flush mechanism in order to flush the toilet system  200 . 
       FIG. 5  depicts another embodiment of the present invention, a toilet system  500 , comprising an alternative flush mechanism to the piston-cylinder embodiment disclosed in  FIGS. 2-4 . Whereas toilet system  200  makes use of the volume of the water used in the lift cylinder  206 , toilet system  500  makes use of the weight of the water used in lift cylinder  206 . In place of components  208 ,  209 , and  210 , toilet system  500  catches the water in a cup  501 , in order to lift the flap  110  using the weight of the water arriving via flush water line  401 . 
     The cup  501  is disposed on a first end of a lever  502 , the lever  502  having a second end  503 . The lever  502  pivots about a fulcrum  504  mounted atop the overflow tube  109 . The second end  503  is connected to a tensile element  505 . Tensile element  505  is connected to the flush flap  110  in a similar manner to that of the piston rod  210  shown in  FIGS. 2 through 4 , also in a similar manner to the chain  111  of  FIG. 1 . The water caught in the cup  501  causes a moment to be applied to the lever  502 , inducing a vertical force at the second end  503 . 
     This vertical force applies tension to the tensile element  505 , causing the flap  110  to lift, thereby venting the water  105  into the base  101 , flushing the toilet. As in  FIGS. 2-4 ,  FIG. 5  therefore also depicts a toilet system providing hands-free standing-use urination, by providing the shown lifting and flushing mechanisms of another embodiment of the present invention, toilet system  500 . 
     These embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention and are purely exemplary potentially best embodiments. Other embodiments are contemplated which are primarily variations of the present invention insofar as water vented from the lift mechanism causes a flush mechanism to flush a toilet system. For example, hydraulic cylinders can also be mounted so as to lift the flap by extension, rather than retraction, and lever systems may be located in a variety of configurations, so long as water received into such a flush mechanism induces a vertical force sufficient to lift the flap. The present invention contemplates fitments to toilets using components equivalent to typical toilet flush-flap or flush-ball or other known or future flush-valve mechanisms.