CA2013992C - Automatic flag for rural mailbox - Google Patents
Automatic flag for rural mailboxInfo
- Publication number
- CA2013992C CA2013992C CA002013992A CA2013992A CA2013992C CA 2013992 C CA2013992 C CA 2013992C CA 002013992 A CA002013992 A CA 002013992A CA 2013992 A CA2013992 A CA 2013992A CA 2013992 C CA2013992 C CA 2013992C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- arm
- mailbox
- flag
- catch
- door
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
Links
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 5
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 3
- 238000013459 approach Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000008014 freezing Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000007710 freezing Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47G—HOUSEHOLD OR TABLE EQUIPMENT
- A47G29/00—Supports, holders, or containers for household use, not provided for in groups A47G1/00-A47G27/00 or A47G33/00
- A47G29/12—Mail or newspaper receptacles, e.g. letter-boxes; Openings in doors or the like for delivering mail or newspapers
- A47G29/1209—Rural letter-boxes
- A47G29/121—Signalling devices
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47G—HOUSEHOLD OR TABLE EQUIPMENT
- A47G29/00—Supports, holders, or containers for household use, not provided for in groups A47G1/00-A47G27/00 or A47G33/00
- A47G29/12—Mail or newspaper receptacles, e.g. letter-boxes; Openings in doors or the like for delivering mail or newspapers
- A47G29/1209—Rural letter-boxes
- A47G29/121—Signalling devices
- A47G2029/12105—Signalling devices activated by the inlet door
Landscapes
- Supports Or Holders For Household Use (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present invention relates to a mailbox flag which is used to indicate to the owner of the mailbox when the mail has been delivered. The flag itself comprises an elongated are of at least substantially uniform weight distribution from end to end of the arm. The arm has a mounting region for pivotally mounting it to a mailbox with the mounting region being located off-center and closer to one end than the other end of the arm thereby providing long and short ends and a weight imbalance in the arm when it is mounted to the mailbox. The short end of the arm is bent, preferably at 90° to the remainder of the arm to provide an actual flag portion on the arm without affecting its weight distribution. The door of the mailbox is fitted with a catch which receives the longer end of the flag and supports it in a horizontal position. When the mailbox door is opened, the catch is pulled away from the flag which then moves through its weight imbalance to an upright position indicating that the mailbox has been opened and that the mail has been inserted by the mail man.
The present invention relates to a mailbox flag which is used to indicate to the owner of the mailbox when the mail has been delivered. The flag itself comprises an elongated are of at least substantially uniform weight distribution from end to end of the arm. The arm has a mounting region for pivotally mounting it to a mailbox with the mounting region being located off-center and closer to one end than the other end of the arm thereby providing long and short ends and a weight imbalance in the arm when it is mounted to the mailbox. The short end of the arm is bent, preferably at 90° to the remainder of the arm to provide an actual flag portion on the arm without affecting its weight distribution. The door of the mailbox is fitted with a catch which receives the longer end of the flag and supports it in a horizontal position. When the mailbox door is opened, the catch is pulled away from the flag which then moves through its weight imbalance to an upright position indicating that the mailbox has been opened and that the mail has been inserted by the mail man.
Description
SJ-7934-90 - 1 - 2727~/0089A
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mailbox flag used to indicate that mail has been inserted into a mailbox.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Free standing mailboxes are very popular in rural areas. The mailbox is placed at the side of the road and 10 the "mailman" drives along and inserts the mail into the mailbox. However, the person in the house, unless he or she sees the mailman, does not know whether or not the mail has arrived.
Mail box flags have been designed to indicate that the mail has been delivered. These mailbox flags sit in a horizontally extending position prior to the mail being inserted into the mailbox. After the mail has been delivered, the flag is moved to an upright position clearly 20 indicating delivery of the mail.
The most widely used mailbox flag is one that must be manually moved by the mailman from the horizontal to the upright position. This is both time consuming and awkward 25 for the mailman.
j A number of different automatic flags have been ~ patented. Some examples are shown in United States Patent j 1,471,364, issued October 23, 1923, United States Patent ¦ 302,852,185, issued September 16, 1958, United States Patent 1 1,627,617, issued May 10, 1927, United States Patent 1,181,078, issued April 25, 1916 and United States Patent 1,527,685, issued February 24, 1925. It would appear that none of the above patented flags have made it to the 35marketplace, more than likely because of their complicated .
