US20130036540A1

US20130036540A1 - Toilet Seat/Lid Lifting And Lowering Implement

Info

Publication number: US20130036540A1
Application number: US13/205,677
Authority: US
Inventors: Curtis M. Alexenko
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-08-09
Filing date: 2011-08-09
Publication date: 2013-02-14

Abstract

The present invention related to a device designed for the manual lifting and lowering of a toilet seat and/or lid without having to make contact of said toilet seat and/or lid with human hands. The device is designed to quickly and effortlessly accomplish these tasks. The device comprises an upper bill or jaw and a lower plate. The upper jaw has a unique shape of a duckbill that provides gripping tension on the top of the toilet seat and/or lid. The lower plate or spatula is slightly beveled on its three sides and is 0.125 inch in thickness to enable slipping under toilet seats which have minimal clearance between the toilet bowl rim. The device further includes an ergonomic handle grip, which is crucial to comfortable and safe usage of the tool.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a toilet seat handle and more particularly to an ergonomic sanitary handle for use in lifting and lowering a toilet seat and/or lid to minimize the contact by a user of unsanitary surfaces of such toilet seat.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of a device for manually lifting and lowering a toilet seat is known in the prior art. More specifically, by way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,601 to Hermann, provides a device that is fixed to the toilet seat preferably via screws or double sided tape. U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,519 issued to Cusenza relates to a toilet seat handle comprising a tubular, flexible lifting handle received within a bore on the toilet seat. U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,324 to Lirette discloses a toilet seat and/or lid lifter comprising a pivotally supported handle mounted on the toilet seat. U.S. Pat. No. 3,191,193 to Bogenberger provides a toilet seat attachment comprising a handle and a deodorant. U.S. Pat. No. 2,236,576 to Loebner presents a toilet seat handle rotatably mounted on a toilet seat. U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,569 issued to Ferrara discloses a device comprising a handle in a housing that is attached to a toilet seat. U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,523 to De Mott et al. discloses a sanitary attachment mounted to a toilet seat including a removable handle portion, and a deodorizer portion, both being received in a bracket mounted to the toilet seat. U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,267 to Davis relates to a flat plate attached to the toilet seat. U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,258 issued to Derouin discloses a handle grip pivotally attached to the support bracket which is coupled to the underside of a conventional toilet seat.
The aforementioned devices have several common drawbacks. Once these devices are permanently affixed to the toilet seat, because they are close to the toilet, they are likely to be soiled or have bacteria and germs thereon in the same way that the toilet gets contaminated. Moreover, these devices extending outward from the toilet may present a potential environmental hazard. Therefore, a sanitary device used to lift and lower toilet seat and/or lid with lower opportunity to get contaminated or present environmental hazard is desired.
Another type of the device known in the art is not permanently affixed to the toilet. More specifically, by way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,163,894 discloses a clip-on handle arrangement that may be clipped onto toilet seat to assist a user in raising and lowering the toilet seat. The clip portion is arranged to have a clamping arrangement that may be operated by a user and moved into an open position, and when released by the user is biased to a closed position for suitably clipping onto the toilet seat. This device suffers from the complexity to maneuver. A simplified and ergonomic version of the toilet seat handle without clamping arrangement is desirable.
As a result, there still exists a need for a simple and ergonomic version of a sanitary device that is not permanently affixed to the toilet seat, easy to grasp and use in lifting and lowering a toilet seat and/or lid, and simple and economically efficient to manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary device for lifting and lowering a toilet seat and/or lid that is not permanently affixed to the toilet seat so that the opportunity to get contaminated is reduced.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary device for lifting and lowering a toilet seat and/or lid that is easy and ergonomic to grasp and use so that the user can quickly raise and lower the toilet seat and/or lid.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary device for lifting and lowering a toilet seat and/or lid that is simple to manufacture so that the device is cost efficient and thus is easier to get wide spread acceptance by the consumer.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is disclosed a device designed for the manual lifting and lowering of a toilet seat and/or lid without having to make contact of said a toilet seat and/or lid with human hands. The device is designed to quickly and effortlessly accomplish these tasks.
The device comprises an upper bill or jaw and a lower plate. Also called the spatula. The upper jaw has a unique shape of a duckbill that provides gripping tension on the top of the toilet seat and/or lid. The lower plate is slightly beveled on its three sides and is ⅛″ in thickness to enable slipping under toilet seats which have minimal clearance between the toilet bowl rim.
The device further includes an ergonomic handle grip, which is crucial to comfortable and safe usage of the tool.
The device is a molded one piece unit made of unbreakable plastic that has flexing properties, allowing the upper “duckbill” to have a range of motion specified in the drawings and detail description.
The device may further include a rubberized thin coating on the spatula's upper surface providing a non-slip surface, aiding in control while performing lifting and lowering maneuvers.
The device may further include a spring on the bottom surface of the duckbill to provide more tension for securing toilet seat and/or lid.
The device may further include a housing to hold the device that may stand on the floor.
Alternatively, the shape of the upper jaw and lower plate may be different from the previous disclosed embodiment. In another embodiment, the device may have a protruding member on the top surface of the lower plate, which is in a dimension that can fit into the groove on the bottom surface of the toilet seat. The protruding member can be in a curved shape or in a rectangular shape.
