Bolt keeper toilet flange

Abstract

A bolt-keeper toilet flange has a predeterminedly arcuate plate ( 1 ) with one or more bolt-head brackets ( 2, 9 ) for holding a toilet-bolt head ( 15 ) in order to position it upright in a predetermined place for attachment of a toilet bowl. On opposite sides of the bolt-head bracket are floor-bolt apertures ( 7, 21 ) through which floor bolts ( 8 ) can be inserted downwardly with heads of the floor bolts being retained upwardly by the floor-bolt apertures for bolting the arcuate plate to a floor selectively about a toilet drain aperture. Optionally, for a repair embodiment, the arcuate plate can be a connector plate ( 11 ) for bridging between sections of an existing toilet-bowl ring. For an original-installation embodiment, the arcuate plate can a base circumferential plate ( 13 ).

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A bolt-keeper toilet flange comprising: 
 a toilet-fastener plate having at least one bolt-head bracket articulated to hold a toilet-bolt head;    the bolt-head bracket having a bolt-shank opening on a bolt-head side of the toilet-fastener plate for positioning the toilet-bolt head in the bolt-head bracket with a toilet-bolt shank held uprightly from the toilet-fastener plate in a predetermined place for attachment of a toilet bowl to the toilet bolt with a toilet-bolt nut screwed onto the toilet-bolt shank; and    floor-bolt apertures which extend through the toilet-fastener plate on arcuately opposite sides of the bolt-head bracket for receiving floor-bolt shanks of floor bolts inserted downwardly through the floor-bolt apertures and for retaining floor-bolt heads of the floor bolts proximate a top of the toilet-fastener plate for bolting the toilet-fastener plate to a floor predeterminedly about a toilet-drain aperture in the floor.    
     
     
         2 . The bolt-keeper toilet flange of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the toilet-fastener plate includes an arcuate plate having a predetermined arcuate length.  
 
     
     
         3 . The bolt-keeper toilet flange of  claim 2  wherein: 
 the arcuate plate has an arcuate length of predeterminedly proximate two inches, a width of predeterminedly proximate three-fourths of an inch and a thickness of predeterminedly proximate one-sixteenth of an inch.  
 
     
     
         4 . The bolt-keeper toilet flange of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the bolt-head bracket includes a bracket entry that is articulated to receive the toilet-bolt head and the toilet-bolt shank radially from a predetermined entry edge of the fastener plate; and  
 the bolt-head bracket includes an end wall opposite the bracket entry to prevent passage of the toilet-bolt head through the bolt-head bracket.  
 
     
     
         5 . The bolt-keeper toilet flange of  claim 4  wherein: 
 the entry edge of the fastener plate is an arcuately outside edge of the fastener plate.  
 
     
     
         6 . The bolt-keeper toilet flange of  claim 4  wherein: 
 the entry edge of the fastener plate is an arcuately inside edge of the fastener plate.  
 
     
     
         7 . The bolt-keeper toilet flange of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the floor-bolt apertures are arcuate and have aperture lengths that are equal to a predetermined plurality of diameter lengths of the floor bolts.  
 
     
     
         8 . The bolt-keeper toilet flange of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the toilet-fastener plate includes a connector plate with an arcuate extension of predeterminedly proximate 90 degrees, a width of predeterminedly proximate three-fourths of an inch and a thickness predetermined for structure of the bolt-head bracket.  
 
     
     
         9 . The bolt-keeper toilet flange of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the toilet-fastener plate includes a connector plate with an arcuate extension of predeterminedly proximate 90 degrees, a width of predeterminedly proximate one-and-one-half inches and a thickness predetermined for structure of the bolt-head bracket.  
 
     
     
         10 . The bolt-keeper toilet flange of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the floor-bolt apertures include a predetermined plurality of circular orifices at a predetermined arcuate radius.  
 
     
     
         11 . The bolt-keeper toilet flange of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the toilet-fastener plate includes a base circumferential plate having a plate diameter predeterminedly in excess of a diameter of a predetermined toilet-drain aperture;  
 the bolt-head bracket including a first bolt-head bracket that is oppositely disposed diametrically from a second bolt-head bracket; and  
 the floor-bolt apertures include two series of predetermined pluralities of the floor-bolt apertures that are oppositely disposed circumferentially at predetermined radii from an axis of the base circumferential plate.  
 
