Mailbox with telescoping drawer

Abstract

A mailbox with a housing, a floor and a receptacle situated on top of a sliding rail assembly affixed to the floor. A first bracket is affixed to the inside surface of the door and connected to a first U-shaped bracket with a downwardly facing open part. The two legs of the first U-shaped bracket are pivotally attached to longitudinal rods extending underneath the mailbox. The distal end of each longitudinal rod is pivotally attached to a second U-shaped bracket with a downwardly facing open part. A first end of a traveling rod extends upwardly from the lateral part of the second U-shaped bracket, and a second end of the traveling rod is attached to a shaft. A wheel bearing is situated on either end of the shaft, and a receiving bracket is attached to the rear wall of the receptacle and configured to receive the wheel bearings and shaft.

Claims

1. A mailbox comprising: (a) a mailbox housing; (b) a mailbox floor; (c) a mail receptacle having two side walls, a rear wall, and a floor; and (d) a front door; wherein the mail receptacle is situated on top of a sliding rail assembly affixed to the mailbox floor; wherein a first bracket is attached to a center of an inside surface of the front door and oriented so that it extends from a top part of the front door to a bottom part of the front door; wherein the first bracket is connected to a first U-shaped bracket that is attached to the inside surface of the front door, the first U-shaped bracket having an open part and a lateral part, and the first U-shaped bracket being oriented so that the open part of the U-shaped bracket faces downwardly; wherein the first U-shaped bracket further comprises two legs, each having a bottom end; wherein the bottom end of each of the two legs of the first U-shaped bracket is pivotally attached to a proximal end of a longitudinal rod that extends underneath the mailbox from a front of the mailbox to a point beyond a rear end of the mailbox housing; wherein a distal end of each longitudinal rod is attached to a second U-shaped bracket comprising an open part and a lateral part, the open part of the second U-shaped bracket facing downwardly; wherein the second U-shaped bracket further comprises two legs, each having a bottom end; wherein the bottom end of each of the two legs of the second U-shaped bracket is pivotally attached to the distal end of one of the two longitudinal rods; wherein the lateral part of the second U-shaped bracket is attached to a rear end of the mailbox floor; wherein a first end of a traveling rod is attached to and extends upwardly from the lateral part of the second U-shaped bracket; wherein a second end of the traveling rod is attached to a shaft; wherein a wheel bearing is situated on either end of the shaft; and wherein a receiving bracket is attached to an outside surface of the rear wall of the mail receptacle and is configured to receive the wheel bearings and shaft.

2. The mailbox of claim 1, wherein each of the side walls of the mail receptacle has a front portion with a bottom edge that is angled upward at a certain angle; and wherein the floor of the mail receptacle has a front section that is angled upward to match the certain angle of the front portions of the side walls.

3. The mailbox of claim 1, wherein the rear wall of the mail receptacle comprises a top part with two beveled edges on either side of the top part to enable the mail receptacle to fit within the mailbox housing.

4. The mailbox of claim 1, wherein the wherein the mail receptacle is not connected in any manner to the front door of the mailbox.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the present invention shown with the mailbox in a closed position.

(2) FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the present invention shown with the mailbox in a closed position.

(3) FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the present invention shown with the mailbox in a closed position.

(4) FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the present invention shown with the mailbox in an open position.

(5) FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the present invention shown with the mailbox in an open position.

(6) FIG. 6 is a phantom front perspective view of the present invention shown with the mailbox in a closed position.

(7) FIG. 7 is a phantom rear perspective view of the present invention shown with the mailbox in a closed position.

(8) FIG. 8 is a phantom front perspective view of the present invention shown with the mailbox in an open position.

(9) FIG. 9 is a phantom rear perspective view of the present invention shown with the mailbox in an open position.

(10) FIG. 10 is a side view of the present invention shown with the mailbox in a closed position.

(11) FIG. 11 is a side view of the present invention shown with the mailbox in a partially open position.

(12) FIG. 12 is a side view of the present invention shown with the mailbox in a fully open position.

(13) FIG. 13 is a detail cross-section view of the sliding rail assembly of the present invention taken at the line shown in FIG. 11.

(14) FIG. 14 is an exploded view of the sliding rail assembly of the present invention.

(15) FIG. 15 is a detail view of the distal end of the traveling rod of the present invention.

(16) FIG. 16 is a side view of an alternate embodiment of the traveling rod.

REFERENCE NUMBERS

(17) 1 Mailbox 1a Mailbox housing 1b Mailbox floor 2 Mail receptacle 3 Side walls (of mail receptacle) 3a Bottom edge (of side wall) 4 Rear wall (of mail receptacle) 4a Beveled edge (of rear wall) 5 Floor (of mail receptacle) 5a Front section (of floor) 6 Front door (of mailbox) 7 First bracket 8 First U-shaped bracket 8a Lateral part (of first U-shaped bracket) 8b Legs (of first U-shaped bracket) 9 Longitudinal rods 10 Second U-shaped bracket 10a Lateral part (of second U-shaped bracket) 10b Legs (of second U-shaped bracket) 11 Traveling rod 12 Shaft 13 Wheel bearings 14 Receiving bracket 14a Channels (in receiving bracket) 14b Open center part (of receiving bracket) 14c Lips (of receiving bracket) 15 Sliding rail assembly

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

(18) FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are perspective views of the present invention with the mailbox shown in a closed position, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are perspective views of the present invention shown in an open position. As shown in these figures, the invention is comprised of a mailbox 1 with a mailbox housing 1a and a mailbox floor 1b. The invention further comprises a mail receptable 2 with two sides walls 3, a rear wall 4, and a floor 5. The floor 5 preferably comprises a front section 5a that is tilted upward at an angle that matches the angle of the bottom edge 3a of the front portion of each side wall 3. Note that the rear wall 4 of the receptacle 2 preferably comprises two beveled edges 4a on either side of the top part of the rear wall 4 to enable the receptable to fit within the mailbox housing 1a. It is important to note that the receptacle 3 is not connected to the front door 6 of the mailbox.

