US2433263A - Mailbox support - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 23, 1947,. F. ..CONRAD ETAL MAILBOX SUPPORT Filed May '7, 1946 awuc/Mcvo RICHAED F. CGNRAD AND JOHN H-NEI'S MM /W Patented Dec. 23, 1947 UNITED STATE MAILBOX SUPPORT Richard F. Conrad and John H. Neis, St. Cloud, Minn.

Application May 7, 1946, Serial No. 667,894

1 Claim.

This invention relates to installations for holding mail boxes or the like on the roadside, and in position where the collector may drive into proximity to the box and deliver the mail without leaving the conveyance or vehicle.

An object of this invention is to provide a swingingly mounted arm or crane, on which the mail box is secured, and the invention furthermore includes means for yieldingly holding the crane extended into position where access to the mail box is convenient, the said means including an arm with relation to which the crane is swingingly mounted, associated with a spring connecting the arm and the crane, whereby if the said crane is struck by a moving object, it will yield and automatically return to its extended normal position.

A further object of the invention is to provide supports for a mail box and a buffer or guard on the said crane at the side of the mail box so that the mail box will be guarded against impact by a moving vehicle or the like, on account of the fact that the guard is yieldable and extends laterally of the crane in order that it would be encountered before the mail box was struck.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a holder for a mail box, in which a post is stationed at the side of the road in a position that the crane will extend outwardly to the edge of the road so that a mail box mounted on the free end of the crane may be accessible to the traveler on the road.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character indicated which is strong and durable and which comprises comparatively few, inexpensive parts which have proven efficient and satisfactory in use.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, the invention consists in the details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this application, wherein like charac-- ters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a view in perspective of an installation embodying the invention;

Figure 2 illustrates a plan View thereof;

Figure 3 illustrates a view in side elevation; and

Figure illustrates a detail view of the connection between the crane and a spring.

In these drawing 5 denotes a post which is here shown as comprising an angle iron having its end anchored in the ground, and plates 6 and 'l have edges which conform to the flanges of the angle iron and are secured thereto preferably by the welding process. A pintle 8 is applied to the plates and the upper end 9 is angularly disposed so that it rests on the upper plate and is thus retained in place.

The crane, to which reference has been made, includes an arm Ill, preferably of angle iron, and a brace II, it being shown that a flange of the arm I!) is mounted on the pintle and swings thereon, whereas a flange of the brace H is swingingly mounted on the said pintle. The end of the brace extends midway the length of the arm and is secured to the flange thereof by welding, so that the arm which carries the mail box, as will presently appear, is steady and will not readily sag at the outer end.

There are two plates l2 and I3, each secured to the arm by a fastening l4, such as a screw or bolt, and the mail box l5 is secured thereon in any appropriate fashion. The plates are shown as having apertures for receiving fastenings by which the mail box may be secured to them. A bowed buffer It comprises a plate having ends I! and I8 angularly disposed and these angularly disposed ends are secured to the arm, as by the welding process, thus making an installation which includes few parts.

The swinging arm I0 is yieldingly held in its extended position by a spring [9, one end being secured to a stationary arm 20 attached to the post 5, as by welding, and the other end of the said spring is attached to the swinging arm. The joints or connections between the stationary arm and the swinging arm preferably comprises a U- shaped anchorage 2|, to which an end of the spring is connected, as shown in Figure 4, and

. one end of each anchorage extends through an aperture in the swinging arm and stationary arm, respectively, and is secured in place by nuts 22 and 23 threaded on the projecting portion of the anchoring element,-so that by these means the spring is held in place, bridging a space between the stationary and swinging arms, in order that the swinging arm may yield, as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 2, if the buffer is encountered by a moving object.

We claim:

In a mail box support, a post, an arm pivotally mounted on the post, a mail box support on the arm, spring means for moving the arm in one direction, and a buffer on said arm located on the side of the arm having the direction of pull of the spring, said buffer comprising a strip of 3 4 metal looped to project laterally of the swinging UNITED STATES PATENTS arm and having ends secured to said arm.

RICHARD F. CONRAD. Number Name Date JOHN H. NEIS, 7 ,6 Hurd Apr. 14, 1942 5 1,273,696 Vanhoof July 23, 1918 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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