1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to toilet seat lifters, and, more particularly, to toilet seat lifters especially adapted to be lifted manually.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Because toilet seats can become dirty quickly, throughout the years a number of devices have been invented by which a person does not need to manually touch a toilet seat in order to lift it. Some such toilet seat lifters allow a person to press a foot pedal, and thereby lift a toilet seat. Other known toilet seat lifters allow a person to operate some sort of manually operated means without manually touching the toilet seat itself.
In this respect, throughout the years, a number of innovations have been developed relating to manually-operated toilet seat lifters which permit the user to lift a toilet seat without touching the toilet seat itself, and the following U.S. patents are representative of some of those innovations: U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,999,555, 2,236,576, 3,935,601, 5,058,215, and 5,729,839.
More specifically, each of U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,999,555, 2,236,576, 3,935,601, 5,058,215, and 5,729,839 discloses a toilet seat lifter handle that is attached to the toilet seat at a very close location to the toilet seat. As a result, if an off-target urine stream accidently falls upon the toilet seat, there is a strong likelihood that the off-target urine stream would also contact the toilet seat lifter handle that is located close to the toilet seat itself. In this respect, it would be desirable if a manually-operated toilet seat lifter were provided which had a handle portion that is remotely located from the toilet seat itself.
In addition, each of the toilet seat lifters provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,999,555, 3,935,601, and 5,058,215 has a handle attached to the toilet seat in a fixed orientation. As a result, when the toilet seat is lifted and, thereby, the orientation of handle is changed, it becomes more difficult for a user to maintain a firm grip on the handle. In this respect, it would be desirable if a toilet seat lifter were provided whereby the orientation of the handle remains in a horizontal orientation even as the toilet seat is lifted.
Among the patents discussed hereinabove, only U.S. Pat. No. 5,729,839 discloses an additional manually-operated handle for lifting a toilet seat cover. However, this patent requires that two separate and distinct handles be provided, a first handle for lifting the toilet seat and a second handle for lifting the toilet seat cover. Rather than having two separate and distinct manually-operated handles for lifting the toilet seat and the toilet seat cover, it would be desirable if a device were provided which has a single manually-operated handle that can be used for lifting both the toilet seat and the toilet seat cover.
Thus, while the foregoing body of prior art indicates it to be well known to use a manually-operated toilet seat lifter apparatus, the prior art described above does not teach or suggest a manual toilet seat lifter apparatus which has the following combination of desirable features: (1) has a handle portion that is remotely located from the toilet seat itself; (2) provides that the orientation of the handle remains in an upright yet horizontal orientation even as the toilet seat is lifted; and (3) has a single manually-operated handle that can be used for lifting both the toilet seat and the toilet seat cover. The foregoing desired characteristics are provided by the unique manual toilet seat lifter apparatus of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.