Patent Publication Number: US-3880344-A

Title: Secured mailbox

Description:
United States Patent Earle Apr. 29, 1975 SECURED MAILBOX [57] ABSTRACT 7 Inventor; Wil i Earle, 102 E pebb|e Beach A secured mailbox for receiving mail of different char- D Tempe A i 85282 acter and comprising: a vertical throat of horizontal cross section defined by back, front and side walls; a [22] Filed: Apr. 29, 1974 211 App]. No.: 464,796  
 [52] U.S. Cl 232/17; 232/45 [51] Int. Cl A47g 29/12 [58] Field of Search 232/17, 45, 46, 47, 38, 232/39, 53  
 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 386,757 7/1888 Regcstcr 232/53 X 774,218 11/1904 Whalen l 232/47 827,482 7/1906 Van Dorn 232/38 1,132.756 3/1915 Wiser 232/53 1,480,452 1/1924 Kolstad 232/17 1,506,646 8/1924 Kolstad 232/45 2,405,730 8/1946 Bankson 232/17 3,389,854 6/1968 Coopcrsmith 232/46 Primary Examiner-Francis K. Zugel Alrorney, Agent, or Firn1.lohri A. Robertson lower receptacle into which said throat opens and having an access door secured by a lock; a door pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis to the upper edge of said front wall and providing upper and lower rectangular panels of substantially the same size and shape, said lower door panel corresponding in size and shape to the cross sectional area of said throat, said back and side walls extending above the top edge of said front wall a distance substantially equal to the height of the upper door panel when the latter is in vertical position; a rectangular top wall secured to the upper edges of said side and back walls and having a length substantially twice the corresponding dimension of the throat; the top edge of the front wall, the side walls above the top edge of the front wall and the undersurface of said top wall defining an opening which is normally closed by the upper door panel&#39; when the latter is in vertical position and through which mail is passed when the upper door panel is in a horizontal position; and, a door stop extending horizontally outwardly from the upper edge of said front wall.  
 8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures a 1 l /8J| .23 /6 25 /0 I? 26 2427 d i /3/:i--b---,  
 34 mm, /2: W mu. 6,; 35. 3/ n iig-illi PATENTEDAPRZSIQYS SHEET 2 OF 2 lllllllll SECURED MAILBOX The present invention relates to mailboxes, and is concerned primarily with a mailbox that is secured against theft of mail which has been deposited therein and will receive mail of different classes with a single delivery operation on the part of the postman.  
 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION At the present time, the average home dweller receives mail of different character which may be, for the purposes of this specification, divided into two classes. One of these is first class mail which is ordinarily valuable, and the other is less valuable mail, of which periodicals, magazines, circulars, and the like are typical. The desirability of protecting first class mail against theft and the lack of the need of any such protection for less valuable mail has long been recognized, with the result that much effort has been expended on the project of providing a mailbox into which first class mail is deposited into a secured receptacle and less valuable mail into an unsecured compartment designed for its reception. A plurality of patents have issued over the years on mailboxes of this general nature.  
  Mailboxes of the type above noted have one basic inherent feature which is looked upon with disfavor by the postal authorities. This feature resides in the fact that the secured receptacle for first class mail includes a slot through which the letters which comprise the major portion of first class mail are passed. These slots of necessity are narrow so as to prevent access to the interior of the secured receptacle by unauthorized persons, and due to this narrow dimension, it is practical for the postman to insert only one letter at a time through the slot. It may be that two or even three letters might be compressed into a single packet and passed through the slot on a single operation, but such operation would be accompanied by difficulty and inconvenience. Thus, from the practical aspect, the postman ordinarily passes each letter individually through the slot. This is time consuming and is a condition which is to be avoided ifa mailbox is to meet the approval of the postal authorities.  
  Many homes are located away from the road, street or avenue to which they are addressed. This condition is particularly true in suburban communities. When a mailbox is located closely adjacent to the door of such a home, which is now the practice which is more prevalent, the postman must walk from the street to the mailbox, deposit the mail therein, and retrace his steps. When it is considered that this travel time is repeated over and over again as the postman makes his rounds, it is easy to recognize the amount of time which is lost on each round. For this reason, postal authorities dealing with the problem of increasing efficiency of the postal operation are considering the proposition of making it attractive for a homeowner to locate the mailbox for that home at the street or sidewalk over which the postman travels in making his rounds.  
