FR2836805A1 - Letter box has modular box with partition forming separate chambers for authorized mail and other mail, with first operated by key - Google Patents

Abstract

The letter box can be assembled into a multiple modular assembly with similar boxes. The letter box has two separate chambers (11,12) with a partition (10). One chamber (11) receives articles only distributed by authorized operatives and the other receives other articles (12). The first chamber can be fully opened and closed and automatically opens for loading and unloading when operated by an individual key.

Description

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IMPROVED LETTER BOX AND BULB BATTERY
A PLURALITY OF SUCH LETTER BOXES
The present invention relates to a new mailbox system designed to best respond to current and future developments in the field of home delivery and postal services in general. This new system was designed more particularly for the production of letterbox assemblies or batteries for collective buildings, to which the invention therefore also relates.

 Today, mailboxes are used to receive an ever-widening range of home delivery items, including mail, newspapers, printed matter, messages of all kinds, and, increasingly, postal parcels. small dimensions and other packages distributed by private operators.

 In parallel to this, more and more, mailboxes are placed in common areas of residences equipped with regulated access systems, such as the "VIGIK" system (registered trademark) developed by La Poste and having been the subject European patent EP 0 719 438 to which reference may be made.

 In short, with the "VIGIK" system, all access to a building, including its entrance, is selectively opened by an electronic key such as a badge available to residents, as well as authorized persons belonging in particular to different departments

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 public, but for whom these keys may be more restrictive, for example operational in a specific time slot and subject to daily validation. Any key declared lost is in no case reusable.

 This regulated access system has of course been planned to be extended to mailboxes, allowing residents to open their mailboxes, and to postal service workers, the opening of all mailboxes, possibly in the restrictive conditions mentioned above.

 At the same time as it developed this access control system, and since then, La Poste has been able to study and offer extended and more suitable postal services in the field of parcel delivery at home and tracking of objects in general , thanks in particular to the level of security made possible in terms of theft and break-in.

 However, in view of existing mailbox systems, there is still a need to further increase the level of security, improve ergonomics, both for mailbox holders and for distribution operators, and d '' also improve practicality.

 It is to satisfy these various objectives that the new mailbox system according to the invention has been designed and developed.

 In general, in this new system, a mailbox is characterized in that it comprises first and second separate cells

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 separated by a partition, the first cell being intended to receive objects distributed only by authorized operators, and the second cell being intended to receive the other objects, in that the first cell is fully open and closed, and in that that the first cell includes opening means for loading and removing objects which are actuated by means of an individual key for the mailbox holder and a collective key for authorized distribution operators ( a collective key being in the present context a key whose powers are extended to a whole set of mailboxes, for example all the mailboxes of the tour of an attendant for mail delivery).

 Thus, in terms of reception, the mailbox according to the invention retains without any limitation all the possibilities of a conventional mailbox, but nevertheless offering a significantly increased level of security for the content of the first cell because it is fully closed.

Being more internally marked with an identification code such as barcode, it lends itself to new services, in particular with regard to tracking objects where the reading of this barcode when depositing with a reader to provision of mail delivery agents may constitute intermediate level evidence when receipt is not subject to signature.

 Other advantageous or preferential characteristics of the invention are as follows.

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 Said individual and collective keys are electronic keys such as badges.

 Said first cell is located above said second cell, and they have a single door having a distribution slot at said second cell.

 A flap placed above said door ensures with it the total closure of said first cell, which flap is controllable in opening by means of said collective key reserved for authorized distribution operators.

 The invention also relates to a battery of mailboxes grouping together a plurality of individual lockers, each of which is a mailbox as defined above.

 In a preferred embodiment of such a battery according to the invention, one of said compartments is designed to contain a command and management unit for all of the mailboxes. Advantageously, this unit occupies the lower part of said locker, while the remaining volume constitutes a mail deposit box to be sent for the use of letterbox holders, said locker being completely closed by the combination of its door and 'a flap above it, which flap is controllable in opening by means of said individual key.

 According to another preferred characteristic of the invention, all of the compartments of said battery are distributed on either side of a central upright disposed on the front, which upright comprises of each

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 side a receiving rebate of the edge beating doors.

 Said upright is advantageously a metal profile whose cross section has the general shape of a U, to contain all of the electromechanical means associated with said lockers.

