DE20003318U1 - Mailbox with advertising or information material - Google Patents

Description

COHAUSZ HANNIG DAWIDOWICZ & PARTNERS

PATENT AND LAW FIRM I DÜSSELDORF - MUNICH - BERLIN - PARIS - NANTES

CG/1057-EWALD

Berlin, 18 February 2000

Applicant:

Andreas Ewald

Möllenstr. 13

D-15378 Herzfelde

Mailbox with space for advertising or information material

Attorney file CG/1057-EWALD

Applicant:

Andreas Ewald Möllenstr. 13 D-15378 Herzfelde

Mailbox with space for advertising or information

The invention relates to a mailbox, as is widely used as a house mailbox, collective mailbox, community mailbox or the like with separate accommodation for advertising or information material.

There are known mailboxes that generally consist of a housing for holding letters, direct mail, newspapers or similar. These mailboxes usually consist of a mailbox housing with a mailbox door and a movable cover for the mailbox opening or slot to prevent moisture or dirt from entering the interior. Apart from a nameplate, there is usually no other information on the mailbox. Free visible surfaces are kept neutral.

Attorney file CG/1057-EWALD

The free visible areas on the mailboxes are sometimes used by third parties to transmit information. This is usually done by writing on the free visible area with a pen or by sticking advertising or information material on it.

However, this has the disadvantage that even if this information or advertising is wanted, there is a problem removing it if it is no longer current. This information or advertising is then difficult to remove.

In this state of the art, the invention is based on the object of creating a mailbox with a holder for advertising or information material, whereby the holder can be easily filled with advertising or information material by third parties or this can be easily removed again and which is protected against external harmful influences and can be stored safely.

This object of the invention is achieved according to the invention by a mailbox with a storage space for advertising or information material with the characterizing features of the main claim and its further embodiment in the further claims with its characterizing features.

Attorney file CG/1057-EWALD

The invention is characterized in particular by the fact that a mailbox is obtained which allows advertising or information material to be placed on free visible surfaces, preferably on the mailbox door or on the cover of the mailbox opening. The invention is not limited to the cover of the mailbox opening and the mailbox door being on the same level. The invention also relates to mailboxes in which the mailbox door is arranged on another side of the mailbox housing, for example on the back. Such mailboxes are preferably arranged in house entrance doors.

These visible surfaces on the mailbox are preferred because they receive the greatest attention when the mailbox is being filled or its contents are being removed.

It has been shown that it is particularly advantageous if, according to the invention, the mailbox door or the cover of the mailbox opening or the mailbox slot is completely or partially double-walled. The space between the walls is intended to accommodate advertising or information material.

It is advantageous if a strip is arranged on the mailbox above the cover to protect the receiving space from moisture and dirt. However, this strip can also be absent without impairing the invention.

Attorney file CG/1057-EWALD

Preferably, the inner wall is made of the same opaque solid material from which the entire mailbox is made. The outer wall on the mailbox door or on the cover of the mailbox opening or the mailbox slot, on the other hand, is made of a transparent material.

It is advantageous here to use a plastic that is as crystal clear as possible, weather- and/or light-resistant and as scratch-resistant as possible.

It has been shown that it is particularly advantageous if the outer wall is arranged so that it can pivot relative to the inner wall independently of the letterbox door by means of a hinge and can be closed with a securing device.

Preferably, the pivotability is achieved by designing the hinge for the mailbox door or the cover of the mailbox opening or the mailbox slot as a multiple hinge.
According to the invention, hinge bands have proven particularly suitable, but any other type of hinge joint is also possible.

According to the invention, the mailbox door or the cover of the mailbox opening or the mailbox slot can be pivoted with the outer cover. Due to the multiple hinge, the outer cover can be pivoted separately. This is advantageous and also necessary because when loading the

Attorney file CG/1057-EWALD

When displaying advertising or information material, the outer cover can be opened and closed separately.

This is necessary so that third parties who should not have access to the mailbox only have access to the recording and can thus send it with advertising or information material or remove it.

By providing security devices that can be operated independently of the locking mechanism of the mailbox door, not only is the advertising or information material prevented from being removed, damaged or replaced by unauthorized persons, but it is also possible to add advertising or information material independently. This is particularly important because it prevents third parties from accessing the contents of the mailbox.

The owner of the mailbox or the property owner who is responsible for the mailbox can use this space for their own information or rent it to third parties.

The invention thus creates two spaces that can be used independently of each other and enables the use of the free visible areas on mailboxes for the first time.
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The preferred means of securing the pivoting outer wall is a lock operated by a key, e.g. a plug lock. Another possibility is

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Attorney file CG/1057-EWALD

The idea is to provide a lock in the form of a threaded pin with a specially shaped head that can be screwed into a thread and can only be operated with a special tool.

This makes access to the recording possible only for authorized persons in a simple and cost-effective manner.

However, the invention is not limited to this, as it is equally possible to attach another securing means, such as a snap fastener or a hook and loop fastener.