.
~ 3~2 :
designs and the amount of material required to make the flags which would add substantially to the overall cost of the mailbox. Substantially all of the earlier automatic flags use A relatively long flag portion which then necessitates the use of additional weights on the bottom of the flag to move it to an upright position.
SU~MARY OF TH~ T IN~TIO~
'~
; The present invention provides an automatic mailbox q flag which is both simple in design and inexpensive to '~ manufacture. More particularly, this mailbox flag comprises ,j 15 an elongated arm of at least substantially uniform weight distribution from one end to the other end of the flag. The , arm has a mounting region for pivotally mounting it to the mailbox with that mounting region being located off-center and closer to one end than the other end of the arm. This then provides a long and a short arm end and a natural weight imbalance in the arm when it is mounted to the mailbox. The short end of the arm is but relative to the remainder of the arm to provide a flag portion without changing the weight imbalance of the mounted arm.
`~
The door of the mailbox is fitted with a catch and the longer end of the arm of the flag sits on the catch to support the flag in a horizontal position with the door closed. As the door is opened, the catch is pulled away from the longer end of the arm which drops down moving the arm to a avertical position with the shorter end and the flag portion up indicating delivery of the mail.
.,.
By using an off-center mounting for the flag and with the uniform weight distribution along the length of the arm, and the flag portion simply being bent relative to the remainder of the arm, no additional weights or the like are ~4 ~
~ J3~J~
.
SJ-7934-90 - ~ - 2727B/0089A
required to move and hold it in the upright positon. This is an extremely neat, simple and inexpensive design for the flag.
BRIEF DESCRIPTI_N OF THE DRA~INGS
The above as well as other advantages and features of the present invention will be described in greater detail according to the preferred embodiments of the present ~;~
10 invention in which;
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mailbox fitted with an automatic flag according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a side view of the mailbox of Figure 1.
Figures 3 through 5 are further side views showing operation of the flag on the mailbox of Figures 1 and 2.
Figures 6 and 7 are enlarged side views showing the fitting of the flag to the catch on the door of the mailbox 20 of Figures 1 and 2.
Figure 8 is a further side view showing operatiun -~
of the flag of the mailbox of Figure 1.
Figure 9 is a side view of the flag from the mailbox of Figure 1.
Figures 10 through 12 are perspective views showing the sequences used to form the flag of Figure 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION ACCORDING TO THE PREFERRED
EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION~
Figures 1 and 2 show a mailbox MB having a forward access door D. This is standard construction for a mailbox. In accordance with the present invention an automatic flag arrangement generally indicated at 1 has been ~
fitted to the mailbox M8. ;
' :
,,:, i ,., ~.
~ Jr3 SJ-7934-90 - 4 - 2727B/OO~gA
<
The automatic flag arrangement 1 includes a catch 3 which is fitted to the front door D and which extends out to one side of the mailbox ~B. ~ounted on that same side of -~
the mailbox is a flag member 7O The flag member is secured by means of a pivotal connection and in this particular case, a sleeved bolt 5 which spaces the flag outwar~ly from the side of the mailbox secured positively, ie so that it won't fall off but preferably in a loose or sloppy manner : for reasons to be described later in detail.
`' 10 :~
The construction of the flag itself is best seen ;~ having reference to Figures 10 through 12 of the drawings.
The simplicity of this construction is one of the key features of the present invention.
The flag is initially formed from a simple thin flat bar of metal stock of consistent shape and weight from 1 end to end of the bar. A mounting hole 9 is provided `~ off-center in the bar so that when the bar is mounted it in 20 effect has a short end 11 and a longer end 13.
, The short end 11 of the bar is then bent giving it a right angle configuration formed by end portions lla and llb. The end portion lla may then be cut as shown in Figure 25 12 or it may be left in its Figure 11 configuration.
However, by cutting some of the material from the end 11, this further reduces its weight relative to the longer end 1 13 of the bar.
.