 Features of the invention also relate to said control and management unit, and in particular the way in which different functions are implemented with the same individual or collective key, by means of a push button or key associated with each locker. .

2 ; These characteristics and advantages of the invention, as well as others, will appear clearly in the description which follows and the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a battery of letter boxes according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a front view of the battery of FIG. 1 shown without the doors of its lockers; Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view, from behind, of the facade with all the doors of this same battery of mailboxes; Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view, from the front, of the upper part of a central upright appearing in FIG. 3; Fig. 5 is a schematic perspective view of an electromechanical assembly associated with the lower left mailbox of the battery of FIGS. 1 and

2;

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 Fig. 6 is a schematic perspective view from another angle of the electromechanical assembly of FIG. 5; Fig. 7 is a schematic side view of the electromechanical assembly of FIGS. 5 and 6; Fig. 8 is a perspective view from behind of a door of a mailbox with the electromechanical assembly thereof represented in its essential elements; Fig. 9 is a schematic perspective view of the electromechanical assembly associated with the lower right compartment in the battery of FIGS. 1 and 2 ; and Figs. 10a and 10b are perspective and side views respectively of the door of a mailbox of the battery of Figs. 1 and 2.

 Throughout the drawings, the same references designate the same elements everywhere.

 The invention will be described in the form of an assembly or battery B consisting of a parallelepipedal cabinet internally divided into six identical compartments la-lf, or three compartments superimposed on either side of a central partition, which compartments include on the front an individual door pivoting around a vertical axis.

 The five compartments are the same mailboxes for residents or other holders, while the lower right compartment 1 for another destination, namely that it contains in its lower part the command and management unit 8 of the whole, and that its upper part is used for filing

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 by the holders of the mailboxes to be sent.

 We see in Fig. 2 that each rack 1a is subdivided by a wall 10 into two upper 11 and lower 12 cells which are completely separated from each other when the door 2 is closed. The latter comprises a distribution slot 21 below with its freely pivoting flap giving free access to the lower cavity 12.

 The door 2 and an upper flap 3 completely close the upper cell 11. The flap 3 is pivotable along its upper edge about a horizontal axis. It is normally locked inwardly pivoting to allow access into the cell 11 only after an opening command.

Advantageously, it can also pivot forwards to allow the complete opening of the cell 11. In the closed position, the door 2 prohibits this pivoting forwards by coming to be placed in front of the lower edge of the flap shaped to this effect with a rebate 30, Fig. 2. The flap 3 is pivoted inwardly by a return spring, so as to automatically go up following an unlocking command, and to be automatically in the appropriate vertical position when the door 2 is closed.

 The door 2 is preferably provided with a closing system with several locking points, three in number in the example of the drawings. As illustrated in Figs. 10a and 10b, the door 2 has three fixed bolts 22 in the form of a hook, integral with a

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 reinforcing metal section 23 covering the closing edge 20, which is placed in a receiving rabbet 40 of a central upright 4. When closing, the bolts 22 fit into oblong slots 41 formed in the wall of the upright 4 They are locked by a slide 5, Fig. 8, which has corresponding lights 51 and is movable back and forth vertically. At least one of the bolts 22 is associated in the upright 4 with a return spring not shown, against which it presses in the closed position, so that following a command to open the door 2, it it is positively pushed out of its closed position.

 The shutter 3 is retained in the closed position by a finger or pin 6 passing through an elongated and curved opening 42 formed in the adjacent wall of the upright 4, FIG. 4. Placed at the bottom of the light 42, the finger 6 blocks the flap 3 in a vertical position, and when the finger 6 disappears while going up in the light 42, the flap 3 opens by going up inside the cell 11 under the action of its return spring. It should be noted that the lumen 42 ends substantially lower vertically, to prevent the must 6 from being urged up in the lumen 42 under the effect of a thrust exerted from the outside on the shutter 3.

 On the front, between its two rebates 40, the central upright 4 includes push-buttons or keys 45, each associated with a locker la-lf, and the function of which will be described below.

