US2658667A

US2658667A - Hotel guest mail and message box

Info

Publication number: US2658667A
Application number: US190567A
Authority: US
Inventors: Sholem I Mirkin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1950-10-17
Filing date: 1950-10-17
Publication date: 1953-11-10
Anticipated expiration: 1970-11-10

Description

NOV. 10, 1953 5 MlRKlN 2,658,667

HOTEL GUEST MAIL. AND MESSAGE BOX Filed OC.. 17, 1950 .1H 'jf @if ff fffz. ffqff IN V EN TOR.

Patented Nov. l0, 1953 OFFICE HOTEL GUEST MAIL AND vMESSAGE BOX Shol'em I. Mirkin, Johannesburg, Transvaal, Union of South Africa Application October 17, 1950, Serial No. 190,567

1 Claim. l

This invention relates to hotel guest mail and message boxes, and the main object is the provision of certain new and useful improvements in the construction, `assembling and positioning, as Well as in the operation, of such boxes whereby greater convenience and less trouble results for both the guests and the desk clerk.

The above broad as well as additional and more specific objects will be clarified in the following Idescription, wherein characters of reference refer to like-numbered parts in the accompanying drawing. It is to be noted that the drawing is intended solely for the purpose of illustration, and that itis therefore neither desired nor intended to limit the invention necessarily to any or all of the exact details of construction shown except insofar as they may Vbe deemed essential to the invention.

Referring briefly to the drawing, Fig. 1 is a perspective View of an assemblage of hotel guest mail and message boxes, illustrating one method f providing the boxes for maximum convenience. f

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective View of a portion of the box assemblage of Fig. 1, with parts broken away and partly in section.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a sectional View taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral I0 indicates a hotel desk having, in the example illustrated, tiers II of boxes I2 mounted thereon with their fronts facing outward, as, for example, toward the hotel lobby. Each box I2 bears an appropriate number corresponding with the number of a hotel room, on the front door I3 of the box. The boxes are dened in vertical depth by spaced horizontal walls I4, and in width by spaced Vertical walls I5.

Each box I2 has a rear door I 6 hinged on a horizontal hinge I 1 on its lower edge to the floor Illa. The rear door I6 is further provided with a mail slot I3 having a ap or door I9 pivoted on a horizontal axis over the top of the slot, on the inner side of the door.

The front door I3 is hinged on a Vertical hinge 2D to a side wall I5; in the example shown, the door is hinged to the left-hand side wall I5. The door I3 has a lock 2I, and the guest whose room bears the same number as the box is given a key with which to lock or unlock the door I3.

A link 22 has its rear end pivoted to an ear 23 on the rear door I6 near one edge of the latter, for instance, as shown, near the lower right-hand corner. A bell crank 23 is pivotally mounted intermediate its length against the right-hand wall I5 of the box, at 24. The forward end of the link 22 is pivoted to the rear arm of the bell crank at 25. The forward arm 26 of the bell crank 23 is longer than the rea-rward arm 27 thereof, and on its front extremity it is 'provided with a plug 28 extending substantially at right angles thereto toward the adjacent Wall I5. Intermediate the length of the arm 25 a hump or other enlargement 29 is provided.

Positioned near the front door I3 intermediate the height of the box, a recess 38 is provided in the right-hand wall I5, at the same radial distance .from the bell crank pivot 24 as the plug 28. A limit stop pin 3l is suitably positioned and mounted against the same side wall I5, in the path of the hump 29 when the bell crank swings counter-clockwise.

The bell crank 23 is formed of thin material possessing a degree of resiliency so that its forward extremity, and hence the plug 28, is con-Y tantly urged toward the right-hand wall I5, Fig.

When a guest is in his room, he of course has his room key 32 with him; the condition of his box under these circumstances is `shown by the box I2a, Fig. 3, that is, the bell crank is in its extreme counter-clockwise position, the lp-lug 2d is clear of the recess 30 and presses against the wall I5, and the rear door I6 is open as far as it will go. The clerk 'behind the desk, who faces the rear of the tiers Il of boxes I2, can thus see at a glance whether or not a guest is in his room, for when the guest is out the rear door I6 is closed, and when the guest is in his room the rear door will be open as shown for the box I2a.

