U.S. patent application number 10/935751 was filed with the patent office on 2006-03-09 for lifting toilet seat.
Invention is credited to Kazuo Kurome, Katsuhiko Kuruma, Kenzo Nakahama, Satsuki Sawamoto, Yoichi Suda, Yukio Sutou.
Application Number | 20060048296 10/935751 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35994714 |
Filed Date | 2006-03-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060048296 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sutou; Yukio ; et
al. |
March 9, 2006 |
Lifting toilet seat
Abstract
A lifting toilet seat including a structure of a toilet seat to
be caused to lift and go down by a raising device and comprising: a
toilet seat; a frame member which supports the toilet seat, is
provided with a railing at both lateral upper sides of the toilet
seat and also with a grip at the front upper side of the toilet
seat and further provided at the lower end with a fulcrum at the
front lower side of the toilet seat; and a base having a connecting
part with which the fulcrum of the frame member is pivotally
connected, the grip being provided at an upper end of a projection
projecting upwards from a position located forward of and away from
the railing.
Inventors: |
Sutou; Yukio; (Hikawa-gun,
JP) ; Suda; Yoichi; (Hikawa-gun, JP) ; Kurome;
Kazuo; (Hikawa-gun, JP) ; Kuruma; Katsuhiko;
(Hikawa-gun, JP) ; Nakahama; Kenzo; (Hirata-shi,
JP) ; Sawamoto; Satsuki; (Hikawa-gun, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ARMSTRONG, KRATZ, QUINTOS, HANSON & BROOKS, LLP
1725 K STREET, NW
SUITE 1000
WASHINGTON
DC
20006
US
|
Family ID: |
35994714 |
Appl. No.: |
10/935751 |
Filed: |
September 8, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
4/667 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61G 7/1094 20130101;
A61G 5/14 20130101; A61G 7/1046 20130101; A61G 7/1092 20130101;
A61G 7/1007 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
004/667 |
International
Class: |
A47K 13/10 20060101
A47K013/10 |
Claims
1. A lifting toilet seat including a structure of a toilet seat to
be caused to lift and go down by a raising device and comprising: a
toilet seat; a frame member which supports the toilet seat, is
provided with a railing at both lateral upper sides of the toilet
seat and also with a grip at the front upper side of the toilet
seat and further provided at the lower end with a fulcrum at the
front lower side of the toilet seat; and a base having a connecting
part with which the fulcrum of the frame member is pivotally
connected, the grip protruding upwards with respect to the upper
end of the railing and being provided at an upper end of a
projection projecting upwards from a position located forward of
and away from the railing.
2. A lifting toilet seat as set forth in claim 1 wherein the grip
is provided with a switch for the raising device.
3. A lifting toilet seat as set forth in claim 1 wherein a support
for the toilet seat of the frame member has a cut at the rear
central part and can mount a U-shaped toilet seat longitudinally
reversely.
4. A lifting toilet seat as set forth in claim 1 wherein a support
for the toilet seat of the frame member has a cut at the rear
central part and the toilet seat comprises two members
longitudinally paralleled mutually and having a central
longitudinal interval between them.
5. A lifting toilet seat as set forth in claim 1 wherein the frame
member is provided sideways with a connecting part for a shift
supplementing means.
6. A lifting toilet seat as set forth in claim 1 wherein the base
member installs a portable toilet stool on the upper surface.
7. A lifting toilet seat as set forth in claim 1 wherein the base
member is provided with a fitting part for a built-in toilet
stool.
8. A lifting toilet seat as set forth in claim 1 wherein the base
member is provided with a conveyance wheel enabling the lifting
toilet seat to be moved with a person being kept on the lifting
toilet seat.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to an improvement of a lifting
toilet seat of a toilet stool moved up and down above the toilet
stool in order to assist or help patients or the like in use of the
toilet stool.
