US 5,181,806 AGranted

Pneumatic tube system

AssigneeDiebold, Incorporated

InventorsLeo J. Grosswiller, F. Michael Theriault, Lawrence F. Mannella, Walter G. Anders

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Abstract

A pneumatic tube system comprising: a pair of terminals; an overhead cylindrical tube connecting the terminals; a captive carrier for passage through the tube, the carrier having an internal cavity for carrying articles and removable caps at the distal ends thereof enclosing the cavity; a carrier receiver enclosed within each of the terminals for receiving the carrier, the carrier receiver being operable to reciprocally move the carrier axially along a pre-determined axis which is angularly movable relative to the tube; and a cap removing assembly in each of the terminals operable to remove a cap from one end of the carrier to permit access to the carrier cavity and to replace the cap to permit transfer of the carrier through the tube.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A cap for attachment to a generally tubular container having a cavity, an opening to said cavity and a flange about the periphery of said opening, said cap including:

a cap housing dimensioned to generally correspond to said opening in said container;
a cover member attached to said housing for enclosing said opening in said tubular container;
means about the periphery of said cover member for pneumatically sealing said cavity when said cap is attached to said container;
a plurality of latch elements mounted to said housing, each of said latch elements including a hook shaped protrusion dimensioned to engage said flange and being movable along an individual path which is generally perpendicular to a predetermined axis to reciprocate between an attached position wherein said hook shaped projections are disposed to engage and grip said flange on said container and a release position wherein said latch elements have moved outward away from said axis and said hook shaped projections are removed from said flange;
an actuator movable along said axis between a first position and a second position, and
link means operable to connect said actuator to said plurality of latch elements, said latch elements being in said attached position when said actuator is in said first position and being in said release position when said actuator in said second position.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.