Patent Publication Number: US-2006016000-A1

Title: Illuminating device for a toilet bowl and method therefor

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      This invention relates to lighting and, more specifically, to an illuminating device which is positioned under the rim of a toilet bowl so as to not be seen and illuminates the toilet bowl when activated.  
      2. Description of the Prior Art  
      In general, it is fairly difficult for one to use the bathroom at night. This is due to the fact that it is generally quiet difficult for one to see the toilet in the dark. Since it is fairly difficult to see the toilet at night, many women fail to see that the toilet seat on the toilet is in an upright position. Thus, many women have fallen into the toilet while using it at night.  
      Because of the above problem, many people use night lights in the bathroom in order to see. However, many people do not like to use night lights. Some night lights tend to be a little too bright and keep people up. Other night lights may be too dim to actually help one see the toilet. Furthermore, many outlets are located too far away from the toilet. Thus, a night light would not be positioned close enough to the toilet to illuminate the toilet.  
      Therefore, there is a need to provide an improved lighting device. The improved lighting device must over overcome the problems associated with prior art devices. The improved device must be easy to install and inexpensive to build.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved lighting device.  
      It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved lighting device that overcomes the problems associated with the prior art.  
      It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved lighting device that easy to install and inexpensive to build.  
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
      In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention a device for illuminating the interior of a toilet bowl is disclosed. The device has a lighting circuit. A switch is coupled to the lighting circuit. The switch will activate the lighting circuit when a toilet lid is raised and deactivate the lighting circuit when the toilet lid is lowered. A cover is provided for protecting the lighting circuit from water and other elements and transferring light from the lighting circuit to illuminate the toilet bowl. The cover is coupled underneath a toilet rim of the toilet bowl.  
      In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention a device for illuminating the interior of a toilet bowl has a lighting circuit. The lighting circuit comprises: a light bulb; a power supply; and wiring for coupling the light bulb to the power supply. A switch is coupled to the wiring. The switch will activate the lighting circuit when a toilet lid is raised and deactivate the lighting circuit when the toilet lid is lowered. The switch comprises: a first contact coupled to the lighting circuit and to a back rear section of a toilet lid; and a second contact coupled to a top rear section of a toilet rim. A cover is provided for protecting the lighting circuit and transferring light from the lighting circuit to illuminate the toilet bowl. The cover is coupled underneath a toilet rim of the toilet bowl.  
      The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular, description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, as well as a preferred mode of use, and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of illustrated embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.  
       FIG. 1  is an elevated perspective view of one embodiment of the toilet light of the present invention installed on a pre-existing toilet with the toilet lid in a closed position.  
       FIG. 1A  is an elevated perspective view of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 1  with the toilet lid and toilet seat in a raised position.  
       FIG. 1B  is an elevated close-up view of one embodiment of the toilet light of the present invention built into a new toilet.  
       FIG. 1C  is an elevated close-up view of another embodiment of the toilet light of the present invention built into a new toilet.  
       FIG. 2  is an elevated perspective view of one embodiment of the toilet light of the present invention uninstalled.  
       FIG. 2A  is an elevated perspective view of another embodiment of the toilet light of the present invention uninstalled.  
       FIG. 3  is an elevated perspective view of another embodiment of the toilet light of the present invention.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      Referring to the Figures, wherein like numerals and symbols represent like elements, a toilet light  10  of the present invention is shown. The toilet light  10  is designed to be installed on a standard toilet  100  having a bowl area  102  and a tank  104 . The bowl area  102  will have a rim  106 . The present invention is generally installed under the rim  106  of the bowl area  102  so as to not be seen.  
      The toilet light  10  is comprised of a bulb  12 , a lighting circuit  14 , a cover  16 , and a switching circuit  18 . The bulb  12  is a low wattage bulb which will illuminate the interior of the bowl area  102 . Any type of bulb may be used. For example, the bulb  12  may be a filament bulb, a fluorescent bulb, a halogen bulb, an LED, or the like. The listing of the above should not be seen as to limit the scope of the present invention.  