As will be understood from the above, even though the bar has a substantially even weight distribution over its entire length, when it is mounted to the mailbox by `
fitting bolt 5 through opening 9, there is a natural weight imbalance by virtue of the bar having longer and shorter 35 ends. As noted immediately above, the weight imbalance can be further increaseu by removing material from the shorter ~' SJ-7934-90 - 5 - 2727~/0089A
end of the bar. Also to be noted is that no additional weights or the like have been added to the bar.
For increased visibility purposes, the bar may then be fitted with a pair of reflector members one on the lony end of the bar and one on the short end of the bar as shown in Figure 9. In particular, reflector member 14 is fitted to the long end 13 of the bar and reflector member 12 is fitted to the short end of 11 of the bar. These reflector 10 members which have a standard construction are the same as those which are fitted to the edge of a car door and comprise a plastic sleeve which simply slides onto the edge of the bar with the plastic sleeve carrying a plurality of reflectors. For example, reflector member 14 is fitted with 15 actual reflectors 14a.
Figure 1 shows how reflector member 14 fits to the edge of the longer bar end 13 while reflector member 12 including reflectors 12a slides onto the bent end portion 20 lla of the shorter end 11 of the bar. With this arrangement the two reflectors 12 and 14 are at right angles relative to one another for reasons also to be described later in detail.
In the embodiment shown, reflectors 12 and 14 are 25 actually identical to one another. Therefore, they do not affect the desired weight imbalance in the bar.
Furthermore, they are positioned on the bar such that the end 13 of the bar remains longer than the en~ 11 as indicated in Figure 9 where the distance D2 is greater than 130 the distance Dl on the bar.
¦The set up of the flag is best shown, again having reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings. Prior to the ¦mail being delivered, flag member 7 is set in a horizontally ¦35 extending position where the longer end 13 of the flag rests 2 ~ 2 atop the catch 3 extending ou-t from the mailbox door. In this position, the flag wants to tip downwardly but is prevented from doing so by the catch.
Figure 3 shows mail M being inserted into the box. In order to do so, the door D must first be opened which pulls the catch 3 from beneath the flag which, because of its weight imbalance, then drops downwardly to the Figure 4 position. Note that the flag is mounted in a position on the mailbox such that shorter end 11 fitted with the reflector member 12 extends upwardly above the top of the box making it clearly visible to the home owner that the mail has been delivered.
As earlier described, reflector members 14 and 12 sit at right angles relative to one another. When the flag is in its horizontal position, the reflectors 14a of reflector member 14 are clearly apparent Erom the side of the box which is the direction from which the mailman approaches the box.
When the flag moves to its upright or vertical position as shown in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings, the reflectors 12a :~
of reflector member 12 are turned in a direction such that they are clearly evident from the front of the box which is visible to the home owner.
Figure 5 shows the handling of the mailbox as the mail M is being removed by the home owner. Again, the door D is opened to remove the mail and then the door is moved back down to its closed position. From here, the flag member is ~ rotated from the Figure 9 position through a 270 angle such j that the longer end 13 of the flag again sits atop catch 3.
Note that the shorter end of the flag is allowed to clear past the catch so that the door does not have to be held open in the resetting of the flag member. This is best seen in Figure 8 of the drawings which shows . :.~
., ~ .
SJ-79~4-90 - 7 - 27~7~/OU8~h '.
the reflector member 12 on the short end 11 of the bar , clearing past catch 3 while the flag member is being rotated back to the Figures 1 and 2 position.
Figures 6 and 7 show a very interesting feature of the present invention which effectively provides an ice break in the event that the flag member does become iced up in a freezing rain or snow storm and the like. As will be seen in Figure 6, when the door D is closed flag member 7 lOsits in its solid line positon. With the initial opening of the door D, catch 3 pushes upwardly on the long end 13 of the flag member lifting it to the dotted line position for the flag shown in Figure 6 of the drawings. This initial slight lifting of the flag breaks any ice that may otherwise 15 hold the flag from pivoting downwardly after the catch is cleared completely beyond the end of the flag as shown in figure 7 where the long end of the flag is then allowed to drop downwardly moving the flag to its upright mail ~ delivered indicating position.
As earlier described, the flag is positively secured to the mailbox in a relatively sloppy manner which is desired to once again assist in preventing any lock up which would otherwise not allow the flag to be freely , 25movable on the mailbox.
