US 20030208836A1 (19) United States (12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2003/0208836 A1 Bankemper (43) Pub. Date: NOV. 13, 2003

(54) DISPOSABLE SANITARY BARRIER FOR (52) US. Cl...... 4/2451 PUBLIC RESTROOM USE (57) ABSTRACT (76) Inventor: Marian E. Bankemper, Franklin, TN A disposable seat cover, made of a liquid impervious (Us) laminate having an upper layer of soft, thick paper and a Correspondence Address: loWer layer of plastic ?lm embossed to form a series of ridges Which prevents sliding on the during use. LITTMAN LAW OFFICES, LTD. The cover is a single sheet of laminate material, die cut to P.O. BOX 15035 CRYSTAL CITY STATION shape and embossed to promote ease in ?tting. The cover has ARLINGTON, VA 22215 (US) oval inner and outer embossed creases to de?ne the portion (21) Appl. No.: 10/141,004 of the cover coming in contact With the seat. The cover is embossed to form creases from Which fall the inner and (22) Filed: May 9, 2002 outer portions of the toilet boWl rim area and decorated for children. The inner and outer pleated skirts alloW children to Publication Classi?cation grasp the toilet seat for balance Without coming into contact With the toilet seat or the boWl rim and upper inner and outer (51) Int. Cl? ...... A47K 13/14 surfaces. Patent Application Publication Nov. 13, 2003 Sheet 1 0f 4 US 2003/0208836 A1 Patent Application Publication Nov. 13, 2003 Sheet 2 0f 4 US 2003/0208836 A1 Patent Application Publication Nov. 13, 2003 Sheet 3 0f 4 US 2003/0208836 A1 1 5/8” 34 D1' HQ

Fig3 3/8” Patent Application Publication Nov. 13, 2003 Sheet 4 0f 4 US 2003/0208836 A1 US 2003/0208836 A1 Nov. 13, 2003

DISPOSABLE SANITARY BARRIER FOR PUBLIC [0011] US. Pat. No. Des. 320,069, issued Sep. 17, 1991, RESTROOM USE to Rossiter, illustrates a toilet seat cover With toilet seat overhang. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0012] US. Pat. No. Des. 342,859, issued Jan. 4, 1994, to [0001] 1. Field of the Invention Garcia, illustrates a toilet seat cover With a decorative pattern and Which snaps over the seat by means of What [0002] The present invention relates to sanitary seat cov appears to be an elastic band Which is part of periphery of ers. More particularly, the invention is related to disposable the toilet seat cover. sanitary seat covers for toilet seats. [0013] None of the above inventions and patents, taken [0003] 2. Description of the Related Art either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the [0004] The use of public restroom in many cases instant invention as claimed. Thus, a disposable sanitary involves eXposure to unsanitary conditions, particularly barrier for public restroom use solving the aforementioned When the toilet seat must be sat upon. The use of such toilets problems is desired. by toddlers Who are just being potty trained and small children is particularly dif?cult and the eXposure to disease SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION high since they must generally hold onto the sides of the toilet seat With their hands for balance. The seats are too [0014] The present invention is a disposable toilet seat large for their small frame, causing the child to put their cover con?gured to act as a sanitary barrier for public hands on the surfaces of the seat to balance and support restroom use. The cover is made of a liquid impervious themselves, putting them at risk for eXposure to germs and laminate having an upper layer of soft, thick paper and a disease. The toilet boWl, itself, may be touched or grabbed loWer layer of plastic ?lm, the ?lm being embossed to form by the child resulting in eXposure to unsanitary conditions. a series of ridges Which are useful in preventing sliding of Present available seat covers are very thin and are subject to the toilet seat cover on the toilet seat during use. The cover slippage off the toilet seat, especially since children tend to is preferably made of a single sheet of material Which is die squirm or slide back and forth on the seat. If there is liquid cut to shape and embossed so as to promote ease in ?tting on the seat cover, the thin seat covers absorb it and travel the cover over the toilet seat. through to contact the user. This liquid may carry disease [0015] The inventive cover is in the general shape of a bearing bacteria. The use of for a seat cover is toilet seat and has oval inner and outer embossed creases to equally unsatisfactory. de?ne the portion of the cover coming in contact With the [0005] It Would be desirable to provide a disposable toilet seat. The cover is embossed to form creases from Which fall seat cover, Which may easily be carried in a handbag, covers the inner and outer pleats Which overhang the inner and the toilet seat and upper portion of inner and outer sides of outer portions of the toilet boWl rim area. Cutouts are made the boWl, resists sliding relative to the seat once it is in place, along inner and outer edges of the inventive cover to alloW and Will not alloW liquid on the seat to permeate the cover the formation of the doWnWardly draping pleats. The upper and make contact With the user. There has eXisted a long surface of the inventive toilet seat cover may be decorated standing need for such a neW and sanitary toilet seat con as by animal images to please children using the cover. The struction that not only is portable and disposable, but is also inner and outer pleated skirts alloW children to grasp the speci?cally child friendly. The purpose of the present inven toilet seat for balance Without coming into contact With the tion is to provide an ansWer to these needs. toilet seat or the boWl rim and upper inner and outer surfaces. [0006] US. Pat. No. 5,729,838, issued Mar. 24, 1998, to SchWeiZer, describes a toilet seat cover Which unfolds in the [0016] Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention manner of an accordion and drapes over the toilet seat and to provide a toilet seat cover for use in public toilets Which the outer portion of the toilet boWl rim. protects an adult or child from eXposure to the toilet seat and boWl rim and side during use. [0007] US. Pat. No. 5,144,698, issued Sep. 8, 1992, to McKenzie, describes a toilet seat cover made of layered [0017] It is another object of the invention to provide a paper and plastic material and provides cover for both seat toilet seat cover as above Which drapes over the inner and and rim of toilet boWl. outer rim area of the toilet boWl such that a child may be protected from contact thereWith When the child holds the [0008] US. Pat. No. 5,887,291, issued Mar. 30, 1999, to toilet seat to gain balance during use. BelliZZi, describes a toilet seat cover in the form of a plastic ring and Which features a draW string to maintain the cover [0018] It is a further object of the invention to provide a tightly around the toilet seat. toilet seat cover as above Which is resistant to sliding on the toilet seat during use. [0009] US. Pat. No. 6,073,274, issued Jun. 13, 2000 to McQueen, describes a toilet seat cover Which includes a [0019] Still another object of the invention is to provide a Waterproof top layer covering a loWer layer of rigid foam toilet seat cover as above Which is comfortable for contact containing antibacterial solution and has adhesive patches to With the skin While being resistant to Wetting by residual af?X the seat cover to the toilet seat. liquid on the toilet seat, thus protecting the user from contact With the liquid. [0010] US. Pat. No. Des. 255,922, issued Jul. 15, 1980, to Price et al., illustrates a child’s disposable toilet seat Which [0020] Yet another object of the invention is to provide a is round in a storage shape and folded over to rest on the toilet seat cover as above Which has decorative ?gures on its front half of the toilet seat. upper surface. US 2003/0208836 A1 Nov. 13, 2003

