AU683139B2 - A toilet seat assembly - Google Patents

Description

S F Ref: 292000

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT sr S

S.

ORIGINAL

S.

*r 9 *SS Name and Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: ASSOCIATED PROVISIONAL [313 Application No(s) PM5105 PM5173 Caroma Industries Limited Market Street Brisbane Queensland 4000

AUSTRALIA

Peter Ross Dunstan Spruson Ferguson, Patent Attorneys Level 33 St Martins Tower, 31 Market Street Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia A Toilet Seat Assembly APPLICATION DETAILS [33] Country

AU

AU

[323 Application Date 15 April 1994 19 April 1994 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- 5815 CY ~slW A TOILET SEAT ASSEMBLY The present invention relates to sanitary ware and, in particular, to the arrangements by means of which a toilet seat assembly can be connected to a lavatory pan. A connector plate extends between the lavatory pan and the cistern to the rear of the pan, so that the connector plate is arranged to hide from view the flush pipe which interconnects the cistern and pan.

In Australia, and in many other jurisdictions, there are now, in effect, three generations of cisterns. The older cistern utilised a flush volume of approximately 11 litres, the intermediate generation utilised a full flush of 9 litres and a half flush of 4.5 litres, whilst the most recent generation utilises a full flush of 6 litres and a half flush of 3 litres. With the advent of the most recent generation, the size of the cisterns has been substantially reduced. However, it is generally desirable that articles which are able to be retrofitted to existing cisterns, such as toilet seat assemblies, be able to be sold in such a way that the purchaser can adapt the recently purchased article to the 15 existing cistern, irrespective of the generation of that cistern.

In recent years it has become fashionable to provide a connector plate between the toilet seat and the cistern. The connector plate extends rearwardly from the upper surface of the pan and sweeps upwardly to meet the lower surface of the cistern. The rearmost portion of the connector plate is provided with a bight which enables the 20 connector plate to be received around the flush pipe which connects the cistern to the pan. The consequence of this arrangement is that the flush pipe itself is concealed from view and therefore a more sightly arrangement results.

With the first two generations of cistern referred to above, the cistern has a 'I substantial left to right width when the cistern is viewed mounted on the wall. Also there is a substantial distance between the flush pipe and the inlet pipe which enters into the base of the cistern to one side of the centrally located flush pipe. As a consequence, the connector plate cannot shield from view tl inlet pipe to the cistern However, with the most recent generation of cisterns, thtr left to right dimension of the cistern is substantially reduced and therefore the inlet pipe is now much closer to the flush pipe. As a consequence, it is possible to utilise a connector plate which is able to shield from view both the flush pipe and the inlet pipe.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a toilet seat assembly and associated fittings, which enable a toilet seat to be secured to a pan and so that either a relatively narrow connector plate which shields from view only the flush pipe is able to be used, or alternatively, a relatively wider connector plate which shields from view both the flush pipe and the inlet pipe is able to be used.

Substantial advantages in terms of reduction of stock items, reduction in inventory costs, and the like are able to be achieved if such an arrangement can be provided, IN:\LIBOO1OO492:LDP IC1IIL--RIIIII~B -3- According to one aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a toilet seat assembly comprising a foundation plate able to be secured to the upper surface of a lavatory pan; a hinge plate securable to said foundation plate; a seat and lid each pivotally mountable to said hinge plate, and either one of two different connector plates each of which can mate with a corresponding shaped portion of said foundation plate, wherein each one of the two mated connector plates is adapted to extend from the foundation plate towards the rear of the pan.

Preferably in the above described assembly one of the connector plates is wider than the other and the assembly also includes a shrcud piece having an interior dimension shaped to mate with the exterior of the narrower connector plate, and having an exterior dimension shaped to mate with the hinge plate.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a fuandation plate adapted for securing to the upper surface of a lavatory pan, the foundation plate having a forwardly facing profile shaped to receive a hinge plate, and a rearwardly facing profile shaped to receive either one of two different connector plates.

Preferably one of the connector plates is wider than the other and the foundation plate rear facing profile is provided with a pair of shoulders to receive the wider connection plate and a pair of spaced apart slots, located between the shoulders, to receive the narrower connection plate.

