In rural and suburban areas, mail is typically delivered to homes and businesses by postal service employees who deposit the mail in mailboxes placed along the roadways near the business or residence. These mailboxes are generally of a common design, and are supported a distance above the ground to enable convenient deposit and retrieval of packages and mail therein.
A wide variety of posts for supporting mailboxes above the ground are known. Most simply, a wooden post or a metal pipe, having one end thereof buried in the ground may serve as a mailbox support post. It has been found desirable, however, to provide mailbox support posts of improved functionality and aesthetic appeal.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,853 to Hahn discloses an adjustable platform means for supporting mailboxes and the like. Hahn describes an adjustable bracket for mounting on a vertical support for engaging mailboxes of different dimensions.
Additionally, a number of ornamental designs for mailbox posts are known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 70,163, 172,997, 197,683, 199,107, 200,748, 254,755, 334,272 and 338,762 disclose a variety of ornamental mailbox designs and mailbox post designs.
Traditionally, mailbox posts have been fabricated from wood or metal. These materials of fabrication have been found to have a number of disadvantages. For example, metal mailbox posts are commonly cast from iron, aluminum, or other metals and alloys, which raw materials are relatively expensive. Furthermore, these metals are subject to rusting and other corrosion, and are particularly subject to attack from acidic and alkaline soil. These metal posts often require expensive and time consuming periodic maintenance such as sanding, priming and painting. Additionally, metal posts are heavy, thus adding to the expense of shipping and installation.
Known posts fabricated from wood, likewise, suffer a number of disadvantages. For example, wood posts are subject to weather and insect damage, warping, splintering and deterioration due to soil contact. Although lighter than many metals, wood posts are still relatively heavy, resulting in high shipping and installation costs. Furthermore, if it is desired to provide wood posts with decorative ornamentation through known woodworking techniques, the cost of manufacture is greatly increased.
Accordingly, it can be seen that there is yet a need in the art for a mailbox post which is easy and inexpensive to produce and install, which is light in weight, and which resists weather and insect damage. It is to the provision of such a mailbox post that the present invention is primarily directed.