US919718A - Mail-box. - Google Patents

Description

0. R. HAIIGHETT. MAIL BOX. A'rrmonmn FILED JULY 14, 1005.

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"ijiTED srxrns OREN R. H'ANCHETT, or rocxro'nr, NEW YORK, AssIGNoR roLooKPosr STAMPING 00., or

NEW K.

mnrmisoxl Spec ificationoi'Lettersfatent. Patented April 27, 1909.

19 a ,serinm. 442,56

. Application iiledJuly 14,

To all whom it may concern: 7 1 vBe it known that 1,-OREN R. HANOHETT, citizen of the United States, residing at Lockport, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Boxes, of'which the following is a specification. p

This invention comprehends certain new and useful improvements in collection and deposit receptacles, and relates particularly to mailboxes designed especially for urban use.

The invention has for its object, a simple, durable, and efficient construction of device of this character which is composed of comparatively few parts that may be cheaply manufactured and readily assembled, and the invention consists in certain constructions, arrangements and combinations of the parts that I will hereinafter fully describe and claim. 1

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the. followingde scription and accompanying drawings in which: v

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mail box embodying the improvements of my invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view thereof; Fig. 3 is a top plan. view of the box withthe lid raised; Fig. 4. is a rear view, on an enlargedscale, of the lower portion of the box, the back beingp'artially brokenaway to clearly show the interior; Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. .4; and Fig.6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the closure for the dis charge opening. 1

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the accompanying drawings by the same reference characters.

The body portion of my improved mail box, which in the present embodiment "of the invention is arranged, as best shown in Fig. 1, for attachment to thedoor of a dwelling or other suitable support for private use, em-

, bodies a front 1, sides 2 formed at their rear edges with outstanding flanges 3, and a back 4 which is provided at its side edges with inturned flanges 5 adapted to engage the 1 flanges 3, it being understood that the front and sides are referably formed of cast metal, while the ack 4 is preferably of sheet metal, and is intended to be slipped longitudinally upon the flanges '3 to secure the box in place. 7 By this arrangement, rivets or other fastening devices and the labor consequent upontheir attachment are obviated.

The body portion of the box is formed at its top with a transversely elongated deposit opening 6. 7 designates the lid or closure for the said opening, said lid in closed position projecting beyond the front 1, asclearly illustion are formed at their upper edges with up wardly projecting lugs 8 the rear sides of which are recessed as indicated at 9. The lid 7 is provided at its ends with trunnions 10 which form continuationsof abead'11 formed on the rear edge of the lid. The top of the body portion 1s formed with a suspension bracket 12 which projects upwardly therefrom as shown and which is provided with a screw opening toreceive a screw 13 or similar fastening. Before the screw 13 has been applied, the lid 7 may be easily removed, by merely swinging the lid upwardly until the main or body portion thereof, liesin a plane back of the extremity of one of the lugs 8, whereupon it is obvious that the lid may be slipped into and out of place. But the parts are so proportioned that when the screw 13 has been applied, it will abut a ainst the upper face of the lid, before the Tatter has been swung upwardly and backwardly far enough to be free from engagement with the extremities of the lugs, and hence after the box has been secured to its support, the lid is locked in'place as against detachment from the body portion of the box. By this means it will be seen that I have avoided the necessity of using a separate pintle or hingerod for the lid, as well as the necessity ofemploying an independent device for holding the lid in hinged relation to the lugs 8 of thebody portion. l The arrangement of parts whereby the l fastening screw 13 prevents-the detachment of the lid is best seen in Fig. 2 indicated by the dotted lines. The lid 7 is formed at its 'trated in Fig. 2. The sides 2 of the body porside edges with recesses 7 to accommodate the lugs 8 as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3. The side flanges 3 of the body portion are joined at their lower ends by a rear cross bar deiining the rear wall of a bottom discharge opening' out ofwnicli it is intended that the letters or similar mail matter shall be dropped when the box is opened for this purpose and it will e seen as best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4 that the lower edge of the back is bent for- Wardly as indicated at 15 so as to engage with the beveled front face of its cross bar 1 1-, not only forming a proper joint, but limiting the downward movement of the back as it is slipped into engagement with the sides, and also producing a forwardly sloping surface to properly direct the mail out of the box, and preventing any letters or the like from sticking in the box where they might be overlooked.

