Tiltable secondary-door, translucent & automatic-smart mailbox

United States Patent Application 20100116875

A rural mailbox used for temporarily mails storage has a tiltable secondary-door that can be tilted forward to open and provide a secondary access to mailbox compartment in any position surrounding the mailbox.

Do, Logan Huu (Canton, CT, US)

12/291816

05/13/2010

11/13/2008

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232/17

A47G29/12

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MILLER, WILLIAM L

Logan Do (Canton, CT, US)

What is claimed is:

1. An Automatic/Smart mailbox assembly, comprising: a. A standard or as shown mail box that used for mails temporarily storage; b. A vertical post assembly that supports the horizontal post assembly and the mail box; c. A horizontal post assembly that supports and moves the mail box from home/stowed position to mail drop-off or ready position and vice versa. It is built in with a motion sensor system and a power drive unit that functions the “automatic/smart” mail box assembly which includes a self-automatic open-closed primary-door.

2. The mail box assembly as recited in claim 1, wherein said smart mailbox assembly having a motion sensor that detects motions of an object; preferably, the mail delivery person or his/her delivery vehicle. The sensor is instantly sending the signals to the power drive unit; then it rotates/swings the horizontal post assembly to the said door open/ready position as depicted in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

3. The mail box assembly as recited in claim 1, wherein said smart mailbox assembly can be manufactured using standard mailbox materials that include molding plastics or sheet metals works.

4. The assembly as recited in claim 1, wherein said smart mail box assembly operated by an electro-mechanical system that uses DC voltage, including battery or solar sources.

5. A mail box assembly which is used for daily mails temporary storage, comprising: a. A body of the mail box depicted in FIG. 6 & 7 which can be made from standard mail box materials including sheet metal works; preferably, molding plastic. b. A primary-door of the mail box depicted in FIG. 6 & 7 which can be made from standard mail box materials including sheet metals; preferably, molding plastic. c. A secondary door of the mail box depicted in FIG. 6 & 7 which can be made from standard mail box materials including sheet metal works; preferably, molding plastic. d. Two standard pin buttons which can be purchased off-the-shelf or made from molding plastics. e. A standard red flag which can be purchased off-the-shelf or made from molding plastics.

6. The mail box assembly as recited in claim 5, wherein said mailbox assembly having a secondary door that can be lifted or tilted and allows mail picker to pick up or drop off mails while standing on the sides (left or right) as well as in the back of the mail box. This presence invention of embodiment is enhancing safety for residents who do not need to expose out on the dangerous public road every time they pick up or drop off mails.

7. A conventional or related to the presence invention mail box assembly and referring to FIG. 8, which is made from clear, transparent or translucent materials, preferably hard plastics.

8. The mail box assembly as recited in claim 7, wherein said mailbox made from clear plastic that allows mail pickers to observe through the mail box and be able to detect unwanted or dangerous materials that being trapped inside the mailbox and awaiting to activate when the mail box door is open. This presence invention of embodiment is a safety enhancement that prevents injury to residents.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In general, a conventional rural mailbox assembly has a vertical post and a horizontal bar that support the mailbox in a fixed position. Or an integrated plastic molded mailbox that has an integral post and mailbox as one entity. The mailbox compartment can ONLY be accessed thru the front door (or primary-door) by flipping the door down.

However, a conventional rural mailbox is fairly disadvantage because it is too close to the public road and requires mail picker to expose out on the public road in front of the mail box in order to access into mailbox compartment prior to pickup or dropped off mails. This action sets up an unfortunate situation that mail picker may be dangerously hit by a motor vehicle passing by when picking or dropping off daily mails.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an effective and safety enhancement mailbox that provides more access to mails and allows the resident picking up or dropping off daily mails just standing on the sides or the back of the mailbox instead of the front and on public road.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A tiltable secondary-door mailbox of the present invention is to provide SAFETY enhancement to the resident who's picking up or dropping off mails on daily basic. The secondary-door is to be used as a secondary access to the mailbox compartment for picking up or dropping off mails while standing on the sides or the back of the mailbox.

The presence invention is about a human SAFETY enhancement, convenience and more particularly to a stand alone rural mail box that is too close to a busy street, where is high probability of mail picker(s) or mailbox being hit by a motor vehicle or a plowing truck passing by.

The primary aspect of this present invention is to provide a tiltable secondary-door for a rural mailbox assembly that comprises several components that can be produced in details and manually assembled together (see figures for details). The mailbox has three major components; a base with opened front and top, a primary or front door is similar style as the convention mailbox door that covers the front access and a secondary door that covers the top access.

A fully assembled and installed mailbox works like a conventional mailbox, a primary-door can be flipped down to open and flipped up to close. In addition of the primary-door, the secondary-door can be used for a secondary access to mailbox compartment by tilting the secondary-door forward. The two doors are coaxed thru mounting holes of the base and retained by two self-locking pins.

The various features and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a general perspective of a tiltable secondary-door rural mailbox assembly. As shown in figure is a complete assembly of the mailbox in an isometric view that all doors are closed.

FIG. 2 illustrates a general perspective of a tiltable secondary-door rural mailbox assembly. As shown in figure is an isometric view of a mailbox assembly with a primary-door opened.

FIG. 3 illustrates a general perspective of a tiltable secondary-door rural mailbox assembly. As shown in figure is an isometric view of a mailbox assembly with a secondary-door opened.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded view of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The representative embodiment of the present invention will be described with referencing to FIG. 1 thru FIG. 4. The mail box assembly as shown in accordance with the invention according to FIG. 1 thru 4 comprises of a base 01, a secondary-door 02, a primary-door 03, a standard red flag 04 and three self-locking pins 05. The said components can be made from standard mailbox materials, such as plastic molding or sheet metal works.

The primary-door 03 and the secondary-door 02 held by two self-locking pins 05, as well as the flag 04. The primary-door 03 functions similarly like the conventional mailbox door. The secondary-door 02 functions like a hinged-cover or hinged-door and can be tilted by lifting the handle and providing access to mailbox compartment.