GB2444806A - A toilet seat and lid lifting assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a toilet seat and lid assembly comprising a seat portion 4 and an actuating portion 10 coupled to the seat portion 4. The actuating portion 10 extends beyond the rear ward edge of the toilet bowl when the toilet seat 4 is mounted for use The seat actuating portion 10 is arranged and configured to be coupled to actuating means 16 for applying a linear force so as to cause pivotal movement of the seat 4 relative to the toilet bowl. The toilet seat 4 has a lid portion 2 and an actuating portion 8 coupled to the lid portion 2. The actuating portion 8 also extends beyond the rear ward edge of the toilet bowl when mounted for use relative to the toilet bowl. The lid actuating portion 8 is arranged and configured to be coupled to actuating means 16 for applying a linear force so as to cause pivotal movement of the seat relative to the toilet bowl. The actuating means 16 is preferably a flexible elongate member channeled through a rigid hollow pipe 18 and may be wound around a rod. The rod may be connected to a motor that causes rotation of the rod which winds the flexible elongate member thus lifting the seat. The motor is preferably operated by switch 20.

Description

* 2444806 Toilet Seat & Lid Arrangement The present invention relates

to a toilet seat and cover which may be lifted independently of each other by a person without the use of the person's hand.

In the interests of hygiene, people are often loath to touch toilet seats and covers. There has therefore been proposed a number of arrangements which remove the requirement to touch the seat and/or lid generally through some mechanical or electrical arrangement whereby a user's foot actuates a mechanical means or motor and causes the seat and lid to raise and lower. The present invention provides an improved toilet seat and lid lifting arrangement by independently actuating the lid and/or seat as required such that the user does not have to contact either part with their hand.

According to the present invention there is provided a toilet seat and lid assembly comprising: (a) a seat portion and an actuating portion coupled to said seat portion, said actuating portion extending beyond the rearward edge of the toilet bowl when said toilet seat is mounted for use relative to said toilet bowl, wherein said seat actuating portion is arranged and configured to be coupled to actuating means for applying a linear force thereto, when in use, so as to cause pivotal movement of said seat relative to said toilet bowl.

(b) a toilet lid having a lid portion and an actuating portion coupled to said lid portion, said actuating portion extending beyond the rearward edge of the toilet bowl when mounted for use relative to said toilet bowl, wherein said lid actuating portion is arranged and configured to be coupled to actuating means for applying a linear force thereto, when in use, so as to cause pivotal movement of said seat relative to said toilet bowl.

It will be appreciated that there are numerous advantages of the present arrangement over those arrangements previously disclosed, in particular that each of the lid and seat may be actuated independently and the arrangement is simple enabling mounting relative to generally any toilet bowl. The actuating portion for the lid and seat preferably extend beyond the rearward edge of the toilet bowl when mounted relative thereto and are generally located at the corners respectively of the rearward edge of said toilet bowl. Such an arrangement is envisaged for any toilet in which a user does not wish to touch the lid or seat, and is envisaged to be particularly useful in locations where hygiene is paramount such as hospitals.

The actuating portions of the lid and seat extend beyond the rearward edge of the bowl when mounted relative to the bowl and are integrally formed with the lid andlor seat respectively. This avoids the requirement for any bulky and unappealing addition to a standard lid and seat. Additionally, this ensures that actuation of the lid and/or seat is not interrupted by some sort of attachment mechanism.

There is preferably further provided actuating means to cause a substantially downward force to the seat and/or lid. An elongate flexible member is preferably attached to the underside of a respective actuating portion and the elongate flexible member is preferably pulled thereby causing the respective seat and/or lid to pivot about the bowl. The arrangement may be actuated by, for example, a foot pedal wherein movement of the pedal causes associated movement of the flexible member thus causing the seat and/or lid to pivot. Alternatively, and in a preferred embodiment, a motive means is provided to cause the elongate flexible member to be tensioned. The motive means is preferably an electric motor causing rotation of a substantially cylindrical body and thereby winding the elongate flexible member about the body. In an alternative embodiment, a pulley system may be utilised which can be easily hidden from view adding to the aesthetic appeal of the arrangement and also enabling prevention of tampering with the system.