[0003] 2. Prior Art
[0004] Various attempts of toilet stools with various structures
have been proposed for assisting or helping aged people, physically
handicapped persons, the subject(s), the user(s) or the like in
their use of the toilet stool for excretion. For example, there has
been proposed a toilet seat that is enabled to lift or go up, and
naturally, go down, for the purpose of assisting the subjects upon
their sitting on the toilet stool and standing up after the
excretion. Such feature is generally so structured that the toilet
seat is provided on a frame member pivotally supported by one or
plural fulcrum(s) so as to cause the toilet seat to lift or go up
and go down by means of a lifting device.
[0005] The toilet stool with the assisting or service function does
generally have an object to support persons with weak or weakened
leg muscles or waist for enabling them to readily use the toilet
stool for excretion by himself or herself. However, the current
toilet stools with that function have such a large disadvantage
that those persons feel a feeling of fear in use of the current
toilet stools when seating thereon for excretion or standing up
thereafter largely because the current toilet stools merely have a
railing to be gripped by those persons during excretion. In detail,
what needed for excretion using the toilet stools are, first, to
walk up to the toilet stool, to turn around to stand with their
back to the toilet seat, and then, to stoop down to cause his or
her hip to abut against the toilet seat and be moved down and
seated on the toilet seat. In this course of preparation for using
the toilet stool, the user when stands with his or her back to the
toilet seat has nothing to grip or grasp and feels uneasy.
[0006] Even if the railing is provided in this case, the user when
stands with his or her back to the toilet seat can find the railing
only behind the body and needs to grope for the railing. And even
when the user grasps the railing with both of his or her hands, the
posture is unstable. Hence, it is rather unreasonable for people
with weakened muscles to sustain his or her body with their hands
being put behind the body. The railing is in type of being fixed or
may be so structured that the railing goes up and down together
with the toilet seat. However, the railing even when moved up and
down is shifted at the most to the lateral sides of the body
standing before the toilet stool. Even when the user grips the
railing, it is hard to cause the hip to abut against the toilet
seat. The user is not able to remove a feeling of uneasiness in
stooping and slanting his or her body backwards without a holding
point holding the body at the front side.
[0007] Furthermore, the persons needing to use the toilet stools
having the assisting or service function are often required also to
trust the nursing care providing persons about taking care of the
user's body and excretions, i.e., clearing the body after the
user's excreting. But, in the situation that the concerned person
to be subjected to the nursing care sits on the toilet seat, there
is only a narrow space to insert hands for taking care of the
subject and excretions. Thus, it causes such problem that the
person subjected to the nursing care is forced to have an
unreasonable posture, such as a half-sitting posture. In this
regard, the toilet stools with the assisting or service function
can have a gap (formed by lifting up the toilet seat) between the
toilet seat and the toilet stool in the situation of the person
subjected to the nursing care keeping sitting on the toilet seat.
However, there is still such problem that the toilet seat hinders
the performing of taking care of the subject and excretions.
[0008] Moreover, the toilet seat is generally formed in shape of O
and U. It can be said that generally the U-shaped toilet seat
enables hands to be readily inserted into the toilet stool from its
front side, thereby making easy the taking care of the body and
excretions after excreting. The U-shaped toilet seat has also an
advantage of making easy men's urinating. However, particularly
regarding the taking care of the subject (s) and excretions to be
performed by the nursing care providing persons after the subjects'
excreting, there is no difference between the O-shaped and U-shaped
types of toilet seat. That is, during taking care of the subject(s)
and excretions, with the toilet seat being caused to lift or go up,
the subject is additionally forced to keep the half-sitting
posture, i.e., the posture that the subject lifts waist from the
toilet seat.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] Under the above circumstance the inventors have studied
zealously the problems and achieved the present invention. The
present invention relates to and is characterized in a structure of
a toilet seat to be caused to lift and go down by a raising device,
the structure comprising a toilet seat, a frame member which
supports the toilet seat, is provided with a railing at both
lateral upper sides of the toilet seat and also with a grip at the
front upper side of the toilet seat and further provided at the
lower end with a fulcrum at the front lower side of the toilet
seat, and a base having a connecting part with which the fulcrum of
the frame member is pivotally connected, the grip protruding
upwards with respect to the upper end of the railing and being
provided at an upper end of a projection projecting upwards from a
position located forward of and away from the railing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a side view showing an example of a lifting toilet
seat according to the present invention.
