US1346174A - Safety-receptacle - Google Patents

Description

M."0. C ANNER.

SAFETY RECEPTACLE.

APPLICATION FILED APILIT, 1917.

Patented J my 13, 1920.

2 SHEEISSHEEI l INVENTOR Byflaz 0. 647272 .M. 0. CANNE R. SAFETY RECEPTACLE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 17, 19.17-

Patented July 13, 1920.

g 2 SHEEIS-SHEEI 2.

MAX 0. GANNER, OF NEW YORK, N. 3.

PATENT ASSIGNOR 0F {ENE-HALF TU ALEXANDER DUFF AND SARAH DUFF, BOTH GE HE'W YDRK, N. E.

SAFETY-BECEPTACLE.

Application filed April 17, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, MAX 0. CANNER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Receptacles, .of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to safety receptacles for the reception and delivery of one or more parcels or packages containing merchandise or other articles such as are intended for domestic use or consumption or for general or individual distribution by milk-dealers, delivery men, letter-carriers, etc.

The object of my invention is more particularly to provide a receptacle of this character of a novel, simple and economical construction, which is adapted to receive and securely to retain against unauthorized removal, such articles as bottled milk and cream, bread, groceries, mail, and other supplies that are ordinarily distributed to, or left at the doors of, householders, apar ment-house tenants, and others.

A further object of my invention is to provide a receptacle of this character that may be securely placed and left outside the door of a house or of an apartment without the use of objectionable hooks, screws and other fastenings, attachments or supports, to mar the door or jamb, such as have hitherto been required in connection with devices of this class. V

A further object of my invention is to provide a portable receptacle of this charactor that may readily be picked up. and carried into the house or apartment with its contents when the door is opened in the morning, and which is provided with novel and simple means which, when the receptacle is placed outside for the night, on gages the sill or threshold-strip under the door, so that upon closing the latter, the receptacle is automatically locked in position.

A. further object ofmy invention is to provide a receptacle of this character either of unitary or sectional construction, that is or may readily be divided into compart ments or subdivisions which may conveni ently be arrangedto receive articles of various specific classes and thus, where necessary, to safeguard and protect these from Specification of Letters Patent.

Serial No. 162,633.

mutual contamination, interference and injury, such as has hitherto resulted when such articles, in the case of apartment houses, have been delivered to tenants by way of the ordinary dumb-waiters employed for promiscuous houseservrce.

A still further object of my invention is toprovide means for the ready return of empty packages or containers without at the same time exposing to surreptitious removal other articles that may have been previously deposited for delivery to the house or apartment.

With the foregoing and other objects in wow, the invention conslsts of certain novel features of constructlon, combination and arrangements of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, which form part of this specification, Figure 1 1s aperspective view of one form and construction of my recep tacle, which I have selected, from a number of others that I may use, for the purpose of illustrating the invention herein disclosed and described.

partly in section, taken at :0, m, ofoFig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a sectional end elevation of the device along the lines 11 3 on Fig. 2 showing the main compartment of the receptacle as it appears with the lid open. Fig. 4 is a sectional end elevation similar to Fig. 3 but showingthe position of the parts when the lid is closed, and also showing the manner 111 which the receptacle 1s held to the threshold when a door is closed against its open front, well as the manner in which the receptacle and its contents are thereby safeguarded. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of a portion of the separate mail-receivlng propriate material, and of any suitable or desirable design, construction and capacity,

according to the purpose or purposes for which it is to be used. In the example illustrated, the receptacle is closed at its two ends, back and bottom, being entirely open at the front and provided Wlf-ll a cover, 2,

Patented July 13, 1920.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, with end and rear walls that is freely hinged at 3 to the rear upper edge of the receptacle 1.

' The bottom wall 17 of the receptacle 1 is mounted upon an adjustable base member 5, preferably of sheet metal. Said supporting member 5, as shown, is formed with stiffening ribs or corrugations, 8, on part of its under surface, and also with downwardly extending flanges, as more fully shown at 6 and 7 in Fig. 1, by which the r ceptacle 1 is raised above the floor to a height just over the threshold'sill 9. 'lhisconstruction, as will be seen from an inspection of said Fig. 1, is such that when the door 12 is closed over the flange 6, the receptacle is not only firmly and immovably clamped to the floor, but the entire open front of the receptacle will like-' wise be firmly and immovably held in direct contact with and closed by the said door and be thereby protected from all access to household supplies and other articles deposited therein.

v The threshold-plate 5, and the bottom of thereceptacle 1, are further provided with slots 11, 11, that are engaged by suitable bolts and nuts 12, 12, respectively as shown, by which the receptacle .1 may be permanently adjusted to any given door and willyat the same time effectively secure the threshold-plate 5 and the receptaclel against all effort to tamper with or remove the same. It will be seen that there are no chains, bolts, sockets, screws or similar fastenings i re quired as in previous devices of this character, nor is there any damage to or marring oftliefloor, amb orother adjacent parts as occurs in attaching suchdevices. The simple act of placing the receptacle over the sill.

