EP4678553A1

EP4678553A1 - An envelope locking means

Info

Publication number: EP4678553A1
Application number: EP24187629.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jaroslaw Czeczuk
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2024-07-10
Filing date: 2024-07-10
Publication date: 2026-01-14

Abstract

An envelope locking means comprising a locking element (10), at least one raising element (20, 30), and an activating means (12) adapted to hold the locking element (10) in a transport configuration where the locking element is held along a surface of the envelope (5) and the raising element (20, 30) is compressed, and release the locking element (10) from a transport configuration to an active configuration when the locking element (10) is raised above the surface of the envelope (5) by the decompressed raising element (20, 30).

Description

The present invention relates to an envelope locking means that locks an envelope within a mailbox so an unauthorized retrieval of the envelope from the mailbox via an inserting slot is prevented, made more difficult or delayed.
In the prior art the common approach to solve the problem of stealing mail from mailboxes is to make an inserting slot as narrow as possible in order to make it too small to fit fingers. Yet another common way of protecting mail in a mailbox from an unauthorized retrieval is an application of covers to protect the inserting slot that makes manipulation of an envelope via an inserting slot more difficult.
All the progress in protecting mail when delivered to a mailbox was directed to modification of the mailbox itself and very little effort is observed on modification of an envelope to make it more difficult to extract it via an inserting slot.
The problem to be solved by the present invention is preventing extraction of an envelope back via an inserting slot of a mailbox, i.e. preventing or making it more difficult to steal the mail from a mailbox.
The invention is what is claimed according to claim 1.
The gist of invention is an envelope locking means comprising a locking element, at least one raising element, and an activating means adapted to hold the locking element in a transport configuration where the locking element is held along a surface of an envelope and the raising element is compressed, and release the locking element from a transport configuration to an active configuration when the locking element is raised above the surface of the envelope by the decompressed raising element.
Preferably the envelope locking means in one of embodiments are characterized in that the locking means are made of a cardboard of weight of 150 g/m² to 450 g/m².
Preferably the envelope locking means in one of embodiments have two raising elements, placed on the edges of the locking element.
Preferably the envelope locking means in one of embodiments have the raising element that is a harmonica-shaped spring.
Preferably the envelope locking means in one of embodiments have a locking element and raising element that are adapted to be raised above the surface of the envelope by at least 5 mm.
Preferably the envelope locking means in one of embodiments have the locking element that is adapted to be mounted at the first edge to the surface of the envelope and to be released from the surface of the envelope on the second edge in an active configuration.
Preferably the envelope locking means in one of embodiments have activating means that are in a form of a perforated strip of material placed along the releasable edge of a locking element.
The envelope locking means according to the invention are cheap, effective and ecological in the manufacture, they make unauthorized retrieval or stealing a mail from mailboxes via an insert slot more difficult and more time consuming.
The invention is presented in a preferred embodiment in relation to figures, where:

Fig. 1: shows in an disassembled view of an envelope locking means according to the invention;
Fig. 2: shows an envelope with a locking means according to the invention in a transport configuration;
Fig. 3: shows an envelope with a locking means according to the invention in an active configuration;
Fig. 4: shows an envelope with a locking means according to the invention in an active configuration, on both sides of the envelope;
Fig. 5: shows an envelope with a locking means according to the invention in an active configuration, on both sides of the envelope.

