Water Closet Bolt
OwnerCharles W. Johnson, Andrew R. Johnsoninventors
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Abstract
A water closet bolt comprises an upper end and a lower end with a threaded body extending therebetween. The lower end includes an oblong foot and the upper end includes a male or female notch for visually indicating the orientation of the long axis of the oblong foot. The notch also serves as a gripping surface to aid the installer in the installation of the toilet. Furthermore, the bottom of the notch acts as a break-off point to aid the installer in removing an excess portion of the bolt after the completing the installation.
Claims18
A water closet bolt for use in installing a toilet comprising:
- A. an elongated bolt having an upper end and a lower end and having a threaded body extending therebetween;
- B. a substantially oblong foot on the lower end of the bolt;
- and
- C. a notch on the upper end of the bolt for visually indicating the orientation of a long axis of the oblong foot of the lower end of the bolt wherein the notch includes,
- i. a non-threaded surface that serves as an at least substantially vertical hold back to aid in the installation of the toilet, and
- ii. a break-off point at the bottom of the notch.
A method of mounting a toilet comprising the steps of:
- A. placing a closet collar having slots for insertion of water closet bolts on a floor where the toilet is to be mounted;
- B. inserting water closet bolts in the slots of the closet collar, wherein each of the water closet bolts comprises,
- i. an upper end, a lower end, and a threaded body extending therebetween,
- ii. an oblong foot on the lower end of the bolt, and
- iii. a notch on the upper end of the bolt, the notch being configured to visually indicate the orientation of a long axis of the oblong foot;
- C. positioning each of the water closet bolts so that the long axis of the oblong foot is transverse to a narrow axis of the slot;
- D. lowering a toilet onto the closet collar so that the upper ends of the water closet bolts extend through the slots of the closet collar and apertures in a base of the toilet;
- E. mounting a retainer onto the threaded body of each of the bolts to clamp the toilet in place,
- F. during at least a portion of the mounting step, engaging a non-threaded peripheral portion of the notch of each bolt to prevent the bolt from rotating, and
- G. after the mounting step, breaking off each bolt at a break-off point located at the bottom end of the corresponding notch.
A toilet assembly comprising:
- A. a toilet having a base, said base having apertures therein;
- B. a closet collar positioned underneath the base of the toilet and configured to rest on the floor, said closet collar having slots for communication with the apertures of the base of the toilet;
- C. water closet bolts each having an upper end, a lower end, and an elongated body extending therebetween, the bolts each having an oblong foot on the lower end, wherein a long axis of each oblong foot is configured to engage a lower surface of a corresponding slot of the closet collar and the upper end of each bolt is configured to extend through one of the apertures of the base of the toilet, each of the closet bolts additionally having a notch on the upper end of the bolt for visually indicating the orientation of the long axis of the oblong foot, wherein each notch further provides a surface to provide a hold back for a installer during installation and a break off point to aid in the removal of an excess portion of the bolt that extends through the corresponding aperture in the base of the toilet;
- and
- D. retainers on the bolts that hold the base in place.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.