US175817A - Improvement in post-office lock-boxes - Google Patents

Description

2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. E. BRAMBLE. POST OFFICE LOCK-BOX.

Patented Apri111,1876

INVENTOR:

vertical section in line 2 zof Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is fourthly, that the glass cannot be readily UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM H. BRAMBLE, OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN POST-OFFICE LOCK-BOXES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 175,8] 7, dated April 11, 1876; application filed October 4, H75.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. BRAMBLE, of Decatur, in the county of Macon and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and Improved Post-()flice Lock-Box; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents, in front elevation, a section of the box-frame or Wall of a postofliee, showing four box-fronts, viz, two without their doors, one with the door closed, and one with the door open. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal a horizontal section in line 3 3 of Fig. 2 and Fig. 4 is a horizontal section in linerrr of Fig. 2.

Similar letters of reference in the accent panying drawings denote the same parts.

The metal-front post-office box (first shown in my patent of March 3, 1866,) as now in general use, is provided with adoor to which is secured a lock, and the metal box front or frame is attached to the edges of the pigeon-holes by means of flanges or lugs that embrace such edges, and are connected by screws or rivets passing through the wood. This construction is liable to several objections, chief among which are, first, that the flanges or lugs project from the surface of the pigeon-holes and form shoulders against which the mail matter catches while being drawn out of the box; secondly, that the doors, in order to support and accommodate the locks, must be made unnecessarily heavy and cumbersome for their legitimate purpose and the glass plates must be made very small thirdly, that the locks canilot be operated from the inside of the office without reaching the hand into the pigeon-hole, which, in consequence of the size of the pigeon hole or the presence of mail matter therein, it is not always easy to do;

removed from the doors when necessary for any purpose; fifthly, that the boxes cannot be locked from the inside so as to prevent any key from opening them from the outside;

and, lastly, thatlthe box-fronts as heretofore constructed are difiicult to fit together.

remedy these inconveniences, and to this end the invention consists, first, in a new mode of securing the face-plates or metal fronts to the pigeon-holes so as to avoid the use of the lugs; secondly, in arranging the lock in the side walls of the pigeon-holes, instead of in the doors; thirdly, in combining with the pigeonholes and locks means for unlocking the box from the rear without inserting the hand into it; fourthly, in combining with the lock, and the material of which the box walls are formed, means for stopping the movement of the lock mechanism from the rear of the pigeon-hole and without inserting the hand into it; fifthly, in an improved mode of securing the glass plates to the box-doors; sixthly, in an improved combination of safety-catch for securing the door and spring for throwing it open automatically when unlocked; and, seventhly, in an improved box-front, adapted to lit easily to the other box-fronts around it, all substantially as I will now proceed to set forth.

In the drawings, B B B B are the pigeon holes or boxes, arranged in the usual order, having their rear ends open and their front ends covered with metallic fronts or faceplates and doors, so as to present an entire front of metal and glass, for purposes of greater security and also of neatness and ornamentation. The continuity of the metal and glass front is accomplished by affixing to the vertical front edge of each vertical boxpartition a metallic face plate, A, which exactly covers such edge, and in length extends from the middle of one horizontal box-partition to the middle of the next adjacent one above or below, and constructing the doors D of such dimensions that, when closed, their proximate terminal edges will fit closely together, while their lateral edges will overlap the lateral edges of the face plates A. Each door is hinged to its appropriate face-plate, as shown at a, and is provided with a spur, of, that, when the door is'closed, engages in a hole in, or under a projection upon, the side wall 01 the box, and thereby prevents the door from being raised clear of its hinges.

