Abstract:
A toilet seat lifter comprising brackets which are bolted to the base of the toilet and connected to a foot pedal lever system. The foot pedal is connected to one end of a lever, while the other end of the lever is connected to a lift bar member. When pressure is applied to the foot pedal, the lever pivots on a fulcrum to move the lift bar member upward. This movement elevates the lift bar member which is connected to a bar that is placed under the toilet seat to raise the seat as the lift bar member is elevated.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
       [0001]     1. Field  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to apparatus for raising toilet seats and more particularly to such apparatus that is actuated by means of a foot pedal.  
         [0003]     2. Prior Art  
         [0004]     The following are patent summaries of prior art patents relating to apparatus for raising toilet seats.  
         [0005]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,506 illustrates a foot-actuated lifting mechanism for a toilet seat that requires no modification of the toilet or surrounding structure. This invention uses a free standing pedal which pivots on a fulcrum. When pressure is applied to the pedal, it forces the lifting mechanism up, lifting the toilet seat. The segment which does the actual lifting of the seat is connected to only one side of the toilet seat.  
         [0006]     U.S. Pat. No. D389,231 illustrates a design patent for a foot operated toilet seat lifter. This invention uses a foot pedal which is connected to, and pulls a first link downward. The first link is connected to an arm which rotates clockwise when the first link goes down to lift the toilet seat. It does not lift the toilet seat on both sides.  
         [0007]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,068 illustrates a toilet seat raising and lowering device. This invention uses rollers and a cable contained in an L-shaped member. When the pressure is administered to the foot pedal, the cable moves, lifting the toilet seat. The member that lifts the seat is attached on only one side of the toilet.  
         [0008]     U.S. Pat. No. 6,151,723 illustrates a toilet seat elevating system comprising a base, a horizontal pedal member hinged to the base and a vertical arm hinged between the end of the pedal member and the seat. The vertical arm can be adjusted to a number of lengths. As the pedal is pressed down, the arm is pressed upward to elevate the seat. This invention uses a single lift bar.  
         [0009]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,193 illustrates an apparatus for the raising and self-lowering of a toilet seat. The invention comprises a foot lever that is connected midway along its length to a pivoting member, and at its opposite end to a lift member. As the foot lever is lowered, the lift member rises to lift the toilet seat. This invention is connected to only one side of the seat.  
         [0010]     The above prior art inventions have short comings that include lifts which are on only one side of the toilet seat, pedal mechanisms which rest of the floor, and pedals which are easily removed from the mechanism. These designs place stress in the seat and hinges, make it difficult to clean about the toilet and make it possible to misplace the foot pedal. These short comings are overcome by the present invention which is described below.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]      FIG. 1  is a prospective view of the present invention showing the right side of a toilet and a system for raising the toilet seat that includes a pedal, a pedal bar, lift rods and seat bars which are arranged to raise the toilet seat by depressing the pedal.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the invention showing its left side.  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged partial side view of the left lift bar at its junction with the left seat bar.  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is a front elevation view of the lift bar and a seat bar shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  is a side view of the left lift bar in an embodiment where its junction with the left seat bar is continuous.  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  is a front elevation view of the components shown in  FIG. 5 , showing the toilet seat bar to carry a roller used to protect the finish on the seat.  
         [0017]      FIG. 7  is a top view of the invention showing an embodiment in which the left and right toilet seat bars are connected to add strength to the seat bar structure.  
         [0018]      FIG. 8  is a front elevation of the invention showing the seat bars in their elevated position in an embodiment where the seat bars are captured by seat brackets which are attached to the underside of the seat to permit these bars to close as well as open the toilet seat.  
         [0019]      FIG. 9  is a side view of the seat bars when captured by the seat brackets.  
         [0020]      FIG. 10  is an enlarged view of the right pedal bar in an embodiment which includes a spring to close the seat when no pressure is applied to the pedal. 
     
    
     SUMMARY  
       [0021]     An object of the present invention is to provide a means to lift a toilet seat and provide a structure that delivers the lifting force to both sides of the seat simultaneously, thereby reducing stress on the seat during the lifting operation.  
         [0022]     An object of the present invention is to provide a lifting apparatus for a toilet seat that keeps all the components of the lift mechanism above the floor level.  
