US20240365972A1

US20240365972A1 - Foldable Platform

Info

Publication number: US20240365972A1
Application number: US18/144,212
Authority: US
Inventors: Renee Baylor
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2023-05-07
Filing date: 2023-05-07
Publication date: 2024-11-07

Abstract

A foldable platform that includes a mounting bracket, platform and at least one platform support. The mounting bracket is adapted for attachment to a surface on or near a building. The platform is rotatably connected to the mounting bracket so that the platform may rotate to an open position. The platform is adapted to support deliveries in a suspended state. The platform support is to support the platform in the suspended state.

Description

BACKGROUND

The present invention generally relates to a platform. More specifically, the present invention relates foldable platform that mounts to a building.
In 1891, the Street Letter Box was invented. It began as a metal box with a slot, which was easily accessible when in use and hinged/secured when not in use. It was placed in designated areas on sidewalks near the homes of people who had difficulty traveling to the post office. Since the 19th Century, the appearance and structure of the common mailbox has transformed to accommodate its owner and handlers. The Street Letter Box may have evolved considerably since its inception, but, the purpose and function has remained the same, which is placement and security. Now here we are in the 21st Century, the placement and security of mail has been addressed, but what about packages. The demand for online orders has risen drastically and at this time packages are delivered and placed directly on the ground surface in front of the home of the consumer. This is the 21 Century and our consumers are still bending over to pick up their purchased goods possibly increasing their chances of falls, strain or other injuries. Also, the ground is not a good place for purchased goods to rest upon while awaiting pickup. What is needed is a suitable place that is visible and identifiable for delivery carriers to leave a package that is dry, pest free, and dirt-less location for placement of packages/food. Also, what is needed is a place available within desired reach of the consumer. Instead of having your deliveries placed on a ground surface, why not have them available within a user's desired reach.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a platform for placement of deliveries that is not on the ground and in desired reach of the consumer.