 Locker 1f has the same door and the same upper flap 3 as the other lockers, only

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 difference that its door 2f does not have a distribution slot. On the other hand, it includes on its lower part an icon 25 indicating the presentation area of the individual and collective badge type keys.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, an electromechanical assembly is associated with each locker la-lf, which is mounted on an individual support 7, itself fixed in place in the central upright 4. For this purpose, the central upright 4 is a section whose section has the general shape of a U. The individual support 7 is a section of section generally of angle type, as shown more particularly in FIGS. 5 and 7 to 9.

 One of the wings, marked 70, of the support 7 comprises oblong slots intended to come into correspondence with the slots 41 in the adjacent wall of the upright 4. The locking slide 5 is in contact with the wing 70, guided by one side at the bottom of the angle iron, and on the other side by fingers 75.

 The other wing 71 of the support 7 carries the axis of a tilting lever 55 whose function is to drive the slide 5 in the open position by pressing upwards against a tab 50 integral with the latter, FIGS. 6 and 9. The return to the closed position of the slide 5 takes place under the effect of an elastic restoring force. The lever 55 is actuated by an electromagnet 56 mounted on one of two returns 72, 73 of the wing 71, which face the wing 70.

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 The returns 72 and 73 also serve to support and hold in place the slide 5 in light contact along the wing 70 of the support 7, by means of flexible arms 52, in other words radially flexible but axially rigid, which arms 52 are advantageously of the helical tension spring type, or else plastic tube portions. It is of course these arms 52 which ensure the elastic return of the slide 5 downwards.

 Consequently, the slide 5 is only actuated by the electromagnet 56 when it is open, and only at the time necessary for the hooks 22 to escape from it.

To close a door, simply push it, the slide 5 then being driven upward under the action of the oblique edges 22a of the hooks on the upper edge of the lights 51, then descending into the locked position in front of them by elastic return.

 Another lever 61 is mounted tilting about an axis carried in the upper part of the wing 70 of the support 7, one of the arms 61a of the lever 61 carrying the finger or pin 6 for locking the flaps 3 at the end.

 For the shutters 3 of the lockers la-le, a cable connection is provided between the end of the other arm 61b of the lever 61 and a common actuation means to release them in opening towards the interior, which consists of a winding drum 63 and its drive motor 64 which are mounted at the base of the upright 4. As seen in Figs. 5 to 7, cables 62 are

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 guided in passers-by 65 fixed on the upper returns 73 of the supports 7, and in a lower pass-through 66 mounted on the support 67 of the drum 63, just above the latter. The return movement and the holding in position of the levers 61, as well as the tension of the cables, are ensured by a return spring placed on each cable, at the end of their sheath (not shown).

 By the very principle of the shutter closing system 3, blocking one of them in the inward opening position (by a parcel or other object for example) will not prevent the closing of the other shutters 3, and it will not damage the mechanisms in any way.

 With regard to the flap 3 of the rack If, it is individually controlled to open, the lever 61 being actuated by an electromagnet 68 mounted on the upper return 73 of the support 7, FIG. 9, the return movement and the maintenance of the lever 61 in the closed position being provided by a return spring.

 Fig. 3 clearly shows that the entire electromechanical part of the letterbox battery B is housed in the upright 4 which, advantageously, is held in place by interlocking its upper end and holding its lower end by a quick locking system which can be operated from inside the If locker.

 As mentioned previously, the If bin contains in its lower part the command and management unit 8 with the receiver 80 for signals

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 transmitted by electronic keys or badges and a connection socket to a laptop.

 An individual mailbox holder key can selectively perform two functions: directly, opening door 2 of the locker with which it is associated; and, on condition that the key 45 of the locker lf has been previously pressed, the timed opening of the shutter 3 thereof for the introduction of a mail to be sent.

 A collective key for a mail delivery agent, in his primary function and directly, will advantageously open all the shutters 3 of the lockers la-le for the delivery of mail. It may also open one or more doors to the lockers of letterbox holders, provided that the corresponding keys 45 have been pressed beforehand. In the event of a command to open several doors, the actions of the electromagnets 56 concerned will advantageously be offset in time to limit the electrical power required. This same collective key can provide a third function, namely the opening of the door 2f of the locker 1 f on the condition that the corresponding key 45 has been previously pressed.

 Other collective keys of intermediate level can be provided, allowing for example the opening of the door of some only of the lockers of mailbox holders to distribution operators authorized by their holders.

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 Finally, another collective key with extended powers is intended for the management and / or maintenance service of battery B.