         [0023]     An object of the present invention is to provide a toilet seat lifting apparatus with a pedal that is firmly attached to the lift mechanism to prevent the pedal&#39;s being removed from the toilet.  
         [0024]     The present invention is a toilet seat lift apparatus which includes brackets that are secured to the base of the toilet and support to a foot pedal lever system. The foot pedal is attached to a pedal bar that is connected to a lift bar. When downward pressure is applied to the foot pedal, the pedal bar pivots about the brackets, causing the lift bar to move upward. The lift bar, which is connected to a seat bar located under the toilet seat, causes the seat to be raised as the lift bar is elevated.  
         [0025]     The brackets attached to the base of the toilet also support the pedal bar in a position that is off the floor so that the floor about the toilet can be easily cleaned without dismantling the lift mechanism. The pedal is securely attached to the mechanism, preventing it from being moved away from the toilet and possibly lost. In another embodiment, the toilet seat is lifted on both sides causing the seat and the seat hinges to receive less strain than systems which provide lift to only one side of the seat. The result is smoother operation with longer life for the seat, the hinges and the lift mechanism.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0026]      FIG. 1  is a right side perspective view of the present invention while  FIG. 2  is a left side perspective view. These Figures show a toilet  1  with ledges  1 A and  1 B, a toilet seat  2 , a foot pedal  6 , a pedal bar  5  and lift bars  4 A and  4 B, all arranged to raise the toilet seat when the foot pedal  6  is depressed. The pedal bar  5  is comprised of bars  5 A,  5 B and  5 C and is in the shape of a “U” with bars  5 A and  5 B forming the right and left sides of the “U” and bar  5 C closing the “U” by way of connecting the bars  5 A and  5 B together in the front of the bowl. At the center of bar  5 C, foot pedal  6  is permanently connected close to the center of bar  5 C. Near the center of bars  5 A and  5 B respectively, at points  10 A and  10 B are holes which go through these bars. At the sides of the toilet are hold down bolts such as bolts  13 A and  13 B which pass through ledges  1 A and  1 B and are secured by nuts  14 A and  14 B, respectively, to mount the bowl to the floor.  
         [0027]     To provide a pivotal support for the pedal bar, the nut  14 A is removed from the bolt  13 A and a bracket  7 A which has a first and a second end with a hole placed through the bracket near its first end, is installed by letting bolt  13 A, for example, pass through the hole in the bracket. The bracket is secured in place by tightening the nut  14 A on bolt  13 A over the bracket. The bracket  7 A extends out from the side of the toilet and has a pivot pin  10 A which is located at its second end of the bracket away from the toilet. The pin extends axially out from the end of the bracket. This pin is attached to bar  5 A at a point which is approximately midway along this bar, by placing the pin through the hole at this point in the bar. A similar bracket  7 B is attached to the left side of the bowl by pin  10 B. This provides support for the second bar  5 B on the left side of the bowl in a similar manner to that provided by the attachment of bracket  7 A to bar  5 A on the right side of the bowl. These pins, placed through these holes, form pivots at points  10 A and  10 B which are used to allow the bar  5  to rock about these pivot points. When the pedal is depressed, the ends of the bars  5 A and  5 B near the back of the bowl are raised upward.  
         [0028]     The whole assembly is intentionally kept above the floor lever. The bolts  13 A and  13 B are placed through the ledges  1 A and  1 B on the bowl. The bracket attached to these bolts extends out over the floor because they are raised above floor level by the ledges. The ledge also indirectly holds the bars  5 B and  5 C above the floor, making it easy to clean under the mechanism even though it is attached to the bowl. This is not possible in some prior art devices where the foot pedal is laid on the floor and must be removed before cleaning can take place. In addition, in some prior art devices, the pedal is detachable from the mechanism, allowing it to be dislodged, removed and lost. In the present invention, the pedal  6  is permanently affixed to the bar  5  and cannot be removed.  
         [0029]     Bar  5 A extends beyond the pivot point  10 A to the end of this bar at point  9 A where it is connected to the bottom end of the right lift bar  4 A. The upper end of bar  4 A is connected to a right toilet seat bar  3 A which extends from the bar  4 A at the right side of the bowl to under the seat  2 . The toilet seat  2  in  FIGS. 1 and 2  has been broken away to show the positions of the first and second seat bars  3 A and  3 B, respectively. The system may be made more economically by operating with only one lift bar and one seat bar and by applying a lifting force to only one side of the seat.  
