Patent Application
20200359819
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The disclosure and prior art relates to mailboxes and more particularly pertains to a new mailbox for safely receiving mail.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a package housing that has a housing front side separated from a housing back side, a housing left side separated from a housing right side, and a housing bottom side separated from an open housing top side defining a storage cavity. A plurality of ground screws is coupled to the package housing, and the plurality of ground screws is selectively engageable with the housing bottom side and is configured to secure the package housing to the ground. A lid is coupled to the package housing. The lid comprises a front half that is coupled to the housing top side adjacent the housing front side and a back half that is coupled to the housing top side adjacent the housing back side. Each of the front half and the back half has a hinge and is swingingly coupled to the package housing to move between a closed position sealing the storage cavity and an alternate open position exposing the storage cavity. A lid lock is coupled to the package housing. The lid lock is coupled to the housing left side and extends above the housing top side. The lid lock is in operational communication with the lid to lock the lid in the closed position and alternatively unlock the lid to allow it to move to the open position. A CPU is coupled to the package housing. The CPU is coupled to the housing right side adjacent the housing front side, and the CPU is in operational communication with the lid lock. A power source is coupled to the CPU and is in operational communication with the CPU. A transceiver is coupled to the CPU and is configured to communicate with a smartphone. A first keypad is coupled to the housing left side and is in operational communication with the CPU to lock and unlock the lid lock. A mail tower is coupled to the package housing and has a tower left side separated from a tower right side, a tower front side separated from a tower back side, and a tower bottom side separated from a tower top side. The tower front side has a mail cavity extending towards the tower back side. A mail door is coupled to the mail tower. The mail door is swingingly coupled to the tower front side to cover, and alternatively expose, the mail cavity. The mail door has a door lock that is in operational communication with the CPU. A second keypad is coupled to the mail tower. The second keypad is coupled to the tower front side below the mail cavity and is in operational communication with the CPU to lock and unlock the door lock.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The hinges 46 of each of the front half 36 and the back half 38 of the lid 34 are spring-loaded to allow the lid 34 to move automatically from the closed position 48 to the open position 50. A lid lock 52 is coupled to the housing left side 18 and extends above the housing top side 24. The lid lock 52 has a pair of pins 54 that is selectively engageable with the lock aperture 44 of the front half 36 and the back half 38. The lid lock 52 is in operational communication with the lid 34 to lock the lid 34 in the closed position 48 and alternatively unlock the lid 34 to allow it to move to the open position 50.
A CPU 56 is coupled to the housing right side 20 adjacent the housing front side 14 within the storage cavity 26. The CPU 56 is in operational communication with the lid lock 52. A package platform 58 is coupled to the package housing 12, and the package platform 58 has a pair of lift arms 60 coupled to the housing bottom side 22 within the storage cavity 26. A main platform 62 is coupled to the pair of lift arms 60, and a platform sensor 64 is coupled to the main platform 62. The platform sensor 64 is in operational communication with the pair of lift arms 60, a power source 66, and the CPU 56. The platform sensor 64 is configured to detect the presence of a package and to raise the main platform 62 when the lid 34 is opened.
A solar panel 68 is coupled to the lid 34 and has a support 70 coupled to the front half 36 and a plurality of solar cells 72 coupled to the support 70. The support 70 allows the plurality of solar cells 72 to lie horizontally to maximize solar absorption. The power source 66 is coupled to the CPU 56 and comprises a battery 76 coupled adjacent the CPU 56 and a powerline 78. The battery 76 is in operational communication with the solar panel 68. The powerline 78 extends through the electrical box 28 coupled to the package housing 12 to prevent tampering. A transceiver 80 is coupled to the CPU 56, and the transceiver 80 is configured to communicate with a smartphone 81. A camera 82 is coupled to the housing front side 14 and is in operational communication with the CPU 56 and the power source 66. An alarm 84 is coupled to the housing front side 14 and is in operational communication with the CPU 56 and the power source 66. The camera 82 and the alarm 84 are in operational communication with the smartphone. The smartphone can activate the alarm 84.
A first keypad 86 is coupled to the package housing 12. The first keypad 86 is coupled to the housing left side 18 and is in operational communication with the CPU 56 to engage, and alternatively disengage, the lid lock 52. A package scanner 87 may also be coupled to the lid 34 and in operational communication with the CPU 56. The package scanner 87 is configured to read a package label on a delivery to automatically disengage the lid lock 52 and open the lid 34. A mail tower 90 is coupled to the package housing 12. The mail tower 90 has a tower left side 92 separated from a tower right side 94, a tower front side 96 separated from a tower back side 98, and a tower bottom side 100 separated from a rounded tower top side 102. The tower front side 96 has a mail cavity 104 extending towards the tower back side 98. A mail door 106 is coupled to the mail tower 90, and the mail door 106 is swingingly coupled to the tower front side 96 to cover, and alternatively expose, the mail cavity 104. The mail door 106 has a door lock 88 that is in operational communication with the CPU 56. A second keypad 108 is coupled to the mail tower 90. The second keypad 108 is coupled to the tower front side 96 below the mail cavity 104 and is in operational communication with the CPU 56 to engage, and alternatively disengage, the door lock 88.
In use, the user's mail is securely received in the mail cavity 104 and packages are received within the storage cavity 26. The first keypad 86 and the second keypad 108 are used to open the lid 34 and the mail door 106, respectively. When the lid 34 is opened the package platform 58 automatically raises to make packages easier to access. The user may activate the alarm 84 and the camera 82 on the smartphone to monitor the mail received.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
