MAIL DROP FOR DOORS, WALLS AND THE LIKE

Abstract: A mail drop cooperating with a passage in a door or wall and having an ingoing opening and an outgoing opening, with sealing members connected to each other, the sealing members opening and closing substantially simultaneously. Walls or doors are vulnerable to fire or being broken down by way of the mail drop since this requires a large through-passage. This vulnerability is reduced by the present invention in that the slot in the passage is provided with a unit (5 and 20), frame-like in shape and having a rectangular cross-section both ends being provided with sealing members (8 and 22) with separate pivot shafts, said sealing members (8 and 22) being connected together by means of one or more coupling mechanisms (14-17, 25-28).

Description: MAIL DROP FOR DOORS, WALLS AND THE LIKE The present invention relates to a mail drop for doors, walls and the like having an ingoing opening and an outgoing opening, each with its own sealing member. Such mail drops normally occur in doors and are intended to receive mail and newspapers, but can of course also be arranged in any kind of wall element. Such mail drops are provided with sealing members at both the ingoing and the outgoing openings. Both sealing members shall cover a passage having rectangular cross section. The two sealing members are therefore substantially rectangular and the sealing member for the ingoing opening is journalled about a shaft located at or close to the lower, longitudinal edge of the sealing member. This means that letters and newspapers must be inserted from above and will pass through the wall at an angle. Furthermore, the sealing member for the outgoing opening is permanently secured to the sealing member for the ingoing opening so that the two sealing members are opened or closed simulta¬ neously. The passage through a wall or door for a mail drop of the above-mentioned type is so large that the wall or door can easily be broken down via this passage with the aid of house-breaking tools. Furthermore, it is easy to start a fire in the passage for the mail drop, thanks to its considerable area. The object of the invention is to achieve a mail drop making it difficult to break down the door or wall by way of the mail drop and makes it difficult to set fire to the door or wall via the inner walls of the passage. This is enabled by the use of a unit in the form of a frame and having preferably rectangular cross section. The unit is placed in an aperture through a door or wall. The unit is closed at both ends sealing members, both pivotably journalled in the unit, said sealing members being pivotable about a shaft, the two shafts lying parallel to each other and spaced apart. The two sealing members are connected by means of one or more coupling mechanisms, each coupling mechanism consisting of at least two parts which assume different positions in relation to each other during an opening and closing movement. According to a preferred embodiment the units comprise two parts located one after the other and connected to each other, each part having an outwardly directed peripheral flange arranged in such a manner that the unit acquires a peripheral flange at its ends. The parts are inserted, one from each side of an aperture in a wall, and are then connected together. The pivot shaft of the sealing member for the ingoing opening is arranged in said unit, along an edge opposite the edge of the sealing member forming the opening edge. The pivot shaft of the sealing member for the outgoing opening is arranged in the unit and located at the end of the sealing member opposite to the opening edge. The pivot shafts for the two sealing members are located diagonally in relation to each other. Each coupling mechanism consists of at least two parts, each connected to a sealing member and cooperating with each other. The two parts cooperate in such a manner that the sealing members open and close simultaneously. A suitable arrangement is to provide one part with a groove and the other part with a pin running in said groove. Another alternative is for each of the two parts to be provided with a toothed track. A link mechanism is also feasible. Th3 outwardly directed edge of the part of the unit inserted on the side which is to contain an outgoing opening may be replaced by a frame wider than said other part. The frame should be such that the associated sealing member can be journalled in the actual frame. The use of a frame-like unit, provided at both ends with sealing members cooperating with each other by means of a coupling mechanism offers the advantage that the aperture through the wall or door can be made con¬ siderably smaller, thus making it more difficult to break down the door via the mail drop passage. The frame-like form of the unit protects adjacent parts of the wall or door from being set on fire via said unit. The unit may be made of metal, plastic or some other relatively incom¬ bustible material and renders breaking in more difficult. Additional features of the present invention are defined in the fol¬ lowing claims. The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying five sheets of drawings in which Figure 1 shows a door provided with a mail drop in accordance with the present invention, Figure 2 shows the two parts of the mail drop separated from each other Figure 3 shows the complete mail drop in closed position, Figure 4 shows the complete mail drop in open position, and Figure 5 shows a different way of applying the sealing member to be arranged at the outgoing opening of the mail drop. Figure 1 shows a door 1 with a mail drop 2. The mail drop 2 consists of two parts 3 and 4, designed to be inserted, one from each side of the door 1, into the aperture therein. Considering the righthand part, this comprises a frame 5 with peripheral flange 6. The righthand open end of the frame is covered at the bottom by a plate 7 (see Fig. 1) and is provided with a movable sealing member 8 to cover the remaining part of • the opening. The sealing member 8 is in the form of a plate and is provided on the outside with a frame 9 (see Fig. 1) for inserting infor¬ mation such as a name. Between the upper and lower edges of the sealing member 8 are two outwardly directed pins, not shown, which are movable in holes, not shown, in the respective side walls 10 and 11. These side walls are arranged in the frame 5. parallel to the vertical inner walls of the frame, thus forming a space on each side of the passage area of the mail drop, these spaces being designated 12 and 13. The sealing member 8 is provided with two arms 14 and 15, said arms being inwardly directed in the spaces 12 and 13 and being provided at their ends with outwardly directed pins 16 and 17, respectively. Two inclined plates 18 and 19 are arranged in the passage area, connected at their ends to the side walls 10 and 11. The plates 18 and 19 form the bottom and top of the passage and are inclined substantially parallel to each other. The plates are intended to guide post and other similar material. When the sealing member 8 assumes its open position, i.e. when the sealing member is turned about its pivot shaft, the inside of the sealing member 8 will constitute a continuation of the bottom formed by the plate 18. The plates 18 and 19, as well as the walls 10 and 11, can be welded to the inside of the frame 5. The other part of the mail drop 2, shown on the left in Figure 2, has a frame part 20 with peripheral flange 21. The frame part 20 is exactly the same shape and size as the frame part 5. The part 20 is provided wit.