Door and window interior mailbox

Abstract

An interior mailbox, hard-mounted to the exterior door or window, designed to capture and to hold the mail dropped by the mail carrier from the outside in, through the cutout in said exterior door or window, comprising of two primary components, the container and the adjustment part, made to adjust the width of the bottom of the mailbox to accommodate the varying mounting surfaces and to prevent the mail from falling out of the mailbox.

Claims

1. A mailbox for use with mail drop-in cutouts incorporated into doors and windows, comprising: a container part, forming a receptacle having an open face, designed to mount on an inside of a door or a window incorporating a mail drop-in cutout, placed in a position to capture mail objects delivered through the mail drop-in cutout; and an adjustment part forming an L-shaped component containing a plurality of slotted clearance holes, wherein said L-shaped component is made to slide inside the open face of the container part, designed to adjust laterally by using said plurality of slotted clearance holes, to eliminate a gap where the mail objects can fall through, located between the container part and the door or the window incorporating the mail drop-in cutout.

2. The mailbox of claim 1 wherein: said container part further comprises of a mounting wall containing a plurality of mounting wall clearance holes used for mounting the container part to the window or the door incorporating the mail drop-in cutout, a first side wall, a back wall containing a plurality of back wall viewing ports used for viewing the accumulating mail objects, a second side wall containing a plurality of second side wall clearance holes, a bottom wall containing a plurality of bottom wall clearance holes; and said L-shaped component comprises a vertical first side wall containing a plurality of first side wall slotted clearance holes, a vertical second side wall, perpendicular to the first side wall and designed to make contact with the door or the window housing the mail drop-in cutout, and a horizontal bottom wall containing a plurality of bottom wall slotted clearance holes.

3. The mailbox of claim 2 further comprising: a plurality of assembly fasteners comprising a plurality of bolts, nuts and washers, wherein the adjustment part is attached to the container part using the plurality of assembly fasteners, mounted through the clearance holes located in the bottom and the second side wall of the container part and the corresponding slotted clearance holes located in the bottom wall and the first side wall of the L-shaped component.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The components shown in the drawings are not to scale. In the interest of clarity, some of the components might be shown in a generalized form and could be identified utilizing commercial designations. All components, including its essential features, have been assigned reference numbers that are utilized consistently throughout the descriptive process outlined herein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of two primary components, the container and adjustment part, connected together to form a complete assembly, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the door and window interior mailbox, showing its two primary parts separated from each other, and the fastener assembly, used for holding the primary part together, in disassembled condition, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

(4) FIG. 3 is an exterior view of a business building, showing the door and window interior mailbox, attached to the entry door and the display window of said business building, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

(5) FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the door and window interior mailbox assembly, attached to a door frame, as seen from outside looking in through the glass, positioned strategically to catch the mail dropped through the mail drop-in cutout, made on the glass of said door, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

(6) FIG. 5 is a side profile, showing exterior of a business building with its door closed, showing an individual depositing mail through the mail drop-in cutout of said doors, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

(7) FIG. 6 is an interior view of a business building, showing the door and window interior mailbox attached to the door frame, and an individual retrieving the mail from said mailbox, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

(8) FIG. 7 is an interior view of a business building, showing the door and window interior mailbox attached to the window frame, and an individual retrieving the mail from said mailbox, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTIVE KEY

(9) 100Door and Window Interior Mailbox Assembly 120Container Part; Forming an Open-Faced Receptacle 121Mounting Wall 122Mounting Wall Clearance Holes 123First Side Wall 124Back Wall 125Back Wall Viewing Ports 126Second Side Wall 127Second Side Wall Clearance Holes 128Bottom Wall 129Bottom Wall Clearance Holes 140Adjustment Part; Forming an L-Shaped Component 141First Side Wall 142First Side Wall Slotted Clearance Holes 143Second Side Wall 144Bottom Wall 145Bottom Wall Slotted Clearance Holes 160Assembly Fasteners 161Bolt 162Nut 163Washer 200Business Building 210Door 220Window 230Mail Drop-In Cutout 500Mail 600Individual Depositing and/or Retrieving the Mail

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(10) The following description references to the above-defined drawings and represents only an exemplary embodiment of the invention. It is foreseeable, and recognizable by those skilled in the art, that various modifications and/or substitutions to the invention could be implemented without departing from the scope and the character of the invention:

(11) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the present invention, the door and window interior mailbox assembly 100. As show in FIG. 2, the mailbox assembly 100 comprises of two main components, a container part 120, forming an open-faced receptacle, and an adjustment part 140, forming an L-shaped component.

(12) The primary function of the container part 120, shown in FIG. 2, is to provide the mounting surface for attaching the mailbox 100 to the interior side of a door 210 or window 220 of a building 200, and to capture and to hold the deposited mail 500. The container part 120 could be made from a wide variety of materials, including but not limited to plastic, wood and steel. The container part 120 comprises of a mounting wall 121 with three clearance holes 122, first side wall 123, back wall 124 with a plurality of viewing ports 125, second side wall 126 with two clearance holes 127, and a bottom wall 128 with two clearance holes 129.

(13) As shown in FIG. 3, the adjustment part 140 is an L-shaped component, which similarly to the container part 120, may be manufactured from a wide variety of materials, including but not limited to plastic, wood and steel. The primary function of the adjustment part 140 is to accommodate for varying mounting surfaces. More specifically, to provide the means of adjusting the width of the bottom of the container part 120, and thus to fill the gaps between the container part 120 and the glass of the door/window to which the mailbox 100 has been attached, to prevent the delivered mail from falling out. The adjustment part 140 comprises of a first side wall 141 with two slotted clearance holes 142, second side wall, and a bottom wall 144, housing two slotted clearance holes 145.

(14) To utilize the mailbox 100, the end-user must slide the L-shaped adjustment part 140 into the open-face of the container part 120, as shown in FIG. 2. When doing so, the end-user must line up the container's 120 clearance holes, 127 and 129, with the adjustment part's 140 slotted clearance holes, 142 and 145. The two components, 120 and 140, are then secured together, utilizing commonly available assembly fasteners 160, including bolts 161, nuts 162 and washers 163, as shown in FIG. 2.

(15) As shown in FIGS. 3, 6 and 7, the mailbox assembly 100 should be mounted inside of a building 200. The mailbox 100 may be attached to the interior side of the exterior door 210 or the window 220, as shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7.

(16) To begin the process of attaching the mailbox assembly 100, the end-user must create a mail drop-in cutout 230, either in the door 210 or the window 220, which will be used to slide through the delivered mail 500, into the container part 120, as shown in FIG. 5. Said mail drop-in cutout 230 could be made in the glass or any other material from which the exterior doors are made.

(17) Once the mail drop-in cutout 230 has been completed, the end-user may begin the process of mounting the mailbox 100. To do so, the end-user will drive commercially available bolts 161 through the clearance holes 122 of the mounting wall 121 into the desired mounting surface. Said mounting surface may include the wall or the exterior door, as shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7, as long as the positioning of the mailbox 100, allows for the mail 500 being delivered by the mail carrier 600, to drop thought the drop-in cutout 230 directly into the container part 120.

(18) Once the mailbox assembly 100 is firmly mounted, the end-user may loosen the assembly fasteners 160, connecting the container part 124 with the adjustment part 140, and push the adjustment part 140 toward the surface containing the mail drop-in cutout 230. This adjustment should eliminate any gaps and prevent the mail 500 from falling out of the mailbox assembly 100.