(19) The receptacle 3 lies on top of a sliding rail assembly, which is shown in detail in FIGS. 13 and 14. A first bracket 7 is attached to the center of the inside surface of the front door 6 and is oriented so that it extends from a top part of the front door to a bottom part of the front door. At the bottom part of the front door, this bracket 7 connects to a first U-shaped bracket 8 that is also attached to the inside surface of the front door 6. The first U-shaped bracket 8 is oriented so that the open part of the “U” faces downwardly, the lateral part 8a of the “U” is situated just above the mailbox floor 1b, and the two legs of the “U” 8b extend beyond the bottom edge 6a of the front door 6 (so that they are lower than the mailbox floor 1b). The bottom end of each of the legs 8a is rotatably attached to a longitudinal rod 9 that extends underneath the mailbox 1 from the front of the mailbox to a point beyond the rear end of the mailbox housing 1a.

(20) The distal (or rear) end of each longitudinal rod 9 is attached to a second U-shaped bracket 10 that is also oriented so that the open part of the “U” faces downwardly, and each of the legs 10b is attached at its distal end to the distal (or rear) end of one of the longitudinal rods 9. The lateral part 10a of the second U-shaped bracket 10 is situated slightly above the level of the mailbox floor 1b, and the legs 10b are situated entirely beneath (or below) the level of the mailbox floor 1b. A traveling rod 11 is attached to and extends upwardly from the center of the lateral part 10a of the second U-shaped bracket 10. The first end of the traveling rod 11 is attached to the second U-shaped bracket 10, and the second end of the traveling rod 11 is attached to a shaft 12. On either side of the shaft 12 are wheel bearings 13 (see FIG. 15 for additional detail).

(21) A receiving bracket 14 is attached to the outside surface of the rear wall 4 of the receptacle 2 and is configured to receive the wheel bearings 13 and shaft 12. The receiving bracket 14 comprises right and left channels 14a in which the wheel bearings 13 travel up and down as the shaft 12 is moved upward and downward within the open center part 14b of the receiving bracket 14. When the mailbox is fully closed, the traveling rod 11 is in a vertical position, and the entire length of the traveling rod 11 is situated within the open center part of the receiving bracket 14. The channels 14a in the receiving bracket 14 are formed by lips 14c that extend inwardly from each side of the receiving bracket 14.

(22) When the mailbox door 6 is opened manually by a user, by virtue of the mechanical connections discussed above, the distal ends of the legs 8a push the longitudinal rods 9 rearward. When the longitudinal rods 9 are pushed rearward, the second U-shaped bracket 10 rotates into the position shown in FIG. 5, with the legs 10b tilted in a rearward direction, as shown. As the second U-shaped bracket 10 is rotated, the traveling rod 11 is pushed forward, and the shaft 12 travels to the bottom of the open center part 14b of the receiving bracket 14. The traveling rod 11 may be straight, as shown in FIG. 9, or it may be slightly bent to provide additional leverage, as shown in FIG. 16.

(23) As the shaft 12 travels to the bottom of the open center part 14b of the receiving bracket 14, the traveling rod 11 pushes the receptacle 2 forward, thereby causing the front part of the receptable 2 to extend past the front edge of the mailbox housing 1a, as shown in FIG. 4. In this manner, the receptable is pushed—not pulled—out of the mailbox. This structural feature distinguishes the present invention from prior art. When the front door 6 of the mailbox is closed by the user, the second U-shaped member 10 rotates back into the position shown in FIG. 3, and the legs 10b push the longitudinal rods 9 forward. At the same time, the shaft 12 returns to its position at the top of the open center part 14b of the receiving bracket 14, and the wheel bearings 13 return to the top of the channels 14a. The force exerted by the user to close the front door 6 causes the second U-shaped bracket 10 to rotate, the shaft 12 to travel upwardly within the open center part 14b of the receiving bracket 14, and the receptacle 2 to move rearwardly on the sliding rail assembly 15 so that it is fully enclosed within the mailbox housing 1a.

(24) FIGS. 6-9 are phantom views of the present invention that provide clearer views of the interior workings of the mailbox. FIG. 10 is a phantom side view of the mailbox in a closed position. FIGS. 11 and 12 are phantom side views of the mailbox shown in a partially open and a fully open position, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 10-12, by virtue of the relative placement of the first U-shaped bracket 8 and second U-shaped bracket 10, the longitudinal rods 9 are slightly higher in the front than in the back when the mailbox is in a closed position, horizontal when the mailbox is in a partially open position (when the door is inclined at a 45-degree angle), and lower in the front than in the back when the mailbox is in a fully open position. Specifically, the lateral part 8a of the first U-shaped member is on a slightly higher horizontal plane (in other words, it is slightly higher relative to the mailbox floor 1b) than the lateral part 10a of the second U-shaped member 10 when the mailbox is in a closed position. When the mailbox is in the partially open position shown in FIG. 11, the lateral parts 8a and 10a are on the same horizontal plane.

(25) FIG. 13 is a cross-section view of the sliding rail assembly of the present invention taken at the line shown in FIG. 11. FIG. 14 is an exploded view of the sliding rail assembly. As shown in these figures, the sliding rail assembly 15 is comprised of three telescoping tracks that are slidably engaged via ball bearings. A typical example of this kind of sliding rail assembly is the Everbilt® Ball Bearing Slide Set manufactured and distributed by Home Depot Product Authority, LLC of Atlanta, Ga.

(26) Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects. The appended claims are therefore intended to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.