SUMMARY

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective front view of a foldable platform according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a foldable platform according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective exploded front view of a foldable platform according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cut away view of a bracket end of a retention cable according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cut away view of a spring plunger according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a foldable platform according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a magnetic catch according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a strike plate according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a platform support according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1-3 show a foldable platform 10 that mounts at a desirable height and level by the user onto or near a building entrance. The foldable platform 10 provides for online food orders and deliveries to be available to the user at chest or waist level to prevent bending over by the user. Common sense would indicate that bending the spine countless times will eventually cause at least some aches and pains. The unnecessary bending of the spinal cord can cause acute injuries of the muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints and nerves that are used while lifting items from a lower level surface to a higher level. Especially, when considering the abilities of the older adults, individuals with mobility impairments and height stature. The foldable platform 10 is mounted to a user's home, building or door to allow opening to a 90 degree angle for placement of standard delivery package or food deliveries in a suspended state above the ground or lower surface that can be walked on. The foldable platform 10 is easily visible and identifiable making it suitable for delivery carriers to use with no more searching for dry, pest free, dirt-less location on ground surfaces for placement of packages and food.
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the front of the foldable platform 10. FIG. 2 shows a top view of the foldable platform 10. FIG. 3 shows perspective front exploded view of the foldable platform 10. The foldable platform 10 includes a mounting bracket 12, platform 14 and retention cables 16. The retention cables 16 include a bracket end 18 and a platform end 20. The retention cables 16 support the platform 14 from the mounting bracket 12, when in an open position. The platform end 18 of the retention cable 16 includes an eyelet 22 as part of the platform end 18 that includes bolt hole 24. The bracket end 20 of the retention cable 16 includes a ball shaped end 28 with a stop surface 30, as shown in FIG. 4 . The mounting bracket 12 includes a mount plate 32, a mount top flange 34 and two mount side flanges 36. The mount plate 32 includes four recessed mounting holes 38 that start on the front side 40 and that end in dimples 44 on the rear side 42 of the mount plate 32. The mount plate 32 includes two key holes 46 that each includes a retention cable hole 48 that transitions to a cable retention slot 50. The two key holes 46 are for allowing the ball shaped end 28 with the stop surface 30 to pass through the retention cable holes 48. This is so that the bracket end 18 slides along the cable retention slots 50 and the stop surface 30 engages the rear side 42 of the mount plate 32, as shown in FIG. 4 . At the lower end of the mount side flanges 36 are bolt holes 52 to receive pivot bolts 54. The mount top flange 34 includes a spring plunger receiver hole 56. The platform 14 includes a support plate 58, pull handle 60, platform top flange 62 and two platform side flanges 64. The platform top flange 62 includes a spring plunger mount hole 66 to receive the mounting of a spring plunger. The spring plunger includes a plunger housing 68, spring 70 and ball 72, as shown in FIG. 5 . The spring plunger is a form of a catch to hold the platform 14 in a closed position against the mounting bracket 12. The housing 68 press fits into the spring plunger mount hole 66. The housing 68 retains the spring 70 and the ball 72 under pressure, so that the ball 72 is retained at the top of the housing 70 until the ball 72 is pushed down under pressure. A portion of the ball 72 sticks out of the housing 70. Another form of a catch is a magnetic catch, as shown in FIGS. 6-8 . The magnetic catch employees the use of magnet 74 on the platform 14 and metal strike plate 76 on the mounting bracket 12. The magnet 74 is aligned to contact and engage the strike plate 76 to hold the platform 14 in place, when the platform 14 is closed against the mounting bracket 12. At the lower end of the platform side flanges 64 are bolt holes 78 to receive pivot bolts 54. The platform side flanges 64 include cable bolt holes 82 to receive cable bolts 84. The support plate 58 has a front side 86 and a rear side 88. The pull handle 60 is mounted to the front side 86 of the support plate 58.
The mount plate 32 mounts to a surface of a building or a door using the recessed mounting holes 38. The rear side 42 of the mount plate 32 mounts against the surface. The dimples 44 act as contact points with the surface to raise the rear side 42 from the surface. The bracket ends 18 of the retention cables 16 insert into the retention cable holes 48 and slide down into the slots 50 of the key holes 46 and are retained by the stop surfaces 30 that engage the slots 50 so that retention cables 16 are attached to the mount plate 32. The bracket ends 18 and keyhole holes 46 can be replaced with connector 90 that is attached to the retention cable 16, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 9 . The connector 90 has a hole that can be mounted to the mount plate 32 using a fastener 92, as shown in FIG. 8 . The platform 14 attaches to the mounting bracket 12 at the mount side flanges 36 of the mounting bracket 12. The platform 14 attached using the pivot bolts 54 through the bolt holes 52 of the mount side flanges 36 and then through the bolt holes 78 of the platform side flanges 64. The pivot bolts 54 are attached so that the platform 14 pivots about the bolt holes 78 of the mount side flanges 36. The platform top flange 62 and platform side flanges 64 fit inside of the mount top flange 34 and mount side flanges 36, when the platform 14 is closed against the mounting bracket 12, as show in FIGS. 1-2 . The eyelets 22 of the retention cables 16 are attached to the inside of the platform side flanges 64. The eyelets 22 attach to mount side flanges 36 using the cable bolts 84 through the cable bolt holes 82. The eyelets 22 are attached so that the eyelets 22 can rotate about the cable bolts 84 to allow the retention cables 16 to change position during opening and closing of the platform 14 from and to the mounting bracket 12, respectively. The retention cables 16 retain the platform 14 at approximately 90 degrees to the mounting bracket 12, when the platform 14 is in the open position. The spring plunger catch or magnetic catch is used to lock the platform 14 in the closed position. When the platform 14 is closed against the mounting bracket 12 using the spring plunger, the ball 72 of the spring plunger is pushed down by the inside of surface of the mount top flange 34 until the ball 72 clicks into the plunger hole 56 of the mount top flange 34. The plunger hole 56 is one form an aperture to catch a portion of the ball 72. The ball 72 acts as a catch with the plunger hole 56 to retain the platform 14 in position. To open the platform 14, the user pulls on the pull handle 60 with enough force to cause the ball 72 to retract from the plunger hole 56 by engaging the inside surface of the mount top flange 34. The platform 14 typically will have dimensions of 12 inches in Length by 12 inches in Width. The pull handle 60 is used to open and close the platform 14. It is envisioned the platform 14 could be open and closed using an electrical device such as a motor and remote activated by Bluetooth device.
While different embodiments of the invention have been described in detail herein, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to the embodiments could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the particular arrangements are illustrative only and are not limiting as to the scope of the invention that is to be given the full breadth of any and all equivalents thereof.

