Sliding hooded mail carrier tray for a mailbox

In combination, a conventional rural mailbox structure and a hooded mail carrier, the mailbox being opaque and having a rectangular bottom panel, a back panel extending from one end of the rectangular bottom panel, a U-shaped roof portion extending from opposite sides of the bottom panel and a swinging pivotal door at another end, the hooded mail carrier comprised of a transparent material and having a cross-sectional configuration compared to a slightly smaller cross-sectional configuration of the mailbox, the hooded mail carrier comprising a rectangular bottom wall, a back wall extending from the back end of the rectangular bottom wall and a U-shaped hood portion extending from opposite sides of the rectangular bottom wall defining an enclosure with a front end of the hooded mail carrier having an opening for receipt of mail, the hooded mail carrier also having upper rails on opposite sides thereof mounted on the outside of the U-shaped hood portion and lower rollers positioned on a rear portion of the hooded mail carrier beneath said upper rails, said upper rails of the hooded mail carrier being cooperable with upper mailbox rollers attachable at opposite sides of an inside wall of the mailbox and said lower rollers of the hooded mail carrier being cooperable with lower mailbox rails attachable at opposite sides of an inside wall of the mailbox in order for the hooded mail carrier to slide smoothly in horizontal telescoping engagement of a substantial portion of the hooded mail carrier in and out of the mailbox, the front end of the hooded mail carrier being extendible substantially beyond an outer forward most edge of the swinging pivotal door when the swinging pivotal door is in a position essentially coplanar with the rectangular bottom wall of the hooded mail carrier, and a stop means mountable on an inside wall of the mailbox for coaction with the upper rails to ensure that the hooded mail carrier does not come all the way out from the mailbox wherein any mail can be easily inserted and retrieved protecting the mail from weather elements when the hooded mail carrier is extended from the mailbox, and when the hooded mail carrier is fully inserted into the mailbox then the mailbox can be closed with the hooded mail carrier enclosed within the mailbox.

A hooded mail carrier for insertion into a conventional opaque rural mailbox, the hooded mail carrier comprised of a transparent material and having a slightly smaller cross-sectional configuration compared to a cross-sectional configuration of the mailbox, the hooded mail carrier comprising a rectangular bottom wall, a back wall extending from the back end of the rectangular bottom wall and a U-shaped hood portion extending from opposite sides of the rectangular bottom wall defining an enclosure with a front end of the hooded mail carrier having an opening for receipt of mail, the hooded mail carrier also having upper rails on opposite sides thereof mounted on the outside of the U-shaped hood portion and lower rollers positioned on a rear portion of the hooded mail carrier beneath said upper rails, said upper rails of the hooded mail carrier being cooperable with upper mailbox rollers attachable at opposite sides of an inside wall of the mailbox and said lower rollers of the hooded mail carrier being cooperable with lower mailbox rails attachable at opposite sides of an inside wall of the mailbox in order for the hooded mail carrier to slide smoothly in horizontal telescoping engagement of a substantial portion of the hooded mail carrier in and out of the mailbox wherein any mail can be easily inserted and retrieved protecting the mail from weather elements when the hooded mail carrier is extended from the mailbox, the front end of the hooded mail carrier being extendible substantially beyond an outer forward most edge of a swinging pivotal door of the mailbox when the swinging pivotal door is in a position essentially coplanar with the rectangular bottom wall of the hooded mail carrier, and when the hooded mail carrier is fully inserted into the mailbox then the mailbox can be closed with the hooded mail carrier enclosed within the mailbox.