. and closing the door 12, locksit in position and the opening of saiddoor by the owner or tenant releases it. j V i It will also be observed that by my improved construction the receptacle 1 is in an easily accessible and at the same time in an unobtrusive position, since its base rests almost'directly against the floor, and it may be placed as nearas desired toward the jamb,

13, (Fig. 2) to which the door 12 is secured by hinges 14 inthe usual manner. This permits of the use of receptacles of fairly largesize, where such are desired,

without interfering with ingress and egress by members of the household after the same has been placed in position for the night.

In the particular embodiment of the invention herein illustrated, there is shown a receptacle subdivided into two separate, com partments by the partition 15. The smaller compartment, 16, shown at the left of Figs. 1 and 2, is designed and intended for the reception of mail, while the larger compart- 'ment, 17, shown at the right, is constructed and adapted for the reception, storage and delivery of bottles containing milk, cream, etc. It is to be understood, however, that the construction and arrangement about to be described may be modified by me so as to adapt the device forthe safe reception and delivery of other oradditional articles, such as bread, groceries, etc.

It should be observed at this point that in the preferred construction of the device, provision is made in a simple and effective manner for the independent insertion of the several classes of articles, (as mail and milk) irrespective of the order in which they may be deposited, without the danger of loss of either by theft'or otherwise. Again, when my improved receptacle, or a given section thereof, as the compartment 17, is to be utilized for the delivery of milk as herein illustrated, means are also provided to facilitate the return of empty bottles and to receive and safeguard the full bottles left in their stead.

. Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, and also to the sectional end views in Figs. 3 and 4, it will be seen that the interior of the compartment 17' is provided with one or' more folding shelves 18, 18, that are preferably hinged to the rear wall of the receptacle 1. lhese shelves are'normally held against said wall by the hinge- springs 19, 19, but may be lowered into a horizontal position against suitable stops 20, 20, which in the case of re ceptacles made of sheet metal or other pressed or molded material, may be embossed into or formed integrally with the end walls thereof as shown. The free ends of these shelves are each offset by an inclined stiffening flange, 21, that is bent away from the rear wall so as slightly to project into the interior of the receptacle when the shelves 18 are in their normally elevated position.

These flanges at the same time serve to present an inclined guiding surface for the milk bottles 22, 22, as will be' hereinafter more fully set fort I lVhen more than one of the hinged shelves 18,:are employed in a given receptacle, they may be arranged to overlap in order to save room, as more clearly shown in Fig. l. In Figs. 1 and 2, the shelf 18 is illustrated as occupying substantially the full length of the 1 compartment 17, although in practice it need be only of sufficient length tohold an empty standard milk'bottle of 1 quart capacity. In this case the lower shelf (when two shelves are provided.) may be'hinged so as to occupy the space at one end of the compartment only, while the upper shelf occupies the space at the opposite end of the compartment. This upper shelf is adapted to hold an empty standard cream or milk bottle of 1 pint capacity. The vertical distance separating the two shelves is such that the tops of the respective bottles will extend to such a height that the hinged cover, 2, of the receptacle 1 will rest upon them or either of them, as shown in Fig. 3, in such manner as to prevent said cover being fully closed and lOCiOtl, while at the same time forming a protecting hood or shield for the same.

The cover 2 is provided on its under side with a spring-pressed latch, 23, that is adapted to engage with a locking-bar, 2 1-, at a point near the center front portion of the receptacle 1 when the cover is fully depressed. The cover 2 is furnished with a bail or handle, 25, by which the receptacle may readily be carried to and from its place upon the threshold when the cover is. locked. The latch 23 is provided with a thumb-lever extension 26 by which the cover may be released only by pressure thereon from the inside of the receptacle, which can be done both before the door 12 is closed against the receptacle, and again after the door 12 is opened in the morning and the receptacle with its contents are carried indoors. The cover 2 is preferably so pivoted that it may be swung entirely over until the handle 25 rests against the back of the receptacle, so as completely to open the top of the recep-.