Claims

I claim:

1. A foldable platform, comprising:

a mounting bracket for adapted for attachment to a surface on or near a building;

a platform rotatably connected to said mounting bracket, said platform connected to said mounting bracket so that said platform may rotate to an open position and is adapted to support deliveries in a suspended state; and

at least one platform support to support said platform in the suspended state.

2. The foldable platform of claim 1, further including a catch which keeps said platform in a closed position against said mounting bracket.

3. The foldable platform of claim 2, wherein said catch is a ball and spring combination that is mounted to said platform and wherein said mounting bracket includes an aperture to catch a portion of said ball to hold said platform in place when in said closed position.

4. The foldable platform of claim 1, wherein said at least one platform support is a cable between said platform and said mounting bracket.

5. The foldable platform of claim 4, wherein said cable includes a platform end and a bracket end, wherein said platform end includes an eyelet with a bolt hole and wherein said bracket end includes a stop surface to engage said mounting bracket.

6. The foldable platform of claim 1, wherein said platform includes a handle for pulling said platform away from said mounting bracket.

7. The foldable platform of claim 1, wherein said bracket includes at least two mounting holes with dimples that are adapted to provide separation between said mounting bracket and a mounting surface.

8. The foldable platform of claim 1, wherein said platform fits within said mounting bracket.

9. The foldable platform of claim 8, wherein said mounting bracket includes two mount side flanges and a mount top flange, wherein said platform includes two platform side flanges and a platform top flange, and wherein said two platform side flanges and said platform top flange fit within said two mount side flanges and said mount top flange.

10. The foldable platform of claim 5, wherein said mounting bracket includes a key hole for each retention cable, said key hole including a retention cable hole that transitions to a cable retention slot, and wherein said stop surface of said bracket end can pass through said retention cable hole and transition and engage to said cable retention slot.

11. The foldable platform of claim 2, wherein said at least one platform support is a cable between said platform and said mounting bracket, wherein said cable includes a platform end and a bracket end, wherein said platform end includes an eyelet with a bolt hole, wherein said bracket end includes a stop surface to engage said mounting bracket, wherein said mounting bracket includes two mount side flanges and a mount top flange, wherein said platform includes two platform side flanges and a platform top flange, and wherein said two platform side flanges and said platform top flange fit within said two mount side flanges and said mount top flange.

12. The foldable platform of claim 11, wherein said bracket includes at least two mounting holes with dimples that are adapted to provide separation between said mounting bracket and a mounting surface.

13. The foldable platform of claim 11, wherein said platform fits within said mounting bracket.

14. The foldable platform of claim 13, wherein said mounting bracket includes two mount side flanges and a mount top flange, wherein said platform includes two platform side flanges and a platform top flange, and wherein said two platform side flanges and said platform top flange fit within said two mount side flanges and said mount top flange.

15. The foldable platform of claim 11, wherein said mounting bracket includes a key hole for each retention cable, said key hole including a retention cable hole that transitions to a cable retention slot, and wherein said stop surface of said bracket end can pass through said retention cable hole and transition and engage to said cable retention slot.

16. The foldable platform of claim 2, wherein said catch includes a magnet and a strike plate that attracts said magnet.

17. The foldable platform of claim 4, wherein said cable includes a platform end and a bracket end, wherein said platform end includes an eyelet with a bolt hole and wherein said bracket end includes a connector attached to said retention cable, said connector including a hole to mount said connector to said mounting bracket using a fastener.