Mailbox unit

Claim 1

A mailbox unit permitting delivery and safe storage until pick up of both letters and packages to tenants of a multiple tenant building, which comprises in combination: a plurality of letter boxes assigned one to each of said tenants and accessible only to the tenant to which it is assigned and to a mailman charged with the delivery of mail to said building; and a plurality of package storage cabinets individually sized to receive packages too large to be accommodated within said letter boxes and accessible only to a given tenant to which a package is to be delivered and to said mailman, each said cabinet having a front closure door, tenant access lock movable between cabinet front closure door locking and unlocking conditions for permitting access to its associated cabinet by means of a selective access key bearing indicia corresponding to indicia appearing on said associated cabinet, said access lock permitting said selecTive access key to be inserted into and/or removed therefrom only when said access lock is in said cabinet locking condition, a custodian lock movable between a normal locked condition and an unlocked condition by means of a single custodian key in the possession of said mailman, said single custodian key being operable to control movements of said custodian lock of all of said cabinets, latch means, and latch receiving means carried on said access lock, said latch means being positioned in latching engagement with said latch receiving means by said custodian lock when in locked condition and being removed from latching engagement with said latch receiving means by movement of said custodian lock into unlocked condition, said latch means when in latching engagement with said latch receiving means cooperating therewith to permit movement of said access lock towards and into said cabinet unlocking condition while preventing return movement thereof towards said cabinet locking condition, wherein the presence of a selective access key in the letter box of said given tenant gives indication of the presence of and provides means for gaining access to a package locked within the one of said cabinets bearing indicia corresponding to indicia appearing upon said selective access key and said selective access key when employed to gain access to the package as aforesaid is automatically retained within its access lock until movement of said custodian lock from its normal locked condition is effected under control of said mailman.