Improvements in Pillar, Wall and other Letter Boxes.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Feb., 1897
Complete Specification Loft 20th Oct 1007
Arranted
ALL
4000
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Pillar, Wall and other Letter Boxes.
We, JAMES BARKER, of 42 King Street, Oldham, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, and JOHN CHARLES WALKER, of the firm of J. C. Walker, Dean & Co.
of 37 King Street West, Manchester, in the said County, Solicitor, do hereby
declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:
Our invention relates to improvements in pillar, wall and other letter boxes
and the objects of our improvements are to prevent the unauthorised withdrawal
of letters from a letter box and also to prevent the possibility of setting the con-
tents of the letter box on fire by the introduction of a lighted match, fusee, or the
like.
In carrying our improvement into effect we fix inside the letter box im-
mediately below the slot through which the letters etc, are posted or insorted a
grating composed preferably of a series of parrallel wires placed at a suitable
distance apart to insure that a lighted match or fusee introduced through the
letter slot will fall between the wires into a tray or receptacle placed below to
receive it and in which it will burn out harmlessly. The grating is set at a
suitable inclination so that letters, postcards and other postal packages will slide
rapidly down it into that part of the box intended for their reception. As an
additional recantion in order to catch a burning match or the like which might
have slid over the grating without passing through it we may if found desirable
pivot a balanced plate below the lower end of the gating. This plate would be
unmoved by the weight of a match and would retain it and allow it to burn out
harmlessly but would be depressed or deflated by the weight of a postcard or
letter and allow it to fall through into the box.
1
To prevent the unauthorised withdrawal of any letter or other postal matter by
means of a string and weight or similar device we hinge the upper end of the
inclined grating to brackets fixed in the interior of the letter box. We attach
a V shaped or other suitably shaped knife edged plate to the lower end of the
grating which we couple to a second knife edged plate hinged to brackets on the
opposite side of the letter box. We weight the grating or plate or both so as to
keep them normally open, that is to say, the knife edge on one is raised clear of
the knife edge on the other leaving a space between through which the letters
introduced through the slot can pass and fall into the bottom of the box. When,
however, a string with a weight and adhesive matter is inserted for the purpose of
withdrawing the letters it will pass freely down into the box but on attempting
o pull up the weight either with or without a letter adhering to it the string is
caught in the V of the knife edge plate at the lower end of the grating and by
continuing to pull on the string the grating is raised and by its connections
raws down the other knife edged plate and cuts off the string between them.
TD 031

page_text: If a wire or the like were employed instead of a string the plates would act in
the same manner to prevent the withdrawal of a letter.
1
oil
fal 1907
Improvements in Pillar, Wall and other Letter Boxes.
We, JAMES BARKER, of 42 King Street, Oldham, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, and JOHN CHARLES WALKER, of the firm of J. C. Walker, Dean & Co.
of 37 King Street West, Manchester, in the said County, Solicitor, do hereby
declare the nature of this Invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
Our invention relates to improvements in pillar, wall and other letter boxes and
the objects of our improvements are to prevent the unauthorised withdrawal of
letters from a letter box and also to prevent the possibility of setting the contents
of the letter box on fire by the introduction of a lighted match, fusee, or the
like.
In the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings-
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation and Fig. 2 a sectional plan of a letter box fitted
with our improvements. Fig. 3 is a side elevation with the outer casing removed
and Fig. 4 is a similar view to Fig. 1 but showing the parts in a different
position.
In these views we show a letter box with a rectangular outer casing 1 suitable
for a wall or other letter box but the outer casing may be circular as in the case of
pillar boxes or of any other suitable form.
In carrying our improvements into effect we fix inside the letter box im-
mediately below the slot 2 through which the letters etc. are posted or inserted
a grating 3 composed preferably of a series of parallel wires placed at a suitable
distance anart to insure that a lighted match or fusee introduced through the
letter slot 2 will fall between the wires 3 into a tray or receptacle 4 placed below
to receive it and in which it will burn out harmlessly. The grating 3 is set at a
suitable inclination so that the letters postcards and other postal packages will
slide rapidly down into that part of the box intended for their reception. As
an additional precaution in order to catch a burning match or the like which
might have slid over the grating 3 without passing through it we may if found
desirable pivot at 5 as shown a balanced plate 6 below the lower end of the
grating. This plate is balanced by a counter weight 7 screwed adjustably on a
threaded rod 8 fixed to the under side of the plate 6 which consequently remains
unmoved by the weight of a match retaining it and allowing it to burn out harm-
lessly but is depressed, or deflected by the weight of a postcard or letter and allows
it to fall through into the box.
To prevent the unauthorised withdrawal of any letter or other postal matter
by means of a string and weight or similar device we hinge the upper end of the
inclined grating 3 at 9 to brackets or side plates 10 fixed in the interior of the
letter box. We attach a V shaped or other suitably shaped knife edged plate 11
to the lower end of the grating 3 which we couple by links 12 to a second knife.
edged plate 13 hinged at 14 to the side plates 10 or it might be to
brackets on the opposite side of the letter box. The weight of the
⚫grating 3 or plate 13 or both keeps them normally open, that is to say, the knife

page_text: edge on one is raised clear of the knife edge on the other as clearly shown in
Fig. 1, leaving a space between through which the letters introduced through the
slot 2 can pass and fall into the bottom of the box. When, however, a string with
a weight and adhesive matter is inserted for the purpose of withdrawing the letters
it will pass freely down the grating 3 and past the balanced plate 6 into the box
but on attempting to pull up the weight either with or without a letter adhering
to it the string is caught in the V of the knife edge plate 11 at the lower end of
the grating 3 and by continuing to pull on the string the grating 3 is raised and
by its connections 12 draws down the other knife edge plate 13 into the position
shown in Fig. 4 and cuts off the string between them. The string would also
raise the balanced plate 6 into the position shown in Fig. 4 and make the with-
drawal of a letter an absolute impossibility.
If a wire or the like were employed instead of a string, the plates 6, 11 and 13
would act in the same manner to prevent the withdrawal of a letter.
We might, if found advantageous or desirable employ a second grating with a
tray beneath instead of the plate 6 and hinge and balance it like the plate 6. Our
object in doing this would be to trap a match which might have passed over the
first grating 3 without passing through the wires into the tray 4.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said Inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is:-
In a letter box-
1. The combination with the hinged grating 3 and tray 4, of the hinged
balanced plate 6 or alternatively a hinged balanced grating and tray substantially
as and for the purposes herein set forth.
2. The combination with the hinged grating 3, tray 4 and knife edge plate 11,
of a second hinged knife edged plate 13 connected to and movable with the plate 11
substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.
3. The combination with the movable grating 3, its tray and knife edged plate
and the second knife edged plate 13 connected and movable therewith, of the
hinged balanced plate 6 or its equivalent substantially as and for the purposes
herein set forth.
4. The general construction combination and arrangement of parts embodying
our improvements substantially as and for the purposes herein described and as
illustrated by the accompanying Drawings.
Dated this 28th day of October 1897.
H. B. BARLOW & GILLETT,
Agents for Applicants. 17 St. Ann's Square Manchester.