GB2372291A

GB2372291A - Receptacle removably secured to the outside of a door via a letterbox

Info

Publication number: GB2372291A
Application number: GB0031417A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mark Playle
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-12-22
Filing date: 2000-12-22
Publication date: 2002-08-21
Also published as: GB0031417D0

Abstract

A device (1) comprises a receptacle (5), for the receipt of deliveries, and an anchoring means (12) which removably secures the receptacle to the outside of the door via the letterbox (4). Preferably the anchoring means includes spring loaded projections (11) which expand into an open position on the inside of the door, when passed through the letterbox, preventing the anchoring means from being pulled back through. The device may further include a letter plate, having a letter flap (7) therein which, in use is positioned over the letterbox, thus allowing mail to be delivered when the device is in place.

Description

SafeGuard This invention relates to letterboxes, external doors, and home delivery usually by courier delivery or grocery distribution companies. It also relates to the problem of providing secure delivery to premises where the occupants are not present. A problem exists in this area, particularly when the resident/occupant is not at home.

With the advent of the Internet and the increasing popularity of home shopping the problem of delivering goods IS becoming acute particularly when one considers that the bulk of the population are away from home at their place of work for 50 or more hours every week. Ensuring the correct person receives their goods under these conditions is a logistic nightmare.

Quite often a signature is required for proving receipt of delivery, - obviously this requires the person to be present; and with increasing levels of fraud this method of delivery is becoming more common.

Thus how can a delivery be made and proven to be received by the purchaser whenever the purchaser is not present at their residence? The current method is to leave the parcel with a neighbour if they are present, however additional problems arise in this area due to honesty implications.

Alternatively and most commonly delivery is attempted again at a later date.

Repeated attempts to deliver goods incurs significant and unnecessary costs to the courier I delivery company.

These methods fall short of being ideal solutions to what is an increasing problem.

This invention thus relates to a device which attaches to a property by means of the letterbox aperture. The goods to be delivered are placed inside a lockable sealed collapsible container which is secured to the door of the property by means of an anchor mechanism which prevents unauthorised removal of the device, and thereby prevents unauthorised removal of the goods from the premises.

[Note : some properties have letterboxes positioned in places other than the door, for eg. some properties have letterboxes positioned to the side of the door. This invention covers all variations encountered with letterbox position; the essence of the invention being that the device attaches to the property by anchoring within the letterbox aperture. The device being removable by the resident of the property alone, without coded locks, combination locks, or keyed locks, being required In summary, objectives of this Invention, hereon referred to as a "door delivery safe" are to provide features and design to enable the door delivery safe to operate in the following manner. The door delivery safe (including goods within) are attached to the door of the property by the courier company.

The device (door delivery safe) then guards the goods preventing their removal until the keyholder of the premises returns.

The door delivery safe can only be removed from inside the property once the keyholder of the property has unlocked and opened the door of their property.

[Certain models of the product will incorporate an over-ride feature to enable removal of the door delivery safe from the exterior of the property by authorised persons possessing the required key or know-how [Doors of most modern properties are manufactured usually either from wood or plastic in the case of those properties having double-glazing. In all cases however the doors/door frames/doorways are equipped with a letterbox aperture for the delivery of letter post. In most cases a flap is fitted to the aperture, this flap often hinges inwards however many doors are equipped with flaps which open outwards Accordingly it is a primary objective of this invention to provide a door delivery safe that latches (anchors) to any property by protruding into and expanding within and/or behind the letterbox aperture. (the letterbox aperture is usually within the door) The latches will usually be spring loaded to open on the internal side of the door thereby expanding to a size greater than the letterbox aperture and locking the door delivery safe to the door.

Three main types of anchor mechanism are envisaged, namely those that use: 1/Springs to open the anchor.

2/Physical means of opening the latch, and use springs to return the anchor mechanism to its stowed position.

3/Physical means to open and close the anchor mechanism.

In addition the goods which are placed inside the collapsible compartment are secured to the door delivery safe by means of one or more draw-cables or bars which close the collapsible compartment. The collapsible compartment is prevented from being opened by locking the draw-cable or bar by means of ratchet, friction gripper, wedge, snail cam, or other similar well known devices.

