US3209376A

US3209376A - Invalid's toilet seat

Info

Publication number: US3209376A
Application number: US262447A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr John H Drury
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-03-04
Filing date: 1963-03-04
Publication date: 1965-10-05
Anticipated expiration: 1982-10-05

Description

Oct. 5, 1965 J. H. DRURY, JR 3,209,376

INVALID'S TOILET SEAT Filed March 4, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 29b INVENTOR By W ATTORNE Y JOHN H. DRURY JR.

Oct. 5, 1965 Fiied March 4, 1963 FIG. 30

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 S 3,209,376 Patented Oct. 5, 1965 3,209,37 FIGURE 1 is a plain schematic view of the present INVALIDS TOILET SEAT on.

John H. Drury, J12, 2119 Keith Road, Abington, Pa. Filed Mar. 4, 1963, Ser. No. 262,447 Claims. (Cl. 4254) This invention relates to invalids supports, and more particularly to securably attachable-elevated toilet seats with arm rests.

By using this invention, a standard water closet, already equipped with its own toilet may be easily fitted with a secure, raised toilet seat and arm supports to provide the necessary comfort and security to an invalid using this device. Standard water closets are low and have no gripping rails and therefore possess a degree of potential danger from falling that is particularly alarming to all persons who do not have their full facility of strength and balance. In the past, water closets have been provided with gripping rails for balance and support. However, gripping rails in order to provide the necessary sense of security were often permanently or semi-permanently aflixed to the water closet. Hence, such prior art devices could not be easily removed and placed on other bowls within the same household, hospital or like institution. Further, in the past water closets have been provided with raised toilet seats allowing less effort in sitting on or rising from the toilet. However, these prior art devices were only securely afiixed to the water closet but merely rested on its porcelain rim thereby inviting dislodgement and accompanying danger from falling. The instant device provides gripping rails, in combination with a raised toilet seat along with apparatus so that the seat may be safely secured and yet easily removed from the water closet.

Clamps are provided to elevate the seat from a position it normally occupies so that the invalid may more readily accommodate himself by grasping hold of the support arm associated with the seat as he lowers himself thereon or lifts himself therefrom. The combination of the raised seat and the clamps for rigidly attaching the seat to the bowl plus the support arms provide the invalid with the maximum feeling of security while sitting on the water closet bowl as well as either lowering himself therefrom.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved toilet seat which provides the necessary security for an invalid.

Another object of this invention is to provide a toilet seat with arm supports for an invalid which may be readily fitted and secured to the bowl of a water closet to provide maximum stability for the user.

Another object of this invention is to provide a toilet seat with rigidly secured arm rests that may be placed in an elevated position on a water closet bowl.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a toilet seat for an invalid which can be securely fixed to a toilet bowl and yet readily removed.

Another object of this invention is to provide a raised toilet seat which can be rigidly secured and fitted to a toilet bowl with clamping means.

Another object of this invention is to provide a raised toilet seat, that can be rigidly secured and fitted to a toilet bowl with clamping means which can be adjusted to accommodate various shapes of toilet bowls.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the description of the preferred embodiment of my invention is read in conjunction with the following figures in which:

FIGURE 2 is a sectional View along lines 22 of the present invention showing the arrangement of the toilet seat, arm rests and positioning clamps.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged view of a side positioning clamp.

FIGURE 3a is an enlarged view of the back positioning clamp.

FIGURE 4 is a top view of the upper plate of the positioning clamp showing the adjustment apertures.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view along the line 55 of the slidable guide bar of the side positioning clamps.

Referring to the figures, the toilet bowl 8 presently in use is provided with a lip 9 which is shaped to receive a standard toilet seat 36. The toilet seat 10 in the instant invention as can be seen from FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 is comprised in its preferred form of two sections. The

top section 10b may be the usual wooden or plastic seat and the bottom section 10a comprises a fiat metal plate of the same shape suitably secured to the bottom of the wooden seat 10b. At various points around the seat, marked a, b and c, the metal plate thereof is drilled to receive a fiat headed bolt 20 as shown in FIGURE 3. The head of the bolt lies in between the metal and wood en portions of the seat 10 and the threaded end of the bolt 20 protrudes toward the bottom of the 'bowl to receive the various clamping means illustrated in FIGURE 3. Although in the preferred embodiment, a seat comprising two sections is used, it may be readily appreciated that the standard toilet seat may be drilled to receive the supporting and clamping means described in the specification.

