Illumination – With container – With closure controlled switch
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-27
2004-01-06
O'Shea, Sandra (Department: 2875)
Illumination
With container
With closure controlled switch
C362S154000, C362S100000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06672736
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a lighting assembly for a rural mailbox and more particularly to a lighting assembly for a mailbox which an user activates a light when he open of a door so there is sufficient ambient light by which to view the contents therein.
Many persons have employment schedules that result in returning home in the dark. Of course, many persons working normal business hours also return home in the dark during the winter season due to the shortened period of daylight. The task of gathering one's mail from the mailbox is made more difficult by the darkness. The resident must scrape around inside the darkened mailbox or utilize an external light source such as a flashlight to ensure that important letters or small packages are not overlooked. Interior lighting of a mailbox is especially needed for use with rural mailboxes that are typically mounted some distance away from the home. Various apparatus have been proposed for lighting the interior of a mailbox. Some such devices are disadvantageous, however, in that a light is activated every time the mailbox door is opened, thus depleting the power supply even in situations where ambient light is plenteous. Other devices require the user to manually activate a light switch when more light is needed.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a lighting system for a mailbox that activates an interior light only if insufficient ambient light is available for viewing the contents within the mailbox. It is further desirable that the amount of available ambient light is only sensed upon an opening of the mailbox door.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,887 teaches a switch that operates a lamp bulb in a compartment in response to the opening and closing of the compartment's lid. The switch includes a housing that retains the bulb and mounts in an aperture adjacent the compartment. The housing includes a hinge that is pivoted from a first to a second position when the lid is closed. A pair of contacts on opposite sides of the housing includes terminals that connect into an electrical circuit. One end of one contact engages the bulb contact. One end of the other contact engages the bulb base and biases the hinge member into its first position. When the lid is open, the hinge is in its first position and the circuit through the bulb is complete. Closing of the lid pivots the hinge to its second position and moves the end of the other contact away from the bulb to break the circuit.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,262 teaches a container for storage on an offshore work site. A lightweight metal container is provided with a latching mechanism that is operable by either hand or foot pressure for allowing opening of the container. The container has attached thereto a spring-loaded assembly for causing automatic opening of the top upon release of the latching mechanism from the top. A power source, switch and lamp are attached to the container for automatic illumination of the contents therein upon opening of the top.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,915 teaches a lighting fixture which has self-contained batteries and mercury switch for attachment of the fixture to the interior surface of the door of a mailbox for illuminating the box interior when the door is opened. The mercury switch is manually adjustable about a lateral axis so that the fixture may be used on either front opening or top tilting doors.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,012 teaches a lighting assembly that lights the interior of a metal mailbox. The metal mailbox has a rectangular bottom, a curved top, two side sections, a closed rear end, an open front end and a hinged cover. The hinged cover is pivoted about the horizontal base and has at its top a latch which when the cover is closed against the open front end of the box couples with a matching latch that is mounted at the top of the front end of the mailbox. The lighting assembly is an incandescent lamp that has two terminals and that is mounted in a socket depending from the top of the mailbox. A dry cell battery is contained within an insulated case mounted beneath the bottom of the mailbox. A push button on-off switch has two terminals mounted on the latch at the front end of the mailbox. An insulated line connects one terminal of the battery to one terminal of the on-off switch. A second insulated line connects the other terminal of the on-off switch to one terminal of the incandescent lamp. The other terminal of the battery is connected to the other terminal of the incandescent lamp through the grounded metal mailbox itself.
Rural mailboxes approved by the U.S. Postal Service conventionally are made of metal with a rectangular horizontal base, a curved top and side section, a closed rear end and an open front end. A hinged door is pivoted near the horizontal base with a latch at its top which, when the door is closed against the open front end of the box, couples with a matching latch on the top of the front end of the box. These boxes are usually located along the road some distance from the owner's house. The rural mailbox usually receives mail delivered by a mail carrier during daylight hours. But when the homeowner is employed away from home the box is often checked for mail during the hours of darkness. When the box is opened to determine whether it contains envelopes, post cards or small packages when it is dark or gloomy, it is difficult to quickly and accurately determine whether all the delivered mail is being removed from the box. It is impossible to visually check the contents of the rural mailbox when it is gloomy or during the hours of darkness.
Even when either streetlights nearby or headlights of an automobile illuminate a rural mailbox the interior of the rural mailbox is literally a black hole. The person who is checking the box for mail is unable to visually determine the contents of the mailbox during either late evening hours or early morning hours. There is a need for an apparatus for lighting the interior of a conventional rural mailbox in order to permit the owners of mailboxes that are often emptied during the hours of darkness to visually inspect the contents of their mailboxes. Since most mailboxes are located at a point where conventional 110 volt alternating electric current is not readily available, the apparatus is powered by a pair of 1.5 volt AA dry cell batteries that are protected from the rain and weather by a polyvinyl case located beneath the mailbox. Light to the inside of the box is supplied by an incandescent lamp mounted in a socket attached to the roof of the mailbox. Electricity is fed to the lamp by a pushbutton on-off switch conveniently mounted on the latch that secures the box cover in closed position. When the person desiring to check the box for mail grasps the latch to open the box he will also push the button on the switch to turn on the lamp and illuminate the interior of the mailbox. Then when the contents of the box have been removed and the person is assured by visual inspection that the box is now empty, the person closes the box cover and again pushes the switch button to turn off the lamp.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,749 teaches an internal lighting system for rural mailboxes that provides a maintenance-free mailbox internal lighting system by providing a solar cell charging system and rechargeable batteries to the circuitry. The opening of the door automatically actuated the internal light. All the components of the internal lighting system are undetectable to the casual observer to provide a degree of protection from vandalism or theft.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,084 teaches a retrofittable mailbox light system. The mailbox includes a housing that has a releasable coupling mechanism mounted on the housing for allowing the housing to be mounted to an inner surface of the mailbox such that a front face of the housing remains flush with the open front of the mailbox. A lamp is mounted to the housing for illuminating the interior space of the mailbox only upon the receipt of power. A battery is positioned within an interior space of the housing. A momentary switch is moun
Johansen W. Edward
O'Shea Sandra
Truong Bao Q
LandOfFree
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