     
     
         12 . The bolt-keeper toilet flange of  claim 11  wherein: 
 the base circumferential plate includes a width of predeterminedly proximate one-and-one-half inches and a thickness predetermined for containing an integral bolt-head bracket and for providing rigidity and duration of materials of construction of the base circumferential plate.  
 
     
     
         13 . The bolt-keeper toilet flange of  claim 11  wherein: 
 the base circumferential plate includes a width of predeterminedly proximate one inch and a thickness predetermined for containing the integral bolt-head bracket and for providing rigidity and duration of materials of construction of the base circumferential plate.  
 
     
     
         14 . The bolt-keeper toilet flange of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the toilet-fastener plate includes a supplemental circumferential plate having a plate diameter predeterminedly in excess of a diameter of the predetermined toilet-drain aperture;  
 the bolt-head bracket including a first bolt-head bracket that is oppositely disposed diametrically from a second bolt-head bracket; and  
 the floor-bolt apertures include four series of predetermined pluralities of the floor-bolt apertures that are oppositely disposed orthogonally at predetermined radii from an axis of the supplemental circumferential plate.  
 
     
     
         15 . The bolt-keeper toilet flange of  claim 14  wherein: 
 the supplemental circumferential plate includes a width of predeterminedly proximate one-and-one-half inches and a thickness predetermined for supporting supplemental bolt-head bracket and for providing rigidity and duration of materials of construction of the supplemental circumferential plate.  
 
     
     
         16 . The bolt-keeper toilet flange of  claim 14  wherein: 
 the supplemental circumferential plate includes a width of predeterminedly proximate one inch and a thickness predetermined for supporting the supplemental bolt-head bracket and for providing rigidity and duration of materials of construction of the supplemental circumferential plate.  
 
     
     
         17 . The bolt-keeper toilet flange of  claim 1  wherein the bolt-head bracket includes the integral bolt-head bracket; and 
 the integral bolt-head bracket including walls that are integral with material of construction of the toilet-fastener plate.  
 
     
     
         18 . The bolt-keeper toilet flange of  claim 1  wherein 
 the bolt-head bracket includes the supplemental bolt-head bracket; and  
 the supplemental bolt-head bracket includes walls that are supplemental to and superimposed onto material of construction of the toilet-fastener plate.  
 
     
     
         19 . A bolt-keeper toilet flange comprising: 
 an arcuate plate having at least one bolt-head bracket articulated to hold a toilet-bolt head;    the bolt-head bracket having a bolt-shank opening on the bolt-head side of the toilet-fastener plate for positioning the toilet-bolt head in the bolt-head bracket with a toilet-bolt shank held uprightly from the toilet-fastener plate in a predetermined place for attachment of a toilet bowl to the toilet bolt with a toilet-bolt nut screwed onto the toilet-bolt shank;    floor-bolt apertures which extend through the toilet-fastener plate on arcuately opposite sides of the bolt-head bracket for receiving floor-bolt shanks of floor bolts inserted downwardly through the floor-bolt apertures and for retaining floor-bolt heads of the floor bolts proximate a top of the toilet-fastener plate for bolting the toilet-fastener plate to a floor predeterminedly about a toilet-drain aperture in the floor;    the arcuate plate has an arcuate length of predeterminedly proximate two inches, a width of predeterminedly proximate three-fourths of an inch and a thickness predetermined for support of the bolt-head bracket;    the bolt-head bracket including a bracket entry that is articulated to receive the toilet-bolt head and the toilet-bolt shank radially from a predetermined entry edge of the fastener plate; and    the bolt-head bracket includes an end wall opposite the bracket entry to prevent passage of the toilet-bolt head through the bolt-head bracket.    
     
     
         20 . A bolt-keeper toilet flange comprising: 
 a base circumferential plate having a plate diameter predeterminedly in excess of a diameter of the predetermined toilet-drain aperture;    a first bolt-head bracket that is oppositely disposed diametrically from a second bolt-head bracket on the base circumferential plate;    two series of predetermined pluralities of the floor-bolt apertures that are oppositely disposed circumferentially at predetermined radii from an axis of the base circumferential plate;    the base circumferential plate including a width predetermined for containing the first bolt-head bracket and second toilet-bowl bracket at predetermined radial distances from an axis of the base circumferential plate and for containing the floor-bolt apertures at a predetermined floor-bolt distance from the axis of the circumferential plate; and    the base circumferential plate includes a thickness predetermined for containing the integral bolt-head bracket and for providing rigidity and duration of materials of construction of the base circumferential plate.