An Appliance to Prevent Pilfering from Post Pillars.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Sept., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 31st May, 1900-Accepted, 7th July, 1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
An Appliance to Prevent Pilfering from Post Pillars.
1.
I, FREDERICK RUTHERFOORD HARRIS, of Llangibby Castle, Usk, in the County
of Monmouth, Wales, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
(as communicated to me from abroad by Robert William Harris, of George
Street, Cape Town, South Africa) to be as follows:-
This invention relates to means of preventing letters or the like from being
removed from post pillars through the slot by which they are introduced.
For this purpose, within the pillar, at some distance below the slot, a disc is
suspended which is of nearly the same diameter as the interior of the pillar, so
that, while it is horizontal, no letter could pass between its edge and the side
of the pillar. It is suspended by a short piece of flexible tube attached to the
lower end of a rigid tube, which is fixed within the pillar. Inside this rigid tube
is a sliding rod the upper end of which is connected by a lever and rod to an
inside flap hinged at the upper edge of the letter slot so that when the flap is
pushed inwards the rod is caused to slide down the rigid tube into the flexible
tube, rendering it for the time rigid. When letters or the like are introduced
pushing the flap inwards, they fall on the disc, but, when the flap closes in
obedience to a suitable spring or counterweight, the rod is raised and then the
disc, having a flexible suspension, is free to take an angular position allowing
the letters to drop from it into the space below. As no instrument can be
introduced through the slot without opening the flap and thereby causing the
disc to be held in a horizontal position, obviously no letters or the like can be
removed from the space below the disc.
Dated this 6th day of September 1899.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
An Appliance to Prevent Pilfering from Post Pillars.
I, FREDERICK RUTHERFOORD HARRIS, of Llangibby Castle, Usk, in the County
of Monmouth, Wales, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
(as communicated to me from abroad by Robert William Harris, of George
Street, Cape Town, South Africa), and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention relates to means of preventing letters or the like from being
removed from post pillars through the slot by which they are introduced.

page_text: For this purpose, within the pillar, at some distance below the slot, a disc is
suspended which is of nearly the same diameter as the interior of the pillar, so
that, while it is horizontal, no letter could pass between its edge and the side
of the pillar. It is suspended by a joint which is free so long as the letter
slot is closed by an internal flap hinged at the upper edge of the letter slot but
the joint is so connected to this flap that when it is pushed inwards the joint is
rendered rigid preventing the disc from canting from its horizontal position.
When letters or the like are introduced, pushing the flap inwards, they fall
on the disc, but, when the flap closes in obedience to a suitable spring or counter-
weight, the joint is left free and then the disc can take an angular position
allowing the letters to drop from it into the space below. As no instrument can
be introduced through the slot without moving the flap inwards and thereby
causing the disc to be held in a horizontal position, obviously no letters or the
like can be removed from the space below the disc.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a vertical section of the upper part
of a post pillar with an appliance according to my invention to prevent pilfering,
Fig. 2 is a similar view shewing a modification, Fig. 1" is a section to an enlarged
scale of the joint by which the disc is suspended as in Fig. 1, and Fig. 2" is a
similar section of the joint by which it is suspended as in Fig. 2.
As shewn in Fig. 1 the disc d is connected by a piece of caoutchouc tube c
to the lower end of a tube fixed to a bracket projecting down from the top
of the pillar. Within the tube there is a sliding rod which is connected by
a bell crank lever I and link to the flap f, hinged inside the letter slot s. While
the flap closes the slot, the disc can swing into an inclined position indicated
by the dotted lines; but when the Hap f is pushed inwards, then the rod is
thrust down as shown in Fig. 1a into the socket of the disc to which the caoutchouc
is attached, and thus the joint is rendered rigid so that the disc d cannot swing
out of its horizontal position.
The modified joint shewn in Figs. 2 and 2ª comprises a sliding tube a worked
by the flap in the same way as the rod in Fig. 1, this tube being caused by
the opening of the flap to slide over the joint by which the disc d is suspended,
and to enter the socket of the disc so that the joint is rendered rigid.
In each case the flap is held closed by a spring e, and a conical guard g is
provided to direct the letters towards the circumference of the disc so that they
readily drop into the space below when the disc is free to cant.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
In combination with a pillar box a disc suspended therein, and a flap hinged
within the letter slot with connections to a sliding rod or tube which when the
flap is pushed inwards renders rigid the joint by which the disc is suspended,
substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.
Dated this 31st day of May 1900
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.