The doors are preferably made with an iron frame supporting a glass plate, through which the condition of the box can be inspected The object of this invention is therefore to without the necessity of opening the door 3 and, when so made, instead of employing the somewhat complicated and expensive mode of attaching the glass as heretofore practiced, I simply provide hooked lugs, c c, on the bottom and sides of the inner surface of the metal doorframe, and slide the glass down from the top into the fastening thus made. When the door is open the glass can be raised out without difiiculty, but when closed the upper edge of the glass plate catches under the lower edge of the horizontal box-partition b above it, and is thus securely held in place. The face-plates are secured to the front edges of the vertical boxpartitions, first, by means of pegs or, as an equivalent thereof, a flange, a, formed on their inner surface and fitting closely into a groove formed in the edge of the wooden partitions, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, a construction which protects them from lateral displacement; and, secondly, by means of rods 1-, or equivalent strips or chains, one or more of which extend from the face-plates or from the locks attached thereto through suitable holes bored in the vertical partitions, to the rear or inner edges of the boxes, where they are held firmly in place by screw-nuts, 9". These rods are shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The metal facings can thus be removed with ease by a person operating from the inside of the ofiice, but not by a person on the outside, no portion of the rods being exposed on the outside. The box'locks (whose construction and operation are set forth in a pending application for Letters Patent filed by me contemyoraneously herewith) are countersunk in the sides of the vertical boxpartitions, or arranged in recesses provided in the front edges of such vertical partitions, so that they will present no obstacle to the easy withdrawal of the mailmatter from the box. The side plates of the locks are preferably flush with the two sides of the partition to which the lock is attached. The face plates A are cast or formed on or as a part of one of the side plates of the look, so as to steady the front edge of the lock and help secure it in place; and the rods 0", or one of them, may be screwed into the rear edge of the lock, to hold it securely at that edge. The support thus given to the look by its fitting into the recess provided for it and by its connection with the face-plates A and rods 1" will be abundantly sufiicient for it. The pins or spurs (I may be arranged to extend into holes in the side-plates ot' the locks and to bear against springs s when the box is closed, which springs will automatically throw the doors open when unlocked. The result of the construction above described is to keep the pigeon-hole clear of all obstructions, leavingits tloor, sides, and top perfectly smooth and flush, thereby preventing any inconvenience in the removal of matter from the box; and to obviate the necessity of making the boxdoor unnecessarily heavy in order to support the lock. The arrangement of the lock or the catch which holds the door in the side-wall of the box enables me to construct said lock or catch so that it can be operated from the rear or inner side of the metal box-front, to open the door, or to prevent it from being opened. With any lock or apparatus, L, in which the catch that holds the door is movable, (as, for example, in my improved lock above referred to,) I attach to or connect with the movable catch a rod or equivalent in such a manner that by pressing the rod or equivalent toward the catch it will raise or depress the catch and disengage it from the door, thereby unlocking the latter. In order to conceal this rod or equivalent device, prevent it from interfering with the removal of matter from the box, and put it out of the power of the box-renter to tamper with it, I bore a hole edgewise through the vertical box-partition and extend the rod or equivalent through such hole to the rear edge of the pigeon-hole, where it projects, as shown at m, in a position for convenient operation by the postmaster or his employs. Many modes of connecting the rod to the movable catch may be employed, and I do not confine my invention to the details of construction, but regard it as covering any construction of movable door-catch with rod or equivalent extending to the rear edge of the box and concealed in the walls, bottom, or top of the box.

In the drawings the rod m is represented as connected with the latch l by means of a bellcrank lever inside of the lock, the bell-crank lever and the main portion of the rod being shown in dotted lines. With this construction the door is released by an upward movement of the catch l, which upward movement draws the rod m forward, or, on the other hand, may be caused by pushing the rod forward from the rear side of the boxes. When the rod m is thus connected to the movable catch 1, it follows that if the rod can be locked so as to render it impossible to draw it forward, the catch lcannot be raised and the box cannot be unlocked by any kind of key whatever. I accordingly afiix a screw-nut, a, to the rear end of the rod in such a manner that it can be screwed up firmly against the rear edge of the vertical partition through which the rod extends, and thereby eflectually pre vent any forward movement of the rod, and, consequently, any opening of the box by a person on the front side of the ethos. This arrangement will be of great utility whenever it is desirable to prevent the person who holds the box-key from using his box, as, for example, when the key has come into improper hands, when the box-rent is in arrears, &c.

It will be observed that the same devices are here employed for opening the box from the rear and also for permanently locking it from the rear. It is not necessary, however, that the same device should serve both purposes. One rod may be used for opening the box and another rod, chain, or equivalent, may be employed, when desirable, to permanently close the box. The combination of the two devices in one is, however, more simple, convenient, and practical- I do not limit my invention to the precise means for permanently locking the box from the rear, but consider that it is as broad as the application of the principle of thus permanently closing the box.

It will, of course, be obvious to any one that the operation of the rod m might be reversed by a slight modification of my construction, so that when drawn out it would open the box, and, when prevented by any suitable means from drawing out, would permanently lock the box, and in such case chains or other equivalents could be used in place of the rod or rods. So, also, a rod might be used which,

by simply turning it to the right or left, would operate the latch l. or, by securing it from turning, would permanently fasten said latch. All these I regard as mere modifications of my invention, within the range of ordinary mechanical skill.

I claim as my invention- 1. The flanged face-plates A, combined with the grooved vertical box-partitions, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination of a post-office box, having the usual front door and side partitions, with a lock embedded in one of the side partitions, so as to leave the interior of the box substantially unobstructed; a key-hole and locking mechanism by which the lock can be operated from the front of the box; and a rod extending through the interior of the side wall or vertical box-partition to and projecting from the rear edge thereof, whereby the front door can be either unlocked or permanently locked by a longitudinal movement of said rod, and whereby the operating mechanism of the lock is removed from all danger of interfering with the contents of the box, or from being interfered with thereby, substantially as described.

3. In a postoffice box or other similar receptacle, a lock, L, arranged in the side wall, metal connections 0* for securing it to the rear edge of the wall, and a metal faceplate, A, for securing it at the front edge of the wall, all combined substantially as described.

4. In a post-office lock-box, the combination of the horizontal box-partitions with the metal door-frames, the glass plates, and the hooks O for securing the glass plates to the doorframes, substantially as described.

5. In a post-oflice lock-box, the combination of the doors D, the spurs dprojecting through the lock-plate, and the spring 8 on the opposite side of the lock-plate, for opening the door when unlocked, substantially as described.

6. A series of post-office boxes, having each its own independent metal front, composed of a lateral face-plate and a door matching the other doors above and below and overlapping the lateral faceplates, substantially as described.

WILLIAM H. BRAMBLE.

Witnesses:

M. (Janeen, E. S. KARNER.

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