      The bulb  12  is coupled to the lighting circuit  14 . The lighting circuit  14  is used to supply power to the bulb  14  to illuminate the bulb  14 . The lighting circuit  14  is comprised of wiring circuit  14   a  and a power supply  14   b . The wiring circuit  14   a  is generally electrical wiring which is used to coupled the bulb  12  to the power supply  14   b . In one embodiment of the present invention, a socket  14   c  may be used to couple the bulb  12  to the wiring circuit  14   a . The socket  14   c  may be a standard socket which has a plurality of threads. The threads are used to rotatably couple the bulb  12  to the socket  14   c . The socket  14   c  may further be a quick connect socket wherein the bulb  12  is slid into the socket  14   c  and pressure couples the bulb  12  to the socket  14   c . It should be noted that the socket  14   c  does not have to be used. The bulb  12  may be coupled directly to the power supply  14   b  via the wiring circuit  14   a.    
      If the toilet light  10  is installed after the toilet  100  has been installed, the wiring circuit  14   a  will generally run on the exterior of the bowl area  102  on top of the rim  106  as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 1 A. If the toilet light  10  is installed during construction of the toilet  100 , the wiring circuit  14   a  will generally run through the bowl area  102  as shown in  FIG. 1B  and ic.  
      As stated above, the wiring circuit  14   a  couples power supply  14   b  to the bulb  12 . The power supply  14   a  may be a low voltage AC power supply  14   b ′ or a DC battery  14   b ″. If a battery  14   b ″ is used, the battery  14   b ″ is generally placed in a housing  20 . The housing  20  is generally made out of a light weight material such as plastic or the like. The housing  20  is generally used to couple the battery  14   b ″ to the wiring circuit  14   a  and to protect the battery  14   b ″ from the environment.  
      A switching circuit  18  is coupled to the lighting circuit  14 . The switching circuit  18  will allow one to activate and deactivate the toilet light  10 . In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the switching circuit  20  is a normally open magnetic switch. The magnetic switch will have a first contact  18   a  and a second contact  18   b . The first contact  18   a  is coupled to the lighting circuit  14  and to a bottom rear section of the toilet lid  108 . The second contact  18   b  is coupled to a back rear section of the rim  106  just in front of the tank  104 . When the first contact  18   a  and the second contact  18   b  are magnetically coupled togther, the lighting circuit  14  is closed thereby allowing power to flow and illuminate the bulb  12 . When the first contact  18   a  and the second contact  18   b  are separated, the lighting circuit  14  is opened and power to unable to flow and illuminate the bulb  12 .  
      A cover  16  is coupled to the bulb  12 . The cover  16  is used for two purposes. First, the cover  16  protects the bulb  12  from getting wet. Second, the cover  16  is used to transmit the light from the bulb  12 . The cover  16  is generally made of a thin plastic or fiber optic material thus helping to radiate the light from the bulb  12 . The cover  16  is further opaque to allow the light from the bulb  12  to shine through. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the covering  16  is a few inches in length. This will provide enough illumination to light the toilet bowl  102 . However, the covering  16  may extend around the entire circumference of the toilet rim  106  as shown in  FIG. 3 . The bulb  12  will illuminate the entire covering  16  thereby illuminating the entire rim  106  and toilet bowl  102  area.  
      The toilet light  10  is installed by placing an adhesive on the covering  16 . The adhesive will allow one to couple the bulb  12  and the covering  16  underneath the rim  106  of the toilet. The bulb  12  and the covering  16  are placed underneath the rim  106  so that one is generally unable to see the bulb  12  and the covering  16 .  
      The first contact  18   a  is generally coupled to back rear surface of the toilet lid  108 . Wiring is used to couple the first contact  18   a  to the lighting circuit  14 . The second contact  20   b  is coupled to a back rear section of the toilet rim  106 . When the toilet lid  108  is raised, the first contact  20   a  will be magnetically coupled to the second contact  20   b . The lighting circuit  14  is closed thereby allowing power to flow and illuminate the bulb  12 . When the toilet lid  108  is lowered, the first contact  18   a  and the second contact  18   b  will be separated. Thus, the lighting circuit  14  is opened and power is unable to flow and illuminate the bulb  12 .  
      While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.