A fixing device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional toilet seat fixings face challenges such as restricted access for maintenance, difficulty in keeping the nut and bolt arrangement clean, potential for loose fittings leading to wobbling and safety issues, and manufacturing tolerances causing imbalance and damage to the toilet seat.
Innovation Solution
A retaining pin with a suction cup and an expandable sleeve that adjusts axially to securely attach the toilet seat to the pan, using a combination of suction force and expandable section to compensate for varying aperture sizes and depths, allowing for easy installation and removal without special tools.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional nut and bolt arrangement is used to attach toilet seat to pan, then the toilet seat can be securely retained, but the fitting process requires special tools and restricted access underneath the pan makes maintenance difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the nut from the conventional bolt-nut arrangement, replacing it with an expandable pin that expands within the aperture itself. The pin is inserted from the top and expanded to lock in place, eliminating the need to access the underside of the pan for nut installation and removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The expandable pin acts as an intermediary element that transforms the installation process. Instead of requiring nuts to be threaded from underneath, the pin serves as both the fastening and locking mechanism, expanding within the aperture to provide secure retention without requiring access to the opposite side.
2Reliability
If conventional nut and bolt arrangement is used, then the toilet seat can be retained, but the arrangement is difficult to keep clean and disconnecting/refitting is time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
By removing the nut component entirely and replacing it with an expandable pin mechanism, the invention eliminates the complex joint between nut and bolt that creates cleaning difficulties. The simplified single-component fastening system has no crevices or threaded interfaces that trap dirt.
Solution Approach 2:
The pin is designed as a segmented or expandable structure that can be easily inserted and locked. This segmentation allows for simple insertion from the top and secure locking through expansion, making the entire fastening system accessible for cleaning from above without requiring disassembly of complex joints.
3Reliability
If conventional fittings are used, then the toilet seat can be attached, but they become loose over time and require frequent tightening
Solution Approach 1:
The pin transitions from a static inserted state to a dynamically expanded locked state. This dynamic expansion mechanism ensures that once installed, the pin actively engages with the aperture walls, providing continuous secure retention without loosening over time as would occur with conventional threaded fasteners.
Solution Approach 2:
The pin is pre-configured to expand upon insertion or through a simple activation mechanism. This preliminary expansion action ensures that the secure locking engagement is achieved immediately upon installation, eliminating the gradual loosening that characterizes conventional fittings and removing the need for periodic tightening.
4Ease of operation
If suction cup alone is used to attach toilet seat to pan, then installation is simple, but the suction cup can rotate and twist causing the fitting to become loose
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the simplicity of suction-based attachment with the security of expandable mechanical locking. The pin combines both mechanisms: initial insertion and positioning facilitated by suction, followed by expansion to provide rotation-resistant secure locking, achieving both ease of installation and reliable retention.
Solution Approach 2:
The fastening system uses composite functionality, combining suction cup attachment with expandable mechanical pin locking. This composite approach leverages the advantages of both mechanisms: the suction component provides easy initial attachment and positioning, while the expandable pin component provides rotation-resistant secure locking.
5Adaptability or versatility
If holes in toilet pan vary in depth and diameter due to manufacturing tolerances, then production is flexible, but this creates imbalance of forces on the toilet seat causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The expandable pin provides locally adaptive engagement within the aperture. The expansion mechanism allows the pin to conform to the specific depth and diameter of each aperture, distributing forces evenly across the engagement surfaces regardless of manufacturing variations, thereby maintaining force balance and preventing seat damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The pin's expandable nature allows it to change its dimensional parameters (diameter and engagement depth) to match the specific aperture it is installed in. This parameter adaptation ensures optimal force distribution and balanced loading on the toilet seat, compensating for manufacturing tolerances in the pan apertures.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Provides a secure, easy-to-clean, and hygienic attachment system that maintains the toilet seat's position effectively, reducing the need for frequent tightening and minimizing the risk of wobbling, while accommodating manufacturing tolerances in the toilet pan's apertures.
Implementation Method 1
a head portion and/or a neck portion which is/are moveable into and out of a first chamber to a second chamber in the form of an expendable/inflatable portion
Implementation Method 2
the outer sleeve comprises and expandable section that, upon operation of the actuation means, can be expanded from a first dimension to a second dimension
Implementation Method 3
an expandable section that, upon operation of the actuation means, can be expanded from a first dimension to a second dimension
Data Source
Figure 1a~2c
Figure 3a~3b
Figure 4a~4c
AI summary
A retaining pin comprising a body section having an aperture therein and being provided with a suction cap. An actuation mechanism arranged at a first end of the body section and a pin is connected at a first end to the actuation means and extends therefrom, through the aperture of the body section. An outer sleeve is arranged around the pin and in contact therewith and the outer sleeve comprises an expandable section that, upon operation of the actuation means, can be expanded from a first dimension to a second dimension.