Removal of the door delivery safe and goods is achieved only after access to inside the property has been gained. Therefore the door delivery safe requires no combination locks, key locks, or other similar security measures to ensure the correct person obtains their goods; the door delivery safe uses the security of the properties door lock for access control of the goods.

Needless to say locks may be specified for certain applications of the invention.

Removal of the goods and the door delivery safe is achieved by means of one or more release mechanisms.

Another objective of the door delivery safe is to provide means of permitting delivery of letter post through the letterbox aperture whilst the door delivery safe is attached to the door.

Another objective of the door delivery safe is to provide a means of permitting the return of the door delivery safe to the courier company for reuse.

Another objective of the door delivery safe is to provide a means of proving that delivery has been made, and the purchaser has received their goods.

A further objective of this invention is to provide a door delivery safe as previously described, comprising a secure lockable, closable, collapsible container or bag, an anchor mechanism, an internal release mechanism, a secondary letterbox flap, and optionally a weatherproof security flap.

The anticipated method of operation of the door delivery safe is as follows : 1/The consumer makes their purchase over the Internet or via their home shopping catagolue.

2/The consumer is required to pay a small deposit which is refundable once their goods are received.

3/The goods are then delivered and if the occupant is not present they are placed inside the door delivery safe. Each door delivery safe carries a unique number or code which is applied to that particular consumer for that delivery The door delivery safe's code is then scanned by the courier driver and the door delivery safe is attached to the door. Additionally proof of delivery is provided by a dated photograph taken of the exterior of the property showing the door delivery safe attached to their door.

4/The courier can then leave for their next delivery ; their job being completed.

5/Upon returning to the depot the courier driver downloads the digital photograph and the code/s to the call center HQ to await processing.

6/In order for the consumer to recover their deposit the consumer folds-up the door delivery safe and places it in a regular postal box where it is returned Freepost to the courier HQ where the code is read and the consumer's bank account is credited.

7/In cases where delivery is disputed the photographic evidence can be used.

Other objects of the invention, along with numerous features and advantages, will become more clear from the summary of the invention, and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments, described below and further in this document.

Accordingly the objectives and method of operation of the invention refered to above, are achieved by way of summary, in a door delivery safe comprising an anchor mechanism which protrudes through and attaches to the door of the property via the letter box aperture. Said anchor (latch) mechanism usually being spring operated such that whenever said mechanism is entered into the letterbox aperture the anchor mechanism will automatically open or expand to secure the door delivery safe to the door. Three main types of anchor mechanism are envisaged, namely those that use: 1/Springs to open the anchor.

3/Physical means to open and close the anchor mechanism.

Whether or not springs are deployed in any particular application of the invention, usually one or more hinged arm, wedge, pivoted arm, hooked arm, dog, peg, or combination of similar well known latching devices will be deployed.

[On certain models it will be preferable to engage the anchor mechanism by means of external levers, buttons, or by pushing the staple U shaped bar causing actuation of the of the anchor mechanism by physical means] A release mechanism is also incorporated to facilitate removal of the door delivery safe from inside the property. The door delivery safe also incorporates a collapsible compartment such as a mesh bag, or stitched wire basket, or box like container

made from semi rigid or rigid panels hinged by means of multiple pivots or by means of multiple flexible strips ; the essence of the compartment being that it can be

folded down, or reduced in size, and which can be lockably sealed.

M < Said collapsible compartment would most likely be made from either Kevlarfabric,

carbon-fibre textile, or stainless steel mesh or even chainmail, perhaps incorporating a lining to provide weather proofing.

The choice of material being down to personal preference and the particular application, suffice to say that the material is to be resistant to damage from knives and scissors, and most hand tools.

Said collapsible compartment is closed by and retained to the door delivery safe body by means of a draw-cable or U shaped staple which can be drawn into the body of the door delivery safe to close the bag and prevent its removal from the body of the door delivery safe and hence the door. A ratchet mechanism, pawl, friction gripper, wedge, snail cam, or other well known device is used to provide a convenient method of securing the draw-cable or staple bar, said device permitting movement in the desired direction, but preventing movement in the opposite direction. A release mechanism is provided to enable the draw-cable or staple to be loosened from inside the property thereby allowing removal of the bags contents.

A bag is the most likely choice of compartment as it may be readily folded-up to enable its return to the courier depot HQ by regular letter post,-in addition various sizes of bags could be provided to cater for differing sizes of parcels and packets.

