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US 2003/0196257 A1Published application
Low maintenance hygienic toilet seat
AssigneeSeat One, Inc.
InventorsMark Kamysz, Charles Zimnicki
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention provides a toilet seat assembly that can be assembled and disassembled without the use of tools by aligning various components of the assembly at a predetermined angle with respect to one another. Another aspect of the invention includes a system composed of a plurality of toilet seat assemblies that communicate information onto and receive information from a computer network that can include the Internet in one embodiment. Another aspect of the invention includes a kit for servicing the assembly of the invention that includes a plurality of rolls of plastic sleeves.
Claims24
A toilet seat assembly for dispensing a sleeve comprising:
- a first mounting fork assembly configured to rotatably mount the toilet seat assembly to a surface of a toilet, the first mounting fork assembly comprising a first and second fork and a space defined between, the space disposed in the mounting fork assembly with respect to the toilet surface at an assembly angle with respect to the toilet surface;
- a lower housing rotatably mounted on the first mounting fork assembly, the lower housing configured to mate with the mounting fork assembly at the assembly angle, and configured to securely seat within the mounting fork assembly when rotated beyond the assembly angle;
- an outer cover rotatably mounted to the lower housing, the outer cover and lower housing defining a cavity, and
- a plastic sleeve dispenser disposed within the cavity and rotatably mounted on the first mounting fork assembly, the dispenser configured to mate with the mounting fork assembly at the assembly angle, and configured to securely seat within the mounting fork assembly when rotated beyond the assembly angle.
1 more element
A toilet seat assembly for dispensing a sleeve comprising a cavity defined by an outer cover rotatably and releasably attached to a lower housing, a sleeve dispenser disposed within the cavity, and the lower housing configured to rotatably mate to a first mounting assembly and defining a cavity between the lower housing and a first toilet surface facilitating access to an exterior portion of the lower housing and the first surface of the toilet.
A toilet seat assembly for dispensing a sleeve comprising:
- a lower housing mounted to a first surface of a toilet;
- an outer cover rotatably mounted to the lower housing, the outer cover rotatable between a first, open position and a second, closed position;
- a sleeve dispenser disposed within a cavity defined by the lower housing and outer cover, the sleeve dispenser comprising a supply assembly and a take-up assembly configured to apply a take-up force to the sleeve;
- and
- a toilet seat ring rotatably mounted to the lower housing, the toilet seat ring rotatable between a first, in-use position and a second, maintenance position to facilitate cleaning of the interior of the lower housing.
2 more elements
A toilet seat assembly for dispensing a sleeve comprising:
- a lower housing mounted to a first surface of a toilet;
- an outer cover rotatably mounted to the lower housing, the outer cover configured to rotate between a first, open position and a second, closed position;
- a sleeve dispenser disposed within a cavity defined by the lower housing and outer cover, the sleeve dispenser comprising a supply assembly and a take-up assembly configured to apply a take-up force to the sleeve;
- a toilet seat ring mounted to the lower housing, the toilet seat ring having a thickness and comprising a first end associate with the supply assembly and a second end associated with the take-up assembly, and
- a sleeve tensioning device configured to tightly roll used segments of the sleeve from the toilet seat ring onto the take-up assembly, the sleeve tensioning device comprising a blade disposed at the second end of the toilet seat ring and a biasing member configured to bias the blade away from an interior surface of the toilet seat ring and slit the sleeve into an upper and lower segment as the take-up force advances the sleeve past the blade.
2 more elements
A toilet seat assembly for dispensing a plastic sleeve comprising:
- a lower housing mounted to a first surface of a toilet;
- an outer cover rotatably mounted to the lower housing, the outer cover configured to rotate between a first, open position and a second, closed position;
- a sleeve dispenser disposed within a cavity defined by the lower housing and outer cover, the sleeve dispenser comprising a supply assembly and a take-up assembly configured to apply a take-up force to the sleeve;
- a toilet seat ring mounted to the lower housing, the toilet seat ring having a thickness and comprising a first end associate with the supply assembly and a second end associated with the take-up assembly, and
- a sleeve tensioning device configured to tightly roll used segments of the sleeve from the toilet seat ring onto the take-up assembly, the sleeve tensioning device comprising a blade configured to slit the sleeve into an upper and lower segment and disposed at the second end of the toilet seat, and a take-up pin eccentrically and adjustably mounted to an axle mounted to the sleeve dispenser at second end of the toilet seat ring, the take-up pin configured to adjust on the axle to regulate the amount of take-up force applied to the upper and lower segments of the slit sleeve.
