Abstract:
A mailbox comprising side and back walls, a top and a bottom secured together to form an enclosure, a front access door mounted to the front wall, a rear access door connected to the rear access door, and a tray accessible through the front access door and vertically adjustable.

Description:
Conventional mailboxes are typically simply a mail receiving container with a hinged door for gaining access to the mailbox. Of course, items such as charge cards, bank information, social security numbers, checks, etc., are sent through the mail and simply placed in a mailbox by the mail carrier. Naturally, the deposited items in the mailbox are easily accessed by mailbox vandals. 
   Attempts have been made to make mailboxes more secure such as large brick enclosures which are banned in many areas. In addition, brick enclosures create liabilities for the owner when the enclosure is struck by a motor vehicle. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   By this invention, the mailbox is provided having front, side and back walls, a bottom and a top interconnected to form an enclosure, a front access door hingedly connected to the front wall and a rear access door hingedly connected to the back wall. A tray is removably positioned on flanges and is positionable at various heights and accessible through the front access door. Another tray is removably positioned on flanges and accessible through the rear access door. Also, water channels extend along the side edges of the front access door. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the drawings, 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a mailbox according to this invention; 
       FIG. 2  is an enlarged perspective view of the mailbox mounting means; 
       FIG. 3  is a side elevational view of the mailbox with one side wall broken away; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing operation of the mailbox; 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing the rear access means for the mailbox; and 
       FIG. 6  is a side elevational view depicting a portion of the interior of the mailbox. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   In the drawings, the numeral  1  designates the curved front wall of the mailbox with side walls  2  and  3  extending perpendicularly from the side edges thereof. Back wall  4  is secured to the rear edges of perpendicular side walls  2  and  3 . To complete the basic enclosure, bottom  5  is secured to the lower edges of front, side and back walls  1 – 4  and top  6  is secured to the upper edges of side walls  2  and  3  and back wall  4 . 
   Front access door  7  is hingedly connected to the upper portion of front wall  1  by means of hinge  8  and security barrier  9  is secured to the inner surface of front access door  7  and extends into the mailbox. Security barrier  9  extends generally vertically downward when access door  7  is closed. When access door  7  is opened, as shown by dotted lines in  FIG. 3 , security barrier  9  is rotated upwardly so as to prevent access to any mail disposed therebelow. 
   For the purpose of gaining access to the interior of the mailbox, rear access door  10  is rotatably connected to back wall  4  by means of hinge  11 . When rear access door  10  is in the closed position, it can be locked by means of conventional locking mechanism  12 . 
   If it is desired that mail not fall all the way to the bottom of the mailbox, tray  13  is positioned on flanges secured to the interior of the mailbox and which are disposed generally adjacent the lower edge of rear access door  10  and as best shown in  FIG. 5 . By this means, convenient access is gained to the mail without requiring the owner to reach to the bottom of the mailbox. 
   In order to provide means for depositing mail for pick up by the carrier, tray  14  is positioned on upper flanges  14   a  secured to the interior of the mailbox and as best shown in  FIG. 4 . In this position, mail to be picked up is positioned on tray  14  and any delivered mail slides down security barrier  9  into the interior of the mailbox. If it is desired to retrieve delivered mail from the front of the mailbox rather than by means of rear access door  10 , tray  14  is removed from the mailbox, rotated and repositioned on lower flanges  14   b . In this manner all incoming and outgoing mail is deposited on tray  14 . Although not shown, flanges are secured to the inner surface of side wall  2  corresponding to flanges  14   a  and  14   b.    
   To provide ventilation for the interior of the mailbox, horizontal air vents  15  and  16  are provided in back wall  4 . For the purpose of preventing water from seeping into the interior of the mailbox, front access door flanges  17  and  18  are disposed adjacent channels  19  and  20  of side walls  2  and  3 , respectively, when front access door  7  is closed. Channels  19  and  20  are formed by flanges  21  and  22 , each of which is secured along one side edge to the inside of the associated side wall  2  and  3 . The free edge portions of flanges  21  and  22  are each spaced from the associated side wall to form channels  19  and  20 , respectively. Any excess water entering around front access door  7  simply flows down through channels  19  and  20  disposed outwardly of flanges  17  and  18 . Similar structure is associated with rear access door  10  in the form of rear access door flanges  17   a  and  18   a  and channels  19   a  and  20   a  as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
   In order to secure the mailbox to the ground, mounting means in the form of plate  23  and post  24  are provided wherein post  24  is inserted into the ground and bottom  5  of the mailbox secured to plate  23  by means of conventional bolts  25 . Pins  26  are attached to post  24  in order to prevent unwanted withdrawal of the mailbox. 
   In operation, when outgoing mail is placed in the mailbox, front access door  7  is simply rotated open by means of handle  27  and the mail placed on tray  14 . When the carrier delivers mail, he simply removes the outgoing mail in tray  14  and places the incoming mail on front access door  7 . Access door  7  is then closed wherein the delivered mail slides downwardly along security barrier  9  when barrier  9  moves to the position shown in solid lines in  FIG. 3 . By this means, the mail simply drops onto tray  13  or, if desired, drops onto the bottom of the mailbox. Whenever front access door  7  is opened, security barrier  9  rotates upwardly to the position shown in dotted lines in  FIG. 3  thereby preventing access to any mail in the mailbox. In order to retrieve the mail, rear access door  10  is unlocked and rotated open and the mail retrieved. 
   Therefore, by this invention, a mailbox is provided by which delivered mail is securely maintained with unwanted access thereto prevented. Unlike conventional mailboxes wherein access is easily achieved, by this invention, mail theft is virtually eliminated.