American Standard Inc.

The Mosler Safe Company

Robert E Morano

Victor J Vogel

Adam Weissmuller

Peter Pawchak

A transportation system in which cars having cargo containers are driven along tracks. Access to a car's cargo container is provided via a door on the car which is moved by a door drive system carried on the car. In the exemplary case of a remote bank teller transportation system, a car moves between two terminals in which the car and the car door are orientated vertically 'right side up' in one terminal and 'upside down' in the other terminal. The door drive system serves to move the door downwardly for both orientations of the car.

Transportation system having multiple direction cargo carrier door opener

A pneumatically-propelled carrier system including a pneumatic system tube of generally circular cross section interconnecting a first terminal constructed to permit the carrier to be removed, that is, a 'free carrier' terminal, and a second terminal constructed to prevent removal of the carrier, while providing access to it through a terminal access opening, this latter terminal being a 'captive carrier' terminal. Since the system tube interconnecting the captive and free terminals has a generally circular cross section, the carrier, regardless of its cross section, is free to assume any rotational orientation about its longitudinal axis. To align a carrier access opening provided in the carrier and the terminal access opening of the captive carrier terminal when a carrier is received, to permit access to the carrier interior, a carrier rotating assembly is provided at the captive carrier terminal for rotating the carrier upon arrival to a predetermined rotational orientation wherein the carrier access opening aligns with the terminal access opening. Several additional features of the system are also disclosed, such as a cover and latching mechanism for the carrier which requires that both the latch mechanism and the cover be depressed to facilitate opening; a mechanism for automatically opening the carrier cover when it has been rotated to the predetermined orientation, aligning its opening with that of the terminal; and a sill and associated automatic operating mechanism which bridges the lower edges of the carrier and terminal access openings to prevent articles from falling into the space between them in the course of insertion or removal of an article relative to the interior of the carrier as an incident to a transaction at the captive carrier terminal.

Pneumatically-propelled carrier system

A dispatch and receive terminal that, in preferred form, includes an air tight pusher housing and a pusher flap swingably mounted to move between a retract position and an extend position in response to air pressure in that housing. In the dispatch or pressure mode, the pusher flap swings into an air tight terminal housing to push the carrier axially along the guide tray and partially back into the system tube. After the carrier has been initially dispatched back into the system tube, and as the pusher flap swings further into the terminal housing to an open position, the pusher flap structure opens a pressure port between the terminal and the pusher housings, thereby pressurizing the terminal housing and the system tube behind the carrier for pushing the carrier completely out of the housing and at least partially through the tube. The pusher assembly also includes a check valve flap structurally connected with the pusher flap, the check valve flap remaining closed in response to pressure, but opening in response to vacuum, in the pusher housing. In the receive or vacuum mode, the check valve flap opens a vacuum port between the terminal and pusher housings, thereby creating a vacuum in the terminal housing and in the system tube ahead of the carrier to aid in drawing or returning the carrier into that housing from the system tube.

Growing community of inventors

Ringwood, NJ, United States of America

Robert E Morano