  If such a mailbox is to be acceptable to the homeowner, it must be effectively secured against removal of mail of all classes therefrom by an unauthorized person. Moreover, the mailbox will have to be purchased either by the homeowner or supplied by the postal authorities. In either case, the mailbox must be available at low cost and this factor indicates that it should be the epitome of simplicity.  
 OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION With the foregoing conditions in mind, the present invention has in view the following objectives:  
  1. To provide a secured mailbox which is of simple construction, provides for the depositing of mail of all classes thereinto by a single operation on the part of the postman, and includes a receptacle which receives the mail and which includes an access door under the control of a lock. v  
  2. To provide a mailbox of the type noted which is constructed and designed so that it be mounted either on a post or the wall of a building.  
  3. To provide a mailbox of the character aforesaid which includes, as a characteristic and essential element, a throat of horizontal, rectangular cross section which opens at its lower end onto a secured receptacle. This throat is defined by back, front and side walls, with the back and side walls extending above the top edge of the front wall a distance substantially equal to the distance between the back and front walls. A top wall is mounted on the upper edges of the back and side walls and cooperates with the side walls and upper edge of the back wall in defining an opening with which the throat communicates at its upper end.  
  4. To provide, in a mailbox of the kind described, a door which is pivotally mounted on the upper edge of the front wall and which comprises upper and lower door panels of substantially the same size and shape, with each panel corresponding in size and shape to the horizontal cross sectional area of the throat.  
  5. To provide, in a mailbox of the type noted, a top wall having a dimension normal to the back and front walls which is twice the distance between the front and back walls to prevent effective insertion of a tool through the door when in a partially open position for the surreptitious removal of mail which has been deposited into the receptacle.  
  6. To provide, in a mailbox of the character noted, a door stop in the form of a horizontal flange which extends outwardly of the throat at the top edge thereof which facilitates swinging of the door into a horizontal position by a postman and then having it remain in that position as mail is passed through the opening aforesaid.  
  Various other more detailed objects and advantages of the invention, such as arise in connection with carrying out the above ideas in a practical embodiment, will, in part, become apparent and, in part, be hereafter stated as the description of theinvention proceeds.  
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The foregoing objects are achieved by providing two embodiments of a mailbox, each of which fulfills the above objects and which differ only in the relative vertical dimensions of the back and front walls, whereby one embodiment is adapted to be mounted on a post and the other against the wall of a building. Each embodiment comprises a throat of rectangular, horizontal cross section defined by front, back and side walls. The throat at its lower end opens into and communicates with a secured receptacle having a hingedly mounted door which is secured by a lock.  
  The side and back walls extend vertically upwardly beyond the level of the top edge of the front wall a distance equal to the distance between the front and back walls. A top wall is secured to the upper edges of the side and back walls and has a dimension in a direction normal to the front and back walls that is twice the distance between the front and back walls.  
  A door is pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis to the top edge of the front wall and presents upper and lower panels delineated by the pivotal mounting and of the same size and shape. Thus, the lower door panel is of substantially the same size and shape as the cross sectional area of the throat which it closes when the door is in a horizontal position, while the upper door panel is of the same size and shape as the opening defined by the top edge of the front wall, side walls and top wall to close that opening when the door is in a vertical position.  
  A door stop is provided in the form of a horizontal flange which extends forwardly of the front wall and is of sufficient extent to adequately perform the function of stopping the door as it is swung into a horizontal position and holding it in that position as a postman passes mail through the opening therefor. Ordinarily this flange will be comparatively narrow, speaking with reference to a dimension normal to the front wall and as compared to that part of the top wall which extends beyond the front wall. The side walls are continued beyond the front wall so that their front edges extend between the front edges of the top wall and flange aforesaid and thus are inclined with respect to the vertical.  
  The lower door panel has a weight slightly greater than that of the upper door panel so that the door is normally maintained in a vertical position.  
  In the embodiment designed for mounting the mailbox on a post along side of a street or sidewalk, the post is secured to the outer section of the front wall with its upper end engaging the flange. In this embodiment, the front wall is continued downwardly beyond the level of the lower end of the throat, whereby it constitutes the front wall of the secured receptacle. The&#39;ba&#39;ck wall terminates at the level of the lower end of the throat.  
