Patent Publication Number: US-3874008-A

Title: Water closet seats and covers therefor

Description:
United States Patent 11 1 Warnberg 1451 Apr. 1, 1975 1 1 WATER CLOSET SEATS AND COVERS THEREFOR [76] Inventor: Archie E. Warnberg, 3600 NW.  
 43rd St., Oklahoma City, Okla. 731 12 22 Filed: Jan. 2, 1974 211 Appl. No.: 430,061  
 Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 97,939, April 15. 1971, abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 77,103, Oct. 1, 1970, abandoned.  
 [52] U.S. Cl. 4/234, 4/242 [51] Int. Cl.. A47k 13/00, A47k 13/14, A47k 13/02 [58] Field of Search 4/242, 245, 234, 243, 244,  
 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 972,269 10/1910 Slough 4/245 1,070,575 8/1913 Batson 4/245 2,286,632 6/1942 Manville 4/242 2,994,887 8/1961 Thornton 4/242 3,102,276 9/1963 Warnberg 4/242 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 364,578 4/1931 United Kingdom 4/242 525.797 6/1956 Canada 4/242 Primary Examinerl-Ienry K. Artis Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Laney, Dougherty, Hessin &amp; Fish [57] ABSTRACT 10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures WATER CLOSET SEATS AND COVERS THEREFOR RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of my patent application Ser. No. 97,939 filed Apr. 15, 1971, now abandoned, which application is a continuation-inpart of my patent application Ser. No. 77,103, filed Oct. 1, I970, now abandoned and entitled Water Closet Seats and Covers Therefor.  
 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to water closet constructions, and more particularly, to the toilet seats used in water closet constructions, and to the manner of attachment or securement of flexible covers to such seats.  
 2. Brief Description of the Prior Art Various proposals have been made in the past for covering the wooden or plastic toilet seats of water closets with a flexible material to improve the aesthetics of the water closet assembly, and to improve the comfort of one sitting upon the seat. In general, the flexible covers which have been provided are attached to the seat by means of some type of expansible, relatively resilient stiffening member located in a hem, or otherwise secured around the inner edge of the seat, and a flexible or elastic member such as a drawstring or band of elastic disposed in a hem, or otherwise secured. around the outer peripheral edge of the seat. The cover is placed in position on the seat by first slightly compressing the expansible wire or other relatively rigid member sufficiently to permit it to be passed through the opening in the seat, and then permitting the wire to expand so as to force the inner peripheral edge of the cover outwardly beneath the lower surface of the seat. The remainder of the cover is then stretched across the top of the seat so that the elastic band or flexible drawstring or the like can be drawn, or will contract, to a position inwardly from the outer peripheral edge of the seat and adjacent the lower surface thereof. In this manner, the portion of the cover which covers the upper surface of the seat is stretched taut and provides an aesthetic appearance. Often the type of hinge structures which are used for securing the seat to the bowl of the water closets prevent the fabric cover from being pulled taut across the back side of the seat and a portion of the seat is left exposed in an unsightly manner.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention provides an improved water closet seat and cover combination in which the flexible cover can be attached to the seat quickly and easily without the necessity for including a wire band or other relatively rigid member at the inner periphery of the cover, or an elastic band or drawstring at the outer periphery. Broadly described, the present invention includes a seat having a plurality of downwardly extending anchor members projecting from the lower side thereof and constituting anchor points for the peripheral edges of the flexible cover to be mounted on the seat. The flexible cover carries eyelets or apertures suitable for engaging the downwardly projecting anchor members secured to the seat. The outer peripheral edge of the flexible cover is slotted to pass hinge arms secured to the lower side of the seat, so that the cover can be drawn taut over the entire upper surface of the seat, and thus provide a neat and aesthetic appearance.  
  An object of the invention is to provide a seat, hinge and cover combination for use in water closet constructions in which the cover is quickly detachable from the seat and may be quickly positioned thereon.  
  A further object of the invention is to provide an improved method for mounting a flexible, aesthetic cover on the rigid toilet seat used in water closet constructions so that the inclusion of an annular stiffening ring secured to the inner periphery of the flexible cover is eliminated.  
  A further object of the invention is to provide a flexible cover for detachably mounting on the seats of water closets so that the cover may be quickly detached from the seat and need not include any metallic or rigid portions constituting a potential problem during the laundering of the cover.  
  An additional object of the invention is to provide a water closet seat carrying cover anchoring devices on the lower side thereof and hinged to a water closet bowl in such a way that a fabric cover can be quickly and aesthetically placed on the seat so as to smoothly and evenly cover the entire upper side of the seat.  
  Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following detailed description of the invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a major portion of a water closet showing a seat thereon constructed in accordance with the present invention, with anchoring devices projecting from the lower side of the seat, and showing a fabric cover mounted on the seat and covering the upper side thereof.  
  FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.  
  FIG. 3 is a bottomplan view of the seat utilized in a water closet constructed in accordance with the present invention.  
  FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 3.  
  FIG. 5 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 4, but showing a modified embodiment of the present invention.  
  FIG. 6 is a view of the expanded cover used in a water closet assembly of the present invention.  
 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Referring initially to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the water closet shown therein includes a bowl 10 which has, characteristically, an upper side, a front and a rear. The bowl 10 has a seat assembly, designated generally by reference numeral 12, and a lid 14, mounted thereon by means of a hinge structure designated generally by reference numeral 16. The water closet further includes a water tank 18 which is mounted on the rear portion of the bowl 10.  
  The seat assembly 12 of the water closet, which is constructed in accordance with the present invention, includes an annular or oval shaped rigid seat 22 which may be constructed, most conveniently, of wood or plastic. The seat 22 carries on the substantially planar lower side thereof, a plurality of downwardly extending anchoring devices which, in the illustrated embodiment, are pins 24 having sharpened ends extended into the central portion of the lower side of the seat, and having heads 26 of rounded configuration. A plurality of the pins 24 are spaced horizontally from each other around the seat on the lower side thereof. and support the seat 22 on, and space it from, the bowl 10.  
  Mounted on the seat 22 is a flexible, annular cover 30 which may be a stretchable fabric material, or other aesthetic flexible material. The cover 30 can also be constructed of a tough, high tensile strength paper, or of a synthetic resin, such as where disposability is a desideratum, as in hospitals and health facilities. The flexible cover 30 is, it will be noted, extended across the upper surface of the seat, and has peripheral edges 30a and 30b which are extended around the inner and outer peripheral edges of the seat, and are overlapped in the center of the lower surface of the seat,  
  lt will be noted in referring to the drawings that the pins 24 having rounded heads 26 function to anchor the flexible cover 30 to the seat 22, and enable it to be stretched tautly over the upper side of the seat and around the edges thereof. A plurality of grommets or eyes 36 are formed at spaced intervals around the peripheral edges of the cover 30 and are related so that each grommet or eye adjacent the inner peripheral edge 30a of the cover registers with a grommet or eye adjacent the outer peripheral edge 30b of the cover when the cover is placed in a position with its peripheral edges overlapped and anchored by means of the pins 24.  
  For the purpose of pivotally mounting the seat 22 on the bowl 10, the hinge structure 16 includes a portion 40 which is secured to the bowl in a conventional fashion, and also includes a pair of arms 42 secured to the lid 14 to mount the lid pivotally on the bowl. A second pair of arms 44 is secured to the seat 22 to enable the seat to pivot on the bowl 10. The arms 44 are spaced horizontally from each other, and it will be noted in referring to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 that these arms each project beneath the lower side of the seat 22 and are secured to this side of the seat by screws or other suitable means (not shown). It will further be noted in referring to H6. 4 that the back side or rear periphery of the seat 22 is not obstructed by the hinge structure 16, and that the hinge arms 44 do not interfere with that portion of the cover which extends across the back side or rear periphery of the seat.  
  In order to assure that the flexible cover will be drawn tautly across the upper side of the seat, and will be firmly and securely fastened beneath the seat, that portion of the outer peripheral edge 30b of the cover 30 which projects down along the back side of the seat and underneath the seat at this location is provided with a pair of slots 48 and 50 projecting from the outer peripheral edge thereof inwardly in the cover, and positioned to receive the two arms 44 of the hinge structure 16. Thus, the cover does not become bunched, piled or wrinkled around the hinge arms 44, but instead the hinge arms fit evenly and without interference in the slots 48 and 50. To further assure that the cover fits evenly and smoothly on the seat 22, a pair of the pins 24 are provided on the opposite sides of each of the two arms 44 of the hinge structure 16 so that anchor points for both the inner, and particularly the outer, peripheral edges of the cover 22, exist in immediate proximity to the slots 48 and 50 in the outer peripheral edge of the cover. This is best illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4.  
 Lil  
  A slightly different embodiment of the hinge structure used to mount the seat 22 on the bowl 10 is illustrated in FIG, 5 of the drawings, Here the hinge arms, designated by reference numeral 52, are stepped or angulated so that each hinge arm 52 includes a first horizontally extending portion 52a connected to the pivot pin 54 of the hinge structure and a second horizontally extending portion 52b secured to the lower side of the annular seat 22. The step thus provided enables a space to be defined between the portion 52a of the hinge arms and the lower side of the seat. This space can receive a portion of the flexible cover 30 passed beneath the seat 22 and immediately adjacent the slots 48 and 50 formed in the flexible cover. In other respects, the flexible cover 30 and the manner in which it is secured to the seat 22 by means of the pins 24 are substantially identical to the embodiment of the invention depicted in FIGS. l-4.  
