Patent ID: 6592026
Filing Date: 2003-07-15
Classification: A47G,B25J

Abstract:
A biological safety mailbox comprising:a) a housing having a flat, rectangular bottom, four rectangular side walls extending up from said bottom, and a hinged lid enclosing said housing on the top, and two access ports on oppositely facing walls of said side walls respectively, said walls and said bottom being a molded container; said bottom, side walls, and lid defining an interior portion of said housing; b) a substantially cylindrical tubular port member extending externally from the periphery of each access port; c) a pair of protective gloves and means for removably attaching said protective gloves to said port members for providing gloved access into said housing through said access ports and forming a hermetic seal to prevent particulate matter from passing therebetween; d) means for selectively securing and hermetically sealing said lid to said housing; e) said means for removably attaching and hermetically sealing said gloves to said access ports comprising an elastomeric O-ring and a channel extending circumferentially around the external distal end of said port member to accommodate said O-ring; f) each of said gloves having an open cuff end, a closed finger end and an interior portion, said protective glove being installed by inserting said finger end through said access port of said housing into the interior portion thereof and folding said cuff end of said glove over the distal end of said port member until the edge of said glove extends beyond said O-ring retaining channel whereupon said O-ring is placed over said cuff end and into said O-ring retaining channel thereby hermetically securing said gloves to said access ports; g) said means for hermetically securing said lid to said housing including lid closure fasteners on said housing, corresponding lid closure fasteners on said lid that work in concert with said fasteners on said housing, and a gasket that is compressed between said lid and said housing when said lid is secured in the closed position by said fasteners; h) means for removably securing said housing to a fixed as a post comprising a mounting bracket that is affixed to said post and a means for removably interlocking said housing to said mounting bracket, said interlocking means including two longitudinal, asymmetrical L-shaped tracks protruding downward from said bottom of said housing and two corresponding L-shaped tracks protruding upwards from said mounting bracket so that when aligned end to end the housing can be slidably inserted into said mounting bracket, said interlocking means further including a lock to prevent unauthorized removal of the housing from said mounting bracket.