The motor is preferably operable by a switch. The motor is preferably disconnectable from actuating the seat and/or lid in the event that a fault occurs such that the seat arid/or lid can be operated manually. In a preferred embodiment, the motor is operable by a switch connected to a motion sensor. This is particularly beneficial as it enables complete operation of the toilet with no physical contact by a user.

In the upright configuration, the seat and/or lid are preferably at an angle of less than 900 from the horizontal. In the upright configuration the motor will prevent the seat and/or lid from falling back to the lowered configuration, however, when this is desired, the seat and/or lid will fall under gravity whilst being controlled by the motor. Means may be provided for attachment to the cistern of the toilet to ensure that the lid and/or seat cannot extend beyond the vertical otherwise the lid and/or seat would require an additional energy to move into the position in which gravity will force the lid and/or seat downward.

Additionally or alternatively, the actuating portion of said seat comprises an elastically deformable member arranged such that said member constricts the lid in the event said lid is in a raised configuration and the seat is in a lowered configuration. This causes a force to be applied to the lid in this configuration to ensure automatic lowering.

Also according to the present invention there is a toilet seat, lid and actuating means as described above.

The present invention will now be described by example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of a lid and toilet seat according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic plan view of the lid and toilet seat according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention in situ together with the toilet seat indicated in dashed lines; Figure 3 is schematic perspective view of a lid and toilet seat according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention in situ on a toilet bowl.

Referring to Figures Ia and b, there is shown a schematic plan view of a lid 2 and seat 4 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The lid 2 and seat 4 may be connected to a toilet bowl via hinges 6. Both lid 2 and seat 4 have a portion extending from the body of the lid or seat respectively. The extending portion 8 of the lid is located towards one side of the lid, whereas the extending portion 10 of the seat is arranged to extend from the opposing side when the seat and cover are mounted together as indicated in Figure 2. It is clear that the arrangement is provided in this way to ensure that the lid 2 can be actuated independently of the seat 4. A fixing point 12 is provided on each of the seat 4 and lid 2 which enables fixing of a flexible elongate member (not shown in Figures 1 and 2) can be connected thereto.

Referring to Figure 3, there is a schematic perspective view of the lid 2 and seat 4 attached to a toilet bowl 14. The lid 2 and seat 4 are attached to the bowl via hinges 6. The protruding portion 10 of the seat may be seen in Figure 3 and is a flexible elongate number 16 fixedly attached to the extending portion 10. The flexible elongate member is channelled through a rigid hollow pipe 18 and may be wound around a rod (not shown).

The rod is connected to a motor (not shown) that causes rotation of the rod which winds the flexible elongate member 16 thereon thus lifting the seat 4. The motor is geared such that clockwise and anti-clockwise motion of the rod is enabled. The motor is controlled by a switch 20 which can be controlled by a user and may be in any form such as a foot pedal.

Alternative control points are envisaged such as a wall-mounted switch or the like, suitable for bathroom environments as required by regulations. In a preferred embodiment, control is provided via motion sensor activated by passing, for example, a user's hand within a predetermined distance of the sensor and thus causing actuation of a switch to have the effect of raising or lowering the lid and/or seat. By providing two sensors remote from one another (i.e. one for the lid and one for the seat) both seat and lid can be independently actuated. It will be appreciated that each sensor has the effect of signalling to the motor to either cause raising or lowering of the seat lid dependently on its original position. The sensor type may for example be infrared or ultrasonic and are arranged to detect a user's hand at a predetermined distance which is envisaged to in the order of less than 20cm from hand to sensor. The rigid pipe 18 may be provided to prevent over extension of the flexible elongate member 16. Ii will be appreciated that the lid may be controlled by the same member but must be independently controllable to the seat 4. For this reason, a second motor may be provided, however, a suitably configured single motor is preferable to raise and lower both the lid 2 and seat 4. In order that the lid 2 may be raised and lowered in the same way as seat 4, the portion of the lid extending beyond the rearward edge of the bowl when connected to the bowl cannot be seen in Figure 3, however it may be actuated in the same way as actuation of the seat. Alternative embodiments are envisaged whereby the motor causes rotation of the lid and seat as if controlled electronically can clearly be made more compact without the requirement for foot pedals or the like requiring user contact.

A number of arrangements may be used to raise and lower the lid 2 andlor seat 4.