The basic concept behind the invention is to provide a means that will increase the width of a regular envelope so that the envelope cannot be easily retrieved via an inserting slot of a mail box. According to the invention the activating means 12 are activated by a delivery man just prior to inserting an envelope with locking means into a mail box. Releasing the activating means 12 makes the raising element 20, 30 to change the configuration of the locking element 10 to extend at the activated end 17 high above the surface of the envelope 5. The delivery man has a freedom to orient the protected envelope so it can be inserted into the mailbox via an insert slot with a locking element 10 attached edge 15 first.
A person that intends to withdraw the envelope 5 in an unauthorized way via an inserting slot cannot easily manipulate the orientation of the envelope and the locking element 10 that protrudes out of the surface of the envelope 5 by a height h, these make such an unauthorized retraction more difficult. On the other hand an authorized person opening the mailbox using a key locked door can easily withdraw mail as the size of the key locked door allows taking out the mail unobstructed.
Fig. 1 shows in an disassembled view an envelope locking means 1 located on an envelope 5, where parts of the arrangement are clearly visible. An envelope 5 with a locking element 10, a raising elements 20, 30, and an activating means 12 adapted to hold the locking element 10 in a transport configuration where the locking element 10 is held along a surface of the envelope 5 and the raising elements 20, 30 are compressed. The activating means 12 are also adapted to release the locking element 10 from a transport configuration to an active configuration when the locking element 10 is raised above the surface of the envelope 5 by the decompressed raising elements 20, 30.
in the embodiment shown on figures the raising elements 20, 30 are symmetrical and parallel to each other, they are placed on the opposed edges of the locking element 10. Preferably there are two raising elements, placed on the edges of the locking element.
However, such placement and orientation of the raising elements is only an example, and the raising elements can be placed in any configuration that provides a raising effect to the locking element after releasing activating means 12, for example it can be placed at a right angle to each other and when a locking element is square so the raising elements are raising only a single edge of the locking element 10.
In the embodiment shown the raising elements 20, 30 are comprised of a bottom part 23, 33 that is attached to the surface of the envelope 5 and a top part 22, 32 connected by the folded energy accumulating parts 21, 31 that create a spring loaded mechanism of the raising element. The raising elements 20, 30 are made of a cardboard or any other suitable material that when folded accumulates energy and tends to release when the folding pressure is removed. For example the activating means and locking means are made of a cardboard of weight of 150 g/m² to 450 g/m², preferably 300 g/m².
Preferably the raising element is a harmonica-shaped springs.
Preferably the raising element is adapted to be raised above the surface of the envelope by at least 5 mm. Preferably the raising height h is achieved at half of the width of the locking element 10 as the locking element 10 is raised by an angle of 30° above the surface of the envelope 5. However other heights h maybe applied that shall be selected taking into account factors like number of locking means user per envelope, placement of the locking envelope on a single side or on both sides of an envelope, the height of the inserting slot of the mailbox or the size of an envelope used, etc.
Preferably the locking element is adapted to be mounted at one edge to the surface of the envelope and to be released from the surface of the envelope on the opposite edge in an active configuration.
The activating means 12 are in a form of a perforated strip of material placed along the releasable edge of a locking element. However they can be of any suitable form that holds the locking element 10 in a compressed form and can be released to the allow raising elements to raise the locking element above the surface of the envelope, preferably this can be a single line of perforation, a perforation strip, a string release that when pulled out separates the locking element 10 from an envelope at the activating end of the locking element 10, while maintaining its contact with the envelope at the opposite attached end.
Fig. 2 shows the envelope 5 with the locking means 1 and activating means 12 holding the locking element 10 in a transport configuration where the locking element 10 is held along a surface of the envelope 5 and the raising elements 20, 30 are compressed. The locking means 1 are applied on a regular envelope with a lid 7 and adhesive strip 8. The locking means 1 might be applied to an envelope when it is open as in fig. 2 or when it is already closed.
Fig.3 shows the envelope 5 with the locking means and activating means 12 after releasing the locking element 10 from a transport configuration to an active configuration when the locking element 10 is raised above the surface of the envelope 5 by the decompressed raising elements 20, 30. Removing the activating strip 12 leaves a part of the locking element 10' attached while the activated edge 17 is raised at the height h above the surface of the envelope, while the attached edge15 of the locking element 10 remains attached to the surface of the envelope 5. The locking element 10 extending at height h increases the width of the envelope 5 and protrudes out of its surface creating a hooking means that makes the envelope difficult to retract back via an inserting slot of a mailbox.
Fig. 4 and 5 shows in a side view the envelope 5 with two locking means 1, in a configuration one per side of an envelope. Such positioning of the locking means 1 allows to double the raising height h and increases the efficiency of the locking means 1. Increasing the height at which the activating end of the locking element 10 is raised makes even more difficult to retrieve the envelope with locking means 1 form the mailbox via narrow inserting slot.
As can be seen on fig. 4 and 5 the locking means can be place closer to the center line of the envelope or further apparat and towards the edges of the envelope 5.

Claims

An envelope locking means comprising
a locking element (10)

at least one raising element (20, 30)

and an activating means (12) adapted to
hold the locking element (10) in a transport configuration where the locking element (10) is held along a surface of the envelope (5) and the raising element (20, 30) is compressed, and

release the locking element (10) from a transport configuration to an active configuration when the locking element (10) is raised above the surface of the envelope (5) by the decompressed raising element (20, 30).
The envelope locking means according to claim 1 wherein the locking means (10) are made of a cardboard of weight 150 g/m² to 400 g/m²
The envelope locking means according to claim 1 or 2 wherein there are two raising elements (20, 30), placed on the edges of the locking element.
The envelope locking means according to any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the raising element (20, 30) is a harmonica-shaped spring.
The envelope locking means according to any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the locking element (10) and the raising element (20, 30) are adapted to be raised above the surface of the envelope (5) by at least 5 mm.
The envelope locking means according to any of claims 1 to 5 wherein the locking element (10) is adapted to be mounted at the first edge to the surface of the envelope (5) and to be released from the surface of the envelope (5) on the second edge in an active configuration.
The envelope locking means according to any of claims 1 to 6 wherein the activating means (12) are in a form of a perforated strip of material placed along the releasable edge of the locking element (10).