As will be appreciated from the above, both the flag, its reflectors and the mounting components are all made with stock or standard hardware items resulting in an 30inexpensive yet extremely functional construction of the automatic flag arrangement.
', Although various preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it will be ;
~5appreciated oy those skilled in the art that variations may , #
be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.
:
'~`' :
, . 35 ~:~
:~:
'
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mailbox flag used to indicate that mail has been inserted into a mailbox.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Free standing mailboxes are very popular in rural areas. The mailbox is placed at the side of the road and 10 the "mailman" drives along and inserts the mail into the mailbox. However, the person in the house, unless he or she sees the mailman, does not know whether or not the mail has arrived.
Mail box flags have been designed to indicate that the mail has been delivered. These mailbox flags sit in a horizontally extending position prior to the mail being inserted into the mailbox. After the mail has been delivered, the flag is moved to an upright position clearly 20 indicating delivery of the mail.
The most widely used mailbox flag is one that must be manually moved by the mailman from the horizontal to the upright position. This is both time consuming and awkward 25 for the mailman.
j A number of different automatic flags have been ~ patented. Some examples are shown in United States Patent j 1,471,364, issued October 23, 1923, United States Patent ¦ 302,852,185, issued September 16, 1958, United States Patent 1 1,627,617, issued May 10, 1927, United States Patent 1,181,078, issued April 25, 1916 and United States Patent 1,527,685, issued February 24, 1925. It would appear that none of the above patented flags have made it to the 35marketplace, more than likely because of their complicated .
.
~ 3~2 :
designs and the amount of material required to make the flags which would add substantially to the overall cost of the mailbox. Substantially all of the earlier automatic flags use A relatively long flag portion which then necessitates the use of additional weights on the bottom of the flag to move it to an upright position.
SU~MARY OF TH~ T IN~TIO~
'~
; The present invention provides an automatic mailbox q flag which is both simple in design and inexpensive to '~ manufacture. More particularly, this mailbox flag comprises ,j 15 an elongated arm of at least substantially uniform weight distribution from one end to the other end of the flag. The , arm has a mounting region for pivotally mounting it to the mailbox with that mounting region being located off-center and closer to one end than the other end of the arm. This then provides a long and a short arm end and a natural weight imbalance in the arm when it is mounted to the mailbox. The short end of the arm is but relative to the remainder of the arm to provide a flag portion without changing the weight imbalance of the mounted arm.
`~
The door of the mailbox is fitted with a catch and the longer end of the arm of the flag sits on the catch to support the flag in a horizontal position with the door closed. As the door is opened, the catch is pulled away from the longer end of the arm which drops down moving the arm to a avertical position with the shorter end and the flag portion up indicating delivery of the mail.
.,.
By using an off-center mounting for the flag and with the uniform weight distribution along the length of the arm, and the flag portion simply being bent relative to the remainder of the arm, no additional weights or the like are ~4 ~
~ J3~J~
.
SJ-7934-90 - ~ - 2727B/0089A
required to move and hold it in the upright positon. This is an extremely neat, simple and inexpensive design for the flag.
BRIEF DESCRIPTI_N OF THE DRA~INGS
The above as well as other advantages and features of the present invention will be described in greater detail according to the preferred embodiments of the present ~;~
10 invention in which;
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mailbox fitted with an automatic flag according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a side view of the mailbox of Figure 1.
Figures 3 through 5 are further side views showing operation of the flag on the mailbox of Figures 1 and 2.
Figures 6 and 7 are enlarged side views showing the fitting of the flag to the catch on the door of the mailbox 20 of Figures 1 and 2.
Figure 8 is a further side view showing operatiun -~
of the flag of the mailbox of Figure 1.
Figure 9 is a side view of the flag from the mailbox of Figure 1.
Figures 10 through 12 are perspective views showing the sequences used to form the flag of Figure 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION ACCORDING TO THE PREFERRED
EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION~
Figures 1 and 2 show a mailbox MB having a forward access door D. This is standard construction for a mailbox. In accordance with the present invention an automatic flag arrangement generally indicated at 1 has been ~
fitted to the mailbox M8. ;
' :
,,:, i ,., ~.
