US20200029717A1

US20200029717A1 - Mailbox mount

Info

Publication number: US20200029717A1
Application number: US16/521,188
Authority: US
Inventors: Mark Robenhurst
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2018-07-29
Filing date: 2019-07-24
Publication date: 2020-01-30

Abstract

Disclosed is a mailbox mount. The mailbox mount comprising a vertical post with a lower end of the post fixed to the ground. Further, the mailbox mount comprising a pivot arm rigidly fixed on the upper end of the post. Further, the mailbox mount comprising an extension arm rotatably positioned on the pivot arm, wherein a first end of the extension arm supports a mailbox, wherein the extension arm pivots on the pivot arm to move the extension arm and mailbox laterally.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION(S)

Under provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 119e, the Applicant(s) claim the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 62/711,576, filed on Jul. 29, 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to lawn, driveway, and garden accessories, and in particular to a mailbox mount.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For millions of homeowners in the rural United States and Canada, a mailbox at the end of the driveway is a standard feature. A broad variety of decorative mailbox mounts have been developed by some of these individuals, and other decorative mailbox mounts have been developed and sold commercially. However, these generally do not offer any mechanical feature except for containing mails.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved mount for a mailbox that may overcome one or more of the abovementioned problems and/or limitations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter. Nor is this summary intended to be used to limit the claimed subject matter's scope.
According to some embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a mailbox mount. The mailbox mount comprising a vertical post with a lower end of the post fixed to the ground. Further, the mailbox mount comprising a pivot arm rigidly fixed on the upper end of the post. Further, the mailbox mount comprising an extension arm rotatably positioned on the pivot arm, wherein a first end of the extension arm supports a mailbox, wherein the extension arm pivots on the pivot arm to move the extension arm and mailbox laterally.
Both the foregoing summary and the following detailed description provide examples and are explanatory only. Accordingly, the foregoing summary and the following detailed description should not be considered to be restrictive. Further, features or variations may be provided in addition to those set forth herein. For example, embodiments may be directed to various feature combinations and sub-combinations described in the detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate various embodiments of the present disclosure. The drawings contain representations of various trademarks and copyrights owned by the Applicants. In addition, the drawings may contain other marks owned by third parties and are being used for illustrative purposes only. All rights to various trademarks and copyrights represented herein, except those belonging to their respective owners, are vested in and the property of the applicants. The applicants retain and reserve all rights in their trademarks and copyrights included herein, and grant permission to reproduce the material only in connection with reproduction of the granted patent and for no other purpose.

