Mailboxes rotatable to any one of a plurality of orientations

A mailbox rotatable to any one of a plurality of orientations comprising, a top plate having an upper surface and a lower surface and with apertures therethrough and with supplemental apertures; a bottom plate in a generally configuration having an upper surface and a lower surface and with apertures therethrough and with supplemental apertures; a upper disk having an upper surface and a lower surface and with apertures extending therethrough for coupling the upper surface of the upper disk to the lower surface of the top plate through the supplemental apertures, the lower surface of the disk being provided with a downwardly extending projection at a predetermined distance from the axis of the upper disk; a lower disk having a thickness greater than that of the upper disk and with a central bore therethrough, the bore being of a greater diameter in its lower extent to create a shoulder intermediate the upper and lower surfaces; apertures formed adjacent to the periphery of the lower disk for securing the lower surface of the lower disk to the upper surface of the bottom plate, the upper surface of the lower disk being formed with a plurality of recesses for selectively receiving the projection of the upper disk, the recesses being at the predetermined distance from the axis of the upper disk and lower disk; and a cylinder with an enlargement at its lower end positioned within the bore of the lower disk and with threaded apertures extending downwardly into its upper surface for being coupled to the upper disk by bolts extending through the apertures of the upper disk.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to new and improved mailboxes rotatable to 
any one of a plurality of orientations and more particularly pertains to 
rotating a mailbox to any one of a plurality of rotational orientations 
for the convenience of a user. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
The use of mailboxes with adjustment components is known in the prior art. 
More specifically, mailboxes with adjustment components heretofore devised 
and utilized for the purpose of repositioning mailboxes are known to 
consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural 
configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the 
crowded prior art which has been developed for the fulfillment of 
countless objectives and requirements. 
By way of example, the prior art discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,364 to 
Wenning relates to a rotatable mounting assembly for a rural mailbox. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,576 to Kieswetter relates to mounting for a roadside 
mailbox. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,534 to Raible discloses a swivel mail box. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,918 to Page relates to a rotatable mailbox pedestal. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,702 to Conroy discloses a mailbox standard. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,656 to Virblas relates to a mailbox support. 
In this respect, the mailboxes rotatable to any one of a plurality of 
orientations according to the present invention substantially depart from 
the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so 
provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of rotating a 
mailbox to any one of a plurality of rotational orientations for 
convenience of a user. 
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for 
new and improved mailboxes rotatable to any one of a plurality of 
orientations which can be used for rotating a mailbox to any one of a 
plurality of rotational orientations for convenience of a user. In this 
regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of 
mailboxes with adjustment components now present in the prior art, the 
present invention provides improved mailboxes rotatable to any one of a 
plurality of orientations. As such, the general purpose of the present 
invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to 
provide a new and improved mailbox rotatable to any one of a plurality of 
orientations and method which has all the advantages of the prior art and 
none of the disadvantages. 
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a new and 
improved mailbox rotatable to any one of a plurality of orientations 
comprising, in combination, a rectangular top plate having an upper 
surface and a lower surface and with apertures therethrough for coupling 
with a mailbox thereabove and with supplemental apertures; a rectangular 
bottom plate having an upper surface and a lower surface and with 
apertures therethrough for coupling with a mail box post therebeneath and 
with supplemental apertures; a circular upper disk having an upper surface 
and a lower surface and with apertures extending therethrough for coupling 
the upper surface of the upper disk to the lower surface of the top plate 
through the supplemental apertures, the lower surface of the upper disk 
being provided with a downwardly extending hemispherical projection at a 
predetermined distance from the axis of the upper disk; a circular lower 
disk having a thickness greater than that of the upper disk and with a 
central bore therethrough, the bore being of a greater diameter in its 
lower extent to create a shoulder intermediate the upper and lower 
surfaces; apertures formed adjacent to the periphery of the lower disk for 
securing the lower surface of the lower disk to the upper surface of the 
bottom plate, the upper surface of the lower disk being formed with a 
plurality of hemispherical recesses for selectively receiving the 
projection of the upper disk, the recesses being at the predetermined 
distance from the axis of the upper disk and lower disk; an inverted T 
shaped cylinder with an enlargement at its lower end positioned within the 
bore of the lower disk and with threaded apertures extending downwardly 
into its upper surface for being coupled to the upper disk by bolts 
extending through the interior apertures of the upper disk; and a coil 
spring located within the bore between the enlargement of the cylinder and 
the shoulder of the lower disk to thereby exert a pressure to hold 
together the upper and lower disks and, consequently, for holding the 
projection into a preselected recess of the lower disk. 
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features 
of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that 
follows may be better understood and in order that the present 
contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, 
additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter 
and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention 
in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its 
application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the 
components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the 
drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being 
practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood 
that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose 
of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting. 
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon 
which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the 
designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the 
several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, 
that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions 
insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present 
invention. 
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent 
and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the 
scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar 
with patent of legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a 
cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of 
the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention 
of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to 
be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way. 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide new and 
improved mailboxes rotatable to any one of a plurality of orientations 
which have all the advantages of the prior art mailboxes with adjustment 
components and none of the disadvantages. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide new and improved 
mailboxes rotatable to any one of a plurality of orientations which may be 
easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed. 
It is further object of the present invention to provide new and improved 
mailboxes rotatable to any one of a plurality of orientations which are of 
durable and reliable constructions. 
An even further object of the present invention is to provide new and 
improved mailboxes rotatable to any one of a plurality of orientations 
which are susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both 
materials and labor, and which accordingly are then susceptible of low 
prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such mailbox 
rotatable to any one of a plurality of orientations economically available 
to the buying public. 
