Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority from U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/731,590 filed Oct. 28, 2005, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/553,088 filed Oct. 26, 2006. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to toilets and more particularly with a toilet seat that reduces strain and improves comfort. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Cushioned toilet seats have been known and used for many years. Cushioned toilet seats evolved from the basic hard-surfaced toilet seats in an effort to improve comfort for those individuals that require extended time moving their bowels and emptying their bladder. Additionally, both hard-surfaced and presently available cushioned toilet seats are generally unsatisfactory for use by a disabled person, in that they do not accommodate perineal cleaning that may take several hours, especially for those having spinal cord injuries which seriously limits or prevents leg movement. 
     In the current cushioned toilet seat art, the cushion material is made of polyurethane foam encapsulated in a layer of soft plastic, such as polyvinyl chloride. These cushioned toilet seats also have a stiff supporting base, on which the cushion material rests. 
     For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,248,646 to Ginsburg describes a method of making a foam filled cushioned toilet seat. As described, a foamable polyurethane resin reaction mixture is introduced into a soft plastic cover, to become the interior of the toilet seat. The resulting polyurethane foam provides for the cushioning. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,179 to Kimes describes a toilet seat for disabled persons. The described seat is elevated to raise the seating height and is shaped to provide different support points, but has a hard seat surface. Prolonged sitting on such a seat may cause discomfort, fatigue and even sores. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,370,704 to White, Jr. describes a fluid-cell toilet seat. The toilet seat described in this patent has a plurality of water cells disposed radially between its top cover and base. These radial cells provide some cushioning, but since they are not interfaced together, they do not allow a shift in liquid from a point of pressure to another area of the seat, thereby providing little advantage over foam. Furthermore, during extended sitting, the bumps created by the water cells may become uncomfortable. 
     What is needed is a toilet seat that provides improved comfort and health benefits. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In one embodiment, a toilet seat is disclosed including a core made of a solid material. The core has a top surface, a bottom surface, an outer side surface and a central aperture defining an inner side surface. Ends of a cover are attached to edges of the bottom surface of the core and a gap is formed between the outer side of the core and the cover, between the inner side of the core and the cover, and between the top surface of the core and the cover. Gel fills the gap, maintaining the shape of the cover at rest. As the gel displaces under pressure at one location, moving into the gap at another location, thereby increasing pressure exerted on the cover in that location. 
     In another embodiment, a toilet seat is disclosed including a core made of a solid material. The core has a top surface, a bottom surface, an outer side surface and a central aperture defining an inner side surface. Ends of a cover are attached to edges of the bottom surface of the core to form a gap between the outer side of the core and the cover, between the inner side of the core and the cover, and between the top surface of the core and the cover. The gap is filled with gel, maintaining the shape of the cover at rest. An outer edge of the toilet seat substantially forms an outer shape with a flattened tank-facing edge (the edge closest to the tank when the toilet seat is mounted to a toilet), two flattened side edges opposing each other, and an arced front edge, the arced front edge opposing the flattened tank-facing edge. 
     In another embodiment, a toilet seat is disclosed including a core made of a solid material and sized to fit on a toilet, the core has a top surface, a bottom surface, an outer side surface and a central aperture. The central aperture defines an inner side surface of the core. The toilet seat includes gel covering the top surface of the core, covering the outer side of the core and covering the inner side of the core with a cover that covers the gel. Ends of the cover are attached to edges of the bottom surface of the core. The gel maintains the shape of the cover at rest. An outer edge of the toilet seat substantially forms an outer shape with a flattened tank-facing edge, two flattened side edges opposing each other, and an arced front edge, the arced front edge opposing the flattened tank-facing edge. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention can be best understood by those having ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a top view of the prior art. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a cross-sectional view along line  2 - 2  of the prior art. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a top view of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a cross-sectional view along line  4 - 4  of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a cross-sectional view along line  5 - 5  of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Throughout the following detailed description, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements in all figures. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a top view of a toilet seat of the prior art is shown. Many toilet seats of the prior art are shaped as the seat  10 , though some are more oblong and some have a void towards the front (somewhat of an inverted “U”). Most seats of the prior art are hinged and fasten by a standard arrangement using two bolts (not shown) passing through the end fittings  16  of the hinges. Generally, toilet seats of the prior art have a centrally located aperture  18  and a seat area  12 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a cross-sectional view along line  2 - 2  of a toilet seat of the prior art is shown. Although many toilet seats  10  of the prior art consist of a solid seat member, though some toilet seats  10  of the prior art include a solid base  14  and a vinyl or plastic cover  15  and are filled with a foam  11  such as polyurethane foam between the solid base  14  and the plastic cover  15 . Such foam  11  provides a small amount of cushioning but does not provide enough of a cushion for long periods of use. Also shown is a standoff  13  that holds the toilet seat  10  a small distance above the toilet bowl (not shown). 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a top view and cross sectional view of the present invention is shown. In some embodiments, the toilet seat  20  of the present invention is shaped as shown in  FIG. 3 . In this, the tank-facing edge  59  is substantially flat and the inside tank-facing edge  51  is also substantially flat, as shown. In some embodiments the tank facing edge  59  has hinges  27  and fastens by a standard arrangement using two bolts (not shown) passing through the end fittings  28  of the hinges. The toilet seat  20  has a centrally located aperture  29  and a cover  22 . The centrally located aperture  29  is open sufficiently to pass waste into a toilet bowl. 