[0011] FIG. 2 is a side view showing the upper end position
(posture) of the lifting toilet seat shown in FIG. 1.
[0012] FIG. 3 is a side view showing an example of use of another
embodiment of a lifting toilet seat according to the present
invention.
[0013] FIG. 4 is a side view showing a course of use from the state
shown in FIG. 3.
[0014] FIG. 5 is a side view showing a further embodiment of a
lifting toilet seat according to the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 6(a) is a plan view showing a further embodiment of a
lifting toilet seat according to the present invention, and FIG.
6(b) a plan view showing another example of the state of use shown
in FIG. 6(a).
[0016] FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) are side views showing a further
embodiment of a lifting toilet seat according to the present
invention.
[0017] FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a further embodiment of a
lifting toilet seat according to the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 9(a) is a plan view showing a further embodiment of a
lifting toilet seat according to the present invention omitting the
back, railing and grip, and FIG. 9(b) a rear view.
[0019] FIG. 10 is a side view showing a further embodiment of a
lifting toilet seat according to the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a further embodiment of a
lifting toilet seat according to the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a further embodiment of a
lifting toilet seat according to the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 13 is a plan view showing another example of the state
of use of the lifting toilet seat shown in FIG. 11.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0023] The "frame member" referred to in the specification may be a
member for providing the toilet seat in a manner of being capable
of lifting and going down. The frame member may be pivotally
supported to turn around a fulcrum formed at the front lower end of
a support supporting the toilet seat. The frame member is not
limited in structure to any particular ones and may be made of a
material such as a pipe frame of iron or aluminum, wood, rattan,
plastic.
[0024] The frame member is so coupled with the base by connecting
the fulcrum with the connecting part on the base (member) in a
manner of being capable of turning that the frame member is turned
around the fulcrum to cause the toilet seat to lift and go down. On
the upper surface of the base may be set a portable toilet stool or
is provided a fitting part to be fit to a built-in toilet stool.
The built-in toilet stools may be those in the type of being
provided in general homes, hospitals, institutions, etc. In case of
adopting the built-in toilet stools, a height adjustment means may
be provided at the base so as to enable the toilet seat system to
correspond in height to the built-in toilet stool. The lifting
toilet seat according to the present invention may be provided
always in association with the built-in toilet stool. Otherwise,
the lifting toilet seat may be so structured that the base is
provided with a "conveyance" wheel so that the nursing
care-subjected person kept on the lifting toilet seat can be taken
from a bed room or the like to the place of toilet stool in such
manner of attending a person on a wheel chair. In this case, it is
preferable that the conveyance wheel itself may be given the
function of height adjustment or may be used with the aforesaid
height adjustment means.
[0025] Lifting and going down of the frame member is driven by a
raising device. The raising device is not limited to any particular
ones but may preferably be a device using as a drive source
hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders, or an electric motor making use
of household electric power, such device being high
general-purposeful. A raising device using an electric motor may
preferably be those structured as a thread mechanism or worm gear
that not influenced by a force applied to the toilet seat. The
raising device may employ a gas damper enclosing a gas such as air,
other than the foregoing ones in the type of forcibly driving. The
gas damper's elasticity function provides assisting of the user's
sitting down or seating and standing up. Alternatively, the gas
damper and the electric motor may be used together.
[0026] The raising device may be positioned laterally of the
portable toilet stool or the built-in toilet stool and interposed
between the frame member and the base. Basically, the raising
device may be solely provided only at one side but alternatively be
provided at both lateral sides of the toilet stools to enable the
toilet seat to be moved up and down smoothly and in a well-balanced
manner, thereby enabling a substantially heavy user to use the
toilet seat without any problems.
[0027] The grip is a member formed on the frame member to be
gripped by the user when sitting on the toilet seat and standing
up. The grip is provided at the front upper side with respect to
the toilet seat. The present invention provides the grip at the
upper end of a projection projecting upwards from a position
located forward of and away from the railings formed at both
lateral upper sides of the toilet seat. The position where the grip
is provided is located on an almost horizontally extending line
extended from the railing on which the user's arms are put and the
railing being to be gripped by the user's hands during excreting.