  The present invention permits the flexible covers 30 to be quickly positioned on the annular seat 22 without the need for the inclusion of rigid stiffening members or wires provided in a hem at the inner peripheral edge of the covers, and with no need for an elastic band or drawstring to be provided at the outer peripheral edge of the covers. The eyelets or grommets in the edges of the cover 30 can be snapped very quickly and easily over the pins spaced around, and firmly driven or screwed into, the lower side of the annular seat 22, and in attaching the cover in this way, the upper portion of the cover is drawn tautly across the upper side of the annular seat 22. The cover thus is wrinklefree and is very aesthetic in appearance. Moreover, by reason of the hinge structures described, in cooperation with the placement of the pins or anchor devices on the lower side of the seat, the rear edge portion of the seat 22 is completely covered, and the aesthetics of a flexible covering is thus extended to this area of the seat.  
  Although certain preferred embodiments of the invention have been herein described in order to enable the basic principles underlying the invention to be well understood by those skilled in the art, it will be perceived that various changes and innovations can be effected in the described structure without departure from these principles. Changes and innovations of this type are therefore deemed to be circumscribed by the spirit and scope of the invention except as the same may be necessarily limited by the appended claims or reasonable equivalents thereof.  
 What is claimed is:  
 1. A water closet assembly comprising:  
 a bowl having an upper side, a front and a rear;  
 a seat mounted on the upper side of said bowl and having a substantially planar lower side and a back side;  
 a hinge structure pivotally connecting said seat to said bowl for pivotation about a horizontal axis, said hinge structure including:  
 a first portion secured to the upper side of the bowl at the rear thereof; and  
 a pair of arms projecting from said first portion and secured to the lower side of the seat;  
 a plurality of anchoring devices projecting downwardly from the lower side of said seat and horizontally spaced from each other around said seat; at least two of said anchoring devices supporting the seat on and spacing it from the bowl in one position of the seat; and  
 a flexible annular cover including an inner peripheral edge and an outer peripheral edge each secured to said anchoring devices and further including a portion between said inner and outer peripheral edges stretched tautly across the upper side of said seat and extending at least to the planar lower side of said seat, said cover having a pair of spaced slots extending thereinto from the outer peripheral edge thereof toward the inner peripheral edge and each receiving a part of one of said arms where the respective arm is attached to the lower side of said seat.  
  2. A water closet assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said anchoring devices is a pin having a rounded head spaced downwardly from the planar lower side of said seat.  
  3. A water closet assembly as defined in claim 1 and further characterized as including a plurality of grommets positioned adjacent said inner peripheral edge and adjacent said outer peripheral edge and extending over and engaging said anchoring devices.  
  4. A water closet device as defined in claim 1 and further characterized in having pairs of anchoring devices positioned on the lower side of said seat adjacent each of the arms of said hinge structure and engaging at least the outer peripheral edge of said cover at points adjacent said slots.  
  5. A water closet assembly as defined in claim 2 and further characterized as including a plurality of grommets positioned adjacent said inner peripheral edge and adjacent said outer peripheral edge and passed over and engaging said pins.  
  6. A water closet assembly as defined in claim 5 wherein said pins are disposed centrally in the lower side of said seat, and each of said pins has one of the grommets adjacent said inner peripheral edge passed thereover and one of the grommets adjacent said outer peripheral edge passed thereover.  
 7. A water closet assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said arms is angulated intermediate its length and includes:  
 a first horizontally extending portion spaced from the lower side of said seat; and  
 a second horizontally extending portion secured to the lower side of said seat,  
 said cover extending into the space between the first portion of each of said arms and the lower side of said seat.  
  8. A water closet assembly as defined in claim 7 when each of said anchoring devices is a pin, and two of said pins are positioned on opposite sides of said second portion of said arm.  
  9. A water closet assembly as defined in claim 6 and further characterized in having pairs of anchoring devices positioned on the lower side of said seat adjacent each of said arms of said hinge structure and engaging grommets positioned adjacent each of the slots in said cover.  
  10. A water closet assembly as defined in claim 9 wherein each of said arms is angulated intermediate its length and includes:  
 a first horizontally extending portion spaced from the lower side of said seat; and  
 a second horizontally extending portion secured to the lower side of said seat,  
 said cover extending into the space between the first portion of each of said arms and the lower side of said seat.