Instead of a duckbill shape, the upper jaw can be flat in general with the front end turning up to enable the lower plate to slip through under the toilet seat. The thickness of the lower plate and the angle between the plane of lower plate and the handle are not changed. The faces in contact with the toilet seat on both upper jaw and lower plate may further include rubber type of material to provide friction for firmly securing the said toilet seat. The device may also include a spring on the bottom surface of the upper jaw to provide more tension for securing toilet seat and/or lid.
The more important features of the invention have thus been outlined in order that the more detailed description that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may better be appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter and will form the subject matter of the claims that follow.
Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The foregoing has outlined, rather broadly, the preferred feature of the present invention so that those skilled in the art may better understand the detailed description of the invention that follows. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter that form the subject of the claims of the invention. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they can readily use the disclosed conception and specific embodiment as a basis for designing or modifying other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention and that such other structures do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description, the appended claim, and the accompanying drawings in which similar elements are given similar reference numerals.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a device for lifting and lowering toilet seat and/or lid according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a device for lifting and lowering toilet seat and/or lid of the embodiment presented in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a device for lifting and lowering toilet seat and/or lid of the embodiment presented in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a device for lifting and lowering toilet seat and/or lid according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a device for lifting and lowering toilet seat and/or lid of the embodiment presented in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a device for lifting and lowering toilet seat and/or lid according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a device for lifting and lowering toilet seat and/or lid of the embodiment presented in FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1-3, there are disclosed a perspective view, a side view and a top view of a sanitary device for lifting and lowering a toilet seat and/or lid 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The device is a molded one piece unit made of unbreakable plastic that has flexing properties.
The device includes an upper jaw 10 and a lower plate 20 to form a head 30 of the device for lifting and lowering the toilet seat and/or lid. The head 30 further connects with an ergonomic handle 40. The angle between the plane of the lower plate 20 and the plane of the handle 40 is about 15 degrees, which enables a user to grip and use the device in a natural standing posture, making the device 1 an ergonomic device. The upper jaw 10 has a unique shape of a duckbill that provides gripping tension on the top of the toilet seat and/or lid. The lower plate or spatula 20 may be slightly beveled on its three sides 22 and is about ⅛″ in thickness 24 to enable slipping under toilet seats which have minimal clearance between the toilet bowl rim.
The device 1 may be made from a unitary construction for ease of manufacturing. It may be made by injection molding of unbreakable plastic that has flexing properties, allowing the upper jaw 10 to have a range of motion as specified in FIG. 2.
The device 1 further may include a rubberized thin coating on the top surface 26 of the lower plate 20 providing a non-slip surface, aiding in control while performing lifting and lowering maneuvers.
As mentioned earlier that the device 1 has a unique shape of a duckbill 12, therefore, the widest opening of the head 30 between the upper jaw 10 and the lower plate 20 is at the front end, which is about 0.75 inches. The wide opening at the front end enables lower plate 20 slipping under toilet seats. The narrowest opening between the upper jaw 10 and lower plate 20 is about 0.375 inches without flex and can be flexed up to about one inch such that the device can securely hold the toilet seat there within and adapt to toilet seats of various thickness. The device 1 may further include a spring (not shown) attached to the bottom surface 16 of the upper jaw 10 to provide more tension for firmly securing a toilet set.
Referring to FIG. 3 for a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 1, the head 30 of the device is about 3 inches long and 1.5 inches wide. The ergonomic handle of the device is about 12 inches long from the top view. However, because the upper jaw 10 is curved like a duckbill, the actual length should be longer than the length of the head 30 from the top view. The actual length of the handle 40 is longer than the length of handle 40 viewed from the top because there's a 15 degrees angle between the plane of lower plate 20 and the handle 40.
The device may further comprise a hole (not shown) on the handle grip 44 for hanging and/or a housing that may stand on the floor to hold the device 1.
Referring to FIGS. 4-7, there is disclosed a perspective view and a side view of the device according to another embodiment of the present invention. Alternatively, the shape of the upper jaw and lower plate may be different from the previous disclosed embodiment. In another embodiment, the device may have a protruding member 28 on the top surface 26 of the lower plate 20, which is in a dimension that can fit into the groove on the bottom surface of the toilet seat. The protruding member 28 can be in a curved shape as shown in FIG. 4 or in a rectangular shape as shown in FIG. 6. The width of the protruding member 28 may be about 0.5-1.5 inches, preferably about 1 inch in width.
Instead of a duckbill shape, the upper jaw 10 can be flat in general with the front end turning up to enable the lower plate 20 to slip through under the toilet seat. The thickness of the lower plate 20 and the angle between the plane of lower plate 20 and the handle 40 are not changed. The bottom surface 16 of the upper jaw 10 and the top surface 26 of the lower pate 20 that are in contact with the toilet seat may further include rubber type of materials to provide friction for firmer securing of the said toilet seat. The device 1 may further include a spring (not shown) attached to the bottom surface 16 of the upper jaw 10 to provide more tension for firmly securing a toilet set.
While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention and not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments discussed were chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are entitled.