It has been shown that it is advantageous to provide the outer wall with grooves on the inside that run parallel to the visible surface and are open on one side, which make it possible to easily fix and replace advertising or information material.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the outer wall covers only a partial surface of the mailbox door and/or the cover of the mailbox opening or the mailbox slot and/or another free visible surface on the mailbox.

In these embodiments according to the invention, the cover is arranged pivotably on the mailbox by means of a separate hinge joint, which is attached directly to the mailbox door or the cover of the mailbox slot or another surface of the mailbox that is visible from the outside. It has been shown here that it is particularly advantageous for so-called

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Attorney file CG/1057-EWALD

To use film hinges, whereby the other leg of the hinge can be easily and securely attached by gluing it onto the mailbox.

The solution according to the invention should not be limited to this, because a cover is also possible which is rigidly arranged and into which the advertising or information material is only inserted or pulled out again.

Further advantages, details and essential features of the invention emerge from the following description of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings:

The invention is intended to
Examples of implementation will be explained in more detail:

some

It shows:

Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of a mailbox with

Recording of advertising or information material to
the mailbox door.

Fig. 2 Schematic diagram of a mailbox with

Inclusion of advertising or information material on

a partial area of the mailbox door.
Fig. 3 Schematic diagram of a mailbox with
Inclusion of advertising or information material on

the cover of the mailbox opening or the

mailbox slot.

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Attorney file CG/1057-EWALD

The letterbox according to the invention essentially consists, as shown in Fig. 1, of a letterbox housing 1 with a letterbox door 2. The letterbox door 2 is partially double-walled in that it consists of an inner wall 5 and an outer wall 4. The letterbox door 2 can be opened by unlocking the lock 7 and pivoting about the axis of the hinge 6. By unlocking the securing means 8, the outer wall 4, since it is also pivotally mounted with the hinge 6, can be opened to be filled with advertising or information material.

There is a small cover strip 11 above the cover to prevent moisture or dirt from entering the room in which the advertising or information material is located. The nameplate 9 is also located on the mailbox door 2.
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From Figure 2 it can be seen that a mailbox is shown here, almost like in Figure 1. In contrast to this, the outer wall 4 only partially covers the mailbox door 2 and the outer wall 4 is not hinged to the hinge 6. In order for the cover 4 to be able to pivot, it was attached to the mailbox door 2 with a hinge joint 10.

Figure 3 corresponds to Figure 1, except that the cover 3 is provided with an outer wall 4. Both are connected to the mailbox housing 1 by means of the hinge 6 ^&lgr;.

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Attorney file CG/1057-EWALD

List of reference symbols:

Mailbox housing 1

Mailbox door 2

Cover ' 3

Exterior wall 4

Inner wall 5

Hinge β ^{, β �Lgr;}

Castle 7

Securing equipment 8

Nameplate 9

Hinge joint 10

Cover strip 11

3 pages of drawings

Claims (8)

1. Letterbox with accommodation for advertising or information material on an outwardly visible surface, characterized in that the letterbox door ( 2 ) and/or the cover ( 3 ) of the letterbox opening or another free surface is completely or partially double-walled, wherein the outer wall ( 4 ) consists completely or partially of transparent material and is arranged rigidly relative to the inner wall ( 5 ) or so as to be pivotable by means of a hinge ( 6 , 6 ') or hinge joint ( 10 ) and can be closed independently of the letterbox door ( 2 ) or the cover ( 3 ) of the letterbox opening with a securing means ( 8 ). 2. Letterbox with accommodation of advertising or information material on an outwardly visible surface according to claim 1, characterized in that the outer wall ( 4 ) consists of a transparent plastic. 3. Letterbox with accommodation of advertising or information material on an outwardly visible surface according to claim 2, characterized in that the plastic is in particular transparent, weatherproof, light-resistant and/or scratch-resistant. 4. Letterbox with accommodation of advertising or information material on an outwardly visible surface according to claim 1, characterized in that the outer wall ( 4 ) is articulated to the inner wall ( 5 ) with a hinge ( 6 , 6 ') or a hinge joint ( 10 ). 5. Letterbox with accommodation of advertising or information material on an outwardly visible surface according to claim 4, characterized in that the hinge ( 6 , 6 ') is designed for separate or joint pivoting of the double-walled letterbox door ( 2 ) or the cover ( 3 ) of the letterbox opening. 6. Letterbox with accommodation of advertising or information material on an outwardly visible surface according to claim 1 or 4, characterized in that the hinge ( 6 , 6 ') is a multiple hinge band. 7. Letterbox with accommodation of advertising or information material on an outwardly visible surface according to claim 1 or 4, characterized in that when the outer wall ( 4 ) is arranged directly on the inner wall ( 5 ), a film hinge is preferably used as the hinge joint ( 10 ). 8. Letterbox with accommodation of advertising or information material on an outwardly visible surface according to claim 1, characterized in that the securing means ( 8 ) of the outer wall ( 4 ) is preferably a plug lock, a screw connection, a snap connection or an adhesive connection.