[0021] It is an object of the invention to provide improved seat cover 10 is shoWn mounted on a toilet T and overhangs elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes the upper inner and outer surfaces of boWl B. described Which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effec tive in accomplishing its intended purposes. [0032] Disposable toilet seat cover 10 having left and right side portions and a front portion and being in the general [0022] These and other objects of the present invention form of a toilet seat having inner and outer creases con Will become readily apparent upon further revieW of the following speci?cation and draWings. forming to the inner and outer edges of the toilet seat and forming seat portion 12. The cover 10 may have decorative FIG. 13 to make the seat cover attractive to small children. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0033] Within seat portion 12 lies an inner folded portion [0023] FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective vieW of a disposable toilet seat cover forming a sanitary barrier for 14 de?ned by embossed inner crease 16 de?ning and inner public restroom use according to the present invention. edge and encircling the inner portion of the toilet seat cover to conform With the inWardly curved surface thereof. Inner [0024] FIG. 2 is a plan vieW of the toilet seat cover as folded portion 14 has inner pleated side skirts 18 and inner provided prior to placement on the toilet seat. forWard pleated side skirts 19 depending therefrom, the [0025] FIG. 3 is a side detail vieW of a representative pleats being formed by embossing creases to facilitate the portion of the pleating of FIG. 1. ?tting of the inner skirts Within the toilet boWl in their desired overhanging position. An inner pleated front skirt 20 [0026] FIG. 4 is a perspective detail vieW of the laminate (see FIG. 2) depends from the inner front of the seat portion material partially peeled aWay Which is useful in the present 12 to protect the user from contact With the front of the toilet invention. seat or boWl and is particularly important When covering an [0027] Similar reference characters denote corresponding open front “U”-shaped seat is covered. Inner skirt cutouts 22 features consistently throughout the attached draWings. ease the formation, placement, and vertical orientation of the inner pleated skirts 18 and 19 during the ?tting process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE Outer pleated side skirts 22 and outer pleated front skirt 24, PREFERRED EMBODIMENT having outer skirt cutouts 26 therebetWeen depend from embossed outer crease 24 forming an outer edge, thereof. [0028] The present invention a disposable toilet seat cover con?gured to act as a sanitary barrier for public restroom [0034] The outer pleats are formed by embossing in the use. The cover is made of a liquid impervious laminate manner of inner pleated skirts 18 and 19 as described above. having an upper layer of soft, thick paper and a loWer layer Outer pleated skirts 24 and 26 are separated by outer skirt of plastic ?lm, the ?lm being embossed to form a series of cutouts 26 to facilitate the ?tting of the outer pleated skirts ridges Which are useful in preventing sliding of the toilet seat around the toilet boWl in their desired overhanging position. cover on the toilet seat during use. The cover is preferably [0035] As seen in FIG. 2, inner pleats and cutouts are made of a single Web or sheet of laminate material Which is de?ned by inner edge 28 Which opens into the toilet boWl B. die cut to shape and embossed so as to promote ease in ?tting the cover over the toilet seat. [0036] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 there are shoWn a detail [0029] The inventive cover is in the general shape of a side vieW of a representative portion of the pleating of FIG. toilet seat and has oval inner and outer embossed creases to 1 and a perspective detail vieW of the laminate material de?ne the portion of the cover coming in contact With the useful in the present invention, respectively. The inner and outer pleats as described above are formed in material cover seat. The cover is embossed to form creases to promote formation of inner and outer pleats Which overhang the inner material 30 and are preferably about one-half inch in span 32 and outer portions of the toilet boWl rim area. from inner to outer extremity. The pleats may vary in Width betWeen Wide pleats 34 and small pleats 36, With those to be [0030] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shoWn a located in smaller radius areas of the toilet seat being about perspective vieW of the toilet seat cover of the present 3/8 inches in Width and those to be located in larger radius invention as installed on a toilet seat, and a plan vieW of the areas being about 5/8 inches in Width. inventive a disposable toilet seat cover con?gured to act as a sanitary barrier for public restroom use. The cover is made [0037] As seen in FIG. 4, the preferred sheet or Web of a liquid impervious laminate having an upper layer of material for the disposable toilet seat cover 10 is embossed soft, thick paper and a loWer layer of plastic ?lm, the ?lm cover material 40 having a soft paper upper layer 42 and a being embossed to form a series of ridges Which are useful liquid impervious plastic layer 44 having embossed ribs 46. in preventing sliding of the toilet seat cover on the toilet seat One eXample of preferred material is that used in making during use. The cover is preferably made of a single sheet of sWatches under the Kid-Ding Pee Wees® brand. The upper material Which is die cut to shape and embossed so as to layer is soft toWel-like paper material With decorative promote ease in ?tting the cover over the toilet seat. images printed thereon. The loWer layer is a liquid imper vious plastic ?lm. The layers are held together by embossing [0031] The inventive cover is in the general shape of a a series of ribbed lines Which assist in making the material toilet seat and has oval inner and outer embossed creases to skid-resistant on many surfaces, such as a toilet seat cover. de?ne the portion of the cover coming in contact With the seat. The cover is embossed to form creases from Which fall [0038] It is to be understood that the present invention is from inner and outer pleats Which overhang the inner and not limited to the embodiment described above, but encom outer portions of the toilet boWl rim area When the toilet seat passes any and all embodiments Within the scope of the cover is stored or dispensed, respectively. Disposable toilet folloWing claims. US 2003/0208836 A1 Nov. 13, 2003