The box I2b, Fig. 3, illustrates the condition when the guest is out. His room key 32 is in the box, mounted on the crank arm 23, and the rear door I6 is closed. In thus inserting the room key in the box, the guest rst pulls the plug 28 slightly out from the adjacent wall I5, a distance suiiicient to enable passing of the key ring 33 over the plug and on to the arm 26. This is shown in the box I2C, Fig. 3. Then, after his key has thus been mounted on the arm 26 (and obviously the ring 33 will slide down the arm as far as the hump 29), he pulls the arm 25 forward, thus swinging the bell crank 23 clockwise. Hence, the rear door is shut, as shown. He then locks the front door I3 with the box key, and the box is left in the condition of the box l2b.

It is also clear in the illustration of the box 12a, Fig. 3, how the guest removes his room key when returning to the hotel. After opening the front door, he pulls either on the arm 28 or on the key 32 to pull the plug 28 out of its recess 30, then slips the key ring off the arm 26 and over the plug, and nally pushes the arm 26 counter-clockwise to open the rear door; then he locks the front door. It is to be noted that Whenever the guests room key is in the box, the plug 28 registers in the recess 30 and thus locks the rear door in closed position.

Obviously, modications in form or structure may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

It is to be noted that it may be desirable to provide means for automatically urging the rear door IB into the partly open position shown, for example, in Fig. 2. For this purpose the hinge l1 may be provided with a coiled spring I'la. Since spring hinges of this type are common on the market, no other representation of the spring than that shown at lla in Fig. 4, is believed necessary.

As an alternative mode of operation and utilization of the invention, an automatic closing of the rear door I6 may be achieved, with inclusion of the hinge spring l'ia. If it is assumed, and of course such relationship of the various parts is readily attainable, that the door I8 is of sufciently light-weight construction, that the spring lla is of suitable tension, and that the combined weight of the key 32 and key ring 33 are of the proper degree, then, with the door originally open as shown in Fig. 3 at |20., if the key ring is passed only on to the plug 28, the added weight thereof will cause the lever 23 to swing clockwise about its pivot until the plug enters the recess 30. This of course also assumes a proper distribution of the weights of the link 32 and the arm 21 of the crank 23. Conversely, when the key is removed and the plug 28 is thus disengaged from the recess 30 and moved slightly rearward clear of the recess 30, the force of the spring lla Will cause the rear door I6 to open and thus move the crank 23 into the position shown at I2a, Fig. 3.

I claim:

A box including a oor and a side wall, said box having a rear door, a horizontal hinge securing said rear door to the rear edge of said floor, a link pivoted at one end to said rear door, a bell crank pivoted to said side wall, the other end of said link being pivoted to one arm of said crank, the other arm of said crank extending toward and terminating near the front of the box, said link and crank lying in substantially parallel planes positioned close to said side wall and parallel with said side wall, said side Wall having a recess therein positioned at the same radial distance from the pivot of the bell crank as the outer extremity of said other arm, said other arm having a plug on said outer extremity at right angles thereto and of greater length than the distance between said other arm and said wall, said crank comprising relatively thin material possessing inherent resiliency thereby normally urgingl said plug against said wall and when said plug'is in alignment with said recess urging said plug into said recess, said link having a length such that when said plug is in alignment with said recess said rear door is closed, said rear door being opened by extracting said plug from said recess and swinging said other arm in the general direction of said rear door, limit stop means limiting the arc of said swinging and hence the degree of opening of said rear door, said other arm being adapted to have a key ring slipped thereon.

SHOLEM I. MIRKIN.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 410,379 Rosenthal Sept. 3, 1889 410,990 Raymond Sept. 10, 1889 736,714 Gendron Aug. 18, 1903 802,979 English Oct. 31, 1905 1,038,583 Hodgkinson Sept. 17, 1912 1,735,379 Content Nov. 12, 1929