Patent ID: 7137154

Claim:
A toilet seat assembly comprising (i) a seat portion that is adapted to be mounted atop a toilet basin for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis to enable the seat portion to be moved between an operative position atop the basin and a non-operative position spaced from the basin, (ii) a lid portion that is pivotally mounted on the seat portion for movement about the same horizontal axis to enable the lid to be moved between an operative position overlying the seat, and a non-operative position spaced from the seat, and (iii) apparatus for facilitating the manual movement of either said lid portion alone, or said lid and seat portions together, about said horizontal axis, said apparatus comprising: (a) a stem member adapted to pass through a pre-formed opening in said lid member so as to be movable within said pre-formed opening of said lid portion; (b) a manually-engagable handle connected to one end of said stem member, said handle being positioned on one side of the lid portion when said stem member has been passed through said preformed opening; and (c) a seat-latching member radially-extending from said stem member at a location axially spaced from said one end of said stem, said seat-latching member being located (i) on the opposite side of said lid member from said handle when said stem member has been passed through said preformed opening and (ii) in a position to selectively engage and retain said seat portion in a fixed relationship with respect to said lid portion when said stem member is manually moved within said preformed opening, in response to a corresponding manual movement of said handle, in a direction to advance said latch member from a first position spaced from said seat portion to a second position engaging said seat portion, whereby the application of an axial force on said stem member while said latch member is in its first position will result in movement of said lid portion only from its operative position towards its non-operative position, and the application of an axial force on said stem member while said latch member is in its second poison will result in movement of both said lid portion and said seat portion from their respective operative positions towards their respective non-operative positions.