Abstract:
The present invention relates to mailbox indicators. More specifically, the present invention relates to a mailbox delivery indicator apparatus with a signaling mechanism which is automatically triggered to deploy when the box is opened to indicate that the mail has been delivered.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to mailbox delivery indicators. More specifically, the present invention relates to a mailbox delivery indicator apparatus with a signaling mechanism which is automatically triggered to deploy when the box is opened to indicate that the mail has been delivered. 
   Individuals with mailboxes located away from the house may make multiple trips to the mailbox each day to determine if the mail has arrived. The present invention allows an individual to view his mailbox from a distance such as in his home and determine if the mail has arrived. This is useful for the elderly who may find multiple trips to the mailbox taxing. It is also helpful to reduce the chance that a person may injure themselves on a trip to the mailbox. It is useful in inclement weather when trips to the mailbox are undesirable. It is also useful when an individual&#39;s mailbox is located some distance from his house. The present invention also reduces the chance that an individual&#39;s mail will be stolen because it alerts her that the mail is available immediately after delivery. 
   There are other mailbox indicators in the art, but the present invention is an improvement over the prior art. One benefit of the present invention is that it has few moving parts. Another benefit of the present invention is that the mailbox can be made of any material and the mailbox delivery indicator will still function. For example, the mailbox can be made of either a magnetic or a non-magnetic material. Yet another benefit of the present invention is that it does not rely solely on gravity to deploy the flag indicating that the mail has arrived. The present invention is simple, easy to use and can be readily incorporated onto existing mailbox designs. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention discloses a mailbox delivery indicator apparatus with a signaling mechanism automatically triggered when the mail is delivered. Most of the mailbox delivery indicator apparatus is enclosed inside the mailbox. The invention comprises a mailbox with a flag with a raised position and a lowered position indicating delivery. The bottom of the flag is attached to the back side of the mailbox at a pivot point. When the flag is in the raised position, it is secured in place by a magnet attached to the top of the flag which is attracted to the back side of the mailbox. The flag covers a hole in the back side of the mailbox in the raised position. 
   A guide tube which runs from the front opening of the mailbox to the back side of the mailbox is attached to the interior of the mailbox. A rod is disposed inside the guide tube and capable of longitudinal movement therein. The rod runs from the opening of the mailbox to the back side of the mailbox. The rod is longer than the guide tube. An extension spring is attached to the first end of the rod and the first end of the guide tube. The mailbox has a door attached to the bottom of the mailbox for covering the front opening. A magnet is attached to the interior of the door. The magnet, the guide tube, rod, and the hole are all aligned. When the door is closed, the magnet engages the rod due to magnetic attraction. 
   When the door is opened for mail delivery, the rod is pulled out of the guide tube. This lengthens the spring, placing a load on the spring which stores this energy. When the spring reaches its maximum load, the magnetic connection is broken and the stored energy is released propelling the rod through the guide tube and hole. The released rod impacts the flag breaking the connection between the magnet on the flag and the back side and forcing the flag to swing about its pivot point into the lowered position thus indicating that the mail has been delivered. The user must simply place the flag back in the raised position by connecting the magnet on the flag to the back side to reset the mailbox indicator. 

   
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the mailbox delivery indicator apparatus. 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the mailbox delivery indicator apparatus. 
       FIG. 3  is a side view of the mailbox delivery indicator apparatus. 
       FIG. 4  is a back view of the mailbox delivery indicator apparatus with the flag in the raised position. 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the rod, guide tube, and spring assembly of the mailbox delivery indicator apparatus. 
       FIG. 6  is a side view of the mailbox delivery indicator apparatus with the flag in the raised position showing longitudinal movement of the rod when the mailbox door is opened. 
       FIG. 7  is a side view of the mailbox delivery indicator apparatus showing the rod contacting the flag and knocking it into the lowered position when the mailbox door is opened. 
       FIG. 8  is a side view of the mailbox delivery indicator apparatus showing the mailbox door opened and the flag in the lowered position. 
       FIG. 9  is a back view of the mailbox delivery indicator apparatus with the flag in the lowered position. 
       FIG. 10  is a back view of the mailbox delivery indicator apparatus with the flag in the raised position. 
       FIG. 11  is a back view of the mailbox delivery indicator apparatus with the flag in the raised position where the guide means attached to the flag is a weight. 
       FIG. 12  is a back view of the mailbox delivery indicator apparatus with the flag in the raised position where the guide means attached to the flag is an extension spring. 
       FIG. 13  is a front view of the mailbox delivery indicator apparatus with the flag in the lowered position. 