The bottom discharge opening of the box is normally closed by means of an angularly disposed and rearwardly extending lower end 16 of the door 17 which practiealiy constitutes a hinged lower portion of the front 1. This door 1.7 is formed at its upper corners with outwardly projecting trunnions 18 adapted to fit Within recesses 19 formed in brackets 20 that are preferably integral parts of'the sides 2 and wardly therefrom as best illustrated in Fig. 1, the door being recessed at its side edges to receive the projecting portions of the trunnions. In addition to the trunnions 18, the door 17 is formed at its upper edge with retaining lugs 21 which are designed to project upwardly and bear against the rear face of the front 1 in the closed position of the door; the door is also formed with a vertically ex tending slot 22 and on its rear face with a cross bar 23 extending across the slot. A rearwardly facing hook 2 1 protrudes from the slot 22 beyond the front face of the door 17 and is designed to engage the cross bar 23 of the door so as to limit the outwardly swinging movement thereof. This hook is formed, preferably as an integral part, of a metallic strip or plate 25 which is riveted to the rear face of the front 1 as indicated at 26 and which extends upwardly from the hook 241 between the lugs or ledges 27 embracing it at two points on each side and its upper end as best seen in Fig. 4. By this means, it will be seen that the door 17 is securely held in place by the hooked plate 25, and by the use of but one rivet or bolt, this being the only fastening device of that character used in the entire construction of the mail box.

In assembling the parts, the door 17 is applied to the front edges of the sides 2, the trunnions 18 being slipped into the recesses l9'with the lugs 21 engaging the rear face of thefront 1, and the hook 24 is then passed forwardly through the slot 22 and around the that project slightly forl l r l l cross bar 23 and is riveted or otherwise rigidly secured as at 26 after which it will be evident, the door is securely held in place without the necessity of a hinged connection or similar accessories. in order to hold the door 17 normally under tension in closed position, the front 1 of the box is forme at its lower edge of its relatively stationary portion, with transversely elongated fingers 28 which point toward each other as shown and a spring member 2?) is formed with coils 29 adapted to he slipped over said lingers, said spring member being formed below said coils with extremities 30 adapted to be slipped into the recesses of the lugs 31 formed on the front face of the door 17. The arms 32 of the spring member are preferably in tegrally connected to form an arch. or howlike clip adapted to eoact with the front I for the reception of papers or other articles that are too large to be inserted within the box. The lower end 16 of the door 17 is formed with a curved linger piece 33 by which the door may be swung to an open position, the operators thumb being preferably pressed against the outer flat side of the hook 24 in this operation, the hook thereby serving this function in addition to its pri mary function in conncc tion with the mounting of the door 17. If desired, the door 17 may be provided with a lip 34- adapted to project into a slot 35 formed in the lower cross bar 14; of the body portion of the box to provide an additional means of securing a proper alinement of parts in closed position.

From the foregoing descriptimi, in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that I have provided a very simple construction of deposit and collection receptacle of this character the parts of which may be cheaply mamifactured, as the front, sides, lid and door as well as the hooked retaining plate 25 may be all formed of castings, the back being formed of a single piece of sheet metal that may be easily shaped to slip into engagement with the rear edges of the sides, the several parts of the device being easily assembled, as the one rivet or fastening used is that at the point 26.

It is obvious that the hook 24 may subserve the additional function of a keeper for a padlock in order to prevent the opening of the door 17.