 The connection of the control and management unit to a computer is used in particular to modify certain parameters, such as time slots assigned to certain collective keys, to take a recorded history of events occurring over a given period, to perform updates necessary, etc.

 These updates may consist, for example, of registering the code of a new holder; to change the code of a holder who has lost his key; extending the effectiveness of a mailbox holder key, temporarily or not, to the opening of another mailbox holder locker in the same assembly; similarly modify the effectiveness of an authorized distribution operator key, etc.

 By all these possibilities and the level of security reached in terms of protection of objects placed in the upper cells 11 of the lockers, the invention provides a prerequisite thanks to which more complete, more suitable and more satisfactory postal services can be provided and developed than 'currently.

Claims (15)

1) Individual mailbox or part of a set or battery of mailboxes, characterized in that it comprises first and second separate cells (11,12) separated by a partition (10), the first cell ( 11) being intended to receive objects distributed only by authorized operators, and the second cell (12) being intended to receive the other objects, in that the first cell (11) is fully open and closed, and in that that the first cell (11) comprises opening means for loading and removing objects which are actuated by means of an individual key for the mailbox holder and a collective key for the operators of authorized distribution.  2) Mailbox according to claim 1, characterized in that said individual and collective keys are electronic keys such as badges.  3) Mailbox according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said first cell (11) is located above said second cell (12), and in that they have a single door (2) comprising a distribution slot (21) at the level of said second cell (12).  4) Mailbox according to claim 3, characterized in that a flap (3) placed above said door (2) ensures therewith the complete closure of said first cell (11), which flap <Desc / CRUD Page number 15>  (3) can be opened inward using the collective key reserved for authorized distribution operators.  5) Mailbox according to claim 4, characterized in that the flap (3) is freely pivotable outward when the door (2) is open, to allow the complete opening of the cell (11).  6) Battery of mailboxes, characterized in that it includes a plurality of individual lockers (la-le) each of which is a mailbox according to claim 4 or 5.  7) Battery of mailboxes according to claim 6, characterized in that one of its lockers (If) is designed to contain a unit (8) for controlling and managing all of the mailboxes.  8) mailbox battery according to claim 7, characterized in that in said bin (lof), said unit (8) occupies the lower part of said bin, while the remaining volume constitutes a mail deposit box to be sent to the use of letterbox holders, said locker (If) being fully closed by the combination of its door (2f) and a shutter (3) above it, which shutter (3) can be controlled by opening by means of said individual key.  9) Mailbox battery according to one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that each locker (la, If) is associated with a button or push button (45) allowing, with an individual key, to <Desc / Clms Page number 16>  instead of opening the locker door (la-le) associated with it, open the shutter (3) of the locker (lf) by pressing the key (45) thereof beforehand; and with a collective key for the mail delivery agent, to order instead of opening all the shutters (3) of the lockers (la-le), the opening of one or more doors of the lockers ( la-le) by pressing the corresponding key (s) (45) beforehand.  10) Battery of mailboxes according to one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that the flaps (3) of the lockers (la-le) are released inward opening by a common actuating means (63 , 64).  11) Mailbox battery according to one of claims 6 to 10, characterized in that the door (2,2f) of each locker (la-1f) comprises a plurality of fixed bolts (22) in the form of locked hooks in the closed position by a locking slide (5) movable back and forth vertically.  12) mailbox battery according to claim 11, characterized in that the locking slide (5) is moved to the release position of the bolts (22) by an electromagnet (56), and from this position to the position locking by elastic return.  13) mailbox battery according to claim 12, characterized in that the locking slide (5) is mounted on a fixed support (7) by means of flexible arms (52), which constitute the elastic return means moving the <Desc / Clms Page number 17>  slide (5) from the bolt release position (22) to the locking position, in that an individual fixed support (7) is provided for each locker (la-lf), and in that it brings together all of the associated electromechanical means specific to its locker.  14) mailbox battery according to one of claims 6 to 13, characterized in that the lockers (la-lf) are distributed on either side of a central upright (4) disposed on the front, which amount (4) has on each side a rebate (40) for receiving the beating edge (20) of the doors (2,2f).  15) Mailbox battery according to claim 14, characterized in that the upright (4) is a profile whose section has the general shape of a U, and in that it contains all of the associated electromechanical means lockers (la, If).