2 more elements
A toilet seat assembly for dispensing a plastic sleeve comprising:
- a lower housing mounted to a first surface of a toilet;
- an outer cover rotatably mounted to the lower housing, the outer cover configured to rotate between a first, open position and a second, closed position;
- a sleeve dispenser disposed within a cavity defined by the lower housing and outer cover, the sleeve dispenser comprising a supply and a take-up;
- a toilet seat ring mounted to the lower housing, the toilet seat ring comprising a first end associate with the supply and a second end associated with the take-up, and a tensioning knife receptacle and pin disposed therein at the take-up end of the toilet seat ring;
- and
- a tensioning knife configured to releasably mount to the toilet seat ring within the tensioning knife receptacle, the tensioning knife comprising a first, bladed end, a biasing member to bias the bladed end away from the toilet seat ring, a second end comprising a receptacle configured to releasably receive the toilet seat ring pin, and a pivot surface configured to communicate with a back wall of the tensioning knife receptacle and configured to pivot the tensioning knife in response to a pin releasing force applied to the bladed end of the knife and against the biasing of the biasing member.
3 more elements
A toilet seat assembly for dispensing a plastic sleeve comprising:
- a lower housing mounted to a first surface of a toilet;
- an outer cover rotatably mounted to the lower housing, the outer cover configured to rotate between a first, open position and a second, closed position and comprising a window;
- the toilet seat ring mounted to the lower housing;
- and
- a sleeve dispenser disposed within a cavity defined by the lower housing and outer cover, the sleeve dispenser comprising:
- a supply assembly and a take-up assembly;
- a motor mechanically coupled to the take-up assembly and configured advance a segment of plastic sleeve from the supply assembly around the toilet seat ring and onto the take-up assembly;
- and
- a motor actuation sensor disposed within the cavity and aligned with the outer cover window, the motor actuation sensor comprising a first, second and third optical sensor configured to actuate the motor to advance the sleeve when a predetermined combination of the first, second and third optical sensor is triggered.
6 more elements
A toilet seat assembly for dispensing a plastic sleeve comprising:
- a first mounting fork assembly configured to rotatably mount the toilet seat assembly to a surface of a toilet, the first mounting fork assembly comprising a first and second fork portion, a base portion and an adjustable spacer disposed between the first and second fork portion and the base portion, the spacer comprising a receptacle and screw;
- a lower housing rotatably mounted on the first mounting fork assembly and configured to rotate about the first mounting fork assembly about a rotation path;
- an outer cover rotatably mounted to the lower housing, the outer cover and lower housing defining a cavity;
- a toilet seat ring mounted to the lower housing and configured to provide a space between the toilet seat ring and the toilet surface;
- a plastic sleeve dispenser disposed with the cavity;
- and
- a spacing assembly disposed on the lower housing and responsive to the placement of the screw within the receptacle, the spacing assembly configured to raise or lower the position of the lower housing assembly along the rotation path.
4 more elements
A toilet seat assembly for dispensing a plastic sleeve comprising:
- a first and second mounting assembly configured to mount the toilet seat assembly to a first surface of the toilet;
- a cavity defined by an outer cover and a lower housing, the cavity configured to receive a supply assembly, a plastic sleeve dispenser and a take-up assembly, and the lower housing configured to receive the first and second mounting assembly between the supply assembly and take-up assembly;
- and
- a toilet seat ring mounted to the sleeve dispenser.
1 more element
A method of monitoring the operation of a toilet seat assembly for dispensing a sleeve comprising:
- providing a toilet seat assembly comprising a sleeve supply assembly, a sleeve take-up assembly, and a dispensing assembly;
- collecting a first set of operational status data from a first sensor associated with the sleeve supply assembly and a second sensor associated with the sleeve take-up assembly;
- sending the first set of operational status data from the toilet seat assembly to a central monitoring station;
- and
- analyzing the first set of operational status data collected from the first and second sensor.
2 more elements
An bobbin for dispensing webbed material using a power driven coupling, the bobbin comprising:
- an extruded thermoplastic hollow tube having a plurality of splines disposed longitudinally therein, the splines being constructed and arranged in mating inter-engagement with the power driven coupling, whereby the webbed material can be dispensed or retrieved, as required, using the power driven coupling.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.