US2705593A - Wall mounted mailbox - Google Patents

Description

April 1955 L. w. HASKINS WALL MOUNTED MAILBOX 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 31 1951 Ft .1 a

8 s O O Q 0 3 Q m w. MI 1 a h wig glam INVENTOR Loumi. W. HAsmNs Am ATTORNEYS April 5-, 1955 L. W. HASKINS WALL MOUNTED MAILBOX 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 31, 1951 Fig. '5

Fig. 4

T 1 I I i 1 i l l l U T Fig. 6

. INVENTOR LONNIE W. HAsKms ATTORNEYS United States Patent WALL MOUNTED MAILBOX Lonnie W. Haskins, Panama City, Fla., assignor to Jonah Sidney Babb, Tallahassee, Fla.

Application August 31, 1951, Serial No. 244,500

1 Claim. (Cl. 232-21) This invention relates to mailboxes and more particularly to an improved mailbox of the type adapted to be mounted in an opening in a building wall and involving novel means for accommodating both incoming and outgoing mail.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide an improved mailbox adapted to be mounted in a rectangular opening in a building wall and having end flanges engageable with the outer and inner surfaces of the wall around the opening; which has separate interior compartments for receiving incoming and outgoing mail and separate doors in its outer end for the separate compartments; which has a transparent portion in the outer door of the outgoing mail compartment to reveal the presence of outgoing mail to be picked up; which has an ornamental inner door closing the compartments; which is adjustable in length to fit properly in walls of different thicknesses and may be provided in different sizes; which includes means preventing the unauthorized removal of mail therefrom; and which is simple and durable in construction, economical to manufacture, easy to install, and neat and attractive in appearance.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claim in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a mailbox illustrative of the invention with a fragmentary portion of an associated building wall also shown in elevation;

Figure 2 is a rear elevational view of the mailbox illus trated in Figure 1, a portion being broken away to better illustrate the construction thereof;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view on an enlarged scale on the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 3; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary cross sectional view on the line 6-6 of Figure 3.

With continued reference to the drawings, the building wall 10, which may be of any well known construction, is provided with a rectangular opening 11 therethrough which opening has a vertical height materially greater than its horizontal width and is dimensioned to closely receive the mailbox, generally indicated at 12.

The mailbox comprises a hollow housing 13 which can be formed of suitable sheet metal and is composed of a front section 14 and a rear section 15 slidably or telescoped onto the front section so that the length of the housing can be varied in accordance with the different thicknesses of building walls in which mailboxes may be mounted. The rear section 15 of the housing has on its front end an inwardly turned bead formation 16 extending therearound and the front section 14 has at one end an outwardly turned bead formation 17 extendin therearound and of substantially the same diameter as the bead formation 16. The bead formation 17 of the section 14 of the housing is received within the end section 15 and the two bead formations 16 and 17 are engageable when the housing is expanded to its maximum length to provide a limit stop preventing separation of the two sections of the housing. The housing may be made in different sizes, but will preferably have a minimum size to give sufficient capacity to receive letters, magazines and small packages.

A front plate extending around the front end of the section 14 of the housing, projects laterally outwardly from the section 14 to overlie the outer surface of the building wall 10 surrounding the opening 11 therein. This plate 18 is preferably made of suitable metal plate and has a substantially rectangular cross sectional shape with a beveled outer edge, as indicated at 19. An open rectangular rear frame 20 formed of sheet metal is detachably secured to the rear end of the rear section 15 and extends laterally outwardly around the four sides thereof to overlie the inner surface of the building wall 10 surrounding the opening 11 therein. The frame 20 is of L-shaped cross sectional shape and has one leg 21 closely fitting in the housing section 15 and its other leg 22 disposed substantially perpendicular to the sides of the section 15. The leg 21 of the flange 20 is detachably secured to the housing section 15 by suitable means, such as the screws 23 threaded through registering apertures in the flange leg 21 and the housing section 15 at spaced apart locations around the frame 20.

