Abstract:
In some embodiments, a mail bag assembly designed to be attached to a garage door in a position to collect mail passed through a mail slot in the garage door. The assembly includes a mail bag having an opening for receiving mail, and a supporting subassembly (which can include a rod) coupled to the bag so as to hold open the mail-receiving opening. The supporting subassembly is configured to be mounted to a garage door and to support the bag in an open, mail-holding position. The bag is shaped and dimensioned so as to receive and hold mail (when supported by the supporting subassembly below a mail slot in the garage door in the mail-holding position with the door in a closed, vertical position) and to prevent the mail from falling out of the bag when the door is opened. Various embodiments of the assembly can be easily installed on any type of garage door, including residential or industrial wood garage doors and composite or metal garage doors with trust support.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention pertains to an improved mail bag assembly that can be attached to a garage door to receive and hold mail passed through a mail slot in the door. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   It has been proposed to mount mail receptacles of various types to a garage door to receive mail passed through a mail slot in the door. However, there is a need for a garage door mail receptacle having simple, inexpensive design that can be installed on any type of garage door, including residential or industrial wood garage doors with half inch or more door wood thickness and composite or metal garage doors with trust support, and is capable of receiving and holding mail when in a vertical mail-holding position (when mounted below the mail slot with the door in a closed, vertical position) and prevents the mail from falling out of the receptacle when the door is opened (i.e., moved from the closed, vertical position to an open, horizontal position). There is also a need for such a garage door mail receptacle that can conveniently folded against a garage door when not in use (for convenience). 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In a class of embodiments, the invention is a mail bag assembly designed and engineered to be attached to a garage door in a position to collect mail (e.g., envelopes and packages) passed through a mail slot in the garage door. Various embodiments of the assembly can be installed on any type of garage door, including residential or industrial wood garage doors (installation on doors having at least half inch wood thickness is especially easy) and composite or metal garage doors with trust support. 
   The assembly includes a mail bag having an opening for receiving mail, and a supporting subassembly (typically including a rod) coupled to the bag so as to hold open the mail-receiving opening. The supporting subassembly is configured to be mounted to a garage door and to support the bag in an open, mail-holding position. The bag is shaped and dimensioned so as to receive and hold mail (when supported by the supporting subassembly below a mail slot in the garage door in the mail-holding position with the door in a closed, vertical position) and to prevent the mail from falling out of the bag when the door is opened (i.e., moved from the closed, vertical position to an open, horizontal position). 
   In preferred embodiments, the supporting subassembly rotatably mounts the mail bag to the door so that the bag can be folded against the door when not in use (for convenience) as the supporting subassembly rotates relative to the door. Preferably, the inventive assembly includes a fastener (e.g., a hook and loop fastener) for releasably holding the bag in a folded position against the door. Preferably, the assembly is sufficiently lightweight and the fastener holds the bag against the door with sufficiently weak force that force exerted by mail (e.g., packages) against the bag (when the mail is pushed through the mail slot against the bag assembly in its folded position) disengages the fastener and rotates the bag back into the mail-holding position in which it holds the mail. 
   Brackets having rod-receiving grooves can be used to mount typical embodiments of the supporting subassembly rotatably to a garage door (e.g., one that does not have outward-protruding trusts). Generally U-shaped brackets can be used to mount typical embodiments of the supporting subassembly to a trust member of a garage door having outward-protruding trusts. 
   Another aspect of the invention is a garage door to which any embodiment of the inventive mail bag assembly is mounted. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the inventive mail bag assembly installed on a wood garage door (which preferably has a wood thickness of at least 0.5 inch). 
       FIG. 2  is a diagram of elements of the  FIG. 1  assembly. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of elements of the assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3A  is a detail of  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 3B  is a detail of  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a rod of the  FIG. 1  assembly. 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of an embodiment of bracket  13  or  14  of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the inventive mail bag assembly installed on a garage door (e.g., a composite or metal garage door) having trusts (e.g., trusts each having a length of at least 1 inch) protruding outward therefrom. 