Having thus described what is claimed as new is:

1. A device of the character described, comprising a body portion, formed with a deposit opening and contiguous to said opening with lugs, said lugs being fornurd in their rear edges with recesses a closure for the invention,

said opening, said closure being 'n'ovidcd with end trunnlons adapted. to be slipped endwise into said recesses, the body of the box being portion formed ad acent to the trunsaid recesses in front of said bracket, the

ans

2. A device vof the character described,'

comprising a body portion, formed with a deposit opening, and at the rear of said opening with upwardly projecting lugs, said lugs being formed in theirrear edges with recesses, V the body portion being further formed with a bracket in the rear of and spaced from said lugs, a closure for said opening, said closure being provided at one edge with end tru'n nions adapted to be slipped endwise into bracket being arranged to'prevent any rearward sliding movement of the closure and the extremity of one of said lugs lying in a plane parallel to and spaced from the plane of the front face of the bracket, a distance greater than the thickness of theclosure. 3. A device of the character described,

comprising a body portion formed with a deposlt opening, and at the rear of said open ing with upwardly projecting lugs, said lugs being formedfin their rear edges with re-o cesses, the body portionb'eing formed with a a bracket in the rear of and spaced from said lugs, a closure for said opening, said closure being provided at one edge-with end trunnions adapted to be slipped endwise into said recesses in front of said bracket, the bracket being arranged to prevent any rear- 'wardly sliding movement of the closure and the extremity of one of said lugs lying in a plane parallel to and spaced from the plane of the front face of the bracket, a distance greater than the thickness of the closure,

whereby the closure may be swung upwardly and slipped outwardly in fan endwise direction out of engagement with the lugs, and means for limiting the upwardly swinging movement of the bracket at a point before it reaches a position to clear the abovemen tioned lug extremity. p

4. A device of the character described, comprising a body portion embodying a front, two sides integrally connected together, the sides being provided at their rear edges with outstanding flanges and a back formed at its side edges with inturned flanges and adapted to he slipped longitudinally into engagement with the flanges of the sides.

5. A device of the character described comprising a body portion formed with a dischar e opening, and a deposit opening, and embodying a front and sides connected at their front edges to the front and formed at their rear edges with outstanding flanges, a lower cross bar connecting said flanges together at the lower end of the body'portion, and a back formed with inturned flanges arranged to engage the flanges of the two sides and adapted to be slipped into longitudinal engagement therewith said backbeing formed with a forwardly sloping wall adapted to abut against said lower cross bar.

6'. A device of the character described, comprising a body portion formed witha discharge opening, a door hinged to the body portion and adapted to close said discharge opening and a spring member attached intermediate of its ends to the body portionand extending in one direction from the pointof attachment into engagementwith the door and in an opposite direction into engagement with the body portion and arranged to'forin a paper clip therewith.

7. A device of the character described, comprising a body portion formed with a discharge opening, a door hinged to the body portion near the lower end thereof, and a bow spring'arranged to bear against the front of the body portion and secured intermediate of its ends to said body portion above the door, the extremities of the spring projecting downwardly from its point of rear attachment with the body portion and gearing with a rearward tension against the oor.

8. A device of the character described,

comprising a body portion formed with a bottom discharge opening, a door hinged to thebody portion, the body portion being formed near one edge of the door with transversely elongated fingers, and a spring member formed with coils mounted upon said fingers and bearingagainst the door at one side of said coils and against the body portion at the opposite sides of said coils.

9. A device of the character described, comprising a body portion provided with a discharge opening, a door hinged to the body portion and adapted to close said opening, said door being formed with a slot and a cross bar extending across said slot, and a hook secured to the body portion and protruding through said slot, said hook extending around the cross bar.

10. A device of the character described, formed'with a. discharge opening and with recesses contiguous to said opening, a door adaptedto close said opening, said door being formed with trunnions received in said recesses, the door being also formed with a slot and a cross bar extending across said slot and a plate secured to the body portion & 919,718

nions, the door being formed at its upper edge with retaining lugs for the purpose specified, the door being also formed with a In testimony whereof I all ix my signature vertically disposed slot and a plate secured in presence ol two witnesses.

5 to the interior of the body portion and pro- OREN R. HANCHEIT jeoting downwardly along the rear face of Witnesses: the door, said plate being formed with a GEO. D. JUnsoN, forwardly projecting and inwardly facing MARY G. W'Hrric.

hook protruding through the slot and embracing the cross bar:

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