Lockable mailbox apparatus

Lockable mailbox apparatus comprising, in combination:

• a mailbox housing defining an interior and a front opening communicating with said interior;
• a mailbox closure pivotally attached to said mailbox housing and movable between a closed position wherein said mailbox closure closes said front opening and an open position wherein said mailbox closure does not close said front opening;
• lock means for selectively positively locking said mailbox closure in said closed position, said lock means including a first latch member attached to and movable with said mailbox closure and a second latch member connected to said mailbox housing and engageable with said first latch member when said mailbox closure is in said closed position;
• biasing means for continuously biasing one of said latch members into latching engagement with the other of said latch members;
• manually operated delatching means for moving the biased latch member against the bias of said biasing means to an unlatched position wherein said latch members are unlatched and said mailbox can be opened by manually exerting a pulling force on said mailbox closure;
• and
• retention means for retaining said biased latch member in said unlatched position after said biased latch member is moved to the unlatched position while the mailbox closure is in closed position, said retention means being responsive to movement of said mailbox closure to said open position from said closed position to allow movement of said biased latch member under the urging of said biasing means from the unlatched position to a position wherein said latch members latchingly engage when said mailbox closure is returned to said closed position, said second latch member comprising said biased latch member and projecting downwardly into the interior of said mailbox housing closely adjacent to said front opening, said first latch member projecting through said front opening into the interior of said mailbox housing when the mailbox closure is in said closed position and removed from said front opening and the interior of said mailbox housing when said mailbox closure is in said open position, said retention means comprising a spring biased plunger on said first latch member and movable relative to said first latch member, and said lockable mailbox apparatus including an abutment member having a first abutment surface and projecting downwardly from said second latch member, said spring biased plunger engaging the first abutment surface of said abutment member to telescope the spring biased plunger relative to said first latch member when said second latch member has been moved downwardly under the urging of said biasing means to the position wherein said latch members latchingly engage and said mail box closure is in said closed position.