System and method for pneumatic transport

A computer-implemented method of controlling pneumatic transport of carriers, comprising:

• transporting a carrier through a plurality of stations interconnected by pneumatic travel tubes;
• rotating a cartridge assembly within each station to align cartridge tubes with the pneumatic travel tubes;
• rotating a wear plate assembly, the wear plate assembly being in slidable communication with the rotatable cartridge assembly;
• and
• controlling the configuration of each of the plurality of stations to provide transport of the carrier between first and second stations while passing through intermediate stations between the first and second stations without stopping movement of the carrier, wherein controlling the configuration of each of the plurality of stations includes defining a plurality of available paths between two interconnected stations and selecting a route for the carrier to travel between the two interconnected stations from the plurality of available paths between the two interconnected stations.

A pneumatic transport station, comprising:

• first, second, and third pneumatic travel tubes for interconnecting a plurality of pneumatic transport stations;
• a rotatable cartridge assembly having a plurality of tubes, each tube configurable to be aligned with either the first and second pneumatic travel tubes or the third pneumatic travel tube, the plurality of tubes of the rotatable cartridge having a first tube for pass-through of a carrier, and a second tube having first and second openings for loading the carrier into the second tube;
• a wear plate assembly in slidable communication with the rotatable cartridge assembly, the wear plate assembly including a spring mechanism to bias the weight of the cartridge assembly off the wear plate;
• and
• a computer system for controlling the configuration of the rotatable cartridge and wear plate to receive a carrier traveling via the first or second pneumatic travel tube and transmit the carrier via the third pneumatic travel tube.

A computer-implemented method of controlling pneumatic transport of carriers, comprising:

• providing a control station connected to a first and second pneumatic transport loop, the first and second pneumatic transport loop each having a plurality of interconnected stations;
• transporting a carrier through the first pneumatic transport loop;
• receiving the carrier from the first pneumatic transport loop into a cartridge tube of a cartridge assembly within the control station;
• rotating the cartridge assembly to align the cartridge tube with the second pneumatic transport loop;
• transporting the carrier through the second pneumatic transport loop;
• and
• controlling the configuration of each of the plurality of interconnected stations to provide transport of the carrier through the first or second pneumatic transport loop without stopping movement of the carrier, wherein controlling the configuration of each of the plurality of interconnected stations includes defining a plurality of available paths between two interconnected stations and selecting a route for the carrier to travel between the two interconnected stations from the plurality of available paths between the two interconnected stations.