The body of the door delivery safe will in some sizes and variations of model be hinged or be collapsible itself to enable it to be folded and reduced in size to enable postal return to the courier HQ. Indeed in most cases the body of the door delivery safe will roll-up or fold-up and be tucked inside the collapsible compartment.

The door delivery safe will in most cases allow access to the letterbox aperture, either directly, or by incorporation of a secondary hinged flap to enable delivery of regular letter post once the door delivery safe is attached to the door.

Optionally a weather flap which doubles to provide extra security and weather protection will be incorporated into the door delivery safe.

The invention summarised in the previous pages of this document will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Preferred embodiments of the door delivery safe identified generally by reference numeral 1 are depicted in Figures 1 through 6, and including ! Figure 7.

Figure 1. Shows a schematic perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention, here showing the door delivery safe 1 about to be deployed to the exterior of a door 2.

Figure 2. Shows a schematic perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention, here showing the door delivery safe 1 anchored to the exterior of a door 2. (For reference only - item 3 is a door handle) Figure 3. Shows a schematic perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention, here showing the door delivery safe 1 anchored into and through the letter box aperture 4 of the door shown in figs. 1 & 2.

Figure 4. Shows a schematic perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention, here showing a view from inside the property showing the door delivery safe 1 anchored into and through the letter box aperture 4 of the door shown in figures 1 & 2.

Figure 5. Shows a schematic perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention, here showing features of the door delivery safe 1. Figure 6. Shows a schematic perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention, here showing features of the door delivery safe 1.

Figure 7. Shows a schematic perspective view of a referred embodiment of the invention, here showing the door delivery safe 1 anchored into and through the letter box aperture 4 of a door.

Figure 8. Shows a schematic perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention, here showing a view from inside the property showing the door delivery safe 1 anchored into and through the letter box aperture 4 of a door.

Figure 9. Shows a schematic view of an example of a cable-lock of type well known to those in their particular trade.

Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiments are set out as follows ; referring now to the Figures 1 & 2, and in particular to Figures 3,4, 5,6, views are shown of one preferred embodiment of the door delivery safe identified generally by reference numeral 1.

As best shown in Figures 5 & 6 but including Figures 3 & 4 by reference for attachment; generally the door delivery safe 1 incorporates a collapsible compartment or bag 5 made from a material or textile which provides high resistance to tearing & puncturing, example materials being Keviar or woven wire fabric.

The choice of materials being from those already well known to their particular trade or profession. Eyelets/stitched seams/locks/zips/ratche't/pawl draw-cables or other well known bag closure devices being deployed wherever appropriate.

Said collapsible compartment comprising a weather resistant lining if required and said collapsible compartment's function being to contain the parcels, to secure them from theft and damage, and to protect them from the elements.

The door delivery safe 1 usually (some variations differ) incorporates a sprung hinged secondary letter-box flap 7 similar to that (4 & 6) on the door 2, and a protective fascia 8.

Inserting the door delivery safe 1 into the letterbox aperture 4 of the door 2 lifts. the flap 6 of the door 2. (Note: some letterbox flaps open outwards, the design is equipped to cater for such differences, including differences of aperture size) Once inserted into the letterbox aperture the latching mechanism is triggered causing the spring loaded anchor mechanism 12 to operate (expand) thereby locking the door delivery safe 1 to the door 2 by means of levers, arms, pivoted arms, hooked arms, wedges, or plungers 11. Some variations of the door delivery safe have arms, or plungers 11 of the types previously described which are actuated by the action of physically pushing the U shaped staple bar 9 into the body 12 of the door delivery safe 1 by means of cam-like or wedge-like action, retained in position by a selflocking ratchet like mechanism of types discussed elsewhere. On these variations of design the latching mechanism is sprung closed so that withdrawal of the U bar 9 by operation of a release mechanism 13 simultaneously opens the bag 5 and releases the door delivery safe 1 from the letterbox aperture 4.

Prior to/or after (dependent upon model variation) attaching the door delivery safe 1 to the door 2 the parcels are placed inside the collapsible compartment 5 which is closed by means of withdrawing one or more self-locking staple shaped (U shaped rod) or draw-cable 9 into the body of the door delivery safe 1. The selflocking mechanism 10 being provided by means of one or more ratchets, pawls, wedges, snail cams, or friction grippers of types previously well known, or of other types previously well known.