  In the other embodiment, the back wall is secured to the wall of a dwelling in any preferred manner and this back wall is continued downwardly beyond the level of the lower end of the throat, whereby it is constituted the back wall of the secured receptacle. The front wall terminates at its lowerend at the level of the lower end of the throat.  
  For a full and more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following description and the accompanying drawings&#39;wherein:  
  FIG. 1 is a perspective of a secured mailbox designed in accordance with the precepts of this invention and illustrated as mounted on the upper end of a post;  
  FIG. 2 is a vertical cross section taken on the plane of the lines 22 of FIG. 1;  
  FIG. 3 is an elevation looking at the back of the mailbox of FIGS. 1 and 2, that is from the left of FIG. 2;  
  FIG. 4 is a perspective of another embodiment of a mailbox embodying the precepts of this invention in which the mailbox is mounted on the wall ofa dwelling;  
  FIG. 5 is a vertical cross section taken on the plane of the line 5-5 of FIG. 4, and  
  FIG. 6 is an elevation looking at the front of the mailbox of FIGS. 4 and 5.  
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denote corresponding elements throughout the several views, and first more particularly to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the preferred embodiment is identified in its entirety by the reference character 10 and is shown as mounted on a vertical post 11. Mailbox 10 includes as a characteristic and essential element a throat 12 that is of rectangular, horizontal cross section, defined by a back wall 13, side walls 14 and a front wall 15. As shown in FIG. 2, front wall 15 has an upper edge 16. Back wall 13 and side walls 14 are continued upwardly above the level of top edge 16 a distance equal to the distance between back wall 13 and front wall 15. This distance which the back and side walls are extended upwardly above level 16 is represented by the dimensional arrows a of FIG. 2. The distance between the back 13 and front wall 15 is depicted by the dimensional arrows b of FIG. 2. It is important to note that a is equal to b.  
  A top wall 17 is secured to the upper edges of back 13 and side walls 14 in any preferred manner, such as by being integral therewith or welded or soldered thereto. Top wall 17 is horizontal and has a dimension 0 normal to back wall 13 which is equal to twice the distance between back wall 13 and front wall 15 or 2b. Top edge 16 of front wall 15, side walls 14 and top wall 17 define an opening 18 through which mail is passed, as will be later described.  
  Extending forwardly of front wall 15 at edge 16 is a door stop in the form of a horizontal flange l9. Flange 19 is comparatively narrow as compared to that portion of top wall 17 which extends forwardly of opening 18, having an extent just sufficient to provide the function required of it, namely stopping swinging movement of a door to be later described and maintaining that door in a horizontal position. To insure of door 23 remaining in horizontal position, a magnet may be mounted either on flange 19 or upper door panel 25. This magnet is designated 8.  
  It will be noted that side walls 14 present portions which extend above top edge 16 and forwardly of opening 18. These portions are identified at-20 and they te-rminate in inclined edges 21.  
  A flat door is referred to in its entirety by the reference character 23. It comprises a lower door panel 24 and an upper door panel 25 which is provided with any appropriate form of a hand or finger engaging means 26. Door panels 24 and 25 are coplanar. Door 23 is pivotally mounted on upper edge 16 of front wall 15 on the horizontal axis represented by pivot 27. It is important to note that under normal conditions, door 23 will assume the vertical position illustrated by broken lines in FIG. 2 and full lines in FIG. 3. To assure of this, lower door panel 24 will have a weight slightly in excess of upper door&#39;panel 25 and may be counterweighted for this purpose. An an alternative, a magnet may be mounted on either lower door panel 24 or front wall 15. As illustrated, this magnet is on front wall 15 and is designated 9 It is also important to note that lower door panel 24 has a size and shape substantially the same as a horizontal cross sectional area of throat 12 so as to close the upper end of this throat when door 23 is in the horizontal position of FIG 2. Also, that upper door panel 25 has dimensions corresponding to those of opening 18 which it closes when door 23 is in vertical position. It is important to close this opening on those occasions when a postman is not delivering mail to render the mailbox weatherproof to prevent the entry of rain, snow or other foreign matter into the throat 12.  
  Throat 12 at its lower end opens into a secured receptacle referred to in its entirety by the reference character 28. Receptacle 28 has a front wall provided by a continuation of the front wall of throat 12, a bottom wall 29, and a rear wall 30 formed with an opening 31 which is normally closed by a closure 32 that is hingedly mounted at 33 to the rear edge of bottom wall 29.  