And the grip at that position can be gripped by the users hands
with their arms stretched when the user being in the state of
sitting on the toilet seat. The grip is usually provided with a
switch for the raising device. Thus, the user's body can be
prevented from being thrown out forwards since the user grips the
grip by hand even when the user unexpectedly turns on the switch to
cause the toilet seat to go up. The switch may additionally employ
a remote control switch, a foot switch or the like to preferably
enable the nursing care providing persons to operate such
additional switch.
[0028] The present invention provides the grip at the upper end of
a projection projecting upwards from a position located forward of
and away from the railings. Hence, the grips are independent bodies
extending from the lower side and being quite readily gripped. The
projection may use such features that the projection extends
upwards from a point of height lower than a middle point in height
between the railings upper surface and the toilet seat, or, the
projection exists vertically or slantwise (in the direction
gradually going away from the railings while extending toward the
upper end) at a position forward of and away from the
railings).
[0029] When the user tries to sit on the toilet seat and stands up
after excreting, the frame member supporting the toilet seat is in
a raised position and the grip formed on the projection of the
frame member sticks out forward, serving as an ensured and reliable
supporting tool for supporting the user's body. Particularly, the
projections which extend from the lower side cause the users to
feel as enclosed by the projections and have a vertically wider
range of gripping particularly suitable for short persons or
persons bent double. Also, in case that users approach the toilet
stool by walking with a stick or walking along the railing formed
on the wall surface and try to grasp the grip for holding the
user's body, it is possible to grasp by both hands the grip or the
projection at one lateral side of the toilet seat, and it becomes
easy to turn over the body before the toilet seat without necessity
of re-grasping. In addition, it becomes easy to let the hip abut
against the toilet seat while applying the weight of user to the
grip. When the hip is brought into contact with the toilet seat in
its upper end position, a feeling of uneasiness can be wiped away.
Sitting on the toilet seat is then achieved merely by turning on
the switch in the case using the electric motor or merely by acting
to sit in the case using the gas damper.
[0030] The toilet seat to be mounted on the supporting part for the
toilet seat on the frame member may use an ordinary U-like or
O-like shape type of toilet seat and may also mount a toilet seat
having function of washing the hip (a device comprising a toilet
seat with functions of jetting warm water and drying the hip). In
case of using such toilet seat having the hip washing function, a
coupler which can make connection by one-touch may be provided, so
that the toilet seat is connected with a water piping in the bath
(rest) room to readily receive supply of tap water. Such toilet
seats may be caused to lift and go down above the portable or
built-in toilet stools in order to provide the assisting or service
during the user's excreting. For the persons who cannot by
themselves do taking care of the body and excretions after
excreting, the aforesaid toilet seat having the hip washing
function is extremely useful but expensive substantially. Hence,
such features that the supporting part for the toilet seat is
provided with a cut at the rear central part and the U-shaped
toilet seat is enabled to be mounted longitudinally reversely may
be provided, whereby enabling the nursing care providing persons to
readily deal with or take care of specific excretions after the
foregoing excretion. In addition, there is no need for the subjects
subjected to the nursing care to do half-sit over or keep waist
away from the toilet seat during receiving the care, resulting in
almost no load to the subjects. Furthermore, the toilet seat may be
structured as comprising two members longitudinally paralleled
mutually and having a central longitudinal interval between them,
the above-said effects can be obtained without detaching and
re-mounting operation, although the U-shaped toilet seat
necessitates to be re-mounted longitudinally reversely.
[0031] The lifting toilet seat according to the present invention
when installed in a bedroom or a hospital room may associate with a
shift supplementing means which is stretched between the bed and
the lifting toilet seat, thereby enabling the subjects kept in the
sitting state to be shifted from the bed to the toilet seat. For
this feature, the frame member may be provided sideways with a
connecting part for the shift supplementing means so as to achieve
high safety. The connecting part for the shift supplementing means
formed on the frame member may be so structured as ensuring that
the shift supplementing means does not easily come out of the frame
member upon the shifting operation. The subjects when move to the
lifting toilet seat from the shift supplementing means they sit on
are hindered by the railing and grip which may be structured as
detachable.