Upper and lower internally screw threaded sleeves 24 and 25 are secured each at one end to the front plate 18 and extend inwardly from the inner side of the plate 18 substantially perpendicular thereto. The upper sleeve 24 is located substantially at the mid-length location of the upper portion of the plate 18, and the lower sleeve 25 is located substantially at the mid-length location of the lower portion of the plate 18, and screws 26 and 27 are inserted through apertures in the leg 22 of the frame 20 and are threaded into the sleeves 24 and 25, respectively, to clamp the plate 18 and the frame 20 against the front and rear surfaces of the building wall in which the mailbox is mounted.

A rectangular door frame 28 is secured to the rear frame 20 by a piano type hinge 29 extending along one vertical edge of the frame door and the corresponding vertical edge of the leg 22 of the frame 20 substantially from one end to the other end of the: door frame. A panel 30 is secured in the frame 28 and is preferably formed of a transparent material, such as glass, which may have a mirror coating on its front surface, may have a picture placed against its front surface or may be left transparent, as desired. The door comprising the frame 28 and panel 30 is of an ornamental appearance, so that the mailbox does not involve any unsightly structure on the inside of the building.

The front plate 18 includes a portion 31 extending transversely thereacross intermediate its height and providing an upper door opening 32 of rectangular shape for incoming mail, and a lower door opening 33 of rectangular shape for outgoing mail. Both of these door openings 32 and 33 have substantially the same width, but the lower opening 33 has a height materially greater than the height of the upper opening 32.

An upper door 34 of rectangular shape is pivotally connected at its lower edge to the portion 31 of the front plate 18 adjacent the lower edge of the opening 32 and overlaps the front plate surrounding the upper opening 32. This door is formed of suitable material, such as metal plate, and has on its outer surface a formation 35 forming the word Mail as is particularly illustrated in Figure l, and has near its upper edge and at its mid-width location a finger grip 36 by means of which the door can be manually swung outwardly and downwardly to uncover the opening. Return springs 37 are connected between the door 34 and the portion 31 of the front plate 18 near the lower edge of the door and resiliently urge the door to closed position. The plate 18 is provided in its front surface with a groove 38 of rectangular cross sectional shape and a gasket 39 of suitable sealing material, such as rubber or cork, is secured in the groove 38 and is engaged by the rear surface of the door 34 when the door is closed to provide a weathertight seal between the door and the plate 18 surrounding the opening 32 in the plate 18.

As is particularly illustrated in Figure 6, the connection between the door 34 and the plate 18 comprises a pair of apertured lugs 40 projecting outwardly from the plate portion 31 near the lower edge of the opening 32 into recesses 41 in the door 34 at the rear side and near the lower edge of this door. The door is also provided with a central recess 42 disposed between and spaced at its ends from the adjacent ends of the end recesses 41 and hinge pins or screws 43 extend through the apertures in the lugs 40 and through registering apertures in the portions of the door at the opposite ends of the recesses 41 and pivotally connect the door to the plate 18. The return springs 37 surround the pins 43 within the end recesses 41 in the door.

A partition 45 extends transversely of the mailbox housing within the section 14 of the housing and is formed of suitable sheet metal, such as that of which the housing itself is formed. This partition is substantially parallel to the plate 18 and spaced inwardly from this plate a distance less than one half the length of the section 14 of the housing. It extends from one side to the other of the housing section 14 and from the bottom of the section 14 to a location substantially even with the upper end of the lower door opening 33, to provide between itself and the plate 18 a compartment 46 for outgoing mail.

A bafile of rectangular shape is pivotally secured along one longitudinal edge to the rear side of the transverse portion 31 of the outer flange 18 near the bottom of the upper opening 32 and declines inwardly and downwardly at an angle of approximately 30 degrees. Suitable stop pins 48 project inwardly from the side portions of the housing section 14 near the free edge of the baffle 47 to support this baflie in position in which it extends over the upper end of the partition 45 and into the incoming mail compartment 50 a distance suflicient to prevent the withdrawal of mail from the compartment 50 through the incoming mail door 34. When it is desired to place mail in the outgoing mail compartment 46, with the rear door 30 open, the battle 47 is raised and the mail inserted into the compartment 46 over the upper end of the partition 45.