In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention a method of mounting a toilet seat assembly including a connector plate is also disclosed.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which; Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the toilet assembly of the preferred embodiment, o Fig. 2 is a side elevational view, partly in longitudinal section, of the rear of the toilet pan, Fig. 3 is a perspective view from above of the wider connector plate utilised for S. the latest generation cisterns, Fig. 4 is an inverted plan view of the wider connector plate of Pig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a enlarged perspective view of the foundation plate of Fig. 1.

As seen in Fig. 1 the toilet seat assembly 1 *ft tie preferred embodiment is formed from a number of constituent parts in the form of a lid 2, a seat 3, a hinge plate 4, a foundation plate 5, a wide connector plate 6, a narrow connector plate 7 and a shroud piece 8.

As schematically illustrated in Fig. 1, the lid 2 and seat Z are able to be pivotally connected to the hinge plate 4 by means of a pair of hinge pins 11 which extend through circular apertures in each of the lid 2, the seat 3 and a hinge boss 12.

IN:\LIBOOOO492VXF L IP~sAds~ As indicated in Fig. 2, the foundation plate 5 is able to be releasably secured to the upper surface 14 of a lavatory pan 15 by means of a pair of conventional fasteners 16 (only of which is illustrated in Fig. 1) and a pair of wing nuts 17 (only one of which is illustrated in Fig. 2).

Mounted above, and to the rear of, the lavatory pan 15 is a cistern 19 which is connected to the pan 15 by means of an L-shaped flush pipe As illustrated in Fig. 1, the foundation plate 5 is provided with a pair of springloaded releasable catches which enable the hinge plate 4 to be releasably secured to the foundation plate 5. Each of the springloaded releasable catches takes the form of a blind hole 22 in the foundation plate 5 which receives a spring 23 and cylindrical plunger 24. When assembled, the pair of plungers 24 is able to be depressed so as to enable the hinge plate 4 to be slid past the foundation plate 5. The plungers 24 then move under the influence of the springs 5 so as to enter the apertures 25 (only one of which is illustrated in Fig. 1) in the hinge plate 4. This locks the hinge plate 4 (and 15 hence also the seat 3 and lid 2) to the foundation plate If the cistern 19 is of the latest generation, then the connector plate 6 is utilised ooo• which has a central bight 27 shaped to receive the flush pipe 20, and a pair of narrow bights 28 which are each shaped to receive the conventional cistern inlet pipe 29 (Fig.

The inlet pipe 29 can be mounted to either side of the flush pipe 20 Depending upon the set out distance of the pan 15 from the wall (not illustrated) on which the cistern 19 is mounted, it may be necessary to shorten the overall front to rear length of the connector plate 6. For this purpose, a number of parallel spaced apart grooves 30, as illustrated in Fig. 4, are provided in the underside of the connector plate 6. This enables the conrector plate 6 to be easily hacksawed or cut to the desired length during the installation procedure.

As indicated in Fig, 5, the foundation plate 5 is provided with a pair of outer shoulders 32 and a pair of slots 33. As indicated in Fig. 1, the spacing between, and profile of, the shoulders 32 corresponds to the interior left to right dimension, and profile respectively, of the connector plate 6. In addition, the exterior left to right dimension of the connector plate 6 is able to be accommodated within the interior of the hinge plate 4. Thus, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the hinge plate 6 is able to be snugly accommodated between the hinge plate 4 and the shoulders 32 so as to provide an aesthetically pleasing overall appearance.