I claim: 5. The toilet boWl cover of claim 4, Wherein said seat 1. A disposable toilet seat cover and toilet barrier for portion is decorated with forms attractive to children. public restroom use comprising: 6. The toilet boWl cover of claim 4, said inner seat portion a seat portion de?ning an inner portion having an inner further comprising an inner folded portion located along an edge, and an outer portion having an outer edge, said inner edge thereof. inner portion de?ning an access to a toilet boWl; 7. The toilet boWl cover of claim 6, said inner and outer edges, and said portions depending therefrorn are formed by left and right inner side skirts depending from said inner an ernbossed Web of material. portion into said toilet boWl; 8. The toilet boWl cover of claim 7, said pleated portions left and right outer side skirts depending from said outer being ernbossed to enable formation of pleats therein. edge of said outer portion and draping over said toilet 9. The toilet boWl cover of claim 8, said Web of material boWl; and being having a paper upper layer and a liquid irnpervious an outer front skirt depending from said outer edge of said plastic loWer layer. outer portion, separated from said left and right outer 10. The toilet boWl cover of claim 9, said liquid irnper side skirts by outer skirt cutouts-and draping over said vious plastic loWer layer being embossed with ribs Whereby toilet boWl; said plastic loWer layer resists sliding on said toilet seat. 11. The toilet boWl cover of claim 10, Wherein said upper said seat portion having a left portion, a right portion, and paper layer and said loWer plastic layer are ernbossed as a a front portion forWard of said left and right portions. single Web. 2. The toilet boWl cover of claim 1, further comprising left and right inner forWard side skirts depending from said inner 12. The toilet boWl cover of claim 11, Wherein said pleats portion of said seat portion separated and forWard of inner have a Width Within the range of about 3/8 inch to about 5/8 inch. skirt cutouts. 3. The toilet boWl cover of claim 2, further comprising an 13. The toilet boWl cover of claim 12, Wherein said pleats inner front skirt depending from said inner portion of said vary in Width, pleats conforming to relatively smaller radii front portion of said seat portion. being relatively small in Width and pleats conforming to 4. The toilet boWl cover of claim 2, Wherein said left and relatively larger radii being relatively large in Width. right inner portions, said left and right inner front portions, 14. The toilet boWl cover of claim 13, Wherein said pleats said left and right outer side portions and said outer front are about 1/2 inch in depth. portion being vertically pleated Whereby said depending portions are alloWed to hang substantially vertical.