ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 6 -- United States Patent no. 12,376,696, issued on Aug. 5.
"Locking apparatus for community mailbox" was invented by Kevin Russell (Bakersfield, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A locking apparatus for a community mailbox prevents the opening of the main access door through which a mail carrier may gain access to the interiors of all of the individual mailboxes of the community mailbox. The locking apparatus has a mounting plate which is configured to be attached to an outer housing of the community mailbox. A stop plate is pivotally attached to the mounting plate. The stop plate is configured to be locked into a first position which prevents the opening of the mai...