Locking mailbox

Abstract

A mailbox comprises a first housing and a first hinged door, a spring loaded locking mechanism is attached to the first housing and the first door, a pivotable flap located within said first housing operably cooperates with the locking mechanism to enable or disable the locking mechanism under appropriate conditions as described herein. The flap may be coupled to an external mail present indicator to signal that mail has been delivered. The mailbox comprises a second housing located below said first housing. A second hinged door is attached to said second housing. The second hinged door cuts off access to both the first and second housings when said second door is closed. Additionally, closing of the second hinged door causes the first hinged door to close too. The mailbox is supported from a post painted the same color as the second housing to convey the visual perception that the first housing is supported upon an extension of the post.

1 . A mailbox for mounting adjacent a roadway to facilitate curbside mail delivery, said mailbox comprising: 
 a post extending upwardly from a support surface and having a lateral exterior surface; an elongate box with a closed end opposite an open end, said box secured to said post at said closed end and extending outwardly from said lateral exterior surface of said post, said box including a separator panel closely received in said box whereby said box is sealingly partitioned into a first substantially enclosed compartment and a second substantially enclosed compartment located below said first compartment, said first compartment having a first housing of a first shape, said second compartment having a second housing of a second shape, a first portion of said open end communicating with said first compartment to provide access thereto and a second portion of said open end communicating with said second compartment to provide access to said second compartment, said box including a first door hinged at said separator plate to swing downwardly when opened and substantially cover said first portion of said open end when in a first closed position, said box further including a second door hinged at said open end to swing downwardly when opened and substantially cover said open end when in a second closed position;    a locking mechanism for selectively securing said first door in said first closed position, a first portion of the locking mechanism secured to one of said first door and said first housing and provided with a detent biased towards an extended position by a spring force, a second portion of said locking mechanism secured to the other of said first housing and said first door, said second portion of said locking mechanism configured into a detent receiving surface, a portion of said detent receiving surface having a structure defining a detent capture slot, whereby when said first door is moved toward said first closed position, said detent enters into sliding contact engagement with said detent engaging surface causing said detent to be retracted against said biasing spring force and remain retracted until further movement of the first door towards said first closed position brings the detent into alignment with said detent capture slot whereupon said spring force causes said detent to extend and enter into a capture relationship within said detent capture slot latching said first door to said box; and    a flap provided with a tab, said flap located within said first compartment and pivotally attached to said upper surface of said base panel, said flap selectively positionable between a lowered position wherein said tab is spaced apart from said detent capture slot and an upright position wherein said tab covers said detent capture slot whereby said detent is prevented from extending into capture relationship within said detent capture slot when said first door is moved into said first closed position.    
   
   
       2 . The mailbox of  claim 1  wherein at least a first portion of said first door is placed in sliding engagement with at least a first portion of said second door when said second door is moved toward a second closed position, a motion of said first door interlocked with a motion of said second door whereby when said second door is moved toward said second closed position, said first door is caused to be moved to said first closed position.  
   
   
       3 . The mailbox of  claim 1  wherein the first door is provided with a cylindrical roller located such that when said first door is open, and said second door is moved towards said second closed position, said cylindrical roller is placed in rolling contact with at least a first portion of said second door, said first door caused to be urged towards the first closed position as said second door approaches said second closed position.  
   
   
       4 . The mailbox of  claim 1  wherein said flap is provided with a first portion and a second portion which depends from and is hingedly connected to said first portion, said hinged connection configured such that when said first flap is in said upright position, said first portion of said flap extends substantially vertically from said upper surface of said base panel with said second portion disposed in a substantially horizontal, spaced apart relationship with said upper surface to form a shelf for receiving outgoing mail.  
   
   
       5 . The mailbox according to  claim 1 , wherein the detent has a cam surface for engaging and retracting the detent as the first door is moved to the closed position.  
   
   
       6 . The mailbox according to  claim 1 , wherein the detent portion of the locking mechanism comprises a key-receiving portion that is manually operable for retracting the detent.  
   
   
       7 . The mailbox of  claim 1  wherein said post has a first cross-sectional shape and said second compartment has a second cross-sectional shape, said first cross-sectional shape being substantially identical to said second cross-sectional shape.  
   
   
       8 . The mailbox of  claim 7  wherein said second external surface of said second compartment is provided with a first color and said lateral exterior surface of said vertical post is provided with a second color, said first color and said second color conveying a substantially identical visual perception.  
   