Preffered Embodiments of the Invention
[0032] Next, the present invention will be detailed with referring
to the attached drawings.
[0033] FIG. 1 shows an example of a lifting toilet seat 1 according
to the present invention. A toilet seat 2 is mounted on a frame
member 3 and is enabled to lift and go down around an axis provided
by a fulcrum 4 formed on the frame member 3 at the front and lower
end with respect to the toilet seat 2. A raising device 6 for
lifting up and moving down the frame member 3 is structured to
expand and contract a screw shaft 5 by means of an electric motor
(housed inside) and is connected between the frame member 3 and a
base member 10 in a manner of being capable of being rotated. In
this example, the frame member 3 is connected at the fulcrum 4 with
the base 10 in a manner of being capable of being rotated, and a
portable type of toilet stool 11 is installed on the base 10. A
wheel 12 is provided at the rear end of the base 10 as shown so
that the whole unit can be moved with the front end of the base 10
being picked up and pulled. The base member 10 may be formed in a
plate-like shape but alternatively have a hollow inside to
accommodate wiring of the raising device 6.
[0034] In the present invention the frame member 3 is provided with
a railing 7 and also a grip 8 on an almost horizontally extended
line extending from the railing 7. The grip 8 is provided on an end
of a projection 35 projecting vertically on the frame member 3 and
has a switch 9 for the raising device 6. The railing 7 is provided
for supporting the user's body when sits on the toilet seat 2, and
the grip 8 is what the user to grip when the user tries, starts or
is about to sit on the seat or to stand up from the sitting
position or posture. The projection 35 to provide the grip 8 is at
a position located forward of and away from the railing 7 and
projects upwards from a root portion the railing 7. Accordingly,
the grip 8 leans slantwise and can function and serve as an
independent holding means without being influenced by existence of
the railing 7 when the toilet seat 2 is in the upper end position
as shown in FIG. 2.
[0035] The user may grip the grip 8 (located forward of the user as
shown in FIG. 3) in such manner of leaning on the grip 8 for
causing the body of the user to be supported and eliminating a
feeling of uneasiness. In this state, when the user stoops, causing
hip to abut against the toilet seat 2 while applying weight of the
user to the grip 8 as shown in FIG. 4, the user is able to perform
a series of concerned actions almost without feeling a fear. When
the hip abuts against the toilet seat 2, the user merely applies
weight to the toilet seat 2 so as to be automatically moved down to
the sitting position by the raising device 6. This example shows
the raising device 6 using a gas damper 13.
[0036] The whole shape of the lifting toilet seat 1 may be formed
with a smooth curve as shown in FIG. 5 to express a soft visual
impression and a soft feel. Particularly, the frame member 3 at the
part of the fulcrum 4 does likely catch the user's foot and may be
preferably located as lower as possible as shown in the
drawing.
[0037] The lifting toilet seat 1 according to the present invention
may be applied to a built-in toilet stool 14 installed in a rest
room in ordinary homes as shown in FIG. 6(b), other than the indoor
usable system using the portable toilet stool 11 on the base member
10 shown in FIG. 6(a). In this case, the base member 10 is provided
at its rear part with a fitting part 141 so that the built-in
toilet stool 14 is installed with the toilet seat 2 of the lifting
toilet seat 1 being positioned above the built-in toilet stool
14.
[0038] The lifting toilet seat 1 may be so installed to the
built-in toilet stool 14 as shown in FIG. 7(a) that an installing
means 101 having function of height adjustment is set to the base
member 10 to enable the toilet seat 1 to correspond in height to
the built-in toilet stool 14. The installing means 101 may be
freely laid on the floor surface of the rest room or preferably be
fixed on the floor surface by use of nails or the like. Moreover,
the conveyance wheel 102 may be mounted to the base member 10 as
shown in FIG. 7(b) so that persons needing the nursing care can be
moved to the built-in toilet stool 14 while being kept on the
toilet seat 1. The conveyance wheel 102 in this example is provided
with a height adjustment means and a stopper.