       FIG. 14  is a back view of the mailbox delivery indicator apparatus with the flag in the lowered position and a magnetic plate affixed to the back of the mailbox. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring now to  FIG. 1 , the present invention comprises a mailbox  1  with a top  2 , a bottom  3 , a front opening  4  and a back side  5 . A hole  6  extends through said back side  5 . The mailbox  1  is made of any material suitable for withstanding the outdoor elements such as metal, wood, plastic or the like. Both magnetic and non-magnetic materials are suitable. A door  15  for covering said front opening  4  is attached to said bottom  3  of said mailbox  1 . The door  15  is attached to the bottom  3  of said mailbox  1  by any number of methods, for example with a hinge, rivets, screws, and the like. Those skilled in the art will recognize that there are many other methods of attachment that are acceptable. A magnet  16  is attached to the interior of the door  15  such that it is aligned with the hole  6  in said back side  5 . 
   The magnet  16  can be any type of magnet. In one embodiment, the magnet  16  is a ferrous magnet. In an alternative embodiment, magnet  16  is a rare earth magnet such as a neodymium magnet, samarium-cobalt magnet, or any other rare earth magnet. Rare earth magnets are strong, permanent magnets made from alloys of rare earth elements. Rare earth magnets are substantially stronger than ferrous magnets. Magnetic fields produced by rare earth magnets can be in excess of 1.2 teslas. Ferrous magnets typically exhibit magnetic fields of 50 to 100 milliteslas. Neodymium magnets, made of neodymium, iron and boron, are the most powerful and affordable type of rare earth magnet. Samarium-cobalt magnets are less common, more expensive, and not as strong and neodymium magnets, but are well suited for high temperature applications. Those skilled in the art will recognize that any type of magnet can be used with the present invention and there are many factors which govern the selection of the type of magnet. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 4 , the present invention includes a flag  10  for signaling mail delivery. The flag  10  has a top  20  and a bottom  25 . The bottom  25  of flag  10  is affixed to said back side  5  of said mailbox  1  at a pivot point  11 . It may be affixed with a hinge, a bolt, or other similar fastener  26  which allows the flag  10  to swing about the pivot point  11 . The flag  10  has a raised position ( FIGS. 3 ,  4 ,  10 ,  11  and  12 ) and a lowered position ( FIGS. 8 ,  9 ,  13  and  14 ). 
   In another embodiment, the front  12  is a contrasting color to the back  13 . The back  13  is the same color as the mailbox  1 . The flag  10  is affixed to the back side  5  such that it covers the hole  6  when it is in the raised position ( FIGS. 4 and 10 ). A magnet  30  is affixed to the top  20  of the flag  10 . The flag  10  has a front  12  and a back  13 . The top  20  of the flag  10  is attached to the back side  5  via magnetic attraction between the magnet  30  and said back side  5 . In an embodiment where mailbox  1  is not made of a magnetic material, a magnetic plate  31  is affixed to said back side  5  (FIG.  14 ). In an alternative embodiment, the magnet  30  is attached to the back side and the flag  10  is magnetic. 
   In one embodiment, the magnet  30  is a ferrous magnet. In an alternative embodiment, magnet  30  is a rare earth magnet such as a neodymium magnet, samarium-cobalt magnet, or any other rare earth magnet. Those skilled in the art will recognize that any type of magnet can be used with the present invention and there are many factors which govern the selection of the type of magnet. 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 1 ,  3  and  5 , a hollow guide tube  35  of a certain length extends from said front opening  4  to said back side  5 . Guide tube  35  is made of any durable, corrosion resistant material such as metal, plastic, or the like. Guide tube  35  is affixed to the interior of said mailbox  1 . Guide tube  35  is aligned with said hole  6  and said magnet  16  on said door  15 . A rod  40  is disposed inside said guide tube  35  such that it can move longitudinally inside said guide tube  35 . Rod  40  is longer than said guide tube  35 , but fits within the interior of said mailbox  1 . A first end of rod  40  is in contact with magnet  16  when said door  15  is closed. A second end of rod  40  is capable of extending through said hole  6 . When said rod  40  extends through said hole  6  and said flag  10  is in the raised position, said rod  40  is in contact with said flag  10 . The rod  40  may be made of any durable, corrosion resistant material capable of being attracted by a magnet. In an alternative embodiment, the magnet  16  is attached to said first end of said rod  40  and the door  15  is magnetic. In yet another embodiment, the magnet  16  is attached to said first end of said rod  40  and magnetic plate  16 ′ is attached to door  15 . In another alternative embodiment, the magnet  16  is attached to the door  15  and the rod  40  is made of any durable, corrosion resistant material and a magnetic tip (not shown) is affixed to the first end of said rod  40 . 
   One benefit of the present invention is that the rod  40  is enclosed inside guide tube  35 . When the mailbox  1  is full of mail, the movement of the rod  40  is not impeded by the mail. 
