GB2552527A

GB2552527A - Letter plate assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2552527A
Application number: GB1613047.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Shenton Nigel
Original assignee: Era Home Security Ltd
Current assignee: Era Home Security Ltd
Priority date: 2016-07-28
Filing date: 2016-07-28
Publication date: 2018-01-31
Anticipated expiration: 2036-07-28
Also published as: GB2552527B; IE87318B1; GB201613047D0; IE20170152A1

Abstract

A sleeve 30 for a letter plate assembly 1 comprises a plurality of sidewalls and a cut-out portion 33 for receiving an inwardly-hinged letter flap 12. When the sleeve is fitted to a door the sidewalls 32 line part of the letter box aperture within the door. A first sidewall 32a has a width equal to the letter box aperture and lines the bottom of the letter box aperture. Second 32b and third 32c sidewalls, at least one of which is at least half the height of the letter box aperture, extend transversely from the first sidewall. The sidewalls may form a U-shaped cross section. The cut-out portion may be configured to allow an inner surface of the letter flap to meet an internal surface of the letter box aperture when the letter flap is opened such that the letter flap is perpendicular to the face of a door.

Description

(54) Title of the Invention: Letter plate assembly

Abstract Title: Weather proof letter plate assembly (57) A sleeve 30 for a letter plate assembly 1 comprises a plurality of sidewalls and a cut-out portion 33 for receiving an inwardly-hinged letter flap 12. When the sleeve is fitted to a door the sidewalls 32 line part of the letter box aperture within the door. A first sidewall 32a has a width equal to the letter box aperture and lines the bottom of the letter box aperture. Second 32b and third 32c sidewalls, at least one of which is at least half the height of the letter box aperture, extend transversely from the first sidewall. The sidewalls may form a U-shaped cross section. The cut-out portion may be configured to allow an inner surface of the letter flap to meet an internal surface of the letter box aperture when the letter flap is opened such that the letter flap is perpendicular to the face of a door.

At least one drawing originally filed was informal and the print reproduced here is taken from a later filed formal copy.

2/5

10 17

FIGURE 4

3/S

4/5

FIGURE 6

10 17

5/5

10 17

FIGURE 8

Letter Plate Assembly

Technical Field

The invention relates to sleeves for letter plate assemblies and for letter plate assemblies for fitting to a door or window.

Background

Conventional letter plates for doors or windows often consist of a face plate which surrounds a letter box aperture in the door or window. A hinged letter flap is connected to the faceplate and may be rotated about the hinge to open or close the aperture. In traditional designs, the letter flap was often inwardly hinged i.e. it moved into the aperture when opening. More modern styles often use outwardly hinged flaps as well as composite materials such as metals and plastics.

It is desirable to provide letter plate assemblies with improved weather resistance to prevent the egress of rainwater or the loss of heat from within the building, as well as improved security. Often it is desirable to offer traditional designs with modern weather resistance features.

In order to pass British and European standards, letter plate assemblies are required to accommodate at least standardised gauge mail. In practice, this sets a minimum size for the letter plate assembly.

Summary

For some customers, and for some properties, it is desirable to maintain the traditional outward appearance of the property. As such, traditional designs such as inwardly hinged letter plate assemblies maintain their popularity. However, it is also desirable to provide modern weather proofing and security features, even to products which have a traditional outward appearance.

The exemplary apparatus disclosed herein aims to solve or mitigate one or more problems with the prior art, including those discussed or arising from the above.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a sleeve for a letter plate assembly, the sleeve comprising:

a plurality of sidewalls arranged to line at least part of a letter box aperture within a door when fitted thereto, wherein a first sidewall has a width substantially equal to a width of said letter box aperture and second and third sidewalls extend transversely from the first sidewall, and wherein one or both of the second and third sidewalls has a height at least 50% of a height of the letter box aperture, the sleeve further comprising a cut-out portion at least partly opposed to the first sidewall for receiving an inwardly-hinged letter flap.

As described herein, a letter flap is considered “inwardly hinged” if it moves towards the centre of the letter plate assembly during opening. Conversely, a letter flap is considered “outwardly hinged” if it moves away from the centre of the letter plate assembly during opening.

The first, second and third sidewalls may form a substantially U-shaped cross section.

The second and third sidewalls may extend the depth of the corresponding letter box aperture.

The cut-out portion may be configured to allow an inner surface of the inwardly-hinged letter flap to meet an internal surface of the letter box aperture when the letter flap is opened.