       FIG. 7  is a diagram of elements of the  FIG. 6  assembly. 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of elements of the assembly of  FIG. 6 . 
       FIG. 8A  is a detail of  FIG. 8 . 
       FIG. 8B  is a detail of  FIG. 8 . 
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a rod of the  FIG. 6  assembly. 
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a bracket of the  FIG. 6  assembly. 
       FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the bracket of  FIG. 10  with a screw and wing nut for use in mounting it to a trust member of a garage door. 
       FIG. 12  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the inventive mail bag assembly installed on a garage door (e.g., a wood, composite, or metal garage door) having no trust protruding outward therefrom and having arbitrary thickness. 
       FIG. 13  is a diagram of elements of the  FIG. 12  assembly. 
       FIG. 14  is a perspective view of the assembly of  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 6 , or  FIG. 12  mounted to a garage door in a closed (vertical) position. 
       FIG. 15  is a perspective view of the assembly of  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 6 , or  FIG. 12  mounted to a garage door in an open (horizontal) position. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   A first embodiment of the inventive mail bag assembly will be described with reference to  FIGS. 1–5 . 
   Mail bag  1  of  FIG. 1  can be installed onto a wood garage door (preferably having thickness of at least 0.5 inch) and supported in a mail-receiving position by rod  23 , two metal brackets  13  and  14  attached by screws  15 ,  16 ,  17 , and  18  to the door, and wood screw eyebolts (having hook portions)  19 ,  20 ,  21 , and  22  which are screwed into the door. Optionally, screw eyebolts  19  and  20  are omitted, but if included, eyebolts  19  and  20  (and ropes  11  and  12  extending between eyebolts  19  and  20  and elastic loops  3  and  4  of bag  1 ) provide additional support to increase the total mail weight capacity of the assembly (typically to about 12 lbs.). Screw eyebolts  21  and  22  are used to hold the back face of bag  1  in a horizontal position when the garage door is opened (as shown in  FIG. 15 ). 
   Metal brackets  13  and  14  are preferably mounted one to six inches below the mail slot (A), one on each side of the mail slot (A), as shown in  FIG. 1 . Brackets  13  and  14  preferably have the shape shown in  FIG. 5 , which defines a rod-receiving groove for receiving one of the two bent ends of rod  23  (best shown in  FIG. 4 ). 
   Eyebolts  19  and  20  are mounted to the door above the mail slot as shown. Hook portions of eyebolts  19  and  20  are connected to elastic loop portions  3  and  4  (made of elastic rope) of mail bag  1  by ropes  11  and  12  (preferably made of cotton). Optionally, elements  19 ,  20 ,  11 , and  12  are omitted. If used, they provide additional support to bag  1  to increase its total mail capacity (typically up to about 12 lbs.). 
   Eyebolts  21  and  22  are mounted to the door below the mail slot as shown. Hook portions of eyebolts  21  and  22  are connected to elastic loop portions  7  and  8  of mail bag  1  to support bag  1  during garage door opening and when the door is in the horizontal position. Eyebolts  19 ,  20 ,  21 , and  22  have wood screw threads for easy mounting to the garage door. 
   Metal rod  23  (best shown in  FIG. 4 ) is inserted through trim portion  2  of bag  1  (portion  2  is affixed around three of the four top edges of bag  1  as shown in  FIGS. 3 ,  3 A, and  3 B) to allow rod  23  to support bag  1  with the bent end portions of rod  23  protruding out from portion  2  so that they can be mounted to brackets  13  and  14 . The bent ends of rod  23  are passed through elastic loop portions  5  and  6  (made of elastic rope) at upper corners of bag  1 , and are inserted in the rod-receiving grooves of brackets  13  and  14  as shown in  FIG. 1 . When so assembled, rod  23  holds bag  1  open and in a vertical position (when the door is oriented vertically), and elastic ropes  5  and  6  prevent bag  1  from sliding along rod  23  during garage opening. Each of brackets  13  and  14  is secured to the garage door with screws ( 15 ,  16 ,  17 , and  18 ). 