Examples of such arrangements could be a worm drive or hydraulic arrangement.

It will be appreciated that in an alternative embodiment, both extending portions of the lid and seat 10, 12 may be located on the same side of the lid 2 and seat 4 when in position on the toilet bowl, with the lid 2 having a large aperture within the extending portion 8 thus enabling the extending portion 10 of the seat to pass therethrough. In such an arrangement the lid can be raised and lowered irrespective of the movement of the seat 4.

As indicated in Figure 3, the lid 2 and seat 4 in the raised position do not extend beyond a vertical plane. This is such that the force of gravity will lower the seat lid without the requirement for some sort of actuating means. The motor will still provide damping for the closing of the seat and lid. In use, the switch 20 (or more preferably motion sensor linked to the motor) controls both the raising and lowering of the lid and seat. For this reason, there may be two associated switches. However, when the lid and seat are in the upright position and the switch is selected to close, the motor acts to prevent the lid and seat from falling under gravity. This provides the control for both raising and lowering of the lid and seat. In some circumstances however, the seat 4 and/or lid 2 will rotate about hinges 6 to a position wherein they have rotated beyond the vertical plane and as such are unable to lower under gravity without some means of pushing the seat 4 and/or lid 2 beyond the vertical plane. It is preferable that the motor is arranged to prevent over-rotation of the seat 4 and/or lid 2, however, a fail safe can be provided.

The most likely scenario is that the lid 2 will over-rotate and a means to cause the lid 2 to rotate back is provided. This means to cause the lid to rotate back in the event rotation extends beyond the vertical plane comprises an elastically deformable portion mounted on or integrally formed with the extending portion 10 of the seat. In such a configuration, when the seat 4 is in the lowered configuration and the lid 2 in the raised configuration, the elastically deformable portion deforms against the lid 2 thus causing an equal and opposite force on the lid 2. However, the motor in this configuration will prevent the lid 2 closing.

Once the motor is switched or turned off, the elastically deformable portion forces the lid 2 back in the direction of the lowered configuration. The elastically deformable portion could be replaced by a variety of alternatives, including a spring protruding from an enlarged extending portion 10. In a preferred embodiment as indicated above with respect to Figure 4, a further protrusion 30 extends beyond the rearward edge of the lid 2 at the opposite side of the lid 2 to extending portion 8. A problem, as outlined above, with such a system as described is that it is not desirable for the lid to lift backwards beyond a vertical plane as it is impossible for the lid to then fall back under gravity to a lowered configuration. It is also a problem for a user of a toilet if the lid is not sufficiently far back the lid will contact a user's back. For this reason, it is desirable for the lid to rotate beyond the vertical plane, however, as indicated this leads to the problem of closing the lid.

Accordingly, with reference to Figure 4, the protrusion 30 extends from the rearward portion of the lid 2, on the opposing side of the rearward portion of the lid 2 to the extending portion 8. When the lid rotates to lift upwards, the protrusion 30 acts to contact a deformable member 32 located in or on the extending portion 10 of the seat 4. As the lid 2 rotates further, deformation of the deformable member 32 increases thereby providing an increased opposing force. The motor is therefore providing the force against the deformable member 32. It will also be appreciated that, in use, a user may force the lid backwards to the cistern and the deformable member 32 ensures that the lid automatically returns to the normal position when the force is released.

It will be appreciated that the deformable member 32 may be a sprung member or the like or any elastically deformable material. Furthermore, the protrusion 30 may be integral with or attachable to the seat 4, and may comprise any shape or size as is desired. Alternatively, the deformable member could be fixed or fixable to the lid 2 and may itself comprise protrusion 30. In any event, in a preferred embodiment the deformable member 32 comprises an adjustable sprung member which can be adjusted to control the force applied on the lid in the raised configuration. Adjustability can be provided in the event the motor fails such that the toilet can still be used manually. A screw member could be used to perform this function by extending or contracting the deformable member as required.

This can also be adjusted to provide the optimal force on the lid to ensure it will lower automatically on adjustment of the force applied by the motor. For normal use, it is clear that the seat 4 does not need to rotate beyond a vertical plane, and as such no mechanism to enable the seat 4 to lower as it should never over-rotate as described above.

