Abstract:
A mail receptacle for use in public and private settings. The mail receptacle has an upper mail insertion area and a lower storage area. An individual placing mail in the upper mail insertion area would need to press down on a pair of pivotally attached doors, allowing the item of mail to fall into the storage area for later retrieval.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/544,813, filed Feb. 17, 2004. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention concerns that of a new and improved mail receptacle for use in public and private settings. 
   DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
   U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,386, issued to Phillion Sr., discloses a mailbox comprised of a first compartment with a hinged door in the floor to drop mail to a second lower compartment with a locking rear door. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,737, issued to Madruga, discloses a mailbox with a hinged loading door leading to a secondary section to prevent unauthorized access. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,071, issued to Kim, discloses a mailbox with an upper section and a locked lower section to store deliveries in a secure manner. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention concerns that of a new and improved mail receptacle for use in public and private settings. The mail receptacle has an upper mail insertion area and a lower storage area. An individual placing mail in the upper mail insertion area would need to press down on a pair of pivotally attached doors, allowing the item of mail to fall into the storage area for later retrieval. 
   There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of a mail receptacle 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 mail receptacle 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 mail receptacle in detail, it is to be understood that the mail receptacle 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 mail receptacle is capable of other embodiments and 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 mail receptacle. 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. 
   It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a mail receptacle which has all of the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a mail receptacle which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a mail receptacle which is of durable and reliable construction. 
   It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a mail receptacle which is economically affordable and available for relevant market segment of the purchasing public. 
   Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment when considered with the attached drawings and appended claims. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of the mail receptacle and the associated foundation used to keep the mail receptacle in place. 
       FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of the two pivoting doors that are the bottom surface of the mail insertion area. 
       FIG. 3  shows a face view of the bottom surface of the mail receptacle. 
       FIG. 4  shows a face view of the foundation and mounting plate associated with the mail receptacle. 
       FIG. 5  shows a perspective view of the present invention as it would appear in use. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of the mail receptacle  2  and the associated foundation  4  used to keep the mail receptacle in place. Mail receptacle  2  looks just like a standard mailbox and comprises an outer casing  3  that has two ends, a top end and a bottom end, and four sides comprising a front side, rear side, left side, and a right side. The outer casing  3  preferably has a square- or rectangular-shaped cross-section. 
   The area within the outer casing  3  is divided into two separate sections. The upper section is the mail insertion area  6 , while the lower section is the storage area  8 . The storage area  8  occupies most of the room within the outer casing  3  and allows large volumes of mail to be stored until someone with proper authority retrieves the mail within the mail receptacle  2 . 
   The front side of the outer casing  3  near the top end of the outer casing  3  has a pivoting door  10  that has a top-mounted tab  12 . An individual can pull down on tab  12  to open the door  10  to insert an item of mail  14 . Base doors  15  and  16  are located in between the first section and the second section of the outer casing  3  and are pivotally mounted within the outer casing  3 . Base doors  15  and  16  are normally connected to one another by a plurality of interlocking teeth  18 , but when they are gently pushed down, they will go down, allowing mail or other items within the mail insertion area  6  to literally “fall” into the storage area  8 . The base doors  15  and  16  are pivotally mounted in such a manner to insure that they will retract to a position where they are connected to one another again once downward pressure upon them is removed, thereby protecting the mail in the storage area  8  from being improperly taken by unauthorized individuals. 
   Within the storage area  8  is located a container  20  that will store mail until it is picked up by an authorized person. The rear side of outer casing  3  has an access door  22  which is located near the bottom end of the outer casing  3 . Access door  22  is pivotally mounted and has a lock  24  that prevents unauthorized access to the mail located within the storage area  8 . 
     FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of the two base doors  15  and  16  that are the bottom surface of the mail insertion area  6 . An item of mail  14  is being pushed through the doors  15  and  16 , causing them pivot downward and allow the item of mail  14  to be fall into the storage area  8 . 
     FIG. 3  shows a face view of the bottom end of the outer casing  3 . As can be seen, the outer casing  3  has a rectangular cross-sectional shape and has four corners. The bottom end of the outer casing  3  has four holes  26  to allow proper mounting of the mail receptacle  2  on the mounting plate  28 . Each of the holes  26  is located at a corner of the outer casing  3   
     FIG. 4  shows a face view of the foundation  30  and mounting plate  28  associated with the outer casing  3 . Foundation  30  is merely a representational drawing, as the actual foundation  30  can be any one of a wide variety items, including a flat surface or a concrete or cement block. 
   Mounting plate  28  has two surfaces, a top surface and a bottom surface. The bottom surface of the mounting plate  28  is the surface placed against the foundation  30 . Mounting plate  28  itself is a rectangular shaped bracket and has four corners, with four upright posts  32  located on the corners of the bracket on the top surface of the mounting plate  28 . The posts  32  are meant to be inserted into the holes  26  on the bottom end of the outer casing  3 . The posts  32  can be threaded, allowing the outer casing  3  to be threadably attached to the foundation  30 , or in the alternative, the posts  32  could allow the outer casing  3  to be attached to the mail receptacle in some other manner. 
     FIG. 5  shows a perspective view of the present invention as it would appear in use. An individual is placing an item of mail  14  into the mail insertion area  6  and pushing downward on base doors  15  and  16 , where it will fall into the container  20  within the storage area  8 .