   Hook portion  10  of a hook and loop (e.g., Velcro) fastener (comprising portions  9  and  10 ) is attached to the garage door. Loop portion  9  of this fastener is attached to rod-supporting trim portion  2  of the bag assembly in the position shown. Rod  23  and bag  1  are rotatably mounted to the garage door so that they can be folded up by 90 degrees by causing end portions of rod  23  to rotate in the rod-receiving grooves of brackets  13  and  14  and can be held in the folded position (by fastening element  9  against element  10 ) when not in use for convenience. Due to the light-weight of bag  1  and rod  23 , the mail bag assembly rotates back to its original position when mail or packages are dropped into bag  1  through the mail slot (A). 
     FIG. 2  shows approximate locations of the elements of the mail bag assembly that are attached to the garage door. Metal brackets  13  and  14  are preferably attached to the garage door with #6 wood metal screws ( 15 ,  16 ,  17 , and  18 ). These brackets can be mounted 1 to 6 inches below the mail slot (A) on each side of the mail slot (preferably 14 inches apart) as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
   Eyebolts  19  and  20  are mounted to the door above (preferably 2 to 8 inches above) brackets  13  and  14  (preferably fourteen inches apart from each other) as shown in  FIG. 2 . Eyebolts  21  and  22  are attached to the garage door below (preferably 16 inches below) brackets  13  and  14 . Eyebolts  21  and  22  are mounted above (preferably two inches above) the bottom of bag  1  (which is preferably 18 inches long) to allow the load (e.g., envelopes and packages) to drop to the bottom of bag  1  when the garage door is in the open (horizontal) position. 
   Bag  1  has a mail-receiving opening (around three sides of which trim portion  2  is attached) and should be shaped and dimensioned so as to receive and hold mail when in its vertical, mail-holding position (i.e., when mounted below a garage door mail slot with the door in a closed, vertical position) and to prevent the mail from falling out of the bag when door is opened (i.e., moved from the closed, vertical position to an open, horizontal position). 
     FIG. 3  shows details of bag  1 &#39;s design. Bag  1  is preferably made of a strong, light weight nylon fabric, and preferably has the following dimensions: 13″ deep, 14″ wide, and 18″ long. Rod-supporting trim portion  2  of bag  1  preferably has a width of 1.5 inch and a length of 40 inches. Preferably, portion  2  is a separate piece of fabric trim that is attached (e.g., by top and bottom seams) to three of the four top edges (the left, right, and front edges) of the main portion of bag  1  as shown, so as to define an opening (preferably of about half inch diameter) between portion  2  and the main portion of bag  1  for receiving rod  23  as shown in  FIGS. 3A and 3B . 
   Elastic ropes  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 ,  7 , and  8  are attached (as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 3B ) to six corners of bag  1  (the four back corners and two top front corners as shown) to form six elastic loops. When elastic ropes  5  and  6  on the upper back section of bag  1  extend around rod  23 , they prevent bag  1  from sliding along rod  23  during garage opening. 
   Elastic ropes  3  and  4  are connected to the top front corners of bag  1 . Optionally, rope  11  (which is preferably made of cotton) is attached between rope  3  and hook  19 , and rope  12  (which is preferably also made of cotton) is attached between rope  4  and hook  20  as shown, to add additional support to bag  1  to increase the maximum amount of mail that can be carried within by bag  1 . Elastic ropes  7  and  8  are connected to the lower back corners of bag  1  and connected to hooks  21  and  22 , respectively, to add additional weight support and to hold bag  1  in the horizontal position when the garage door is in open (horizontal) position as shown in  FIG. 15 . 
   Rod  23  is bent into the shape shown in  FIG. 4 . Preferably, rod  23  is made of Aluminum material and has 3/16 inch diameter. Rod  23  is shaped and dimensioned to be inserted in the opening between portion  2  and the main portion of bag  1  as shown in  FIG. 1  to support the mail bag. Rod  23  is rotatably attached to the door by brackets  13  and  14  as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
   Preferably, each of brackets  13  and  14  is shaped as shown in  FIG. 5 , is made of aluminum, and is secured to the garage door with two screws (e.g., #6 metal screws). Such brackets can be used for all wood, composite or metal garage doors, but brackets  111  and  112  (to be described with reference to  FIGS. 10 and 11 ) are preferred for use with garage doors having protruding trust portions. 
