Deposit and collection receptacles – Letter boxes – With supports
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-05
2001-05-01
Melius, Terry Lee (Department: 3628)
Deposit and collection receptacles
Letter boxes
With supports
C248S548000, C248S560000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06223982
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to post mounted mailbox assemblies, more particularly to an assembly that reduces the damaging effect on a mailbox and post supporting the mailbox from impact by a stick or other object applied with force against the mailbox.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Daily, mailboxes are damaged or destroyed by strikes from balls, snow, passing vehicles, vandals, sticks, or other impact sources.
The prior art is replete with patented designs for protecting a mailbox and mounting post from accidental or deliberate lateral force or strike against the mailbox or the post.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,377 patented May 4, 1993 by F. R. Brecht describes a mailbox container portion mounted on a bellows configured so that the upright mailbox will laterally deflect when struck by a physical object and maintain its deflected state until physically returned to the upright position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,283 patented Jun. 1, 1993 by R. D. Gould describes a mailbox mounted on a lateral arm, offset from a tubular upper section mounted in a tubular lower section of an upright post for relative rotation about a vertical axis. A collar having an angled cam surface rotates the upper section about the vertical longitudinal axis between displaced and non-displaced positions under a normal bias of gravity. A spring attached to a transverse bolt or pin in the lower section and to a threaded follower on a vertically aligned threaded tensioning adjustment rod adds additional normal bias to the cam surface to bias the upper section toward the non-displaced position. An external spring is attached over the top of the upper section to the top of the rod and to the head of the transverse bolt.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,072 patented Oct. 18, 1994 by F. P. Thomas describes a mailbox shock mounted on a horizontal post by a plurality of anchor assemblies. Each of the plurality of anchor assemblies comprises a compression spring mounted between a side wall of the mailbox and the post on a horizontal core. The core comprises a tubular shank on a horizontal nail that passes through the sidewall of the mailbox and into the post.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,206 patented May 2, 1995 by Latham et al., describes an armor clad mailbox mounted on a horizontal arm configured so that it hangs below the arm and is rotatable about the axis of the arm. The arm is mounted on a two piece vertical pole, rotatable about the vertical axis of the pole. The vertical pole is tilted slightly from normal to the ground so that the horizontal arm will rotate back to the lowest position around the vertical axis.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is one object of the invention to provide a mailbox that yields to lateral impact.
It is another object of the invention to provide a mailbox assembly that displaces from impact against the mailbox or support post from any direction about a vertical axis.
It is another object that the mailbox assembly automatically returns to its non-displaced position after it is displaced by impact.
A mailbox support includes a post, a foldable joint of the post upon which the post can fold away from the axis of the post, the foldable joint including a first face of the joint drawn toward a second face of the joint by an elastic element that is mounted in the post supportive against tensional force, passing through the first face and the second face.
A portion of the first face is connected to the elastic element and is configured for receiving torsion force from the elastic element for rotating the joint on the axis. The first face includes an opening configured to sufficiently fit the circumferential shape of the elastic element to receive torsion force from the elastic element for rotating the joint on the axis.
A portion of the second face is connected to the elastic element and is configured for receiving torsion force from the elastic element for rotating the joint on the axis. The second face is adjacent to the first face.
One of the first face and the second face includes a cam that rotates the face on the axis to a predetermined position on the other face when the two faces are drawn together.
A slot on one of the first face and the second face, and a protuberance on the other face is configured to be received by the slot when the first face is rotated on the axis relative to the second face.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5029783 (1991-07-01), Alvarez
patent: 5160111 (1992-11-01), Hugron
patent: 5207377 (1993-05-01), Brecht
patent: 5214886 (1993-06-01), Hugron
patent: 5215283 (1993-06-01), Gould
patent: 5302148 (1994-04-01), Heinz
patent: 5356072 (1994-10-01), Thomas
patent: 5411206 (1995-05-01), Latham et al.
patent: 5628667 (1997-05-01), Levil
patent: 5803353 (1998-09-01), Fisher
Melius Terry Lee
Miller William L.
Seemann Robert A.
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