As can be seen from FIGURES 1 and 2, the toilet seat is equipped with arm supports 14. The improved arm support 14 comprises in its preferred embodiment a tubular member which is bolted at its ends to the under portion of the seat at points e and f. Starting at point ,7 (FIGURE 1), at the right side of the seat, the tubular support 14 is bolted to the under portion of the seat, preferably to metal plate 10 (as seen in FIGURE 2). The support 14 includes a lower horizontal section 14:: extending about eight or nine inches away from the side of the seat; at that point, the tubular member 14 is bent vertically to form the riser portion 14b (FIGURE 2) which extends to a height of about nine to ten inches. The tubular member 14 is next bent toward the back of the seat along the full depth thereof and forms an upper arm rest or support 140. Next the support member 14 is bent downward to provide a rear vertical member 14d of substantially the same height as the front vertical section and finally the tube 14 is bent horizontally toward the seat 10 (forming a section 14e) and is bolted again to the metal plate 10a underneath the seat at point It at the right rear thereof. The left half of the tubular member provides another arm support and is a mirror image of the right section, and is bolted at points g and e of the metal plate 10a. It can thus be seen that the arm support 14 is an integral part of the seat and is rigidly secured thereto. This arrangement offers an enclosure for the patient or invalid to sit in and provides rigid support for him as well as an aid in raising or lowering himself on the seat.

The tubular support 14 may be made of a single tube 14 or a plurality of tubes suitably joined together. Further, while only four points e to h have been shown where the tube support is secured to the plate 10a, more or less points for joinder will sufiice as long as the tube 14 is adjacent to plate a.

It will be noted from FIGURE 2 that at the front end of the plate 10a there is secured a plate guard 33, which may extend in a crescent shape as far as the plates 29. The guard plate 33 serves to prevent a urine discharge from accidentally passing between the seat 10 and the bowl lip in a direction outside of the bowl.

As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the seat 10 is clamped onto the bowl of the water closet by two adjustable clamps 11 on either side of the seat, and a fixed clamp 12 at the rear of the seat.

FIGURE 3a shows the rear clamp 12 as comprising a C-shaped member or open ended clamp preferably made of metal. The top horizontal portion 23 of member 12 comprises a flat surface, as do the

surfaces

24 and 25, thereof, and is bolted at the top to the underside of the seat, preferably to the metal plate 10a as seen in FIGURE 2.

Side vertical portion 24 provides the elevation for the seat mentioned above, and in the instant embodiment measures about four inches. The lower fiat plate 25 of member 12 extends to the rear of the water closet and is positioned underneath the hinge 13 which normally accompanies the toilet seat 36 and lid 35 already on the water closet as shown in FIGURE 2; Attached to the vertical piece 24 of clamp 12 is an angular member 26, the vertical portion of which is bolted or riveted onto member 24. The remainder of element 26 is sloped toward the bottom of the seat 10 and toward the rear of the bowl to form one arm of a V member. Accordingly, when the seat is positioned, the bottom horizontal piece 25 rests on the back portion of the lip 9 of the water closet bowl underneath the hinge 13 and the sloped portion of the metal bar 26 is pushed against the back of the bowl underneath the lip 9.

FIGURE 3 illustrates an adjustable clamp 11 which can be positioned at points a and b in FIGURE 1. The adjustable clamp 11 comprises a C-shaped piece having a top horizontal plate 22, a bottom horizontal plate 28, and a vertical plate 27 of substantially the same height as the vertical piece 24 of back clamp 12 (FIG. 3a). The top plate 22 illustrated in FIGURE 4 has a plurality of holes drilled along a center line. Any one of these holes may be used to receive the bolt 20 secured between the plate 10a and the wooden part of the seat 10b. It will be appreciated the different ones of the holes are used according to the width of the water closet bowl 8. In accordance with the width and shape of the water closet bowl, the bolt 20 is passed through one of the holes and the Wing nut 21 secures the adjustable clamp to the bottom of the seat 10. The vertical plate 27 has an opening in the center thereof which allows a long rod 16 with male threads to be passed therethrough. One end of the threaded rod 16 has a knob 17 attached thereto so that the rod 16 may be turned. Bolted to plate 27 is a metal block 30 with a hole in the center thereof having female threads cut therethrough. Rod 16 is passed through the hole in the block 28 so that the threads thereof are engaged. The remaining end of threaded rod 16 is connected to a vertical end plate 31 by means of a bolt. In particular the end of rod 16 rests against plate 31. At this end a hole is drilled along the length of rod 16 and is tapped with female threads. The end plate 31 also has a hole drilled therethrough where the bolt 32 is passed to engage the threads on the inside of member 16 as shown in FIGURE 3. Bolted to the end plate 31 is a clamp 29. The clamp 29 has a vertical portion 29b which receives bolts in order to secure it to end plate 31; a horizontal portion 290 which is bolted onto a slidable bar 34; and a sloped portion 29a which engages the inside of the Water closet bowl. The slidable bar is situated in a track as shown in FIGURE 5. The spacers 15 provide support for C-clamps 11 to equal the support of the vertical plates 27.