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide new and 
improved mailboxes rotatable to any one of a plurality of orientations 
which provide in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the 
advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the 
disadvantages normally associated therewith. 
Still another object of the present invention is to rotate a mailbox to any 
one of a plurality of rotational orientations. 
Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide new and 
improved mailboxes rotatable to any one of a plurality of orientations 
comprising, a top plate having an upper surface and a lower surface and 
with apertures therethrough and with supplemental apertures; a bottom 
plate in a generally configuration having an upper surface and a lower 
surface and with apertures therethrough and with supplemental apertures; a 
upper disk having an upper surface and a lower surface and with apertures 
extending therethrough for coupling the upper surface of the upper disk to 
the lower surface of the top plate through the supplemental apertures, the 
lower surface of the disk being provided with a downwardly extending 
projection at a predetermined distance from the axis of the upper disk; a 
lower disk having a thickness greater than that of the upper disk and with 
a central bore therethrough, the bore being of a greater diameter in its 
lower extent to create a shoulder intermediate the upper and lower 
surfaces; apertures formed adjacent to the periphery of the lower disk for 
securing the lower surface of the lower disk to the upper surface of the 
bottom plate, the upper surface of the lower disk being formed with a 
plurality of recesses for selectively receiving the projection of the 
upper disk, the recesses being at the predetermined distance from the axis 
of the upper disk and lower disk; and a cylinder with an enlargement at 
its lower end positioned within the bore of the lower disk and with 
threaded apertures extending downwardly into its upper surface for being 
coupled to the upper disk by bolts extending through the apertures of the 
upper disk. 
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various 
features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with 
particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this 
disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating 
advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should 
be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there 
is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1 thereof, 
the preferred embodiment of the new and improved mailbox rotatable to any 
one of a plurality of orientations embodying the principles and concepts 
of the present invention and generally designated by the reference numeral 
10 will be described. 
Specifically, the present invention the new and improved mailboxes 
rotatable to any one of a plurality of orientations comprises a plurality 
of individual components. In their broadest context, the individual 
components include a top plate, a bottom plate, a upper disk, a lower 
disk, apertures in the various components, a cylinder and a spring. The 
individual components are specifically configured and correlated one with 
respect to the other to achieve the desired objectives. 
More specifically, the rectangular top plate 12 is formed with an upper 
surface 14 and a lower surface 16. It has apertures 18 extending 
therethrough for coupling with a mailbox 20. The mailbox is located 
thereabove. The top plate also has supplemental apertures 22 extending 
therethrough. 
In addition, there is also provided a rectangular bottom plate 26. The 
upper and lower plates are of a similar configuration. The bottom plate 
has an upper surface 28 and a lower surface 30. It also has apertures 31 
therethrough. Like the top plate, the bottom plate is also provided with 
supplemental apertures 34 for coupling with a mailbox post 32 located 
therebeneath. 
An upper disk 36 in a circular configuration is next provided. It has an 
upper surface 38 and a lower surface 40. It has apertures 42 extending 
therethrough for coupling the upper surface of the upper disk to the lower 
surface of the top plate. Such is done through the supplemental apertures. 
The lower surface of the upper disk is provided with a downwardly 
extending hemispherical projection 44. The projection is at a 
predetermined distance from the axis of the upper disk. 
Next provided is a circular lower disk 48. Such lower disk has a thickness 
greater than that of the upper disk. It has a central bore 50 extending 
therethrough. The bore is centrally located and is of a greater diameter 
in its lower extent than its upper extent so as to create a shoulder 52 
intermediate the upper and lower surfaces. 
Formed adjacent to the periphery of the lower disk are a plurality of 
apertures 56. Such apertures are for securing the lower surface of the 
lower disk to the upper surface of the bottom plate. The upper surface of 
the lower disk is formed with a plurality of hemispherical recesses 58 
corresponding in size to the projection of the upper disk. The recesses 
are for selectively receiving the projection. To achieve this, the 
recesses are located at a predetermined distance from the axis of the 
upper disk which is the axis of the lower disk. 
Located within the bore of the lower disk is an inverted T-shaped cylinder 
62. Such cylinder is formed with an enlargement 64 at its lower end. It is 
positioned within the bore of the lower disk. Such cylinder is also formed 
with threaded apertures 66 extending downwardly into its upper surface. 
Such threaded apertures are for being coupled to the upper disk by 
threaded bolts 68. Such threaded bolts extend through the supplemental 
apertures of the upper disk. 
Lastly, provided is a coil spring 72. Such coil spring is located within 
the bore between the enlargement of the cylinder and the shoulder of the 
lower disk. The coil spring functions to exert a pressure to hold together 
the upper and lower disks. Because of this force, a force is provided for 
holding the projection into a preselected recess of the lower disk, the 
recess to which it has been last rotated by the user. 
The product is a swivel joint and hardware plate to attach existing 
mailboxes to. It will enable the person getting mail from their box to 
simply turn the mailbox 180 degrees and remove mail, then rotate it back 
facing the road. This was developed to prevent homeowners from having to 
go out onto or into a street and possibly be at risk of getting hit by a 
vehicle. With the mailbox rotatable to any one of a plurality of 
orientations, all one has to do is simply turn the mailbox one half turn, 
it will then lock into place by way of a notch and bearing mechanism, 
possibly teflon coated to operate smoothly and to prevent any metal parts 
from rusting, then simply remove mail while staying in yard and then 
return mailbox to original position by turning back one half turn. 
As to the manner of usage and operation of the present invention, the same 
should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further 
discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided. 
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the 
optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to 
include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of 
operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to 
one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those 
illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are 
intended to be encompassed by the present invention. 
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the 
principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and 
changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired 
to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and 
described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may 
be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.