  It is intended that receptacle 28 be secured by any appropriate locking device that is associated with closure 32. Thus, purely by way of example, closure 32 is shown as formed with a slot 34 which receives a hasp 35 extending outwardly from rear wall 30 and to which a padlock may be applied in a well known manner.  
  It is important to note that back wall 13 of throat 12 has an extent at least as great as the dimension of lower door panel 24 that is normal to pivot 27. Stating it another way, the vertical dimension of rear wall 13 from the level of top edge 16 to its lower end is represented by the dimensional arrows d and d should be b or b+, as illustrated d b. Thus, the vertical extent of throat 12 is determined by lower edge of rear wall 13 which is identified at 35, and from this edge a receptacle lid 36 extends to rear wall 30, and between portions of side walls 14 which extend beyond back wall 13, such portions being designated 37.  
  Post 11 is secured to the exposed face of front wall 15 and underface of flange 19in any preferred manner, there being many well known conventional instrumentalities for achieving this mounting.  
 OPERATION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The mailbox of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 will ordinarily be mounted along the side of a street or sidewalk, with the front wall 15 facing away from the premises. In this position, it is most conveniently available to a postman. When the latter arrives to make a delivery, he merely engages the handle 26 and pulls the door into the horizontal position illustrated in FIG. 3. All of the mail for that address is then inserted into the upper horizontal structure defined by top wall 17, door 23, side walls 14 and that portion of back wall 12 which extends above the level of top edge 16. Under those circumstances which obtain for most average households, all of the mail for one delivery may be inserted with a single operation. The postman then swings the door into the vertical position illustrated by broken lines in FIG. 2 and full lines in FIG. 3. This will cause all of the mail to align with throat 12 and fall downwardly into receptacle 28. Inasmuch as throat 12 has a capacity above the lower edge of door panel 24 which is less than that of receptacle 28, all of the mail will fall into the latter and clear the lower edge of door panel 24 so that the door 23 may again be operated with a swinging movement without engaging the mail. Ordinarily, the mail will be removed from the box between regular deliveries thereof. However, should the homeowner miss a delivery in removing mail, the receptacle 28 has sufficient capacity to accommodate repeated deliveries. Thus, it may be stated that as a general rule the receptacle 28 should be of a capacity which, combined with that of throat 12 below the lower edge of door panel 24 when in a vertical position, is at least twice as great as the capacity of throat 12 above the lower edge of door panel 24 when in a vertical position.  
  It will be understood that door 32 is ordinarily closed and a padlock applied to hasp 35. When the occupant of the home to which the mailbox is appended is desirous of acquiring his mail, the padlock is unlocked, door 34 opened, and the mail withdrawn from receptacle 28.  
  It is evident that due to the extent of top wall 17 it would be impossible for a thief to insert an elongated tool, such as a wire or rod, with a pickup device at its lower end, such as an adhesive or a hook, through opening 18 with the door 23 in a partially open position to the extent that the lower end of such a tool would reach mail in the receptacle 28.  
  It is also important to note that the above described mailbox is the epitome of simplicity and yet performs all of the functions required of it, namely the easy delivery of the mail by the postman and the securing of the mail after such delivery until it is removed by the homeowner.  
 THE SECOND EMBODIMENT FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 illustrate an embodiment in which a mailbox designated generally 38 is mounted on a wall 39 ofa building. Ordinarily such a box will be mounted close to the door of such a dwelling. Mailbox 38 differs from mailbox 10 only in the dimensions of the front and back walls and the manner in which they enter into defining the construction of the lower secured receptacle. Thus, as shown more clearly in FIG. 5, back wall 13 of FIG. 1 is replaced by a back wall 40 which extends throughout the entire height of the complete mailbox, that is, from the rear edge of top wall 17 to the rear edge of bottom wall 29 of receptacle 28. Also, front wall 15 of mailbox 10 is replaced by a front wall 41 which extends between flange 19 and cover 42 for receptacle 28 which extends from the lower edge of front wall 14 to a front wall 43 of the receptacle which takes the place of the rear wall 30 of the receptacle 28 of mailbox 10. Another difference between mailboxes 10 and 38 is that with mailbox l0, mail is delivered from the front and removed from the rear, whereas with mailbox 38, it is both delivered and removed from the front.  
