Patent Publication Number: US-5524295-A

Title: Toilet seat adapter for children

Description:
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to toilet seats for children and more particularly to a toilet seat adapter that is portable and that can be easily attached to any standard toilet seat to enable small children to use a standard size toilet. 
     Several children&#39;s toilet seats are known in the prior art. Exemplary of such seats are those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,867,674, 2,127,020, and 2,940,086. U.S. Pat. No. 1,867,674 to Candless describes a child&#39;s toilet seat involving moving parts that hook at points along the inner periphery of the opening in an ordinary toilet seat. U.S. Pat. No. 2,127,020 to Carlson describes a cumbersome infant trainer that includes hooks for engaging the inner periphery of the opening in a standard toilet seat and a member that engages the inner surface of the toilet bowl itself. U.S. Pat. No. 2,940,086 to Wondrack describes yet another bulky infant&#39;s toilet seat of the type that includes a rubber or flexible plastic sheath that is attached over the outer surface of the toilet bowl to thereby secure the infant&#39;s seat in the desired position atop the ordinary toilet. 
     It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide a simplified, inexpensive toilet seat adapter for children that is easily transported, that has no moving parts, and that may be quickly and easily attached to and removed from any standard toilet seat. 
     This and other incidental objects are accomplished in accordance with the illustrated preferred embodiment of the present invention by providing a unitized structure having a flat seat member having a central opening therein and a handgrip adjacent each side edge thereof together with a footrest extending downwardly and forwardly from a front edge of the seat member, the seat member having a pair of attachment flanges, each of which is formed to extend downwardly and inwardly from a side edge of the seat member, the attachment flanges adapted to slide over and retain opposite side edges of the seat of a standard adult toilet. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an overall pictorial diagram illustrating the child&#39;s toilet seat adapter of the present invention as it is positioned on a standard adult toilet. 
     FIG. 2 is a pictorial diagram illustrating the way in which the child&#39;s toilet seat adapter of FIG. 1 is positioned in preparation for attachment to a standard toilet. 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional diagram taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 1 illustrating the way in which the child&#39;s toilet seat adapter attaches to the standard toilet. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a child&#39;s toilet seat adapter 10, constructed in accordance with the present invention, as it is positioned for use on a standard adult toilet 20. Toilet seat adapter 10 is preferably fabricated as a unitized structure that may comprise a plastic molded material, for example. Toilet seat adapter 10 includes a flat seat member 12 having a central opening 14 therein. Handgrips 16 are provided adjacent each side edge of seat member 12. A footrest member 18 extends downwardly and forwardly from a front edge of seat member 12. As illustrated in the detailed cross-sectional diagram of FIG. 3, seat member 12 is formed to include a pair of attachment flanges 22, each of which is formed to extend downwardly and inwardly from the side edges of seat member 12. 
     In preparation for use of the child&#39;s seat adapter 10, it is simply slid over a toilet seat 24 of standard toilet 20, as illustrated in FIG. 2, to the installed position illustrated in FIG. 1. When installed, the attachment flanges 22 of seat adapter 10 rest on the upper peripheral surface of a porcelain bowl 26 of standard toilet 20, while the side edges of toilet seat 24 are retained within the attachment flanges 22, as illustrated in FIG. 3. The child&#39;s seat adapter 10 may be quickly and easily removed from standard toilet 20 by simply sliding it off toilet seat 24.