~ Jr3 SJ-7934-90 - 4 - 2727B/OO~gA
<
The automatic flag arrangement 1 includes a catch 3 which is fitted to the front door D and which extends out to one side of the mailbox ~B. ~ounted on that same side of -~
the mailbox is a flag member 7O The flag member is secured by means of a pivotal connection and in this particular case, a sleeved bolt 5 which spaces the flag outwar~ly from the side of the mailbox secured positively, ie so that it won't fall off but preferably in a loose or sloppy manner : for reasons to be described later in detail.
`' 10 :~
The construction of the flag itself is best seen ;~ having reference to Figures 10 through 12 of the drawings.
The simplicity of this construction is one of the key features of the present invention.
The flag is initially formed from a simple thin flat bar of metal stock of consistent shape and weight from 1 end to end of the bar. A mounting hole 9 is provided `~ off-center in the bar so that when the bar is mounted it in 20 effect has a short end 11 and a longer end 13.
, The short end 11 of the bar is then bent giving it a right angle configuration formed by end portions lla and llb. The end portion lla may then be cut as shown in Figure 25 12 or it may be left in its Figure 11 configuration.
However, by cutting some of the material from the end 11, this further reduces its weight relative to the longer end 1 13 of the bar.
.
As will be understood from the above, even though the bar has a substantially even weight distribution over its entire length, when it is mounted to the mailbox by `
fitting bolt 5 through opening 9, there is a natural weight imbalance by virtue of the bar having longer and shorter 35 ends. As noted immediately above, the weight imbalance can be further increaseu by removing material from the shorter ~' SJ-7934-90 - 5 - 2727~/0089A
end of the bar. Also to be noted is that no additional weights or the like have been added to the bar.
For increased visibility purposes, the bar may then be fitted with a pair of reflector members one on the lony end of the bar and one on the short end of the bar as shown in Figure 9. In particular, reflector member 14 is fitted to the long end 13 of the bar and reflector member 12 is fitted to the short end of 11 of the bar. These reflector 10 members which have a standard construction are the same as those which are fitted to the edge of a car door and comprise a plastic sleeve which simply slides onto the edge of the bar with the plastic sleeve carrying a plurality of reflectors. For example, reflector member 14 is fitted with 15 actual reflectors 14a.
Figure 1 shows how reflector member 14 fits to the edge of the longer bar end 13 while reflector member 12 including reflectors 12a slides onto the bent end portion 20 lla of the shorter end 11 of the bar. With this arrangement the two reflectors 12 and 14 are at right angles relative to one another for reasons also to be described later in detail.
In the embodiment shown, reflectors 12 and 14 are 25 actually identical to one another. Therefore, they do not affect the desired weight imbalance in the bar.
Furthermore, they are positioned on the bar such that the end 13 of the bar remains longer than the en~ 11 as indicated in Figure 9 where the distance D2 is greater than 130 the distance Dl on the bar.
¦The set up of the flag is best shown, again having reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings. Prior to the ¦mail being delivered, flag member 7 is set in a horizontally ¦35 extending position where the longer end 13 of the flag rests 2 ~ 2 atop the catch 3 extending ou-t from the mailbox door. In this position, the flag wants to tip downwardly but is prevented from doing so by the catch.
Figure 3 shows mail M being inserted into the box. In order to do so, the door D must first be opened which pulls the catch 3 from beneath the flag which, because of its weight imbalance, then drops downwardly to the Figure 4 position. Note that the flag is mounted in a position on the mailbox such that shorter end 11 fitted with the reflector member 12 extends upwardly above the top of the box making it clearly visible to the home owner that the mail has been delivered.
As earlier described, reflector members 14 and 12 sit at right angles relative to one another. When the flag is in its horizontal position, the reflectors 14a of reflector member 14 are clearly apparent Erom the side of the box which is the direction from which the mailman approaches the box.
When the flag moves to its upright or vertical position as shown in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings, the reflectors 12a :~
of reflector member 12 are turned in a direction such that they are clearly evident from the front of the box which is visible to the home owner.