   With reference to  FIGS. 6–11 , we next describe a second embodiment of the inventive mail bag assembly. 
   Mail bag  101  of  FIG. 6  can be installed onto a garage door residential or industrial metal or composite garage door having trust portions (e.g., trust B) that extend out by at least 1 inch from the main surface of the door (i.e., a door having trust clearance of at least 1 inch) and supported in a mail-receiving position, by rod  121 , two metal brackets  111  and  112  (preferably having shape as shown in  FIG. 10 ) attached by screws and wing nuts (e.g., screw  113  or  114  and wing nut  115  or  116  of  FIG. 11 ) to a trust of the door, and hooks  117 ,  118 ,  119 , and  120  (attached to the door). Hooks  117  and  118  are optionally omitted, but if used, hooks  117  and  118  (and ropes  109  and  110  extending between hooks  117  and  118  and loops  103  and  104  of bag  101 ) provide additional support to increase the total mail weight capacity of the assembly (e.g., to 12 lbs.). Hooks  119  and  120  are used to hold the back face of bag  101  in a horizontal position when the garage door is opened (as shown in  FIG. 15 ). 
   Brackets  111  and  112  are mounted on trust B to hold rod  121  in a generally horizontal position. Each of brackets  111  and  112  has two pairs of holes. A screw  113  (or  114 ) is inserted through one pair of holes and held in place by a wing nut  115  (or  116 ) to mount of each bracket to the trust. The ends of rod  121  are inserted through the other pair of holes to mount rod  121  to the bracket as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
   Optionally, hooks  117  and  118  are attached to the door above the mail slot (slot A). Hooks  117  and  118  can be connected to elastic loops  103  and  104  (made of elastic rope) of mail bag  101  with ropes  109  and  110  (which are preferably cotton ropes) to provide additional support to increase the total mail weight capacity of the assembly (e.g., to 12 lbs.). 
   Hooks  119  and  120  are attached to the garage door below the mail slot. Hooks  119  and  120  are connected to elastic loops  107  and  108  (made of elastic rope) of bag  101  for bag support during garage door opening and when the door is in the open (horizontal) position. 
   Metal rod  121  (best shown in  FIG. 9 ) is inserted through trim portion  102  of bag  101  (portion  102  is affixed around three of the four top edges of bag  101  as shown in  FIGS. 8 ,  8 A, and  8 B) to allow rod  121  to support bag  101  with the end portions of rod  121  protruding out from portion  102  so that they can be mounted to brackets  111  and  112 . The ends of rod  121  are passed through elastic loop portions  105  and  106  (made of elastic rope) at upper corners of bag  101 , and are inserted into rod-receiving holes of brackets  111  and  112  as shown in  FIG. 6 . When so assembled, rod  121  holds bag  101  open and in a vertical position (when the door is oriented vertically), and elastic ropes  105  and  106  prevent bag  101  from sliding along rod  121  during garage opening. 
     FIG. 7  shows approximate locations of the elements of the mail bag assembly that are attached to the garage door. Metal brackets  111  and  112  are preferably attached as described to a trust (trust B) below the mail slot (A) on each side of the mail slot (preferably 14 inches apart) as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
   Hooks  117  and  118  are mounted to the door above (preferably 2 to 8 inches above) brackets  111  and  112  (preferably fourteen inches apart from each other) as shown in  FIG. 7 . Hooks  119  and  120  are mounted to the garage door below (preferably 16 inches below) brackets  111  and  112 . Hooks  119  and  120  are mounted above (preferably two inches above) the bottom of bag  101  (which is preferably 18 inches long) to allow the load (e.g., envelopes and packages) to drop to the bottom of bag  101  when the garage door is in the open (horizontal) position. Hooks  117 ,  118 ,  119 , and  120  are preferably plastic with strong adhesive backing for easy mounting. 