[0039] The toilet seat 2 is mounted on a support 31 for the toilet
seat on the frame member 3. A general U-shaped toilet seat 2 may be
adapted to be mounted longitudinally reversely as shown in FIG. 8
so that a gap 21 of the toilet seat 2 can be changed in position to
the rear side. The feature that the gap 21 of the toilet seat 2 is
set to the rear side and the provision of a cut 32 on the toilet
seat support 31 at its rear central part make open the rear side of
the toilet seat 2 and the toilet seat support 31 as seen in FIG.
9(a). Thus, when the toilet seat 2 is lifted up by the raising
device 6, there is provided a wider space between the toilet seat 2
and the portable toilet stool 11 as shown in FIG. 9(b). In this
situation, the nursing care providing persons can quite readily
perform taking care of excretions. FIG. 10 shows the state that the
user is subjected to taking care of by the nursing care providing
person. In this example, a belt 33 is provided at the frame member
3 to support the body of the user.
[0040] The above-said function can be obtained also by such toilet
seat 2, other than the U-shaped type, as comprising two members to
define a gap between them at the front and rear central parts as
shown in FIG. 11, without necessity of detaching and re-mounting
operation. In addition, since the gap at the front side is larger,
the toilet seat 2 is readily usable for men's urinating.
[0041] The lifting toilet seat 1 is structured to mount the toilet
seat 2 to the toilet seat support 31 on the frame member 3. Thus,
the toilet seat 2 may be replaced with a sheet 22 as shown in FIG.
12 to enable the seat system to be made use of as a chair. In this
case, the sheet 22 may be lifted up and moved down to thereby
supplement user's sitting on and standing up.
[0042] As a further example of use of the lifting toilet seat 1
according to the present invention, a shift supplementing means 15
is mounted, as shown in FIG. 13, to make easy the shift to the
lifting toilet seat 1. The shift supplementing means 15 is provided
between the bed B and the lifting toilet seat 1 used indoor in a
bed room or a hospital room so that the user can shift from the bed
to the lifting toilet seat 1, with the state of sitting being kept
and without standing up. In this example, a fixing part for fixing
the railing 7 and the grip 8 to the frame member 3 is made use of
as a connecting part 34 for the shift supplementing means 15. The
reason that the fixing part is commonly used as the connecting part
34 for the shift supplementing means 15 is because in case that
shifting to the lifting toilet seat 1 with the state of sitting
being kept is desired, the railing 7 and the grip 8 are to be
removed.
[0043] In case of using the lifting toilet seat 1 connected with
the shift supplementing means 15, the raising function of the
lifting toilet seat 1 is basically not needed. When the nursing
care provid ing persons are to be entrusted regarding taking care
of excretions and the subject as foregoing, the shift supplementing
means 15 may be removed to enable the toilet seat 2 to lift and go
down. In this case, the body of the user may be held by the belt 33
and there is no need of standing up from the lifting toilet seat 1,
so that no mounting the grip 8 and railing 7 is not
problematic.
EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0044] As seen from the above, the lifting toilet seat according to
the present invention includes a structure of a toilet seat to be
caused to lift and go down by a raising device, the structure
comprising a toilet seat; a frame member which supports the toilet
seat, is provided with a railing at both lateral upper sides of the
toilet seat and also with a grip at the front upper side of the
toilet seat and further provided at the lower end with a fulcrum at
the front lower side of the toilet seat; and a base having a
connecting part with which the fulcrum of the frame member is
pivotally connected, the grip protruding upwards with respect to
the upper end of the railing and being provided at an upper end of
a projection projecting upwards from a position located forward of
and away from the railing. Hence, any patients having weak legs can
do excrete with ease without pains and a feeling of uneasiness.
Also, the present invention has quite useful advantages such as
that it is simple in structure and cheap to manufacture.
* * * * *