Optionally, the cut-out portion may be configured to allow the inwardly-hinged letter flap to be substantially perpendicular to a face of the door when the letter flap is fully opened.

The cut-out portion may extend at least a width or height of the letter box aperture.

The first sidewall may be a base sidewall of the sleeve extending a width of the letter box aperture.

The cut-out portion may be configured so that when said inwardly-hinged letter flap is received therein, said inwardly-hinged letter flap forms at least part of a fourth sidewall opposed to the first sidewall.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a letter plate assembly comprising:

a sleeve according to any preceding claim, and further comprising a faceplate connected to the sleeve and configured to at least partially surround an opening of a letter box aperture when fitted to a door.

The letter plate assembly may further comprise an inwardly-hinged letter flap pivotally connected to the faceplate.

Optionally, when fitted to said door, the first sidewall, second sidewall, third sidewall and the inwardly-hinged letter flap may be configured to extend substantially continuously around the internal surfaces of the letter box aperture when the inwardlyhinged letter flap is received in the cut-out portion.

The letter plate assembly may comprise a further faceplate configured to at least partially surround an opposing opening of the letter box aperture when fitted to the door; and a further sleeve as described above connected to the further faceplate.

Optionally, one of the sleeve and the further sleeve may be at least partly receivable within the other of the sleeve and the further sleeve, and configured so that the letter plate assembly is telescopically extendable.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a door comprising a letter plate assembly as described above.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided kit of parts comprising: a sleeve as described above; and a faceplate connectable to the sleeve and configured to at least partially surround a letter box aperture when fitted to a door.

The kit of parts may further comprise an inwardly-hinged letter flap pivotally connectable to the faceplate.

The kit of parts may comprise a further faceplate configured to at least partially surround an opposing opening of said letter box aperture when fitted to said door; and a further sleeve as described above connectable to the further faceplate.

Optionally, one of the sleeve and the further sleeve may be at least partly receivable within the other of the sleeve and the further sleeve.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the following Figures in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective front view of a letter plate assembly;

Figure 2 is a perspective rear view of a letter plate assembly;

Figure 3 is a close up view of the region X of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a rear perspective view of a letter plate assembly;

Figure 5 is an exploded perspective front view of a letter plate assembly;

Figure 6 is a perspective front view of a letter plate assembly;

Figure 7 is an exploded rear view of a letter plate assembly;

Figure 8 is a cross-section view of the letter plate assembly of Figure 2 in the line A-A with the exterior letter flap closed; and

Figure 9 is a cross-section view of the letter plate assembly of Figure 2 in the line A-A with the exterior letter flap open.

Specific Description

As used herein, references to directions such as upper/lower, interior/exterior, left/right etc. are intended to aid the clarity of the description and are intended as reference to the Figures only, and not limiting features or properties of the invention.

Shown in Figure 1 is a letter plate assembly 1. The letter plate assembly 1 comprises an exterior letter plate 10 and an interior letter plate 20, which are connected by a sleeve 30. In use, the letter plate assembly 1 would be mounted on a door or in a wall (not shown), with the exterior and interior letter plates 10, 20 on the respective sides of the door or wall and the sleeve 30 extending therethrough.

The exterior letter plate 10 comprises an exterior faceplate 11 and an exterior letter flap 12. The exterior letter flap 12 is hinged along its upper, hinged edge 12a, so that a user can press the face of the letter flap 12 and move it inwardly (i.e. toward the interior of the letter plate assembly 1). The lower, leading edge 12b of the exterior letter flap 12 thus travels inwardly in an arc toward the interior letter plate 20. The exterior letter plate 10 and an interior letter plate 20 are further connected by bolts 15 which extend through the door (not shown) to which the letter plate assembly 1 is to be mounted. The bolts 15 are accessible from the interior side of the letter plate assembly 1, but not from the exterior side, thus making the assembly 1 resistant to external attack and improving the security.

Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the letter plate shown in Figure 1. The interior letter plate 20 has an interior faceplate 21 and an interior letter flap 22. The interior letter flap 22 has an upper hinged edge 22a and is configured to move outwardly (i.e. away from the interior of the letter plate assembly 1) in use. Thus, the leading edge 22b travels in an upward arc away from the interior faceplate 21. An upper region of the interior letter plate 20 is provided with an extended portion 25 which projects from the front face of the interior letter plate 20 and is configured to increase the available room within the letter box aperture to receive the leading edge 12b of the exterior letter flap 12 when in the fully open position.