A door 51 is pivotally mounted on the front plate 18 in covering relationship to the lower opening 33 in this plate and is formed of suitable metal plate, such as that of which the door 34 is formed. This door 51 is pivotally connected at its lower end to the lower end portion of the plate 18 by hinge means, such as those illustrated in Figure 6 for the door 34, and described in detail above, and suitable torsion springs 52 are connected between this lower door and the bottom portion of the plate 18 to resiliently urge the door to its closed position, as'illustrated in Figure 3.

Near its upper end the door is provided with a finger grip 53 for manually opening the door against the force of the springs 52 and the plate 18 is recessed or grooved, as indicated at 54, in its front side around the opening 33 and a gasket 55 is seated in this groove to provide a weathertight seal between the door 51 and the plate 18.

The door 51 is provided with an upper opening 56 of rectangular shape and a lower opening 57 also of rectangular shape separated from the upper opening by a transversely extending door portion 58. Both of the openings 56 and 57 are of substantially the same width, but the lower opening 57 has a height materially greater than the height of the upper opening 56, as is clearly illustrated in Figures 1 and 3.

A panel 60 of suitable transparent material, such as glass, is mounted in the upper opening 56 at the front side of the door and a clip structure 61 is mounted on the rear side of the door at the upper and lower edges of the upper opening. A nameplate 62 is disposed in the opening and held against the rear side of the glass panel 60 by the clips 61, such nameplate having the name of the owner of the box and any other information of assistance to the postman inscribed thereon. A panel 63, also of suitable transparent material, such as glass, is mounted in the lower door opening 57 to reveal to the postman the presence of outgoing mail in the outgoing mail compartment 46.

With this arrangement, incoming mail is placed in the mailbox through the door 34 and drops into the compartment between the partition 45 and the rear door 30 and may be conveniently removed from the box by opening the rear door. Mail in the compartment 50 is protected against unauthorized removal from outside of the mailbox by the baffle 47.

Outgoing mail can be conveniently placed in the corn partment 46 from the inside of the box when the rear door 30 is opened and its presence will be readily visible to the postman through the transparent panel 63 in the door 51. The mailbox is easy to install, since it is necessary only to provide a rectangular opening of suitable size extending straight through the building wall at the desired location and to place the mailbox in this opening and adjust the screw connectors until the front plate 18 and rear frame 20 of the mailbox press tightly against the front and rear surfaces of the building wall, no special tools or skill beingrequired for the installation. The box is also neat and attractive in appearance, and its presence does not, in any way, detract from the good appearance of a building in which it is mounted.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms.

without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive,'the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claim rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claim are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

In a mailbox, a hollow housing having a front plate provided with vertically spaced openings, doors closing said openings, said housing having a bottom wall, a vertical partition fixed to and rising from said bottom wall, said partition extending across the interior of said housing and being spaced inwardly from said front plate so as to divide the interior of said housing into an outgoing mail compartment between said partition and said front plate and an incoming mail compartment rearwardly of said partition, said partition having an upper edge termihating on a level with the upper end of the lower opening in said front plate, and a bafiie plate swingably mounted on a horizontal axis on said front plate at a point above the upper end of the partition and below the lower end of the upper opening in said front plate, said baffie normally occupying an inwardly declining position in which said baffie reaches inwardly over the upper end of said partition, and means on said housing engageable by said baflle in its normal position for supporting the baffle therein, said bafile being upwardly swingable to provide access to said outgoing mail compartment from the rear of said housing. I

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 516,891 Hertz Mar. 20, 1894 524,637 Johnson Aug. 14, 1894 1,579,520 Fleming Apr. 6, 1926 1,667,503 Wernhoener Apr. 24, 1928

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