Additionally, as in the case of the lid 2, a means may be provided to prevent over-rotation of the seat 4 from the lowered to the raised configuration. An electrically deformable means may be provided in or on the underside of extending portion 10 arranged and configured to contact a fixed member to provide a force on the seat 4 in the event over-rotation of the lid occurs.

In the event of an electrical breakdown causing the lid 2 andlor seat 4 to lock in an unusual position, the result of the electrical supply being interrupted is the lid and seat can be manually pushed down and also raised as the motor is being deprived of its driving force.

Alternatively, an override function may be provided for the arrangement that is suitable for use in the circumstance in which, for example, the motor fails or there is some other problem with the system. In this configuration, the motor is disconnected from the flexible elongate member 16 and a lever (not shown) can be activated so as to manually enable lifting of the lid 2 andlor seat 4. In an alternative embodiment, the flexible elongate member, which may comprise a webbing material, is connected to the extending portions 8, 10 by releasable pins, wherein in the event of motor failure these pins may be released thereby enabling release of the connection between motor and seat 4/lid 2 enabling the seat 4/lid 2 to be operated by hand.

A further additional feature of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is the possibility of a timer being present wherein the seat and lid are automatically closed once a pre-determined time has elapsed.

An important advantage of the present invention is that it may be used on a standard or most available toilets without replacement of the cistemand bowl. The seat and lid are the only components that require replacement, with the motor and apparatus to cause rotation of the seat and lid the additional equipment required.

The present invention has been described by way of example only and it will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that modifications and variations may be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the appended claims. q

Claims (16)

1. CLAIMS: 1. A toilet seat and lid assembly comprising: (a) a seat

   portion and an actuating portion coupled to said seat portion, said actuating portion extending beyond the rearward edge of the toilet bowl when said toilet seat is mounted for use relative to said toilet bowl, wherein said seat actuating portion is arranged and configured to be coupled to actuating means for applying a linear force thereto, when in use, so as to cause pivotal movement of said seat relative to said toilet bowl.

   (b) a toilet lid having a lid portion and an actuating portion coupled to said lid portion, said actuating portion extending beyond the rearward edge of the toilet bowl when mounted for use relative to said toilet bowl, wherein said lid actuating portion is arranged and configured to be coupled to actuating means for applying a linear force thereto, when in use, so as to cause pivotal movement of said seat relative to said toilet bowl.
2. 2. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein said actuating portion for the lid and seat extend beyond the rearward edge of the toilet bowl when mounted relative thereto and are generally located at the corners respectively of the rearward edge of said toilet bowl.
3. 3. An assembly according to any of claims I or 2 when said respective actuating portions of the lid and seat extend beyond the rearward edge of the bowl when mounted relative to the bowl and are integrally formed with the lid and/or seat respectively.
4. 4. An assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the actuating portion of the seat comprises a resiliently deformable member arranged and configured to communicate with a protrusion extending from the lid in generally the same direction as actuating portion of the lid, such that the protrusion is arranged to communicate with the resiliently deformable member when the toilet lid is rotated relative to the toilet seat.
5. 5. An assembly according to any preceding claim further comprising an actuating means.
6. 6. An assembly according to claim 6, wherein the actuating means is switched between an on and off position via a motor sensor.
7. 7. An assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein said actuating means comprises an elongate flexible member attached to the underside of a respective actuating portion.
8. 8. An assembly according to claim 4, wherein said elongate flexible member is pulled by said actuating means thereby causing the respective seat andlor lid to pivot relative to said bowl.
9. 9. An assembly according to any preceding claim wherein said actuating means includes a motive means.
10. 10. An assembly according to claim 9 further comprising detection means to detect a user and cause actuation of the motive means.
11. 11. An assembly according to claim 10, wherein the detection means includes an infrared or ultrasonic means.
12. 12. An assembly according to claim 9, wherein said motive means is an electric motor.
13. 13. An assembly according to any of claims 5-12, further comprising a rotatable substantially cylindrical body wherein said elongate flexible member is wound about said rotatable body.
14. 14. An assembly according to any of claims 9-13, wherein said motive means is disconnectable from actuating the seat andlor lid in the event that a fault occurs such that the seat and/or lid can be operated manually.
15. 15. An assembly including a toilet seat, lid and actuating means as described in any preceding claim.
16. 16. An assembly as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.