Improvements in Letter Boxes.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Nov., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 17th May, 1893-Accepted, 17th June, 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Letter Boxes.
THOMAS HUBERT HUNDLEY Toolmaker 6 Alma Street New North Road
Hoxton FREDERICK CHARLES WOODS Porter 4 Gladstone Buildings Willow
Street Finsbury London E.C. do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
Our invention relates to the prevention of the theft of letters from the ordinary
pillar boxes or letter boxes now in use and can be readily fitted to them at a
moderate cost.
We provide a compartment into which the letter first falls on being pushed
through the flap of the ordinary letter box. The top of this compartment works
on the flap in such a manner that when the flap is closed the bottom of the
compartment above mentioned is withdrawn allowing the letters last posted to fall
through to the bottom of the box when however the flap is opened to introduce a
letter the movable bottom must of necessity be closed thus preventing the
abstraction of letters it can be also be detached from doors allowing the door to be
pushed back flush to the wall.
144 of Nombor
F. C. WOODS.
THOS H. HUNDLEY.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Letter Boxes.
We, THOMAS HUBERT HUNDLEY of 6 Alma Street, New North Road,
Islington, London, N. Toolmaker, and FREDERICK CHARLES WOODS of 4
Gladstone Buildings, Willow Walk Finsbury, London E.C., Warehouseman do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
Our invention relates to an improved device to be fixed upon the inside of public
and private letter boxes, as a preventative to the surreptitious removal of letters
therefrom through the aperture by which they were deposited therein, and which
consists of a metallic plate bent at right angles, or thereabouts, and suspended
within the letter box in such a manner, that when in a position of rest, one of said
angles is caused, by the weight of the other, to rest upon a stud or plate fixed upon
the back of the flap of the aperture of the box, the deflection or raising of which
said flap for the insertion of a letter, causes the said stud or plate to raise the upper
angular portion of the bent plate pivotted within the box, which, being the shorter
of the two acts as a lever upon the longer angular portion, and causes the lower
end of this to abut against the inside of the box, and by this means a temporary
chamber is formed in which the deposited letter rests, until the pressure that caused
the deflection of the aperture flap is removed, when all the parts are by the action
of gravity returned to their normal positions, and the deposited letter allowed to
fall to the bottom of the box.
By the application of our invention there cannot exist at any one time a direct
passage between the depositing aperture and the bottom of the box, or vice versa,
therefore the old and well known method of withdrawing letters through the
depositing aperture, by dropping therein a string or wire connected to a weighted
article, coated with some glutinous substance, is entirely prevented.

page_text: In order to render the application of our invention perfectly clear we have
appended hereunto a sheet of drawings, in which,
Figs. 1 and 2 are external views of an ordinary street letter box, partly broken
away, for the purpose of showing an end view of our device in its two positions of
rest and work respectively.
Fig. 3 is a like letter box with part of the back portion removed to afford a back
view of our invention, to the better illustrate the manner of fixing and suspending
the parts of same.
Fig. 4 is a vertical section of an ordinary private house letter box to which our
invention has been fixed.
To carry our invention into effect we provide a plate of thin sheet metal,
preferably of a width corresponding to the length of the letter aperture to which
it is to be connected or thereabouts, and this we bend at about the third division of
its length, until it assumes a form which in vertical cross section may be likened to
the letter L, at the angle of which we form, or connect thereto, a hinge or its
equivalent, which may be in the form of two eyes, through which we pass a rod
which extends beyond the width of said bent plate at each side, and forms pivots for
the suspension thereof. Or we may form said pivots by connecting, by any
suitable means, a projecting stud at each side of said plate. In either method the
said pivots are suspended or mounted upon two brackets or their equivalents,
rivetted, screwed or otherwise connected to the inner surface of the letter box.
Figs. 1, 2 and 3 A is an ordinary street letter box, B is the door of same by which
the person authorized may remove the letters therefrom, a b is the said bent plate,
cd the pivots of same, and ef the brackets or their equivalents upon which a b is
suspended, this being effected in such a manner that the shorter angle a is upper-
most as shown.
In
The only alteration in street letter boxes that will be needed for the adaptation
of our invention, will be to provide the letter apertures of these (where not already
provided) with an internal flap, for closing by its own weight the said aperture, in
the same manner as that of ordinary private house boxes. In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 this
is represented by the letter g, and to the back of this we rivet, screw or otherwise
connect a curved plate, and upon this rests the free end of the angle plate or
when both are in a position of rest as at Fig. 1, this being maintained by
the weight of the angled portion b, which may be suitably bent or curved until a
centre of gravity is reached that will effect this automatically.
lever
a,
and
When a letter or letters is or are to be posted a pressure must be given in the
direction of the arrow Fig. 2, sufficient to remove or deflect the aperture flap
this by the agency of the back plate raises the angle plate or lever a, and brings
the lower end of b close to the wall of A as at Fig. 2, thus providing a temporary
chamber into which the letter or letters would fall, and there rest, until the
pressure of 9 was removed, when & would return to the original position as at Fig. 1,
and the letters fall into the box. The same movement of b would of course take
place if g was deflected for the purpose of fraudulently removing the letters in the
manner previously mentioned, and by which such intentions would be frustrated.
In Fig. 4 we illustrate the application of our invention to the letter boxes of
private dwellings or other establishments, in which A' is the box, g' the letter
aperture flap, B¹ the door, wall or other part in which the letter aperture is fixed,
the remaining parts being indicated by the same reference letters as in the previous
figures.
It is obvious that a wire or rod if connected to b might be used in place of the
plate a, or if a plate a be used, a wire or rod may be employed in lieu of ½ if this be
connected to the flap g so as to raise a.
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.
1st. In combination with any form of street box A for the recention of letters to

page_text: be passed through the post, the application thereto of a flap 9, provided with a
back plate or its equivalent, upon which rests a plate a or its equivalent con-
nected to, or formed at a suitable angle with a plate b, pivotted upon brackets ef
or their equivalents, connected to A, substantially as and for the purposes herein
described and shown by Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the appended drawings.
2nd. In combination with any form of private letter box A' for the reception of
letters that have passed through the post, or for the deposit of letters to be
collected by the postal authorities, the application to the flap g' thereof of a plate
or its equivalent, upon which rests a plate or its equivalent a, connected to or
formed at a suitable angle with a plate b, pivotted upon brackets ef or to the
box A', substantially as and for the purposes herein described and shewn by Fig. 4
of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 16th day of May 1893.
GEO. THOS. HYDE,
4, Moorfields, Fore Street, London, E.C., Agent for the Applicants.