Anti-tearing retractable arm for a collection box
AssigneeUnited States Postal Service
InventorsJoram Shenhar, Joel Locknauth Dewnandan, William Albert Tartal
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A retractable arm device, system, and method with a locking mechanism for preventing items placed in a device or receptacle from getting stuck, damaged, or torn. The retractable arm includes an inner tube, a pawl, and an outer tube surrounding the inner tube. The inner tube slides within the outer tube and the pawl preventing the retractable arm from moving into an extended position under particular conditions. The retractable arm may be placed in a receptacle for items to prevent the door from being reopened before the door is fully closed.
Claims19
An item receptacle comprising:
- a housing having an opening for receiving items;
- a door connected to the housing and configured to pivot about a pivot point from a closed position to an open position;
- and
- a retractable arm rotatably coupled to the door at a first end of the retractable arm and to a surface of the housing at a second end of the retractable arm, the retractable arm configured to be in a retracted position when the door is in the closed position and an extended position when the door is in the open position.
A method of operating an item receptacle, the method comprising:
- disposing a retractable arm within a housing, the housing having an opening for receiving items and having a door, the door configured to pivot about an axis, wherein a first end of the retractable arm is coupled to the door, and a second end of the retractable arm coupled to a surface of the housing, the retractable arm comprising an inner tube disposed at least partially within a channel of an outer tube, the inner tube having a pawl rotatably connected thereto and the outer tube having a first opening formed therein proximate to a first end of the outer tube and a second opening formed therein proximate to a second end of the outer tube, and having a plurality of apertures formed therein between the first and second openings;
- moving the door in a first direction a first distance about the axis;
- extending the retractable arm in response to moving the door the first distance in the first direction, thereby moving a first portion of the inner tube out of the outer tube from a first position to an intermediate position thereby rotating the pawl into the outer tube;
- and
- moving the door a second distance in the first direction, thereby moving a second portion of the inner tube out of the outer tube to a second, extended position so that the pawl rotates out of the outer tube to partially extend through the second opening.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.