' tacle in order that free access to the interior of the compartment 17 may be had therethrough both for the insertion of empty and. full bottles, and also, if desired, for the subsequent withdrawal of the full bottles. although these latter are ordinarily and more conveniently removed through the open front of the receptacle after the same is iarried into the pantry or kitchen.

hen returning empty bottles, the receptacle is placed in position, cover 2 is fully thrown back and all the empties but one are deposited upon the bottom of the receptacle. The remaining empty is placed on either the lower or the upper shelf 18, according as to whether it be a quart or a pint bottle. In placing this last empty bottle, all that is necessary is to bring its lower edge in contact with the inclined flange 21 of the appropriate shelf 18, during the operation of lowering the said bottle into the receptacle. This action will automatically depress and guide the flange of the shelf along the bot tom of the bottle until the latter rests squarely upon its shelf, as shown in Fig. 3, whereupon the cover 2 is placed in its unlocked position over the mouth of the same. In this condition the receptacle is left until the following morning, when the milk deliveryman is ready to collect the empty and deposit the full bottles. In performing this operation, the delivery-man simply swings open the'cover 2 and lifts the empty bottle off its shelf 18, which under the actionof its spring 19 will again fold itself against the back of the receptacle 1. He then re- 1OV6S the remaining empty bottle or bottles if any, deposits the desired number of full the inside without making use of keys that may be duplicated and used by unauthorized persons.

The compartment 16, as shown at theleft of the receptacle in Figs. 1 and 2, is designed and constructed, as heretofore stated, for the reception of letters and other mail matter. Thecover 2 is provided with an open slot, 26, having flaring, convergent lips, 27 27 that face downwardly into the compartment 16 as shown more clearly inFig. 5. Imme diately below the cover-slot 26 are arranged a series of similarly converging guide-fingers 28, 28. These fingers are preferably in the form of inclined prongs punched or stamped from the material of the walls 1 and 15. The purpose of these lips and fingers is not only to act as guides for inserting the mail, but to prevent the withdrawal of letters whether the cover 2 be open or closed.

The central front portion of the partition 15 is recessed or cut away to facilitate removal of the mail when the door 12 is opened, without necessarily moving thereceptacle 1 from its place. lVhen combined with a receptacle having a compartment 17 adapted to hold one or more milk bottles of standard quart size, as herein shown and described, the mail compartment 16 will be of the proper height and depth to hold letters contained in ordinary as well as legal size envelops. Furthermore, in order to protect the mail from moisture due to drippings of milk, water, etc., and also properly and permanently to fix the space apportioned to the mail compartment, the partition 15 is formed with integral lower, upper and rear spacing flanges as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

Various changes in the form, proportion and other details of construction of my safety receptacle herein described may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention, or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A safety receptacle comprising a casing open at one side thereof, and adapted to be placed outside of and to be closed by the door of the house or apartment, said casing having a compartment provided with a folding shelf hingedto the back of the same at a point above the bottom of said casing, said shelf having an inclined guiding edge portion and being adapted to guide, receive and shelf, the said cover is kept out of locking engagement, substantially as described;

2. safety receptacle comprising a casing'having an open top provided with a hinged cover having a locking catch, a shelf hinged to the, back of the casing at a point aboveflthe bottom of said casing and adapted to receive-and hold an empty milk bottle, said shelf having a forwardly and downwardly inclined flange portion, and a spring associated with said hinge and shelf for normally maintaining said shelf in an upright folded position against the back of said casing with the flange thereof projecting forward, the construction being such that when an empty milk bottle is inserted at a slight angle through the open top of said casing, the bottom of said'bottle will engage said projecting flange andcause said shelf to descend with it until the bottle rests upon the shelf in its horizontal position with the mouth of the bottle projecting slightly above the open top of said casing, whereby the cover may be brought to rest upon the mouth of the bottleand thus be maintained out of locking engagement until theem'pty bottle rectly upon the bottom of the receptacle, substantially described;

3. A safety receptacle of the character described, the same being in the form of a casing having an open front adapted to be closed" by the door of a house or apartment, said receptacle having a supporting base designed and adapted to pass between the door.

and its sill and having means to engage the inner edge of such slll, and cooperatlng adustable clamping means between sald'casing and base whereby the receptacle may said basevmember serving as a support for c said receptacle and having downwardly proecting flanges whereby said base member may be caused" to bllClQfQ the space between the door and its sill and to engage the inner edge of said sill in such manner as to prevent theremoval of the receptacle and to protect articles deposited therein against removal while said entrance door remains closed.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this llthday of April, A. 1). 19l7., l

MAX 0. GANNER.

Witnesses:

I. SOSKIN, VD, BERMAN.

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