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the region X shown in Figure 2. This view more clearly shows the weather proofing features that are present in the exterior letter plate 10, which will be described with additional reference to Figure 4.

The uppermost edge of the exterior letter plate 10 is provided with a sealing strip 13 which extends the full width of the exterior letter plate 10 and partly down each side. The sealing strip 13 may be a rubber gasket or compression seal and prevents rainwater and other debris from entering the letter plate assembly 1 from above e.g. after running down the surface of a door. The compression provided by the bolts 15 on each side of the assembly 1 is sufficient both to hold the assembly in place 1 and to compress the sealing strip 13 sufficiently to provide a watertight connection. The lowermost edge of the exterior letter plate 10 is provided with a series of drainage holes 14 which allow any water which does enter the letter plate assembly 1 to exit. The sleeve 30 is configured to be angled toward the exterior face plate 10, thus any water which enters into the sleeve 30 is directed toward the exterior side of the door and will exit the assembly through the drainage holes 14.

Turning now to Figure 5, the sleeve 30 will be described in detail. The sleeve 30 may comprise two parts: the exterior sleeve portion 31, which is connected to the exterior face plate 11; and the interior sleeve portion 32, which is connected to the interior face plate 21. In other exemplary apparatus, the sleeve may comprise a single part configured to extend through the letter box aperture and to connect to the interior and exterior face plates 11,21. The interior sleeve portion 32 has a U-shaped cross section made up of a first sidewall 32a which extends substantially the width of a letter box aperture to which the apparatus is to be fitted. Second and third sidewalls 32b, 32c respectively extend upwards transversely or at right angles from the first sidewall 32a to form a channel of the sleeve 30.

Opposite to the first sidewall 32a is provided a cut out portion 33. In the pictured assembly 1, the cut out portion 33 extends along the full width of the interior sleeve 32.

As used herein, the terms “width”, “height”, and “depth” encompass the following with reference to the letter box aperture and corresponding dimensions of the letter plate assembly. Height is the vertical dimension of the letter box aperture. Width is the horizontal dimension of the letter box aperture. Depth is the dimension of the letter box aperture through the door, window or wall.

The exterior sleeve portion 31 may be configured in broadly the same way as the interior sleeve portion 32 described above. The interior and exterior sleeve portions 32, 31 may be configured with different widths and heights in order that one can be received within the other. This provides additional strength, and means that the letter plate assembly 1 is telescopically extendable depending on the thickness of the door (and the depth of the letter box aperture) to which it is to be attached. The first sidewalls 31a, 32a are angled downwards toward the exterior letter plate 10 in order to direct any water which has penetrated the assembly 1 toward the exterior and through the drainage holes 14. In some embodiments (not shown) only the one of the interior and exterior sleeve portions 31, 32 which is received within the other (i.e. the innermost) is angled downwardly.

In use, the letter plate assembly is mounted on a door (or other surface), with the rear face of the interior and exterior face plates 10, 20 abutting the door surface, and the sleeve 30 extending through a letter box aperture cut into the door (not shown). The second and third sidewalls 31b, 31c, 32b, 32c are desirable, since they prevent water ingress into the interior surface of the channel in the door. This is undesirable in doors which are manufactured from wood materials, since it can lead to rotting and degradation of the door and security features. In particular in doors manufactured from composite materials, water absorption can cause the glues to break down and fail and cause the door to swell due to water absorption in the immediate region, which can be expensive to repair and may require replacement of the whole door leaf.

Turning now to Figure 6 there is shown an alternative letter plate assembly 1a, wherein the exterior face plate 10 is replaced with exterior face plate 10a. The exterior faceplate 10a has a different exterior profile, having a more decorative finish, but is otherwise identical to the exterior faceplate 10. The invention is therefore configurable to suit many different designs and style of buildings, by using interchangeable exterior and interior face plates 10, 10a, 20. It is possible for all of the above features to be achieved with the more decorative exterior face plate 10a, and further features described below are equally applicable to the exterior face plate 10 described above.

Turning to Figure 7, in use, when the letter flap 12 is swung inwardly, it is received within the sleeve 30 and can swing unencumbered. The cut out portion 33 is configured to be adjacent to the hinged edge 12a of the letter flap 12. Thus, when the letter flap 12 is in the fully open position, it extends horizontally into the sleeve 30 and lies in the position where an upper sidewall of the sleeve 30 would have been if the sleeve 30 were tubular. If the cut out portion 33 were not provided, then the sleeve 30 would need to be taller in order to receive the full swing of the letter flap 12.