* 1 a rectangular sealing member 22 filling the entire lefthand opening of tne frame 20. The sealing member 22 is in the form of a plate like a parallel-epipedic body of considerable thickness. The thickness may vary between 5 mm and 20 mm. The sealing member may be of sheet metal and filled with insulating material, insulating against both sound and heat. Two pins 23 and 24 are provided at the upper end of the sealing member. Said pins are journalled in holes in the vertical walls of the frame 20, as shown in the drawing. The sealing member 22 is thus pivot- able at its upper edge. The sealing member is provided internally with two grooved flanges 25 and 26. The inwardly directed pins 16 and 17 in the mail drop section 4 are designed to cooperate with the external grooves 27 and 28. It is no doubt be evident that the two grooves 27 and 28 may be arranged on the inner side of the flanges 25 and 26, in which case the pins 16 and 17 must be directed outwardly to allow cooperation with the grooves. When the mail drop is to be assembled in a door, an aperture must be cut which-has rectangular cross section of the same dimensions as the outer dimensions of the frame 5. The part 4 is then inserted from the outside until the peripheral flange 6 abuts the outside of the door. The other part, or lefthand part, is inserted from the inside of the door until the inner edges of the two frames come into contact with each other and until the flange 21 abuts the inside of the door. The two parts of the mail drop are then joined together in any manner. A suitable manner is the use of a screw joint located at the corners of the mail drop in spaces 12 and 13. Once both parts have been assembled in the door, the pins 16 and 17 will also be in the grooves 27. Thanks to the pins 16 and 17 and grooves 28 and 27. if the sealing member is turned to the right about its pivot shaft, the sealing member 22 will swing out about its pins 23 and 24. Thus, in open position, an inclined passage is formed through the door, the lower side of the passage being formed by the plate 18 and a portion of the sealing member 8. The upper part of the passage is formed by the plate 19 and its side walls by the side walls 10 and 11. In the inner and outer corners of the spaces 12 and 13 in part 4, welded parts are arranged having tapped screw holes. In the opening in part 3, opposite the spaces 12 and 13 are flanges through which screws can be inserted to cooperate with the tapped holes to form a screw joint. According to one embodiment of the invention, the frame 5 may be the same width as the thickness of the door. Its inner edge will therefore lie flush with the inner surface of the door. The lefthand part 3 is provided with a frame 20 with a cross section larger than that of the frame 5. The frame 20 is then provided at its righthand open end with an inwardly directed peripheral flange having the same internal dimensions as the frame 5. In this arrangement, the peripheral flange will serve as the lefthand abutment flange of the frame 5 against the inside of the door. The enlarged part 3 of the mail drop will not therefore protrude into the aperture made in the door. In this case it is advisable to provide the enlarged part 3 with a surrounding frame to give a smooth transition to the inner surface of the door.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A mail drop for doors, walls and the like having an ingoing opening and an outgoing opening,_ with sealing members connected to each other, the passage between the openings having substantially rectangular cross section, said mail drop being intended for mail, newspapers and the like and wherein the sealing member for the ingoing opening is pivotable about a shaft lying parallel to one side of said cross section and wherein the sealing members open and close substantially simultaneously, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said sealing member (8) for the ingoing opening is journalled in a unit in the form of a frame (5 and 20) having the same cross section as the passage, said unit (5 and 20) being designed for placing in said passage, that said sealing member (22) for the outgoing opening is journalled in the unit and is pivotable about a shaft lying parallel to and spaced from the shaft about which the sealing member (8) for the ingoing opening pivots, and that the two sealing members (8 and 22) are connected by means of one or more coupling mecha¬ nisms (14-17, 25-28), each coupling mechanism (15, 17, 26, 28) con¬ sisting of at least two parts which assume different positions in rela¬ tion to each other during a closing or opening movement. 2. A mail drop according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the unit (5, 20) comprises two parts located one after the other and connectable to each other. 3. A mail drop according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that each coupling mechanism (T5, 17, 26, 28) consists of a grooved part (26) and a part (15) provided with a pin, the pin and groove cooperating with each other, one part (15) being connected to one sealing member (8) and the other part (26) being con¬ nected to the other sealing member (22). 4. A mail drop according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that each coupling mechanism consists of at least two links joined together, and an individual sealing member. 5. A mail drop according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that each coupling mechanism includes at least tooth segments cooperating with each other and each connected to a sealing member. 6. A mail drop according to one or more of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the unit (5 or 20) is provided at each end with an outwardly directed flange (6 and 21, respectively) to abut the surface of the wall where the mail drop is to be situated. 7. A mail drop according to one or more of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that it consists entirely or partially of plastic, metal or other suitable material, which preferably makes it more difficult to set fire to or break down a door or wall by way of the mail drop. 8. A mail drop according to claim .1, c h a r ac t e r i s e d in that the pivot shaft of the sealing member (8) for the ingoing opening is located between two opposing sides of said unit (5 and 20) and that the edge of the opening is located at or close to one of said opposing sides. 9• A mail drop according to claim 1 , c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the pivot- shaft of the sealing member (22) for the outgoing opening is located at one side of said unit (5 and 20) and at one edge of the sealing member (22).

Inventors: GRANLUND BERTIL, GRANLUND, BERTIL
Applicants: GRANLUND BERTIL, GRANLUND, BERTIL
Application year: 1989
Main classification: A47G29
IPC codes: A47G29