Toilet Seat Attachment

Abstract

A light-weight, portable toilet seat attachment which positions the user in a natural semi-crouching position over a conventional toilet seat to relieve pressure and resulting pain in a user's back, hips or knees.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A portable toilet seat apparatus pair configured to position a user in a natural semi-crouching position over a conventional toilet seat for relief of back, hip or knee pain, said apparatus pair comprising:
 a left side of the apparatus pair configured with at least one member constructed as an elongated cushioned panel and having a top surface, a bottom surface, an inside edge next to the toilet bowl, an outside edge away from the toilet bowl, a back end toward the back of the toilet seat and a front end toward the front of the toilet seat, wherein the supporting edge of said left side of the apparatus is configured to slope downward from the back to the front as the apparatus rests on a conventional toilet seat and supports one thigh of a user; and   a right side of the apparatus pair configured with at least one member constructed as an elongated cushioned panel and having a top surface, a bottom surface, an inside edge next to the toilet bowl, an outside edge away from the toilet bowl, a back end toward the back of the toilet seat and a front end toward the front of the toilet seat, and wherein the supporting edge of said right side of the apparatus is configured to slope downward from the back to the front as the apparatus rests on the toilet seat and supports the other thigh of the user.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein each side of the apparatus pair is configured to have a seat member that rests directly on the toilet seat, at least one spacer member that rests on the seat member, and a top member that rests on the spacer member. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein each seat member includes a top surface that is flat and a bottom surface that is recessed on the outside portion of the bottom surface away from the toilet bowl except for a lip on the outside edge, and the remaining portion of the bottom surface of the seat member next to the toilet bowl is flat, whereby said flat portion acts as a shim to level the seat member as it rests on the toilet seat. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein each spacer member and top member is flat across the bottom surface and top surface of said member, whereby each member relies on the high coefficient of friction of the material used in the manufacture of said member to stabilize the apparatus as said member rests on the member just below. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein each spacer member and top member is flat across the top surface of said member and recessed across the bottom surface of said member except for two lips—one on the outer edge and the other on the inner edge—on the bottom surface of said member, and whereby said member is configured to straddle the member just below said member to further stabilize the apparatus as the apparatus rests on the toilet seat. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein each side of the apparatus pair further includes at least one strap and at least one strap fastener configured to clamp the members of one side of the apparatus pair to each other and to one side of a conventional toilet seat, whereby said straps may also serve as carrying handles when said apparatus pair is removed from the toilet seat. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein one member of each side of the apparatus pair is configured with an attached or integrated carrying handle, whereby the apparatus pair can be carried by said handles. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein at least one member may be removed from each side of the apparatus pair to lower its level and decrease its slope where the apparatus makes contact with and supports the thighs of the user. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein each side of the apparatus pair is configured so that at least one additional member may be inserted into each side of the apparatus pair to raise its level and increase its slope where the apparatus makes contact with and supports the thighs of the user. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein each side of the apparatus pair is configured so that the individual members may be inserted into or removed from only one side of the apparatus pair to adjust the height and slope of each side of the apparatus pair separately, whereby the weight of the user is supported predominantly by one side of the apparatus pair. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein each side of the apparatus pair is configured to allow the user to slide the individual members longitudinally, i.e., forward or backward, in relation to each other to change the slope of the apparatus pair where the apparatus makes contact with and supports the thighs of the user. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein the said members are adapted to allow the longitudinal axis of juxtaposed members to be rotated horizontally in relation to each other in order to increase the user's comfort and decrease the user's pain. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein each side of the apparatus pair is configured to combine the seat member and the spacer member into one integrated member for use without the top member. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein each side of the apparatus pair is configured to combine the spacer member and the top member into one integrated member for use on top of the seat member. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein each side of the apparatus pair is configured to combine the seat member, the spacer member and the top member into one integrated member. 
     
     
         16 . A portable toilet seat apparatus configured to position a user in a natural semi-crouching position over a conventional toilet seat for relief of back, hip or knee pain, said apparatus comprising:
 a left side of the apparatus configured with at least one member constructed as an elongated cushioned panel and having a top surface, a bottom surface, an inside edge next to the toilet bowl, an outside edge away from the toilet bowl, a back end toward the back of the toilet seat and a front end toward the front of the toilet seat, wherein the supporting edge of said left side of the apparatus is configured to slope downward from the back to the front as the apparatus rests on a conventional toilet seat and supports one thigh of a user;   a right side of the apparatus configured with at least one member constructed as an elongated cushioned panel and having a top surface, a bottom surface, an inside edge next to the toilet bowl, an outside edge away from the toilet bowl, a back end toward the back of the toilet seat and a front end toward the front of the toilet seat, wherein the supporting edge of said right side of the apparatus is configured to slope downward from the back to the front as the apparatus rests on the toilet seat and supports the other thigh of the user; and   a coupling means configured to connect to at least one member of the left side of the apparatus and to connect to at least one member of the right side of the apparatus.   
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16  wherein the apparatus is configured to combine the left side of the apparatus, the right side of the apparatus and the coupling means into one integrated member. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17  wherein the apparatus is constructed with a stiff bottom surface and fasteners configured to attach the apparatus directly to the toilet in place of a conventional toilet seat.