It will be appreciated before the invalid seat is placed on the water closet bowl 8, the standard seat 36 and lid 35 are raised. The clamp members 29 of two adjustable clamps 11 are moved to a wide opening by turning the handle 17 in a clockwise direction so that when the seat 10 is placed on the water closet, the slope portion 29a of the member 29 clears the lip 9 of bowl 8. When the seat is placed on the lip 9 of the toilet bowl 8, the seat is pushed so that sloped member 26 (FIG. 3a) is moved toward the rear of the bowl underneath the lip 9 and the fiat plate 25 (FIG. 3a) of member 12 is pushed under hinge 13. Thereafter the handles 17 of the adjustable clamps 11 at points a and b are rotated in a counter-clockwise direction so that the seat is tightly secured to bowl 8. This occurs since the clamp members 29a at points a and b will be drawn in opposite directions against the inner wall of the bowl 8 of the water closet, and will lodge against the lip 9 at these points.

While I have described above the principles of my invention in connection with the specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as in limitation to the scope of my invention as set forth in the objects thereof and in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A toilet seat arrangement for invalids to be used with a toilet bowl having a rim at the top thereof comprising in combination, a toilet seat, a pair of adjustable clamps adapted to rest on said rim and fastened on 0pposite sides to the underside of said toilet seat for securing said toilet seat arrangement to the inside of said toilet bowl, a first positioning member fastened to the underside of said toilet seat to determine the rearward position of said toilet seat arrangement on said toilet bowl, and arm support means formed to provide arm rests at a predetermined height above said toilet seat and further formed to be immovably secured to said toilet seat wherein said arm support means comprises tubular metal material which is loop-formed to have the ends secured to the underside of said toilet seat and wherein the portion opposite said ends provides arm rests.

2. A toilet seat arrangement for invalids, to be used with a toilet bowl having a rim at the top thereof comprising in combination, a toilet seat, and a pair of adjustable clamps positioned on opposite sides of said toilet seat, each clamp having a first portion adapted to rest on the rim of said toilet bowl, a second portion fastened to the underside of said toilet seat, and a third portion for gripping the inside of said toilet bowl, wherein said third portion of each of said adjustable clamps includes an adjustable movable member operably connected to one of said other portions to be alternately moved toward and away from the center of said toilet bowl to enable said toilet seat arrangement to be easily placed on and secured to said toilet bowl, said first portion having a grooved receiving member, each of said adjustable movable members being formed to be slideably coupled with said grooved receiving member for movement toward and away from the center of said toilet bowl, and wherein each of said adjustable movable members has manually operable positioning means coupled thereto adapted to be handled from the outside of said toilet bowl for moving said adjustable members.

3. The toilet seat arrangement according to claim 2 where each of said adjustable movable members has a securing plate attached thereto, which securing plate is formed to provide a gripping effect along the inside of said toilet bowl, whereby said securing plate is moved toward and away from the center of said toilet bowl along with its associated adjustable movable member.

4. A toilet seat arrangement according to claim 2 wherein said second portion of each clamp has a plurality of apertures therein so that said clamp can be adjusted toward and away from the center of said toilet bowl in accordance with the width of said toilet bowl.

5 6 5. The apparatus defined in claim 2 further including 2,584,656 2/52 Anderson 4-6 X a positioning member fastened to the underside of said 2,736,905 3/56 Lang 4239 toilet seat arrangement to determine the rearward posi- ,77 ,975 1 /56 Frank 4254 tion of said toilet seat arrangement on said toilet bowl. 2,955,296 10/60 Z p i 239 5 References Cited by the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS 601, 04 2 60 It 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS 8 l a y 1,085,468 1/14 Nixon 4 239 LAVERNE D. GEIGER,Pr1mary Exammer.

1,233,263 7/17 Bach 4239 10 LEWIS I. LENNY, EDWARD V. BENHAM, Examiners.

Claims

1. A TOILET SEAT ARRANGEMENT FOR INVALIDS TO BE USED WITH A TIOLET BOWL HAVING A RIM AT THE TOP THEREOF COMPRISING IN COMBINATION, A TOILET SEAT, A PAIR OF ADJUSTABLE CLAMPS ADAPTED TO REST ON SAID RIM AND FASTENED ON OPPOSITE SIDES TO THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID TOILET SEAT FOR SECURING SAID TOILET SEAT ARRANGEMENT TO THE INSIDE OF SAID TOILET BOWL, A FIRST POSITIONING MEMBER FASTENED TO THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID TOILET SEAT TO DETERMINE THE REARWARD POSITION OF SAID TOILET SEAT ARRANGEMENT ON SAID TOILET BOWL, AND ARM SUPPORT MEANS FORMED TO PROVIDE ARM RESTS AT A PREDETERMINED HEIGHT ABOVE SAID TOILET SEAT AND FURTHER FORMED TO BE IMMOVABLY SECURED TO SAID TOILET SEAT WHEREIN SAID ARM SUPPORT MEANS COMPRISES TUBULAR METAL MATERIAL WHICH ISE LOOP-FORMED TO HAVE THE ENDS SECURED TO THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID TOILET SEAT AND WHEREIN THE PORTION OPPOSITE SAID ENDS PROVIDES ARMS RESTS.