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Toilet seat lifting apparatusRelated Patent Categories: Baths, Closets, Sinks, And Spittoons, Opener Or Closer For A Closet Seat Or LidToilet seat lifting apparatus description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060179557, Toilet seat lifting apparatus. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
PRIORITY CLAIM [0001] The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/898,905, filed Jun. 26, 2004, pending, which is incorporated by reference herein. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to lavatories and more particularly, the present invention relates to a portable toilet seat lifter. BACKGROUND [0003] Numerous innovations for toilet seat lifters are present in the prior art. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they differ from the present invention as hereinafter contrasted. [0004] In U.S. Pat. No. 6,510,562, by inventor Bae. et al. titled, Toilet seat 6 lifting device, a toilet lifting apparatus in which a spring mechanism causes a toilet seat to rise after flushing of the toilet. The spring mechanism is controlled by a bolting device which is connected to the spring mechanism at one end and to a cable at another end so that upon flushing the cable moves the bolting mechanism thereby releasing the spring mechanism. The spring mechanism can vary its resiliency which in turn varies the speed by which the toilet seat rises from its seated position upon flushing. A urine guard is also provided. [0005] In U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,498, by inventor Joseph, titled, Toilet seat lifting device, a toilet seat lifting device for selectively raising and lowering the seat of a toilet includes a base disposed on a floor surface, a stanchion secured to the front of the base, and a foot pedal pivotally mounted to the stanchion. AA plurality of link arms are pivotally mounted to the stanchion and are linked to the foot pedal so that movement of the foot pedal pivots the link arms. Mounted to the distal ends of the link arms is a lifting arm retaining member which carries an elongated lifting arm capable of vertical repositioning on the lifting arm retaining member to accommodate variously-sized toilet howls and seats. The upper end of the lifting arm is attached to the under-side of the toilet scat. A main spring attached to the link arms assists in raising and dampens the lowering of the toilet seat and a helper spring projecting upwardly from the base between the link arms engages when the toilet seat goes past the top dead center position in order to assist in returning the toilet seat to the lowered state. [0006] In U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,506, by inventor Munford, et al., titled, Toilet seat lifter, a foot-actuated lifting mechanism for a toilet sent requires no modification of the toilet or surrounding structure. The lifting mechanism has a hollow vertical housing, an upper transverse bracket for attachment to a toilet seat bolt, and a lower transverse bracket for attachment to a toilet base bolt. A spacing adjustment mechanism permits the vertical spacing between the brackets to he adjusted to accommodate different toilet dimensions. A pivoting arm locates under the toilet seat, and a floating connection permits pivoting of the toilet seat lid with the arm and simultaneous translation relative to the arm to accommodate differences in rotational axes. A pedal is free-standing on the floor surrounding the toilet and pivots on a fulcrum. A linkage mechanism couples the pedal to the arm so that depression of the pedal raises the toilet seat. The linkage can be extended or retracted to ensure that the pedal rests on the floor regardless of any spacing adjustment. torsion and compression springs associated with the linkage mechanism prevent slamming of the toilet seat against either the base of the toilet or the associated reservoir. [0007] In U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,146, by inventor Pilkington, et al., titled, Toilet seat lifting apparatus including a resilient bowed member for preventing the seat from slamming, a toilet seat lifting apparatus comprising a base which is bolted to the base of a toilet, a foot pedal pivotally mounted to the base, a bowed member formed of a resilient material and interconnecting adjacent ends of the base and the foot pedal, a plate secured to the toilet seat and an arm connecting the foot pedal and the toilet seat, the bowed member being movable between a lowered position and a raised position when the foot pedal is depressed, and slightly biasing the toilet scat away from the toilet bowl so as to prevent the seat from slamming as the foot pedal is released. In the preferred embodiment the apparatus is formed from polypropylene material. [0008] Even though these innovations may he suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they would not be suitable for application to public toilet facilities which require frequent changing of parts and components, including the seat. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0009] The above patented inventions differ from the present invention because they fail to describe or claim at least one combination of the following features depicted in the present invention: a flexible bar having a right brace with right brace clip and left brace with a left brace clip which allow for compatibility with seats of various dimensions and shapes by flexing onto the seat periphery so as to retain the left and right brace clips in proper alignment with the bottom face of the affected seat. [0010] The present invention relates to a toilet seat lifter. More particularly, the present invention relates to a toilet seat lifter having a foot pedal. The types of problems encountered in the prior art are that those toilet seat lifters requite modification to the toilet and/or toilet seat. Such modifications include drilling holes through the seat to accommodate a lifting arm or surrounding the seat with a clipping device to allow for attachment to a lifting mechanism. [0011] In the prior art, attempts to solve this problem included rigid attachments that secured to the exterior of the toilet. However, the problem was solved by the present invention because it only requires that the foot pedal be secured to the floor while the toilet seat lifting device, bar, is removably attachable to the toilet seat by a the flexible bar and the corresponding right brace and left brace clips. Hence, the only attachment required in the present invention is to the floor adjacent to the affected seat. [0012] Innovations within the prior art are rapidly being exploited in the field of sanitary products for lavatories. The present invention went contrary to the teaching of the art which describes and claims devices which require modification to the pre-existing toilet by drilling through the seat or modifying the seat hardware. Specifically, the present invention provides a system where only a single rigid anchoring point is required, thereby reducing installation costs and interference with existing apparatus. Such minimal labor and intrusiveness is especially suitable for application to the mass transit industry where lavatories are compact in size and do not allow for flexible installation of p mechanisms. With the present invention, a lifting mechanism can be easily added to existing public transportation lavatories by rigid attachment to the single floor point and flexible coupling to the affected seat. [0013] The present invention solved a long felt need for a simple easily attachable toilet seat lifting device. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a toilet sent lifter having a flexible bar which applies lateral force to the seat to align the lifting clips with the seat, a shaft which applies upward force to lift the seat, and a foot pedal which transforms downward force to upward force which is delivered to the shaft. [0014] More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bar having a right brace with right brace clip and a left brace with a left brace clip. Each brace and clip is used to align and position the seat bar so as to cause application of upward force to the toilet seat bar to raise the seat and application of downward force to the seat bar to lower the toilet seat. [0015] In keeping with these objects, and with others which will become apparent hereinafter, one feature of the present invention resides, briefly stated, in the foot pedal having a foot pedal rocker upon which it pivots. The foot pedal rocker transfers the downward force applied by a user to upward force at a joint which is coupled to an end of the shaft. The upward force is transferred to the seat bar which includes a left brace and a right brace which are each aligned with a bottom of the toilet seat. Such application of upward force by each brace results in lifting of the toilet seat. [0016] In reverse operation, application of force to an opposite end of the foot pedal results in downward force on the shaft. Such downward force is transferred to the seat bar and to the associated left and right brace. The downward force is transferred to the toilet seat by way of friction force by way of vertical posts associated with each clip which are in contact with an edge of the toilet seat. Such downward force causes the toilet seat to return to a down position. [0017] The novel features which are considered characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will he best understood from the following description of the specific embodiments when read and understood in connection with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0018] The following references are used in the figures: [0019] 10--toilet seat lifter (10) Continue reading about Toilet seat lifting apparatus... Full patent description for Toilet seat lifting apparatus Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Toilet seat lifting apparatus patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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