Said spring loaded locking & release mechanism 10 is also used to release and open the collapsible compartment 5 to gain access to the goods within.

Note: Removal of goods can only be achieved from inside the property by the keyholder of the premises. (see clause below) The door delivery safe 1 is removed from the door 2 from inside the premises by operation of release mechanism 13, operating the release mechanism 13 by means of returning the anchor's latches or plungers to their stowed position causes them to become retained in a stowed position to enable removal of the door delivery safe.

Such operation as described above causes the latching mechanism to be primed ready for the next delivery.

A lower cost variation of the invention applicable to certain applications, possibly as a disposable version, is shown in figures 7 & 8 this variation requires no secondary flap, and is shown without a protective fascia. Spring loaded arms open automatically as the door delivery safe is pushed through the letterbox. Opening to their full extent on the inside of the building the anchor provides a"grapple-hook" like latch which opens to be larger than the aperture thereby preventing the door delivery safe from being removed. This variation uses a cable 9 drawn into a protective tube 15 to close the bag 5. Maintained under tension the cable 9 internal to the tube 15 prevents the bag 5 from being opened from the exterior of the property. The keyholder of the property, after gaining access to the inside of the premesis operates a release mechanism 13 by clicking the spung arms 11 into a stowed position to release the goods and the door delivery safe.

[An over-ride feature such as a master key would in most cases be incorporated into the design to enable authorised persons to remove the door delivery safe 1 from the exterior of the property should it be required Dependent upon the model of door delivery safe 1, its intended performance, intended usage, and market constraints, numerous variations in the layout of the embodiments of the invention are envisaged, and will be apparent to those skilled in their particular field.

Though the embodiments previously described are preferred, numerous changes and modifications which do not deviate from the true scope of the invention are apparent, being too exhaustive to mention, and will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Accordingly, all such changes and modifications are intended to be covered by the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS A portable parcel delivery safe comprising a receptacle and anchoring mechanism pursuant for secure yet removable attachment to the letterbox of a property.

2. A portable parcel delivery safe as claimed in Claim 1 wherein said portable parcel delivery safe is equipped with a letterbox aperture in adjacent coincidence with the aperture of said letterbox of the property whenever said portable parcel delivery safe is presented to said aperture from the exterior of the property and deployed.

3. A portable parcel delivery safe as claimed in Claims 1 and 2 wherein said receptacle is a box-like container, or bag-like container having provision for secure closure of the compartment.

4. A portable parcel delivery safe as claimed in Claims 1, 2 & 3 wherein said compartment is securely and removably attached to the body of the portable parcel delivery safe.

5. A portable parcel delivery safe as claimed in Claims 1,2, 3 & 4 wherein said portable parcel delivery safe becomes securely and removably attached to the letter box aperture of a property by means of said anchoring mechanism following its deployment.

6. A portable parcel delivery safe as claimed in Claim 3 wherein said provision of closure is provided by independent means.

7. A portable parcel delivery safe as claimed in Claim 3 wherein said provision of closure is provided by means coincident to deployment of said anchor mechanism.

8. A portable parcel delivery safe as claimed in Claims 1 and 5 wherein said anchoring mechanism actuation is provided by spring energy, or physical means.

9 A portable parcel delivery safe as claimed in Claims 1,5 and 8 wherein said anchoring mechanism removably attaches to the door of the property by one or more, or in combination; latches, hooks, pivoted arms, dogs, pegs, or wedges etc. or similar well known device incorporating any such features functioning within and/or through the letterbox aperture of the door.

10. A portable parcel delivery safe as claimed in Claim 9 wherein said anchoring mechanism is removable from inside the property by operation of a release mechanism thereby temporarily nullifying the effect of the anchoring mechanism, said anchor mechanism becoming reset ready for re-use.

11. A portable parcel delivery safe as claimed in Claims 3,6 and 7 wherein said provision of closure is by means of one or more, or in combination; draw string, staple, U bar, pawl, fnction gripper, wedge, latch, snail cam, zip, locks, or ratchet etc. or similar well known device incorporating any such features.

12. A portable parcel delivery safe as claimed in Claims 3 and 4 wherein said compartment is detachable and re-attachable enabling compartments of different volumes to be utilised.