In the pictured embodiment, the cut out portion 33 extends the full width and depth of the sleeve portions 31, 32. In some embodiments (not pictured) the cut out portion need not extend the full width and/or depth of the sleeve portions 31, 32 depending on the relative sizes of the letter flap 12, the sleeve 30 and the channel to be cut in the door or wall for housing the letter plate assembly 1,1a.

Turning now to Figures 8 and 9, there are shown cross sections in the line A-A through the letter plate assembly 1 of Figure 2. Figure 8 shows the exterior letter flap 12 in a closed position, wherein the exterior letter flap 12 blocks the faceplate aperture 40 in the exterior faceplate 11. The inner surface of the exterior faceplate 11 is provided with a sealing gasket 41 around the periphery of the faceplate aperture 40. The sealing gasket 41 contacts the exterior letter flap 12 when it is in the closed position, thereby restricting the ingress of water into the letter plate assembly 1.

The exterior letter flap 12 comprises an exterior face that is angled towards the exterior of the letter plate assembly 1 as it extends downwards. In the exemplary arrangement of Figures 8 and 9, the exterior letter flap 12 is not of constant thickness, but is configured to increase in thickness towards the leading edge 12b. The exterior profile is thus angled so that the leading edge 12b sits further towards the exterior face of the letter plate assembly 1 than the hinged edge 12a. Thus, any water which falls on the exterior letter flap 12 will be directed over the lower edge 11a of the exterior faceplate and water ingress is further reduced. In some embodiments, the exterior letter flap may be a solid component, or it may be hollow or semi-hollow. For example, the exterior letter flap 12 may be stamped from a sheet material or moulded to give the desired exterior profile.

The exterior sleeve portion 31 is received within the interior sleeve portion 32, and thus forms the internal surface of the sleeve 30. The first sidewall 31a of the exterior sleeve portion is angled downwards toward the exterior faceplate 11. Thus, should any water enter the letter plate assembly 1, the water will flow down the first sidewall 31a towards the exterior of a building to which the letter plate assembly 1 is fitted. The first sidewall 31a is provided with a lip 51 at its edge in the exterior letter plate 11. The water will thus flow down the sloped surface of the first sidewall 31a and over the lip 51 into a cavity 52 in the exterior faceplate 11. As described with reference to Figure 3, the exterior faceplate 11 has drainage holes 14. The water will then be able to exit the cavity 51 through the drainage holes 14.

The exterior sleeve portion 31 has a flange 31 d which extends below the first sidewall 31a. As also shown in Figure 3, the flange 31 d extends to the side and above the exterior sleeve portion 31. The flange 31d thus provides a surface through which one or more fixing means, in this case rivets 53, can be passed to attach the exterior sleeve portion 31 to the exterior faceplate 11.

In Figure 9, the exterior letter flap 12 has been rotated about its hinge 42 and is located in the open position within the sleeve 30. The exterior letter flap 12 extends substantially horizontally toward the interior letter plate 20. When in the open position, the exterior letter flap 12 is received in the cut out portion 33 as described above. The exterior letter flap 12 is located between the uppermost edges of the second sidewall 31b and third sidewall (not shown). As can be seen by comparison of Figures 8 and 9, there is no increase in height of the sleeve 30 when the exterior letter flap 12 is located in the cut out portion 33.

When mounted on a door thicker than the height of the letter flap 12, the letter flap 12 will be received entirely within the cut out portion 33 when in the open position. However, the letter flap 12 extends axially beyond the end of the exterior sleeve portion 31, and thus when the assembly 1 is mounted on a door with a lower thickness, the sleeve 30 will have its shortest axial length, and thus the letter flap 12 may extend beyond the cut out portion 33. Thus the letter flap 12 projects into the extended portion 25 (described above). If the extended portion 25 were not provided, the letter flap 12 would contact the interior flap 22 and thus be restricted from opening fully.

The arrangement is particularly advantageous for a number of reasons. In common modern letter plate assemblies, the exterior faceplate comprises an outwardly hinged flap. Thus, the only object entering the sleeve would be a piece of mail to be delivered. The size of the sleeve is thus determined by the current building standards and regulations. With traditional inwardly hinged flaps, the letter plate assembly may comprise only an exterior letter plate which is fixed over a much larger hole cut into the door. This suffers from poor weather resistance and low security.