Furthermore, the drawings may contain text or captions that may explain certain embodiments of the present disclosure. This text is included for illustrative, non-limiting, explanatory purposes of certain embodiments detailed in the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a top view of a mailbox mount, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a left side view of the mailbox mount, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a right side view of the mailbox mount, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front left-side perspective view of the mailbox mount, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a rear left-side perspective view of the mailbox mount, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a partial front perspective view of the mailbox mount, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a partial rear perspective view of the mailbox mount, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a partial front perspective view of the mailbox mount, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a partial front perspective view of the mailbox mount, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a rear perspective view of the mailbox mount with a mailbox fully traversed laterally, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a front perspective view of the mailbox mount with the mailbox fully traversed laterally, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As a preliminary matter, it will readily be understood by one having ordinary skill in the relevant art that the present disclosure has broad utility and application. As should be understood, any embodiment may incorporate only one or a plurality of the above-disclosed aspects of the disclosure and may further incorporate only one or a plurality of the above-disclosed features. Furthermore, any embodiment discussed and identified as being “preferred” is considered to be part of a best mode contemplated for carrying out the embodiments of the present disclosure. Other embodiments also may be discussed for additional illustrative purposes in providing a full and enabling disclosure. Moreover, many embodiments, such as adaptations, variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements, will be implicitly disclosed by the embodiments described herein and fall within the scope of the present disclosure.
Accordingly, while embodiments are described herein in detail in relation to one or more embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is illustrative and exemplary of the present disclosure and are made merely for the purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure. The detailed disclosure herein of one or more embodiments is not intended, nor is to be construed, to limit the scope of patent protection afforded in any claim of a patent issuing here from, which scope is to be defined by the claims and the equivalents thereof. It is not intended that the scope of patent protection be defined by reading into any claim a limitation found herein that does not explicitly appear in the claim itself.
Thus, for example, any sequence(s) and/or temporal order of steps of various processes or methods that are described herein are illustrative and not restrictive. Accordingly, it should be understood that, although steps of various processes or methods may be shown and described as being in a sequence or temporal order, the steps of any such processes or methods are not limited to being carried out in any particular sequence or order, absent an indication otherwise. Indeed, the steps in such processes or methods generally may be carried out in various different sequences and orders while still falling within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of patent protection is to be defined by the issued claim(s) rather than the description set forth herein.
Additionally, it is important to note that each term used herein refers to that which an ordinary artisan would understand such term to mean based on the contextual use of such term herein. To the extent that the meaning of a term used herein—as understood by the ordinary artisan based on the contextual use of such term—differs in any way from any particular dictionary definition of such term, it is intended that the meaning of the term as understood by the ordinary artisan should prevail.
Furthermore, it is important to note that, as used herein, “a” and “an” each generally denotes “at least one,” but does not exclude a plurality unless the contextual use dictates otherwise. When used herein to join a list of items, “or” denotes “at least one of the items,” but does not exclude a plurality of items of the list. Finally, when used herein to join a list of items, “and” denotes “all of the items of the list.”
The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or similar elements. While many embodiments of the disclosure may be described, modifications, adaptations, and other implementations are possible. For example, substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to the elements illustrated in the drawings, and the methods described herein may be modified by substituting, reordering, or adding stages to the disclosed methods. Accordingly, the following detailed description does not limit the disclosure. Instead, the proper scope of the disclosure is defined by the appended claims. The present disclosure contains headers. It should be understood that these headers are used as references and are not to be construed as limiting upon the subjected matter disclosed under the header.
The present disclosure includes many aspects and features. Moreover, while many aspects and features relate to, and are described in, the context of mounts for mailboxes devices, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to use only in this context.
Overview:
According to some embodiments, the present disclosure may describe a mailbox mount for a rural mailbox. The mailbox mount may provide an extension arm with an elbow joint, mounting a mailbox at the front end of the extension arm, enabling a user to elevate the mailbox vertically for mowing and other purposes. The extension arm pivots 90° on a pivot arm at the upper end of a post, enabling the user to traverse the extension arm and the mailbox laterally such that the mailbox may be oriented toward a road or a driveway. The mailbox may be mounted on a hinge at the front end of the extension arm, such that the mailbox may be tilted forward to deposit mails on a passenger seat of a vehicle associated with the user. A rear end of the extension arm may provide a decorative number plate.
FIG. 1 is a top view a mailbox mount 100, displaying an extension arm 102, an elbow joint 104, a mailbox 106, a pivot plate 108, a forward stabilizing arm 110, a rear stabilizing arm 112, and a number plate 114, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a left side view of the mailbox mount 100, displaying the extension arm 102, the decorative plates 116, the elbow joint 104, the mailbox 106, a flag 118, a pivot arm 120, a post 122, and the number plate 114, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a right side view of the mailbox mount 100, displaying the extension arm 102, the decorative plates 116, the elbow joint 104, the mailbox 106, a handle 124, the pivot arm 120, the post 122, and the number plate 114, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a front left-side perspective view of the mailbox mount 100, displaying the extension arm 102, the elbow joint 104, the mailbox 106, the flag 118, the pivot arm 120, the post 122, the handle 124, and the number plate 114, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a rear left-side perspective view of the mailbox mount 100, displaying the extension arm 102, the elbow joint 104, the mailbox 106, the flag 118, the pivot arm 120, the post 122, and the number plate 114, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a partial front