Claims

1. A device for manual lifting and lowering of a toilet seat and/or lid comprising:

(a) an upper jaw, said upper jaw having a top surface, a bottom surface, and three sides, providing gripping tension on the top of the toilet seat and/or lid.

(b) a lower plate, having a top surface, a bottom surface and three sides, being slightly beveled on its three sides to enable slipping under toilet seats; and

(c) an ergonomic handle.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein said lower plate is about 0.125 inch in thickness, 1.5 inches in width, and 3 inches in length.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the upper jaw being in a unique shape of a duckbill.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein said lower plate having a protruding member on said top surface to fit into the groove of bottom surface of the toilet seat, said protruding member may be semi-round or rectangular.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein said upper jaw, said lower plate, and said handle are molded one piece unit made of unbreakable plastic.

6. The device of claim 5 may be manufactured by plastic injection molding for ease to manufacture.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the plane of said lower plate resides and the plane of said handle resides form an angle of about 15 degrees making the device ergonomic for use.

8. The device of claim 1 further includes a rubberized thin coating on said top surface of said lower plate providing a non-slip surface, aiding in control while performing lifting and lowering maneuvers.

9. The device of claim 1 further includes a spring attached to said bottom surface of said upper jaw to provide more tension for firmly securing a toilet seat.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the narrowest opening between said bottom surface of said upper jaw and top surface of said lower plate is about 0.375 inches and can be flexed up to about one inch such that said device can securely hold the toilet seat there within and adapt to toilet seats of various thickness.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein the widest opening between said bottom surface of said upper jaw and top surface of said lower plate is about 0.75 inches.

12. The device of claim 4, wherein said protruding member is 0.5-1.5 inch, preferably 1 inch in length along the length of the lower plate.

13. The device of claim 1 may further comprise housing for storage.

14. The device of claim 1 wherein the handle may have a hole for hanging.

15. A device for manual lifting and lowering of a toilet seat and/or lid comprising:

(a) an upper jaw, said upper jaw having being in a unique shape of a duckbill, providing gripping tension on the top of the toilet seat and/or lid;

(b) a lower plate being slightly beveled on its three sides to enable slipping under toilet seats, wherein said lower plate is about 0.125 inch in thickness, about 1.5 inches in width, and 3 inches in length; and

(c) an ergonomic handle having a hole for hanging, wherein said upper jaw, said lower plate, and said handle are molded one piece unit made of unbreakable plastic such as ????, the plane of said lower plate resides and the plane of said handle resides form a angle of 15 degrees making device ergonomic for use.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the narrowest opening between said bottom surface of said upper jaw and top surface of said lower plate is about 0.375 inches and can be flexed up to about one inch such that said device can securely hold the toilet seat there within and adapt to toilet seats of various thickness and the widest opening between said bottom surface of said upper jaw and top surface of said lower plate is about 0.75 inches.

17. The device of claim 15 further includes a rubberized thin coating on said top surface of said lower plate providing a non-slip surface, aiding in control while performing lifting and lowering maneuvers.

18. The device of claim 15 further includes a spring attached to said bottom surface of said upper jaw to provide more tension for firmly securing a toilet seat.