OUTDOOR FURNITURE CONTAINING A FORTIFIED DROP BOX FOR THE EXTERIOR OF A HOME AND METHOD OF USE THEREOF
20200121088 ยท 2020-04-23
Inventors
Cpc classification
A47G29/20
HUMAN NECESSITIES
A47G2029/147
HUMAN NECESSITIES
F25D2331/80
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
E05B37/0037
FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
F25D31/006
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
A47G29/141
HUMAN NECESSITIES
A47G2029/145
HUMAN NECESSITIES
A47B37/04
HUMAN NECESSITIES
G07C9/00722
PHYSICS
A47G29/124
HUMAN NECESSITIES
A47C7/72
HUMAN NECESSITIES
International classification
A47G29/124
HUMAN NECESSITIES
F25D31/00
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
E05B37/00
FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
Abstract
Outdoor furniture for an exterior of a home includes a piece of outdoor furniture with a fortified drop box contained therein. The fortified drop box has a lid configured to open for gaining access to the fortified drop box. The lid of the fortified drop box is also configured to close for sealing the fortified drop box. A locking mechanism is included with the fortified drop box that is configured for securing the fortified drop box with the lid closed. The locking mechanism of the fortified drop box is also configured to selectively unlock for accessing the fortified drop box through the lid. Wherein, the piece of outdoor furniture containing the fortified drop box is configured and shaped like functional outdoor furniture.
Claims
1. Outdoor furniture for an exterior of a home comprises: a piece of the outdoor furniture; a fortified drop box contained within the piece of the outdoor furniture, the fortified drop box has a lid configured to open for gaining access to the fortified drop box and to close for sealing the fortified drop box; a locking mechanism configured for securing the fortified drop box with the lid closed, the locking mechanism is also configured to selectively open for accessing the fortified drop box through the lid; wherein, the piece of the outdoor furniture containing the fortified drop box is configured and shaped like functional outdoor furniture.
2. The outdoor furniture of claim 1, wherein the piece of the outdoor furniture is configured as a functional bench for seating, where the lid of the fortified drop box is a seat portion of the functional bench.
3. The outdoor furniture of claim 2, wherein the functional bench for seating includes a back rest and side rails.
4. The outdoor furniture of claim 2, wherein the functional bench for seating includes only the seat portion of the functional bench and does not include a back rest and any side rails.
5. The outdoor furniture of claim 2, wherein the functional bench for seating includes planters attached to one or both sides of the functional bench.
6. The outdoor furniture of claim 1, wherein the piece of the outdoor furniture is configured as a functional table, where the lid of the fortified drop box is a table top portion of the functional table.
7. The outdoor furniture of claim 1, wherein, the locking mechanism includes a combination device configured for unlocking the locking mechanism and accessing the fortified drop box by an owner.
8. The outdoor furniture of claim 7, wherein the locking mechanism also includes a scanner configured for unlocking the locking mechanism and accessing the fortified drop box by a delivery company, whereby, the piece of the outdoor furniture is configured to allow delivery companies to gain access to the fortified drop box via the barcode scanner in order to secure home delivered packages inside the piece of the outdoor furniture.
9. The outdoor furniture of claim 8, wherein the locking mechanism is configured to be opened by the delivery company via a one-time barcode on the home delivered packages configured to be scanned by the scanner for unlocking the locking mechanism a single time.
10. The outdoor furniture of claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism is powered by a battery power source or a wired alternating current power source.
11. The outdoor furniture of claim 1 further comprises a security system configured to prevent the piece of the outdoor furniture from being stolen.
12. The outdoor furniture of claim 11, wherein the security system includes a proximity sensor in communication with the piece of the outdoor furniture, wherein the proximity sensor is configured to determine when the piece of the outdoor furniture is removed from the exterior of the home.
13. The outdoor furniture of claim 1 further comprises an ergonomic lift positioned inside the fortified drop box, the ergonomic lift is configured to raise and lower home delivered packages on the ergonomic lift to a desired height.
14. The outdoor furniture of claim 1, further including a refrigerated compartment positioned inside of the fortified drop box, the refrigerated compartment is configured to hold home delivered refrigerated items.
15. The outdoor furniture of claim 14, wherein the refrigerated compartment including an openable refrigerator door with a handle configured to seal the refrigerated compartment when closed and to provide access to the refrigerated compartment when opened, the openable refrigerator door of the refrigerated compartment is configured to be opened only when the lid of the fortified drop box is open.
16. The outdoor furniture of claim 14, wherein the refrigerated compartment is powered by an alternating current power supply.
