NZ533497A

NZ533497A - An adjustable buffer for a toilet seat and a toilet seat including same

Info

Publication number: NZ533497A
Application number: NZ53349704A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: Colin William Wooldridge
Original assignee: Caroma Ind Ltd
Priority date: 2003-06-30
Filing date: 2004-06-11
Publication date: 2004-09-24
Also published as: AU2003903330A0

Abstract

A buffer assembly for a toilet seat. The assembly includes: a base (20) adapted to be mounted to a toilet seat and having a converging tapered recess (26) provided with laterally projecting teeth; a support member (40) securable the base, the support member having a flange (42) and a converging tapered boss provided with laterally projecting teeth, the boss being receivable in the recess such that the flange projects substantially normal to the base; and a pad (60) attachable to at least one of the base and the support member. The teeth of the recess and boss are adapted to mutually engage and prevent movement of the support member relative to the base.

Description

53 34 9 533497 PATENTS FORM 5 Our Ref: 676788NZ PATENTS ACT 1953 Dated: 10 June 2004 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION An Adjustable Buffer for a Toilet Seat and a Toilet Seat Including Same We, Caroma Industries Limited, an Australian company, ACN 000 189 499 of Level 3, 159 Coronation Drive, Milton, Queensland 4064, Australia, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: 1 AN ADJUSTABLE BUFFER FOR A TOILET SEAT AND A TOILET SEAT INCLUDING SAME Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an adjustable buffer for a toilet seat and a toilet 5 seat including same.

Background of the Invention Known toilet seats are usually hinged to tojjet pans at their rearward end for raising and lowering of the seat.

Disabled or elderly people often mount toilet seats from the side in a sliding 10 movement from, for example, a wheelchair. The sideways load places a twisting load on the hinges of the seat and, when repeated, often leads to damage. One solution to such a problem is to provide buffers with a pivotable flange on the underside of the toilet seat. The flange engages the inner toilet bowl rim when a sideways load is applied to the seat. Such flanges are generally fixed to the buffer by means of screws and may be positioned 15 by means of projections and complimentary recesses between the flange and buffer. After prolonged use however, such arrangements become loose and the flanges tend to move under load thereby placing further load on the hinges. Such arrangements are also susceptible to failure as the load on the seat increases.

A further problem associated with known flange arrangements is the health risk 20 associated with having exposed screw recesses which can harbour diseased substances.

Known buffers are produced from relatively rigid plastic and can cause cracking of the pan rim if seats having such buffers are inadvertently slammed, as the buffers contact the pan rim.

It is an object of the invention to substantially overcome or at least ameliorate 25 one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art.

Summary of the Invention Accordingly, in a first aspect, the invention provides a buffer assembly for a toilet seat, the assembly including: a base adapted to be mounted to a toilet seat and having a converging tapered 30 recess provided with laterally projecting teeth; [I:\daylib\libtt]03341.doc:hxa 2 a support member securable to the base, the support member having a flange and a converging tapered boss provided with laterally projecting teeth, wherein the boss is receivable in the recess such that the flange projects substantially normal to the base; and a pad attachable to at least one of the base and the support member; wherein the teeth of the recess and boss are adapted to mutually engage and prevent movement of the support member relative to the base.

In a preferred embodiment, the base is mounted to the toilet seat by means of at least one screw and the pad is adapted to conceal the at least one screw. Desirably, the mounting of the base to the toilet seat is by means of at least one sleeve extending from 10 the base and fittable into a mounting recess in the toilet seat, the at least one sleeve adapted to receive the at least one screw, wherein the screw deforms the sleeve such that the sleeve is retained within the mounting recess in the toilet seat. Preferably, the at least one screw comprises a first screw mountable through the centre of both the boss and recess and adapted to secure the boss within the recess and a second screw mountable 15 through the base adjacent the recess.

Preferably, the pad is more resilient than the base or support member.

In a second aspect, the invention provides a toilet seat having at least two buffer assemblies, each of the buffer assemblies being according to the first aspect.

Brief Description of the Drawings A preferred form of the present invention will now be described, by way of an example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is an assembled elevation view of a buffer assembly according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is an assembled cross sectional elevation view of the buffer assembly 25 shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is an exploded cross sectional elevation view of the buffer assembly shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a top perspective view of the buffer assembly shown in Figure 1; Figure 5 is an exploded bottom perspective view of the buffer assembly shown in Figure 1; Figure 6 is a bottom perspective view of the buffer assembly shown in Figure 1; Figure 7 is a bottom view of the buffer assembly shown in Figure 1; [I:\daylibMibtt]03341.doc:hxa 3 Figure 8 is a 'transparent' top view of the buffer assembly shown in Figure 1; and Figure 9 is an elevation view of the buffer assembly shown in Figure 1.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment Figures 1 to 9 depict a preferred embodiment of a buffer assembly 10 for a toilet seat (not shown). The assembly 10 includes a base 20, a support member 40, a pad 60 and first and second screws 12, 14. The base 20 is provided with first and second sleeves 22, 24 which project upwardly from the base 20. The base 20 also includes a circular tapered recess 26 converging upwardly from the bottom of the base 20. The first sleeve 10 22 extends upwardly from a first aperture 30 in the centre of the recess 26 and the second sleeve 24 extends upwardly from a recessed second aperture 32 in the base 20 adjacent the recess 26. Cavities 34 are also provided on the bottom of the base 20 on either side of the second aperture 32 adjacent the recess 26.