13. A portable parcel delivery safe as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the body and compartment are collapsible.

14. A portable parcel delivery safe as claimed in any preceding claim wherein additional means is provided to permit authorised removal of the portable parcel delivery safe from the exterior of the property using appropriate know-how, key, or other anchor mechanism over-ride method.

15. A portable parcel delivery safe as claimed in any preceding claim wherein any feature may be deployed alone, in multiples, or in combination.

16. A portable parcel delivery safe as claimed in claims 1,2, and 3 substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.

Footnote: The portable parcel delivery safe referred to above was previously referred to as a door delivery safe in the foregoing texts, drawings, and specification.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1. A device for the protected delivery of goods comprising a receipt device designed for receiving an item for delivery and an anchoring mechanism for secure yet removable attachment of the receipt device to a letterbox, in which the anchoring mechanism has a delivery state in which it may be inserted from a region external of a letterbox into a letterbox aperture, and a deployed state in which it may not be removed from the letterbox aperture, the anchoring mechanism arranged such that it may only be changed from its deployed state for removal from the letterbox aperture from a region internally to the letterbox and internally to the building.
2. A device according to claim 1 wherein the receipt device is a receptacle so designed to enclose said goods and be closable and interact with the anchoring mechanism such that said closed receptacle secured to the building protects the goods from theft.
3. A device according to claim 2 in which the receptacle is a secure box-like or bag-like container including closure means for securely closing the container, the closure means being openable only by means accessible from a region internally to the building of the letterbox whenever the device is deployed.
4. A device according to claims 2 and 3 wherein the receptacle is immovably attached to the anchoring mechanism whenever deployed.
5. A device according to claim 4 in which the receptacle is a theft and vandal proof secure compartment detachably attached to the anchoring mechanism, in which the compartment may only be detached by means accessible from a region internally to the building of the letterbox whenever the device is attached to a letterbox.
6. A device according to claim 3, in which the closure means operates independently of the anchoring mechanism.
7. A device according to claim 3, in which the closure means is coupled to the anchoring means such that deployment of the anchoring means causes closure of the closure means.
8. A device according to claims 6 & 7 in which the closure means comprises one or more drawstrings, cables, staples, U-bars, pawls, friction grippers, wedges, latches, snail cams, zips, locks, and ratchets or other similarly well known device.
9. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the anchoring mechanism is arranged such that once inserted through the letterbox aperture it may be automatically deployed.
10. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the anchoring mechanism is arranged such that once inserted through the letterbox aperture it may be manually deployed.
11. A device according to claims 9 & 10 in which the anchoring mechanism is automatically deployed by spring energy.
12. A device according to claims 9 & 10 in which the anchoring means comprises a latching mechanism which is moved into its deployed state by movement through the letterbox aperture.
13. A device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the anchoring mechanism includes one or more latches, hooks, pivoted arms, dogs, pegs and wedges.
14. A device as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said insertion into a letterbox aperture and subsequent deployment causes the anchoring device to expand internally to the building to a size greater than that of the letterbox aperture.
15. A device as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said deployment causes the anchoring device to open to a size greater than that of the letterbox aperture.
16. A device according to claims 9 & 10 wherein said anchoring device deploys in multiple directions.
17. A device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the anchoring mechanism is changed from its deployed state by operation of a release mechanism operable from inside the letterbox.
18. A device according to claim 17 wherein operation of said release mechanism causes the anchoring mechanism to collapse to a stowed or delivery state.
19. A device according to any one of the preceding claims which also comprises a letterbox aperture mountable in adjacent coincidence to the letterbox aperture to which the safe is anchored, such that further items of mail may be delivered through the device letterbox aperture into the letterbox aperture of the building.
20. A device according to any one of the preceding claims in which override means are provided to permit authorised removal of the device from a region external to the letterbox and the building.
21. A device according to any of the preceding claims in which the receptacle is collapsible.
22. A device according to any of the preceding claims in which the anchoring mechanism is collapsible.
23. A device according to any of the preceding claims in which the device is portable.
24. A device according to any of the preceding claims in which the device is disposable or recyclable.
25. A device according to any of the preceding claims in which the device is known as a parcel delivery safe.
26. A device arranged substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in, figures 1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.
27. A device arranged substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in figures 7 and 8 of the accompanying drawings.