   
       9 . The mailbox of  claim 7  wherein a portion of said second door which covers a portion of said open end other than said first portion of said open end is of said first color.  
   
   
       10 . The mailbox of  claim 7  wherein a portion of said open end other than said first portion of said open end lies in a second plane horizontally spaced from a first plane containing said first portion of said open end.  
   
   
       11 . A mailbox for placement adjacent a roadway, the mailbox comprising: 
 a first housing having a first interior, a first open end for insertion and removal of mail and a base panel with an upper surface communicating with said first interior;    a first access door movably mounted to said first housing for movement between a first vertical closed position and a first lowered open door position, said first access door substantially covering said first open end when moved into said first vertical closed position;    a locking mechanism for locking said first door into said first vertical closed position, said locking mechanism having a first portion with a detent, and a cooperating second portion having an detent receiving portion, said first portion attached to one of the first access door and the first housing, the second portion attached to the other of the first housing and first access door, whereby the detent is retractable and extendable to engage the detent receiving portion when the door is moved from the lowered open door position to the closed position;    a second housing having a second interior, a second open end for insertion and removal of mail;    a second access door movably mounted to said second housing for movement between a second vertical closed position and a second lowered open door position, said second access door substantially covering said first open end and said second open end when said second access door is moved into said second vertical closed position; and    a flap provided with a first obstruction portion, said flap pivotally attached to said base panel and located in the interior of said first housing, said flap moveable from a lowered position to an upright position whereby when the flap is in the upright position, said first obstruction portion obstructs the detent from engaging the detent engaging portion.    
   
   
       12 . The mailbox according to  claim 11 , wherein said mailbox is supported from a post extending upwardly from a support surface to convey a visual perception that said first housing is supported upon said second housing.  
   
   
       13 . The mailbox of  claim 12  wherein said post has a first exterior shape of a first color and said second housing has a second exterior shape of a second color, said first exterior shape configured to be substantially identical to said second exterior shape, said first color being substantially identical to said second color so as to convey a visual perception that said second housing is a structural extension of said post for supporting said first housing.  
   
   
       14 . The mailbox of  claim 12  wherein a portion of said second access door covering said second open end when said second access door is in said second vertical closed position is of a second color.  
   
   
       15 . The mailbox of  claim 11  wherein said first open end is located in a first plane and said second open end is located in a second plane horizontally spaced apart from said first plane.  
   
   
       16 . The mailbox of  claim 11  wherein at least a first portion of said first access door is placed in sliding engagement with at least a first portion of said second access door when said second access door is moved toward a second vertical closed position, a motion of said first access door interlocked with a motion of said second access door whereby when said second access door is moved toward said second closed position, said first door is caused to be moved to said first vertical closed position.  
   
   
       17 . The mailbox of  claim 11  wherein the first access door is provided with a cylindrical roller located such that when said first access door is open, and said second access door is moved towards said second vertical closed position, said cylindrical roller is placed in rolling contact with at least a first portion of said second access door, said first access door caused to be urged towards the first closed position as said second door approaches said second closed position.  
   
   
       18 . The mailbox of  claim 11  wherein said flap is provided with a first portion and a second portion which depends from and is hingedly connected to said first portion, said hinged connection configured such that when said first flap is in said upright position, said first portion of said flap extends substantially vertically from said upper surface of said base panel with said second portion disposed in a substantially horizontal, spaced apart relationship with said upper surface to form a shelf for receiving outgoing mail.  
   
   
       19 . The mailbox according to  claim 11 , wherein the detent has a cam surface for engaging and retracting the detent as the first door is moved to the closed position.  
   
   
       20 . The mailbox according to  claim 11 , wherein the detent portion of the locking mechanism comprises a key-receiving portion that is manually operable for retracting the detent.  
   
   
       21 . The mailbox of  claim 1 , wherein said first housing further comprising a flag mechanism pivotally attached to the housing, the flag mechanism comprising a flag exterior of the housing and an obstruction portion in the interior of the housing, the flag moveable from an upright position to a lowered position, the obstruction portion coupled to the flag whereby when the flag is in the upright position, the obstruction portion obstructs the detent from engaging the detent engaging portion.  
   
   
       22 . The mailbox according to  claim 11 , wherein the flap further comprises a secondary mail flag having first position and a second position, the secondary mail flag coupled to the flap whereby when the secondary mail flag is moveable between the first position and the second position when the flap moves from the upright position to the lowered position.