US823791A - Mail-box signal. - Google Patents

Description

No.82? ,7,91 K PATENTEDJUNEIQ, 1906.

E. B. KITCHEN. I MAIL BOX SIGNAL.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 12. 1906."

ZB/filchen w w 1 10' companying drawings, inwhich- UNITED J STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

ERNEST B. KITCHEN, OF WHITE POST, VIRGINIA.

MAlL-BOX SIGNAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 19, 1906.

Application filed February 12,1906; Serial No. 300,772.

useful mprovementsin Mail-Box Signals, of

which the following is a specification.

Myinvention relates to certain new and useful improvements in mail-boxes and signals therefor, and particularly to that type of mail-box intended for individual use along ruralefree delivery routes. Mail-boxes of this ",character are usually placed along the main road, and hence they are very often at a considerable distance from the residence of the party or parties using the box, and it has been found essential or advantageous to provide these boxes under the circumstances with visible signalsthat will indicate to the carrier that mailhas been deposited in the box for his collection, so that he will not have to alight unnecessarily, and to indicateto the house older that mail has been de osited in the box bythe letter-carrier, there y avoidto the box to ascertain whet ing the necessity of his making er or not the latter contains mail-matter.

It is the object of my invention to rovide improvements in these signaling evices, such improvements being characterized by exceeding simplicity and cheapness of manufacture, durability,'and efliciency of opera- 7 tion.

To this end the invention consists of a rural-free-deliver mail-box provided with a visible signaling eviceconsisting of few and simple parts and embodlying a target which is designed .to be manna y moved to raised to extr'actthe. deposited mail-matter therefrom.

For a full description of the invention and the merits thereof and also to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction of the means for effecting the result reference is to be had to the following description and ac- Figure 1 isa perspective view ofmy improved mail-boxh Flg. 2 is a transverse sectional view thereof and illustrates the lid closed and the target or signal in the display a useless trip the dis-' play position whenever desired and auto-- position. Fig, 3 is a similar view and illustrates the lid partially open and the signal dropped to the inoperative position. Fig. 4

is a detail perspective view of the three,

simple parts of which my invention is comprised.

" Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followin description and indicated in all the views 0 the drawings by the same reference, characters.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates the body of the box, which is preferably composed, as well as the hinged lid 2, of sheet metal, so that it will be durable and substantially proof against the action of the elements. The 'lid 2 is hinged to the top of the box and at the upper rear edge thereof, as indicated in Figs. Z'and 3. To the under side of the lid there is secured a leaf-spring 3. The spring 3 is screwed or riveted atits rear end to the lid 2 and is provided with a free or unattached angular portion 4, ofiset somewhat from the under surface of the lidand extending substantially at right angles to the. axis about which the lid turns. 'The spring 3 is preferably formed at the extremity of its free or offset portion 4 with a downwardlyextending form a V-s aped lug'5 This construction produces a lug of suiiicient strength in a sim le'and cheap manner.

T e signal proper is constituted by an arm 6, g'voted at its end to one side of the box an designed to swing about such end in a vertical plane. The arm 6 carries at its free end' atarget 7, which is preferably integral therewith and which may be of any desired form or design; Preferablyit is of some contrasting color, so as to bereadily discernible. Inthe preferable construction of the arm 6 it is provided with an integral pivoted stud 8,

mounted in a bearing-aperture in the side of the box and extends through said side to the inner face thereof, where-it is provided with a reduced extension 9. A detent I0 is securely fastenedon the extension 9 of the pivoted stud 8,, so as to turn therewith and with the arm 6, and the detent is so ositionedwith res ect to the arm and to the ug 5 at thefree en of thebpring' 3 that when the lid 2 is down, or in its lowered position, the lug will stand in the path of thexdetent, so that the arm carrying the target 7 may be manually 'turnedto the raised or display position and the detent pushed past thelug 5 and be held ortion returned upon itself tothereby, so as to maintain the target in the raised position. The detent 10 is preferably formed at one side with a cam-surface 11, which assists in its action in passing the lug 5. The lid may be secured in its lowered position by means of a padlock 12 or similar 'device.

From the foregoing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings; it will be seen that when the lid 2 of the mail-box is in its lowered position and mail has been'deposited therein, as by means of the slot 13, visible indication of this fact may be effected by manually raising the arm 6 so as to bring its target to the display position, in which it will be held by the detent 10 being engaged by the lug 5. As soon, however, as the lid 2 is raised to extract the mail-matter from the box the arm 6, with its target -7, will drop to the inoperative and out-of-the-way position, (illustrated in Fig. 3,) owing to the fact that the spring 8 is carried 'by the hinged lid 2, and that therefore the lug of the spring will be carried out of engagement with the detent 10 when the free end of the lid 2 is raised. It will be seen that I have provided a device of the character herein set forth which embodies very few and simple parts, so that it may be cheaply manufactured, and is not liable to get out of order, while at the same time it will be efficient in operation. Preferably in order to prevent the arm 6 from being turned back past the center a stop lug or stud l'projects from the side of the box, and the position of said lug is such, as well as the relative positionof the other parts, that the arm 6 in raised position will be heldat one side of its center, so that when the detent 1O is released it will fall by its own weight.

Havin thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. A device of the character described comprising a box provided with a lid, a spring secured at one end to the under side of said lid and provided at its free end with a -tent being designed to spring past the lug with the lid in the lower or closed position, so that the lug will engage with the detent and hold the arm with its target in the visible position.

2. A device of the character described, comprising a mail-box provided at its top with a hinged lid, a spring secured at one end tothe under side of said lid and provided with a portion offset from the under side of the lid and formed at its extremity with a downwardlyextending portion returned upon itself to form a lug, an arm provided at one end with a pivoted stud mounted in one side of the box, said stud extendin through the box, a cam-detent secured to t e extension of said stud and designed to spring past said lug with the lid in the lowered position whereby said lug will engage the detent and hold 'the arm raised, and said arm carrying at its other end a target, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ERNEST B. KITCHEN.

Witnesses:

J. D. YOAKLEY, W. N. WOODSON.

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