   Bag  101  should be shaped and dimensioned so as to receive and hold mail when in its vertical, mail-holding position (i.e., when mounted below a garage door mail slot with the door in a closed, vertical position) and to prevent the mail from falling out of the bag when door is opened (i.e., moved from the closed, vertical position to an open, horizontal position). 
     FIG. 8  shows details of bag  101 &#39;s design. Bag  101  is preferably made of a strong, light weight nylon fabric, and preferably has the following dimensions: 13″ deep, 14″ wide, and 18″ long. Rod-supporting trim portion  102  of bag  101  preferably has a width of 1.5 inch and a length of 40 inches. Preferably, portion  102  is a separate piece of fabric trim that is attached (e.g., by top and bottom seams) to three of the four top edges (the left, right, and front edges) of the main portion of bag  101  as shown, so as to define an opening (preferably of about half inch diameter) between portion  102  and the main portion of bag  101  for receiving rod  121  as shown in  FIGS. 8A and 8B . 
   Elastic ropes  103 ,  104 ,  105 ,  106 ,  107 , and  108  are attached (as shown in  FIGS. 8 and 8B ) to six corners of bag  101  (the four back corners and two top front corners as shown) to form six elastic loops. When elastic ropes  105  and  106  on the upper back section of bag  101  extend around rod  121 , they prevent bag  101  from sliding along rod  121  during garage opening. 
   Elastic ropes  103  and  104  are connected to the top front corners of bag  101 . Optionally, rope  109  (which is preferably made of cotton) is attached between rope  103  and hook  117 , and rope  110  (which is preferably also made of cotton) is attached between rope  104  and hook  118  as shown, to add additional support to bag  101  to increase the maximum amount of mail that can be carried within by bag  101 . Elastic ropes  107  and  108  are connected to the lower back corners of bag  101  and connected to hooks  119  and  120 , respectively, to add additional weight support and to hold bag  101  in the horizontal position when the garage door is in open (horizontal) position as shown in  FIG. 15 . 
   Rod  121  is bent into the shape shown in  FIG. 9 . Preferably, rod  121  is made of Aluminum material and has 3/16 inch diameter. Rod  121  is shaped and dimensioned to be inserted in the opening between portion  102  and the main portion of bag  101  as shown in  FIG. 6  to support the mail bag. 
   Preferably, each of brackets  111  and  112  is shaped as shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11 , is made of aluminum, and is secured to a trust of the garage door with screw  113  (or  114 ) and wing nut  115  (or  116 ). Also, squares of Velcro material ( 124 ,  125 ), preferably having size 1 inch×1 inch, are attached to each of brackets  111  and  112  as shown in  FIG. 10 . 
   If the garage door is made of wood having thickness less than 0.5 inches and/or is made of metal or composite material (and does not have 1″ trust clearance), the mail bag assembly described with reference to  FIGS. 1–5  can be installed by permanently gluing two additional wood brackets  24  and  25  (preferably having size 2″×2″) to the garage door as shown in  FIGS. 12 and 13 , and then mounting brackets  13  and  14  to brackets  24  and  25  respectively and mounting the rest of the assembly to the door as described above. All elements of  FIGS. 12 and 13  that are identical to elements of  FIGS. 1–5  are numbered identically in both sets of figures. 
   Like bag  1  of the assembly of  FIGS. 1–5 , bag  1  of the assembly of  FIGS. 12 and 13  can be folded up by 90 degrees against the garage door and attached to the garage door with a hook and loop (e.g. Velcro) fastener  9 ,  10  when not in use for convenience. 
     FIG. 14  is a perspective view of the assembly of  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 6 , or  FIG. 12  mounted to a garage door in a closed (vertical) position. 
     FIG. 15  is a perspective view of the assembly of  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 6 , or  FIG. 12  mounted to a garage door in an open (horizontal) position. 
   While this invention has been described in terms certain preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that certain modifications, permutations and equivalents thereof are within the inventive scope of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims include all such modifications, permutations and equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.