17. A piece of outdoor furniture for an exterior of a home comprising: a fortified drop box contained within the piece of the outdoor furniture, the fortified drop box has a lid configured to open for gaining access to the fortified drop box and to close for sealing the fortified drop box; a locking mechanism configured for securing the fortified drop box with the lid closed, the locking mechanism is also configured to selectively open for accessing the fortified drop box through the lid, the locking mechanism includes a combination device configured for unlocking the locking mechanism and accessing the fortified drop box by an owner, the locking mechanism also includes a scanner configured for unlocking the locking mechanism and accessing the fortified drop box by a delivery company, whereby, the piece of the outdoor furniture is configured to allow delivery companies to gain access to the fortified drop box via the barcode scanner in order to secure home delivered packages inside the piece of the outdoor furniture, wherein the locking mechanism is configured to be opened by the delivery company via a one-time barcode on the home delivered packages configured to be scanned by the scanner for unlocking the locking mechanism a single time; the locking mechanism is powered by a battery power source or a wired alternating current power source; a security system configured to prevent the piece of the outdoor furniture from being stolen, the security system includes a proximity sensor in communication with the piece of the outdoor furniture, wherein the proximity sensor is configured to determine when the piece of the outdoor furniture is removed from the exterior of the home; an ergonomic lift positioned inside the fortified drop box, the ergonomic lift is configured to raise and lower the home delivered packages to a desired height; and a refrigerated compartment positioned inside of the fortified drop box, the refrigerated compartment is configured to hold home delivered refrigerated items, the refrigerated compartment includes an openable refrigerator door configured to seal the refrigerated compartment when closed and to provide access to the refrigerated compartment when opened, the openable refrigerator door of the refrigerated compartment is configured to be opened only when the lid of the fortified drop box is open; the refrigerated compartment is powered by an alternating current power supply; wherein, the piece of the outdoor furniture containing the fortified drop box is configured and shaped like functional outdoor furniture.
18. The piece of the outdoor furniture of claim 17, wherein: the piece of the outdoor furniture is selected from a group consisting of: a functional bench for seating with a back rest and side rails where the lid of the fortified drop box is a seat portion of the functional bench; the functional bench for seating with out the back rest and side rails where the lid of the fortified drop box is the seat portion of the functional bench; the functional bench for seating with planters attached to one or both sides of the functional bench; and a functional table where the lid of the fortified drop box is the table top.
19. A method of delivering packages inside outdoor furniture on an exterior of a home comprises: providing the outdoor furniture for the exterior of the home that includes: a piece of the outdoor furniture; a fortified drop box contained within the piece of the outdoor furniture, the fortified drop box has a lid configured to open for gaining access to the fortified drop box and to close for sealing the fortified drop box; a locking mechanism configured for securing the fortified drop box with the lid closed, the locking mechanism is also configured to selectively open for accessing the fortified drop box through the lid; wherein, the piece of the outdoor furniture containing the fortified drop box is configured and shaped like functional outdoor furniture; and delivering home delivered packages to the home including: unlocking the locking mechanism; opening the lid; inserting the home delivered packages inside the fortified drop box; closing the lid; and locking the locking mechanism for securing the home delivered packages inside the fortified drop box contained within the piece of the outdoor furniture.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the locking mechanism of the provided outdoor furniture includes a combination device configured for unlocking the locking mechanism and accessing the fortified drop box by an owner, a scanner configured for unlocking the locking mechanism and accessing the fortified drop box by a delivery company, wherein delivering home delivered packages to the home further including: scanning a barcode on the home delivered packages for unlocking the lock via the delivery company; and entering a combination into the combination device for retrieving the home delivered packages from the fortified drop box via the owner.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] The present disclosure will be better understood by reading the Detailed Description with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and in which like reference numerals denote similar structure and refer to like elements throughout, and in which:
[0023]
[0024]
[0025]
[0026]
[0027]
[0028]
[0029]
[0030]
[0031]
[0032] It is to be noted that the drawings presented are intended solely for the purpose of illustration and that they are, therefore, neither desired nor intended to limit the disclosure to any or all of the exact details of construction shown, except insofar as they may be deemed essential to the claimed disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0033] Referring now to
[0034] Referring now to
[0035] Fortified drop box 18 may be includes inside piece 16 of outdoor furniture 10. Fortified drop box 18 may provide a safe and secure location inside of piece 16 of outdoor furniture 10 for delivering and storing of home delivered packages 50. Fortified drop box 18 may include any desired shape or size of a fortified drop box, or a drop box designed to reduce or prevent theft of home delivered packages 50. Fortified drop box 18 may have lid 20 configured to open for gaining access to fortified drop box 18. Lid 20 of fortified drop box 18 may also be configured to close for sealing fortified drop box 18. Lid 20 may be a standard hinged lid of a drop box or other various types of lids designed to open and close for accessing and securing the content of fortified drop box 18.