perspective view of the mailbox mount 100, displaying the extension arm 102, the elbow joint 104, the pivot arm 120, the post 122, a pivot plate 108, the forward stabilizing arm 110, the rear stabilizing arm 112, and the number plate 114, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a partial rear perspective view of the mailbox mount 100, displaying the extension arm 102, the decorative plates 116, the elbow joint 104, the mailbox 106, the pivot arm 120, the pivot plate 108, the forward stabilizing arm 110, and the rear stabilizing arm 112, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a partial front perspective view of the mailbox 106 with a mailbox door 126 opened, displaying the extension arm 102, the elbow joint 104, the mailbox 106, the flag 118, the handle 124, and the mailbox door 126, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a partial front perspective view of the mailbox 106 with the mailbox door 126 opened and the mailbox 106 tilted, displaying the extension arm 102, the elbow joint 104, the mailbox 106, the flag 118, the handle 124, the mailbox door 126, and a pair of pegs 128, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a rear perspective view of the mailbox mount 100 with the mailbox 106 fully traversed, displaying the extension arm 102, the decorative plates 116, the elbow joint 104, the mailbox 106, the flag 118, the pivot arm 120, the post 122, and the number plate 114, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 11 is a front perspective view of the mailbox mount 100 with the mailbox 106 fully traversed, displaying the extension arm 102, the elbow joint 104, the mailbox 106, the pivot arm 120, the post 122, and the number plate 114, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
According to some embodiments, the mailbox mount 100 may include the extension arm 102 with the elbow joint 104, mounting the mailbox 106 at the front end of the extension arm 102, enabling a user to elevate the mailbox 106 vertically for mowing and other purposes. Further, the extension arm 102 may pivot 90° on the pivot arm 120 at the upper end of the post 122, enabling the user to traverse the extension arm 102 and mailbox 106 laterally such that the mailbox 106 may be oriented toward a road or a driveway. Further, the pivot arm 120 may include one or more pivot plates 108, the forward stabilizing arm 110, and the rear stabilizing arm 112 which may extend and swing outward to provide support for the extension arm 102 and the mailbox 106 during a traverse.
Further, the mailbox 106 may be mounted on a hinge at the front end of the extension arm 102, such that the mailbox 102 may be tilted forward to deposit mails on a passenger seat of a vehicle associated with the user. Further, a decorative flag 118 and the handle 124 may be positioned the on opposite side surfaces of the mailbox 106. The flag 118 may be raised by a mailman when a mail is delivered, and lowered by the user when the mail has been retrieved from the mailbox 106. Further, the mail may be secured in the interior of the mailbox 106 by the mailbox door 126. Further, the rear portion of the mailbox 106 may rest on the pair of pegs 128 when not in the tilted position.
Further, the rear end of the extension arm 102 may include a decorative number plate 114. Further, the number plate 114 may be used to display the house number. Further, additional decorative plates 116 may be included at the juncture between the extension arm 102 and the post 122. Preferably, the decorative plates 116, the flag 118, the handle 124, the mailbox door 126, and the number plates 114 may provide decorative features in a consistent theme, such as Irish shamrocks or American stars and stripes regalia. Preferably, the mailbox mount 100 may be provided in a variety of decorative themes and may also be decorated or painted in preferred themes by the user.
To use the mailbox mount 100, the user may traverse the extension arm 102 and the mailbox 106 as desired, such that the mailbox 106 may be oriented toward the road or the driveway according to the preference of the user. Further, the user may drive their vehicle up to the mailbox 106 such that the mailbox 106 may be just outside the passenger window of the vehicle. Further, the user may open the mailbox door 126, and tilt the mailbox 106 using the handle 124 such that the mail in the mailbox 106 may be deposited on the passenger seat of the vehicle. Further, the user may then release the handle 124, allowing the mailbox 106 to descend and rest on the pegs 128.
According to some embodiments, the mailbox mount 100 may be disclosed. Further, the mailbox mount 100 may include the vertical post 122 with a lower end of the post 122 fixed to the ground. Further, the mailbox mount 100 may include the pivot arm 120 rigidly fixed on the upper end of the post 122. Further, the mailbox mount 100 may include the extension arm 102 rotatably positioned on the pivot arm 120. Further, a first end of the extension arm 102 may support the mailbox 106, wherein the extension arm 102 may pivot on the pivot arm 120 to move the extension arm 102 and mailbox 106 laterally. Further, in some embodiments, the extension arm 102 may pivot 90° on the pivot arm 120 laterally to orient the mailbox 106 towards at least one of a road and a driveway.
Further, the pivot arm 120 may include at least one of a pivot plate 108, the forward stabilizing arm 110, and the rear stabilizing arm 112, wherein at least one of the pivot plate 108, the forward stabilizing arm 110, and the rear stabilizing arm 112 may extend and swing outward to provide support for the extension arm 102 and the mailbox 106 during the lateral movement.
Further, the extension arm 102 may include the elbow joint 104. Further, the elbow joint 104 may allow for elevating the mailbox 106 vertically.
Further, the mailbox 106 may be mounted on a hinge at the front end of the extension arm 102. Further, the mailbox 106 may include the handle 124 on at least one side surface of the mailbox 106. Further, the handle 124 may be pushed down to tilt the mailbox 106 over the hinge.
Further, the mailbox 106 may include the decorative flag 118 on at least one side surface of the mailbox 106. Further, the mailbox 106 may include the mailbox door 126 to secure the mail.
Further, the extension arm 102 may include the pair of pegs 128, wherein the rear portion of the mailbox 106 rests on the pair of pegs 128.
Further, the rear end of the extension arm 102 may include the decorative number plate 114.
Further, the disclosed mailbox mount 100 for a mailbox may be used by rural homeowners. Further, the mailbox mount 100 may provide a decorative device which may deposit the stored mail directly into the vehicle associated with the user. Further, the mailbox mount 100 may enable the user to extend and tilt the mailbox 106 or traverse the mailbox 90° to be oriented toward the driveway and may provide other features for decorative purposes.
Further, the extension arm 102, the decorative plates 116, the flag 118, the handle 124, the pegs 128, the pivot arm 120, the post 122, and the number plate 114 may be preferably manufactured from rigid, durable materials, such as hardwood, plywood, plastic, steel, and aluminum alloy. Further, the elbow joint 104, the mailbox 106, the mailbox door 126, the pivot plate 108, the forward stabilizing arm 110, and the rear stabilizing arm 112 may be manufactured from a rigid, durable material which may provide a substantial structural strength, such as steel or aluminum alloy.
Further, one or more components of the mailbox mount 100 may include springs to pull the one or more components back to normal position.
The various components, component sizes, and materials mentioned above are preferable, but artisans will recognize that alternate components and materials could be selected without altering the scope of the invention.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A mailbox mount comprising:

a vertical post with a lower end of the vertical post fixed to the ground;

a pivot arm rigidly fixed on an upper end of the vertical post; and

an extension arm rotatably positioned on the pivot arm, wherein a first end of the extension arm supports a mailbox, wherein the extension arm pivots on the pivot arm to move the extension arm and the mailbox laterally.

2. The mailbox mount of claim 1, wherein the pivot arm comprises at least one of a pivot plate, a forward stabilizing arm, and a rear stabilizing arm, wherein at least one of the pivot plate, the forward stabilizing arm, and the rear stabilizing arm extends and swings outward to provide support for the extension arm and the mailbox during a lateral movement.

3. The mailbox mount of claim 1, wherein the extension arm pivots 90° on the pivot arm laterally to orient the mailbox towards at least one of a road and a driveway.

4. The mailbox mount of claim 1, wherein the extension arm comprises an elbow joint, wherein the elbow joint allows for elevating the mailbox vertically.

5. The mailbox mount of claim 1, wherein the mailbox is mounted on a hinge at the front end of the extension arm.

6. The mailbox mount of claim 5, wherein the mailbox comprises a handle on at least one side surface of the mailbox, wherein the handle is pushed down to tilt the mailbox over the hinge.

7. The mailbox mount of claim 1, wherein the mailbox comprises a decorative flag on at least one side surface of the mailbox.

8. The mailbox mount of claim 1, wherein the mailbox comprises a mailbox door to secure a mail.

9. The mailbox mount of claim 1, wherein the extension arm comprises a pair of pegs, wherein a rear portion of the mailbox rests on the pair of pegs.

10. The mailbox mount of claim 1, wherein a rear end of the extension arm comprises a decorative number plate.