The support member 40 is provided with a flange 42 and a circular tapered boss 15 44. The boss 44 is complimentary to, and adapted to be received in, the recess 26. A recessed hole 48 extends centrally of the boss 44 and is adapted to align with the first aperture 30, when the boss 44 is received in the recess 26. The recess 26 and boss 44, are provided with laterally projecting teeth 50 which mutually engage when the boss 44 is received in the recess 26 and prevent the boss 44 from pivoting within the recess 26. 20 The pad 60 is formed from a resilient material is removably attachable to the support member 40 and to the base 20 by means of a primary plug 62 and secondary plugs 64. The primary plug 62 is annular and is received in the recessed hole 48, while the secondary plugs 64 are received in the cavities 34.

In order to install the buffer assembly 10, mounting recesses (not shown) are 25 provided on the underside of the toilet seat. The mounting recesses are adapted to receive the sleeves 22, 24 so that the top of the base 20 rests flat against the underside of the toilet seat. The boss 44 of the support member 40 is arranged within the recess 26 in the bottom of the base 20 such that the flange 42 projects downwardly from the base 20. The first screw 12 is loosely inserted upwardly through the recessed central hole 48 of the boss 44 30 and is engagingly mounted in the first sleeve 22 via the first aperture 30. By only partially mounting the first screw 12 in the first sleeve 22, the support member 40 is pivotally attached to the base 20, with the boss 44 partially and freely received in the recess 26. This allows the flange 42 of the support member 40 to be pivoted with respect to the base [I:\daylib\libtt]03341 ,doc:hxa 4 to position the flange 42 against the inner rim of the toilet pan (not shown) when the seat is lowered. Once the flange 42 is appropriately positioned, the first screw 12 is tightened to secure the boss 44 within the recess 26 and engage the lateral teeth 50 preventing further pivoting of the flange 42. The second screw 14 is engagingly mounted 5 in the second sleeve 24 via the second aperture 32. The engagement of the first and second screws 12, 14 in the first and second sleeves 22, 24 expands the sleeves 22, 24 to frictionally engage them within the mounting recesses in the toilet seat. The pad 60 is attached to the base 20 and support member 40 by inserting the secondary plugs 64 in cavities 34 and the annular primary plug 62 in the recess of hole 48, sheathing the head of 10 screw 12. When attached, the pad 60 conceals the first and second screws 12, 14 by covering the recessed second aperture 32 and the recessed hole 48.

In use, the flange 42 can be pivotally adjusted so that it extends downwardly adjacent the inner rim of the pan when the toilet seat is lowered. When a sideways loading is placed on the toilet seat, and the seat is urged sideways relative to the pan, the flange 42 15 engages the inner rim of the pan and resists sideways movement of the toilet seat relative to the pan. This prevents excessive torque being applied to the toilet seat hinges. Further, should the first screw 12 begin to loosen over time, the boss 44 may begin to become loose in the recess 26 and hence reduce the engagement of the lateral teeth 50. However, when the toilet seat is mounted from the side, both a sideways and downwards load is 20 applied to the seat. A downwards load urges the seat against the pan and compresses the buffer assembly 10 therebetween, which in turn urges the boss 44 upwards into the recess 26. This enhances the engagement of the lateral teeth 50 and resists pivoting of the support member 40 relative to the base 20.

The resilient pad 60 dampens the impact between the seat and the pan, if the seat 25 is inadvertently slammed. This helps prevent cracking of the pan. The pad 60 also increases friction between the seat and pan helping to retard any sideways loads placed on the seat. The pad 60 also obscures the first and second screws 12, 14, preventing the screw recesses from collecting disease harbouring substances and facilitating cleaning and hygiene maintenance of the buffer assembly 10.

Although preferred forms of the present invention have been described, it will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that modifications can be made to the preferred embodiment described above or that the invention can be embodied in other forms.

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Claims

5 The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. A buffer assembly for a toilet seat, the assembly including: a base adapted to be mounted to a toilet seat and having a converging tapered recess provided with laterally projecting teeth; 5 a support member securable to the base, the support member having a flange and a converging tapered boss provided with laterally projecting teeth, wherein the boss is receivable in the recess such that the flange projects substantially normal to the base; and a pad attachable to at least one of the base and the support member; wherein the teeth of the recess and boss are adapted to mutually engage and 10 prevent movement of the support member relative to the base.

2. The buffer assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base is mounted to the toilet seat by means of at least one screw and the pad is adapted to conceal the at least one screw.

3. The buffer assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the mounting of the 15 base to the toilet seat is by means of at least one sleeve extending from the base and fittable into a mounting recess in the toilet seat, the at least one sleeve adapted to receive the at least one screw, wherein the screw deforms the sleeve such that the sleeve is retained within the mounting recess in the toilet seat.

4. The buffer assembly as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the at least one 20 screw comprises a first screw mountable through the centre of both the boss and recess and adapted to secure the boss within the recess and a second screw mountable through the base adjacent the recess.

5. The buffer assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the pad is more resilient than the base or support member. 25

6. A toilet seat having at least two buffer assemblies, each of the buffer assemblies being as claimed in any one of the proceeding claims.

7. A buffer assembly for a toilet seat, the buffer assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Caroma Industries Limited By the Attorneys for the Applicant SPRUSON & FERGUSON [I:\daylib\libtt]03341.doc:hxa