     In the example shown, the outer side edges  57  are flattened and the inside side edges are slightly curved, while the front edge  61  (opposing the tank-facing edge) and inside front edge  55  are shaped as an arc. 
     In the cross section shown in  FIG. 4 , the cover  22  of the toilet seat  20  is attached to a core  24  at outer bottom edges of the core  24 , creating a gap which is filled with gel  21 / 25 . As shown, the cover  22  of the toilet seat  20  is attached to a core  24  at attach points  35 , for example, using fasteners, staples, adhesive, etc. The core  24  is made of a solid material. 
     There are many materials anticipated for filling the core  24 , all suitable for comfort and medical cushioning of humans. The preferred gel  21 / 25  has the consistency of fatty tissue. It can “slide” and move laterally, so they are effective in balancing and shifting forces. Examples of the gel  21 / 25  include, for example, polyurethane gels, polyurethane elastomeric gels, elastomeric gels, silicone gels, silicone dielectric gels, neoprene impregnated with nitrogen bubbles, etc or any combination of the like. One such gel  21 / 25  is Gelastic™ as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,994,450 to Pearce issued Nov. 30, 1999, which is hereby incorporated by reference. This material is an oil-extended tri-block copolymer elastomeric gel. The gel  21 / 25  is anticipated to be formed by extrusion, casting, or injection molding. Because the softness is controlled by oil content, the gel  21 / 25  is made in a wide range of hardness/softness and is very strong and durable. 
     Another anticipated solid gel  21 / 25  is Intelli-Gel™ described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,527 to Pearce issued Feb. 22, 2000 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,111 to Pearce issued May 12, 1998, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     Gel  21  is positioned between the cover  22  at the top surface of the toilet seat  20  (e.g. the portion of the cover  22  that contacts the user&#39;s buttocks) and the core  24 . In operation, as a person sits on the toilet seat  20 , more force is exerted at locations of the person&#39;s buttocks that are bony (e.g., pelvic areas). In contrast to seats of the prior art which simply deform in those bony areas, instead, as the gel  25  is displaced from the force of the bony areas, increase pressure is exerted on other areas of the seat  20 , for example, areas of the cover  20  that hold soft tissue, thereby increasing the pressure exerted back by the toilet seat  20  in areas supporting soft tissue, providing enhanced comfort to the person using the toilet seat  20 . 
     Gel  25  is positioned between the inner edges  51 / 53 / 55  of the cover  22  and the core  24  and between the outer edges  57 / 59 / 61  of the cover  22  and the core  24 , providing extra cushioning for any part of the human body that may overlap the inner edges  51 / 53 / 55  or the outer edges  57 / 59 / 61 . This provides similar comfort to any part of the user&#39;s buttocks that laps over the inner edges  51 / 53 / 55  and the outer edges  57 / 59 / 61 . 
     In some embodiments, a standoff  23  is affixed to the bottom of the toilet seat  20  and is intended to rest on the toilet bowl (not shown) to raise the toilet seat  20  from the toilet bowl. In some embodiments, the upper corners  30  of the core  24  are rounded for improved comfort. 
     The top cover  22  is made of a durable, flexible, soft material such as vinyl, woven cloth, leather, synthetic leather, rubber, plastic film or the like. For medical use, especially in situations where the patient remains on the seat  20  for extended periods of time, the top cover  22  is made of a material that has antibacterial properties. One example of an antibacterial cloth can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,815,379 to Nomura, issued Nov. 9, 2004. This patent describes a cloth comprising glass which is generally a soluble glass and a gold component is contained in a glass composition, thereby reducing bacterial growth. Other known antibacterial cloths include silver threads to reduce bacterial growth. 
     Another example of an antimicrobial fabric is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,979,491 to Yan, et al., issued Dec. 27, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference. The described fabric produces an antimicrobial and antifungal effect by the use of nanosilver particles that adhere to the fabric. 
     In another embodiment of the present invention, a neoprene material such as G231 is used for the top cover  22 , which is a closed cellular product made from neoprene, typically used for scuba diving wetsuits. This type of material allows some gases to permeate the top cover  22 , while preventing moisture from collecting, thereby reducing bacterial growth. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , a cross-sectional view along line  5 - 5  of the present invention is shown.  FIG. 5  shows a complete cross-section of the toilet seat  20  of the present invention. 
     Equivalent elements can be substituted for the ones set forth above such that they perform in substantially the same manner in substantially the same way for achieving substantially the same result. 
     It is believed that the system and method of the present invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood by the foregoing description. It is also believed that it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the components thereof without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention or without sacrificing all of its material advantages. The form herein before described being merely exemplary and explanatory embodiment thereof. It is the intention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes.

Technology Category: 1