However, if the cistern 19 should happen to be a member of the two older generations of cisterns, then the connector plate 7 is used instead of the connector plate 6. As indicated in Fig. 1 the connector plate 7 is dimensioned so that it is able to be received in the slots 33 (Fig. 5) of the foundation plate Again, in order to provide a pleasing aesthetic appearzance, the shroud piece 8 is provided for use with the connector plate 7. The shroud piece 8 has a rear wall 38 with IN:\LIBOO]O492:LDP an opening therein which is shaped to receive the exterior profile of the connector plate 7. In addition, the shroud piece 8 has a forward facing interior profile which is shaped to be received by the shoulders 32 of the foundation plate 5 and an exterior profile which corresponds to that of the connector plate 6 so that the shroud piece 8 can be snugly received into the hinge plate 4. Thus the shroud piece 8 provides a visually attractive means of bridging the dimensional difference between the narrow connector plate 7 and the relatively wide hinge plate 4.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing provides an arrangement which is easily able to be retrofitted to any existing cistern and lavatory pan, and is also able to be fitted to a new installation. This applies irrespective of the generation of the cistern in question. Furthermore, all the parts are able to be moulded from plastics material and are therefore of low cost. Consequently, in a kit form, all the components of the toilet seat assembly can be provided and depending upon the generation of cistern used, either the narrow connector plate 7 and shroud piece 8 are •coo 15 discarded, or the wide connector plate 6 is discarded. In this way, it is not necessary to maintain separate toilet seat assemblies for each generation of cisterri and therefore the inventory costs in terms of production, storage, distribution and the like are substantially reduced.

foregoing describes only one embodiment of the present invention and 20 modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the arrangement of the hinge •boss 12 and hinge pins 11 can be changed to adapt to different styles or designs of lid 2 and seat 3.

N:\LIB00100492:LDP ~--P~SaUB S~PLW

Claims (13)

1. A toilet seat assembly comprising a foundation plate able to be secured to the upper surface of a lavatory pan; a hinge plate securable to said foundation plate; a seat and lid each pivotally mountable to said hinge plate, and either one of two different connector plates each of which can mate with a corresponding shaped portion of said foundation plate, wherein each one of said two mated connector plates is adapted to extend from said foundation plate towards the rear of said pan.

2. A kit of parts for the toilet seat assembly as claimed in claim 1, said kit including both said connector plates.

3. The invention as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein one of the connector plates is wider than the other, and further comprising a shroud piece having an interior dimension shaped to mate with the exterior of the narrower connector plate, and having an exterior dimension shaped to mate with the hinge plate.

4. The invention as claimed in claim 3 wherein said foundation plate has a forwardly facing profile shaped to receive said hinge plate, and a rearwardly facing profile shaped to receive either one of the two connector plates. Sfi

5. The invention as claimed in claim 4 wherein said foundation plate rear facing profile is provided with a pair of shoulders to receive the wider connection plate and a pair of spaced apart slots, located between said shoulders, to receive the narrower connection plate.

6. The invention as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the wider connection plate has a bight to receive a flush pipe therein and at least one recess to receive a cistern inlet pipe therein.

7. The invention as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the S 25 hinge plate is releasably securable to the foundation plate.

S8. The invention as claimed in claim 7 wherein the foundaion plate includes a pair of spring loaded plungers and the hinge plate includes a corresponding pair of plunger receiving apertures.

9. A toilet seat assembly substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

A kit of parts for the toilet seat assembly as claimed in claim 9.

11. A foundation plate adapted for securing to the upper surface of a lavatory pan, said foundation plate having a forwardly facing profile shaped to receive a hinge plate, and a rearwardly facing profile shaped to receive either one of two different connector plates.

12. A foundation plate substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 5 of the accompanying drawings. [N:\LIBOOIOO492:VXF

13. A method of mounting a toilet seat assembly, said method being substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this Third Day of April 1995 Caroma Industries Limited Patent Attorneys for the Applicant SPRUSON FERGUSON ae g o 6 P IN:\LIBOO00492:cg 11 1 In ABSTRACT A TOILET SEAT ASSEMBLY The present invention discloses a toilet seat assembly able to be used with either wide or narrow cisterns The assembly is made up from a foundation plate which is secured to a toilet pan (15) and to which is connected a hinge plate a seat and a lid Two connector plates (6 and 7) are provided. The wider connector plate is used with narrow cisterns and slides into the hinge plate In this event the other connector plate and a shroud are discarded. In the alternative, with wider cisterns, the narrow connector plate is used and the shroud takes up the difference in size between the narrow connector plate and the hinge plate Fig. 1 *a e *V *a VS 0 IN:\LIBOO00492:LDP