Pneumatic tube system teller terminal construction

In a terminal for a banking service pneumatic tube system of a type in which a single conveyor tube transmits a carrier to the terminal, in which the carrier is removable from the terminal, in which the terminal has a housing opening closed by a door pivotally mounted for movement between open and closed positions on the housing, in which a cradle for receiving a carrier transmitted in the system to the terminal is mounted on the door forming a cradle-door and is located in the housing when the door is closed;

• and in which the cradle-door is provided with latch means for locking the cradle-door closed when in closed position;
• the improvement in which the latch means includes:
• (1) a pawl and a lever pivotally mounted at spaced positions on the cradle;
• (2) the pawl and lever having selectively interengage-engageable notch and stop projections;
• (3) a latch member mounted on the terminal housing;
• (4) the pawl and lever having two positions of interengagement, one of which is a latched mode and the other of which is an unlatched mode with respect to said latch member;
• and
• (5) spring means engaged with each of the pawl and lever biasing the pawl and lever from one mode position to the other when either the pawl or lever is released from interengagement in the position of either of the modes.

In a terminal for a banking service pneumatic tube system of a type in which a single conveyor tube transmits a carrier to the terminal, in which the carrier is removable from the terminal, in which the terminal has a housing opening closed by a door pivotally mounted for movement between open and closed positions on the housing, in which a cradle for receiving a carrier transmitted in the system to the terminal is mounted on the door forming a cradle-door and is located in the housing when the door is closed;

• and in which the cradle-door is provided with latch means for locking the cradle-door closed when in closed position;
• the improvement in which the latch means includes:
• (1) a pawl and a lever pivotally mounted at spaced positions on the cradle;
• (2) the pawl having first and second notches separated by a stop portion projecting toward the lever;
• (3) the lever having a stop portion projecting toward the pawl and selectively engaged with said first or second notch when the pawl and lever are in latched or unlatched positions respectively;
• (4) a latch member mounted on the terminal housing;
• (5) the pawl having a slot engaged with said latch member when the pawl and lever are in latched position with the lever stop portion engaged with said first notch to retain the pawl in latched position;
• (6) spring means engaged with each of the pawl and lever biasing the pawl when in latched position to rotate to unlatched position in one direction on its pivot mounting to disengage said latch member in response to rotary movement of said lever in said one direction on its pivot mounting to release the lever stop portion from said first pawl notch and to establish engagement of said lever stop portion with said second pawl notch;
• and
• (7) said spring means, upon engagement of said pawl with said latch member when moved toward said latch member and resultant rotation by such engagement of said pawl in the other direction on its pivot mounting to release said lever stop portion from said second pawl notch, biasing said lever to rotate in said other direction on its pivot mounting to engage the lever stop portion in said first pawl notch in latched position.

In a banking service pneumatic tube system of a type having a single conveyor tube for transporting a carrier between customer and teller terminals in which a carrier is removable from either terminal, and in which a vertically extending conveyor tube end is adapted to be connected with the teller terminal for carrier arrival and sending to and from the terminal;

• the improvement in which the teller terminal includes:
• (1) a terminal housing having cylindrically curved wall portions forming a vertically extending passage terminating in cylindrical end portions one of which is closed;
• (2) means for coupling the other housing end portion with said vertically extending conveyor tube end;
• (3) the housing wall portions being formed with an opening communicating with said passage between said cylindrical end portions;
• (4) door means having a cradle mounted thereon forming a cradle-door for closing said housing opening;
• (5) the cradle-door being pivotally mounted on the housing movable between open and closed positions;
• (6) the cradle having a cylindrical wall portion aligned with and between the housing cylindrical end portions in which a carrier is received when the cradle-door is closed;
• (7) means for supporting a carrier in the cradle upon arrival therein;
• (8) means automatically pivotally opening the cradle-door with a carrier in the cylindrical cradle portion upon carrier arrival at the terminal;
• (9) the vertically extending housing passage wall being open at the bottom end portion and closed at the top end portion;
• (10) the means for supporting a carrier in the cradle comprising a retaining member located adjacent a swinging end of said pivotally mounted cradle-door, and pivotally mounted on the housing biased to project into the passage when the cradle-door is closed;
• (11) the means automatically pivotally opening the cradle-door having carrier arrival switch means mounted on the cradle-door adjacent said swinging end of the cradle-door, said arrival switch being actuated in response to arrival of the carrier in the cradle-door;
• and
• (12) latch means mounted on the cradle engageable with a latch member mounted in the housing locking the cradle-door closed when the cradle-door is moved toward closed position, said latch means having a hook portion projecting into the passage formed by the cradle cylindrical wall portion adjacent the pivotal mounting of the cradle-door on the housing as the cradle-door is moved toward closed position.