[0036] Locking mechanism 22 may be included with outdoor furniture 10 containing fortified drop box 18. Locking mechanism 22 may be for securely locking lid 20 on fortified drop box 18. Locking mechanism 22 may also be for allowing select access to unlock lid 20 from fortified drop box 18. As such, locking mechanism 22 may be configured for securing fortified drop box 18 with lid 20 closed. In addition, locking mechanism 22 of fortified drop box 18 may be configured to selectively unlock for accessing fortified drop box 18 through lid 20. Locking mechanism 22 of fortified drop box 18 may be selectively unlocked by any means, including but not limited to, any combinations, keypads, keys, scanners, the like, biometrics, passwords, etc.
[0037] Piece 16 of outdoor furniture 10 containing fortified drop box 18 may be configured and shaped like functional outdoor furniture 24. In select embodiments of the instant outdoor furniture 10 containing fortified drop box 18 for exterior 12 of home 14, as shown in
[0038] Referring now specifically to
[0039] Combination device 42 may be included with locking mechanism 22 of fortified drop box 18 inside piece 16 of outdoor furniture 10. See
[0040] Scanner 46 may also be included with locking mechanism 22 of fortified drop box 18 inside piece 16 of outdoor furniture 10. See
[0041] Fortified drop box 18 inside piece 16 of outdoor furniture 10 may be powered by any means. This may include, but is not limited to, the powering of locking mechanism 22, including, but not limited to, combination device 42 and/or scanner 46. In select embodiments, locking mechanism 22 of fortified drop box 18 may be powered by battery power source 56, as shown in
[0042] Security system 60 may be included with piece 16 of outdoor furniture 10 containing fortified drop box 18. See
[0043] Referring now to
[0044] Referring now specifically to
[0045] Referring now to
[0046] In select embodiments of method 100 of delivering packages 50 inside outdoor furniture 10 on exterior 12 of home 14, when locking mechanism 22 of the provided outdoor furniture 10 includes combination device 42 configured for unlocking locking mechanism 22 and accessing fortified drop box 18 by owner 44, and scanner 46 configured for unlocking locking mechanism 22 and accessing fortified drop box 18 by delivery company 48, step 104 of delivering home delivered packages 50 to home 14 may further include the steps of: step 116 of scanning barcode 52 on home delivered packages 5for unlocking locking mechanism 22 via delivery company 48; and step 118 of entering a combination into combination device 42 for retrieving home delivered packages 50 from fortified drop box 18 via owner 44.
[0047] In sum, the instant disclosure provides outdoor furniture 10 for exterior 12 of home 14 including piece 16 of functional outdoor furniture 24 containing fortified drop box 18. One feature of the instant disclosure may be that it may allow companies (like delivery company 48) to gain access to customers (like owner 44) fortified drop box 18 in order to secure delivered packages 50, while servicing as an outdoor seating arrangement, or the like. Piece 16 of outdoor furniture 10 containing fortified drop box 18 may have: an outer shell shaped and designed like functional outdoor furniture 24; a box/container making up fortified drop box 18 within piece 16 of outdoor furniture 10; locking mechanism 22; keypad 42 and barcode scanner 46 with power source, including battery power source 56 and/or wired electric power source 58.
[0048] A feature of the present disclosure of outdoor furniture 10 for exterior 12 of home 14 including piece 16 of functional outdoor furniture 24 containing fortified drop box 18 may be its ability to allow companies to gain easy access to fortified drop box 18 of owner 44 or a customer.
[0049] Another feature of the present disclosure of outdoor furniture 10 for exterior 12 of home 14 including piece 16 of functional outdoor furniture 24 containing fortified drop box 18 may be its ability to provide security for packages 50 delivered to the house 14.
[0050] Another feature of the present disclosure of outdoor furniture 10 for exterior 12 of home 14 including piece 16 of functional outdoor furniture 24 containing fortified drop box 18 may be its ability to have other practical use doubling as an outside bench 26 or sitting stool with optional potting/flowering options or planters 34.
[0051] In the specification and/or figures, typical embodiments of the disclosure have been disclosed. The present disclosure is not limited to such exemplary embodiments. The use of the term and/or includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The figures are schematic representations and so are not necessarily drawn to scale. Unless otherwise noted, specific terms have been used in a generic and descriptive sense and not for purposes of limitation.
[0052] The foregoing description and drawings comprise illustrative embodiments. Having thus described exemplary embodiments, it should be noted by those skilled in the art that the within disclosures are exemplary only, and that various other alternatives, adaptations, and modifications may be made within the scope of the present disclosure. Merely listing or numbering the steps of a method in a certain order does not constitute any limitation on the order of the steps of that method. Many modifications and other embodiments will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Although specific terms may be employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments illustrated herein but is limited only by the following claims.