Figure 5 shows the handling of the mailbox as the mail M is being removed by the home owner. Again, the door D is opened to remove the mail and then the door is moved back down to its closed position. From here, the flag member is ~ rotated from the Figure 9 position through a 270 angle such j that the longer end 13 of the flag again sits atop catch 3.
Note that the shorter end of the flag is allowed to clear past the catch so that the door does not have to be held open in the resetting of the flag member. This is best seen in Figure 8 of the drawings which shows . :.~
., ~ .
SJ-79~4-90 - 7 - 27~7~/OU8~h '.
the reflector member 12 on the short end 11 of the bar , clearing past catch 3 while the flag member is being rotated back to the Figures 1 and 2 position.
Figures 6 and 7 show a very interesting feature of the present invention which effectively provides an ice break in the event that the flag member does become iced up in a freezing rain or snow storm and the like. As will be seen in Figure 6, when the door D is closed flag member 7 lOsits in its solid line positon. With the initial opening of the door D, catch 3 pushes upwardly on the long end 13 of the flag member lifting it to the dotted line position for the flag shown in Figure 6 of the drawings. This initial slight lifting of the flag breaks any ice that may otherwise 15 hold the flag from pivoting downwardly after the catch is cleared completely beyond the end of the flag as shown in figure 7 where the long end of the flag is then allowed to drop downwardly moving the flag to its upright mail ~ delivered indicating position.
As earlier described, the flag is positively secured to the mailbox in a relatively sloppy manner which is desired to once again assist in preventing any lock up which would otherwise not allow the flag to be freely , 25movable on the mailbox.
As will be appreciated from the above, both the flag, its reflectors and the mounting components are all made with stock or standard hardware items resulting in an 30inexpensive yet extremely functional construction of the automatic flag arrangement.
', Although various preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it will be ;
~5appreciated oy those skilled in the art that variations may , #
be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.
:
'~`' :
, . 35 ~:~
:~:
'
Claims (5)
1. An automatic mailbox flag comprising an elongated arm of at least substantially uniform weight distribution from end to end of said arm, said arm being provided with a mounting opening off-center of said arm thereby providing a short arm end and a long arm end and said short arm end being bent to provide a flag portion on said arm.
2. A mailbox having a front opening door and an automatic mailbox flag indicating delivery of mail into said mailbox through said front opening door, said front opening door being provided with a sideways extending catch and said automatic mailbox flag comprising an elongated arm of at least substantially uniform weight distribution from end to end of said arm, said arm having an off-center mounting to provide a long end and a short end on said arm, said short end of said arm being bent to provide a flag portion on said arm, said arm being mounted on said box such that said long end of said arm engages said catch on said door holding said arm in a horizontal position and when said door is opened, said catch pulls away from said long end of said arm such that said arm pivots with said long end of said arm moving downwardly to put said arm in a vertical position with said flag portion located extending upwardly above said mailbox.
3. A mailbox as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said catch and said arm are positioned such that upon initial opening of said door, said catch pushes said long end of said arm upwardly until said catch pulls away from said long end of said arm.
4. A mailbox as claimed in Claim 3, wherein both said long end and said short end of said arm are provided with reflectors, said reflectors on said long end of said arm being visible from the side of said mailbox, said reflectors on said short end of said arm being visible from the front of said mailbox.
5. A mailbox as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said arm is positively secured to said mailbox in a loose fitting manner.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002013992A CA2013992C (en) | 1990-04-05 | 1990-04-05 | Automatic flag for rural mailbox |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002013992A CA2013992C (en) | 1990-04-05 | 1990-04-05 | Automatic flag for rural mailbox |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2013992A1 CA2013992A1 (en) | 1991-10-05 |
| CA2013992C true CA2013992C (en) | 1994-07-26 |
Family
ID=4144692
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002013992A Expired - Fee Related CA2013992C (en) | 1990-04-05 | 1990-04-05 | Automatic flag for rural mailbox |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2013992C (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US12543878B1 (en) | 2024-04-30 | 2026-02-10 | Ronnie Millard | Mailbox delivery indicator |
-
1990
- 1990-04-05 CA CA002013992A patent/CA2013992C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US12543878B1 (en) | 2024-04-30 | 2026-02-10 | Ronnie Millard | Mailbox delivery indicator |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| CA2013992A1 (en) | 1991-10-05 |
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