   An extension spring  45  surrounds said first end of said rod  40  and extends from said first end of said rod  40  to said guide tube  35 . An extension or tension spring is designed to become longer under load. Either end of an extension spring is attached to an item. When a load is placed on the spring by moving the items apart, the extension spring resists the load and stores the energy created by that force. When the load is released, the energy is also released and the extension spring comes back to its original length. In the present invention, a first end of spring  45  is attached to said first end of rod  40  and a second end of spring  45  is attached to said guide tube  35 . 
   When door  15  is closed, the first end of rod  40  is attached to magnet  16  due to the magnetic attraction between rod  40  and magnet  16  ( FIG. 3 ). Referring now to  FIG. 6 , when door  15  is opened, rod  40  remains attached to magnet  16  due to this magnetic attraction. As the door  15  opens, rod  40  is pulled out of guide tube  35  toward door  15 . This movement lengthens spring  45 , placing an increasing load on said spring  45 . Referring now to  FIG. 7 , the connection between rod  40  and magnet  16  is broken when the spring  45  reaches its maximum load. The door  15  continues to open, but when the maximum load is reached, spring  45  holds rod  40  in place and the magnetic connection between rod  40  and magnet  16  is broken. When the contact between magnet  16  and rod  40  is broken, the energy stored in spring  45  is released, and rod  40  is propelled towards back side  5 , through guide tube  35  and hole  6  where it impacts flag  10 , breaking the connection between magnet  30  and back side  5  and pushing flag  10  into the lowered position ( FIG. 8 ). 
   In one embodiment, the fastener  26   a  is a hinge which is attached to the bottom of the flag  10  and affixed to back side  5  at pivot point  11 . ( FIGS. 9 ,  10 , and  14 ) Said hinge  26   a  having a horizontal axis running parallel to said back side  5 . Flag  10  swings forward about the horizontal axis at pivot point  11 . When in the lowered position, the flag  10  covers the entire back side  5  of the mailbox  1 . In this embodiment, the front  12  of the flag  10  is a contrasting color to the back  13  of flag  10 . The back  13  is the same color as the mailbox  1 . Thus when the flag  10  is in the lowered position, the front  12  is displayed outwardly, and a contrasting color is visible from a distance indicating that the mail has been delivered. 
   In another embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 4 , flag  10  covers a large portion of the back side  5  of the mailbox  1  when in the lowered position. The fastener  26   a  is a hinge which is attached to the bottom of the flag  10  and affixed to back side  5  at pivot point  11 . The front  12  of the flag  10  is a contrasting color to the back  13  of flag  10 . The back  13  is the same color as mailbox  1 . Thus when the flag  10  is in the lowered position, the front  12  is displayed outwardly and a contrasting color is visible from a distance indicating that the mail has been delivered. 
   In yet another embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 11 ,  12 , and  13 , the bottom  25  of flag  10  is attached to back side  5  with fastener  26   b  creating pivot point  11 . In this embodiment, the fastener  26   b  is a bolt, rivet or the like, having an axis running through the center of fastener  26   b  and extending perpendicular to back side  5  at pivot point  11 . Flag  10  is capable of swinging from side to side about said axis at pivot point  11 . An edge at the top  20  of flag  10  adjacent to hole  6  is beveled. When the flag  10  is in the raised position and the rod  40  impacts the flag  10  braking the connection between the back side  5  and magnet, the beveled edge forces the flag  10  sideways. A guide means  27  is attached to a side of flag  10  near top  20 . The guide means  27  is an extension spring ( FIG. 12 ), a cable, a weight ( FIG. 11 ) or the like. Referring now to  FIG. 11 , where the guide means  27  is an extension spring or a cable, there is a load on the guide means  27  when the flag  10  is in the raised position. When the flag  10  is in the raised position and rod  40  impacts the flag  10  breaking the connection between the back side  5  and the magnet  30 , the load is released and the guide means  27  pulls the flag  10  into the lowered position. Referring now to  FIG. 10 , where the guide means  27  is a weight, the guide means  27  is attached to a side of flag  10  near the top  20 . When the flag  10  is in the raised position and the rod  40  impacts the flag  10  breaking the connection between the back side  5  and the magnet  30 , the guide means  27  pulls the flag  10  into the lowered position. A stop nut  50  is attached to said back side  5 . Flag  10  pivots about said pivot point  11  until said flag  10  contacts said stop nut  50 . 
   In this embodiment, when the flag  10  is in the lowered position it can be seen from the front ( FIG. 13 ) and the rear of the mailbox  1 . The front  12  and the back  13  of the flag  10  are a contrasting color to the mailbox. An added benefit of this embodiment is that it can be used with a mailbox  1  that has a post or ornamental object covering the back side  5 . Another benefit is that the mailbox can be placed across the street from the home and the flag  10  can be seen from the front of the mailbox  1 . 
   To reset the mailbox delivery indicator apparatus, the user retrieves his mail. He then swings the flag  10  about the pivot point  11  into the raised position. He attaches the flag  10  to the back side  5  by connection the magnet  30  to said back side  5 .