  The operation attending the use of mailbox 38 is identically the same as that above described in conjunction with mailbox 10, with the only difference residing in the fact that the mail is withdrawn from the secured receptacle from the front rather than from the rear. The relative dimension of the throat, the wall structure thereof, top wall, door and door panels are all the same as described above in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.  
  In both embodiments, the wall structure of the throat and secured receptacle, as well as the door, are of ferrous sheet metal of the type now commonly used in mailboxes.  
  While preferred specific embodiments are herein disclosed, it is to be clearly understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact constructions, mechanisms and devices illustrated and described because various modifications of these details may be provided in putting the invention into practice.  
 What is claimed is:  
  I. In a secured mailbox for receiving mail of different classes on a single delivery operation:  
 a. a vertical throat of rectangular horizontal cros section defined by a back wall, a pair of side walls and a front wall presenting a top edge;  
 b. said back and side wals extending above the level of said top edge a distance substantially equal&#39;to the distance between said back and front walls;  
 0. a top wall secured to upper edges of said back and side walls and extending forwardly of said back wall a distance substantially twice the distance between said back and front walls, said top wall presenting a front edge;  
 d. a door stop in the form of a flange extending forwardly of said front wall at the top edge of said front wall and having a front edge;  
 e. said side walls having portions extending forwardly beyond the top edge of said front wall and terminating in end edges extending between the front edges of said top wall and flange;  
 f. a flat door pivotally mounted on a horizontal pivot to said top edge of said front wall and comprising coplanar lower and upper door panels of substantially the same size and shape and defined by said pivot;  
 g. means for yieldably securing said door in a vertical position;  
 h. said lower door panel being of substantially the same size and shape as a horizontal cross section of said throat;  
 i. the top edge of said front wall, said side walls and said top defining an opening which mail is passed through as it is delivered to the mailbox, said upper door panel being dimensioned to close said opening when said door is in a vertical position;  
 j. a handle on the outer face of said upper door panel,  
 and  
 k. a secured receptacle into which said throat opens at its lower end receiving mail from said throat, said receptacle having a capacity at least twice the capacity of that portion of said throat above the lower edge of said lower door panel when said door is in vertical position.  
  2. The mailbox of claim 1 in which the means for securing the door in vertical position comprises weighting the lower door panel so that it has a weight slightly greater than that of the upper door panel.  
  3. The mailbox of claim 1 in which the means for securing the door in a vertical position comprises magnetic means on one of the lower door panel and front wall.  
  4. The mailbox of claim 1, together with magnetic means on said flange for maintaining said door in a horizontal position.  
  5. The mailbox of claim 1 which is adapted to be mounted on a post secured to said front wall with its top end face engaging the underside of said flange and in which said secured receptacle comprises:  
 5 a. a front wall that is a downward extension of the front wall of said throat;  
 b. a&#39;bottom wall;  
 c. a rear wall formed with an access opening;  
 d. a pair of side walls;  
 e. an upper horizontal wall extending from the lower edge of the back wall of said throat to the top edge of said rear wall;  
 f. a hingedly mounted closure for said access opening, and  
 g. mechanism for securing said closure in a closed,  
 locked position.  
  6. The mailbox of claim 5 in which said closure is hingedly mounted at its lower edge on the rear edge of said bottom wall and said mechanism for securing the closure in a closed, locked position comprises a slot formed in the upper portion of said closure and a hasp projecting rearwardly from said rear wall and adapted to have a padlock applied thereto after it is passed through said slot.-  
  7. The mailbox of claim 1 which is adapted to be mounted on the wall of a building and in which said secured receptacle comprises:  
 a. a rear wall that is a downward extension of the back wall of said throat;  
 b. a bottom wall;  
 c. a front wall formed with an access opening;  
 (1. a pair of side walls;  
 e. an upper horizontal wall extending from the lower edge of the front wall of said throat to the top edge of the front wall of said receptacle;  
 f. a hingedly mounted closure for said access opening, and  
 g. mechanism for securing said closure in a closed,  
 locked position.  
  8. The mailbox of claim 7 in which said closure is hingedly mounted at its lower edge to the forward edge of said bottom wall and said mechanism for securing the closure in a closed, locked position comprises a slot formed in said closure adjacent to its upper edge and a hasp projecting forwardly of the front wall of the receptacle which is received in said slot and adapted to have a padlock applied thereto.