The arrangements shown in Figures 1 to 9 are desirable, since it maintains the exterior aesthetic of traditional letter plate assemblies, but is able to provide the added weather resistance and security of modern designs. Without the cut out portion 33, the sleeve would need to be much taller to accommodate the swing and thickness of the letter flap 12. For example, if the letter flap 12 were housed within a tubular sleeve, the letter box aperture would need to be increased in height by an amount equal to the thickness of the exterior and interior sleeve portions 31, 32 above the uppermost surface of the exterior letter flap 12, when in the open position. With the cut out portion 33, it is thus possible to minimise the height of the sleeve and thus the channel which needs to be cut into the door in order to accommodate the letter plate assembly 1. Alternatively, it is possible to minimise the increase in height of the channel which needs to be cut into the door in order to accommodate the letter plate assembly 1. Particularly in panelled doors, the height of the transom into which a letter plate assembly may be fitted is limited, and an overly large channel cut into this portion could become a region of weakness and security risk. The height of the sleeve 30 in the pictured embodiment is greater than the height of a conventional outwardly hinged letter plate assembly, for example, the Nu Mail letter plate assembly sold by the present Applicant. However, with the features above, this increase in height is able to be minimised and, therefore lessen or negate any undesirable results of the increase in height of both the sleeve and the channel in the door to which it is to be fitted.

The skilled person will be able to envisage alternative embodiments of the invention without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1 . A sleeve for a letter plate assembly, the sleeve comprising:

2. A sleeve according to claim 1, wherein the first, second and third sidewalls form a substantially U-shaped cross section.

3. A sleeve according claim 2, wherein the second and third sidewalls extend the depth of the corresponding letter box aperture.

4. A sleeve according to any preceding claim, wherein the cut-out portion is configured to allow an inner surface of the inwardly-hinged letter flap to meet an internal surface of the letter box aperture when the letter flap is opened.

5. A sleeve according to claim 4, wherein the cut-out portion is configured to allow the inwardly-hinged letter flap to be substantially perpendicular to a face of the door when the letter flap is fully opened.

6. A sleeve according to any preceding claim, wherein the cut-out portion extends at least a width or height of the letter box aperture.

7. A sleeve according to any preceding claim, wherein the first sidewall is a base sidewall of the sleeve extending a width of the letter box aperture.

8. A sleeve according to any preceding claim, wherein the cut-out portion is configured so that when said inwardly-hinged letter flap is received therein, said inwardly-hinged letter flap forms at least part of a fourth sidewall opposed to the first sidewall.

9. A letter plate assembly comprising:

10. A letter plate assembly according to claim 9, further comprising an inwardlyhinged letter flap pivotally connected to the faceplate.

11. A letter plate assembly according to claim 10, wherein, when fitted to said door, the first sidewall, second sidewall, third sidewall and the inwardly-hinged letter flap are configured to extend substantially continuously around the internal surfaces of the letter box aperture when the inwardly-hinged letter flap is received in the cut-out portion.

12. A letter plate assembly according to any one of claims 9 to 11, comprising a further faceplate configured to at least partially surround an opposing opening of the letter box aperture when fitted to the door; and a further sleeve according to any one of claims 1 to 8 connected to the further faceplate.

13. A letter plate assembly according to claim 12, wherein one of the sleeve and the further sleeve is at least partly receivable within the other of the sleeve and the further sleeve, and configured so that the letter plate assembly is telescopically extendable.

14. A door comprising a letter plate assembly according to any one of claims 9 to 13.

15. A kit of parts comprising:

a sleeve according to any one of claims 1 to 8; and a faceplate connectable to the sleeve and configured to at least partially surround a letter box aperture when fitted to a door.

16. A kit of parts according to claim 15, further comprising an inwardly-hinged letter flap pivotally connectable to the faceplate.

17. A kit of parts according to claim 15 or 16, comprising a further faceplate configured to at least partially surround an opposing opening of said letter box aperture when fitted to said door; and

5 a further sleeve according to any one of claims 1 to 8 connectable to the further faceplate.

18. A kit of parts according to claim 17, wherein one of the sleeve and the further sleeve is at least partly receivable within the other of the sleeve and the further sleeve.

19. A letter plate assembly substantially as described herein and with reference to Figure 1 to 9.

Intellectual

Property

Office

Application No: Claims searched:

GB1613047.8

1-19