         [0030]     In the operation of a preferred embodiment of this system, both sides are lifted and this occurs when pedal  6  is depressed causing the bars  5 A and  5 B to pivot about points  10 A and  10 B which cause the lift bar  4 A and  4 B to be raise upwards, forcing the right and left seat bars  3 A and  3 B to lift the toilet seat by applying a lifting force to the seat from opposite sides of the bowl. This lifting action on both sides eliminates the stress that is placed on the hinges of prior art devices where only one side is lifted. Also, less pressure is placed against each side of the seat, thereby reducing the stress on the seating and aiding in the preservation of the finish on the seat.  
         [0031]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged partial side view of the left lift bar  4 B in an embodiment which includes a pivoting junction at point  8 B where the lift bar  4 B joins the seat bar  3 B. A pivot pin  15  passes through a hole at the end of the lift rod  4 B and is attached to seat bar  3 B, as can be seen in  FIG. 4 . This permits the seat bar to roll on the bottom of the seat as it lifts the seat to reduce damage to the finish of the seat. The right side lift bar  4 A and the right side seat bar  3 A have an identical arrangement. It is possible in a simplified alternate configuration to have a non-rolling seat bar, but some wear can be expected on the underside of the seat with this arrangement.  
         [0032]      FIG. 5  is a side view of a second embodiment of the junction between left lift bar  4 B and seat bar  3 B in which bar  3 B is merely a continuation of bar  4 B. To reduce the rubbing of the seat bar  3 B against the seat, a roller  17  is installed to roll about seat bar  17 . A second roller is installed on the right side on bar  3 A to accomplish the same task as roller  17  does on the left side.  FIG. 6  is a front elevation view of the embodiments shown in  FIG. 5 , illustrating the continuous nature of bars  4 B and  3 B and the location of roller  17 .  
         [0033]      FIG. 7  is a top view of the present invention showing an embodiment in which the left and right seat bars are connected together by bar  19  which rolls downward with respect to the seat as the seat is lifted because of the pivots at  8 A and  8 B, shown in  FIG. 3 . The action prevents interference between the seat and the seat bars at the connection  19  between these bars during the lifting of the seat.  
         [0034]      FIG. 8  is a front elevation of the invention showing the seat bars  3 A and  3 B in their elevated position in a third embodiment where the seat bars are captured by seat brackets  21  and  22  which are attached to the underside of the toilet seat on the left and right sides, respectively, to cause the seat  20  to be closed when the pedal is released.  
         [0035]      FIG. 9  is a side view of the seat bars when captured by the seat brackets  21  and  22  which extend over the seat bars and are open at their bottom end. These seat brackets are attached to the seat at their upper ends by screws or other suitable fasteners. This facilitates capturing the seat bars. However, in an alternate configuration, the seat bars may be captured by brackets that are closed by merely unscrewing the brackets from the seat. The seat brackets are spaced away from the seat bar sufficiently to permit the bars to move up and down against the seat. However, when the pedal is released and moved upward, the seat bars roll down and apply sufficient pressure against the seat bracket to cause the seat to close. Usually there will be enough contact and friction between the seat bars and the seat brackets to cause closure of the seat, but if there is not, the lower end of the brackets may be closed to cause seat closure as the seat bars are dropped  
         [0036]      FIG. 10  is an enlarged view of the right pedal bar  5 A in a forth embodiment which includes a spring  3 B to close the toilet seat when no pressure is applied to the pedal. The spring is connected between the bracket  7 A and the right pedal bar. The spring is biased to force the pedal upwards which tends to close the seat. When pressure is applied to the pedal, it overcomes the spring pressure and the pedal may be fully depressed to cause the seat to be raised. When pressure is removed, the spring returns the pedal to its original upward position, lowering the seat to its closed position on the bowl.  
         [0037]     In an alternate configuration to that described immediately above, the seat may be closed by not raising it to a fully vertical position at any time. This can be done in a several ways including the placement of the seat brackets or the shortening of the length of the lift bars. When pressure on the pedal is release, the weight of the seat causes it to be lowered onto the bowl automatically.