Customer terminal for a single tube pneumatic system for banking and the like

A customer terminal for a single tube pneumatic system for banking and the like features a two-piece carrier receiver which includes a carrier tray that first moves downwardly from a stationary receiver housing and then forwardly and upwardly to present a carrier in the tray to a customer, the tray and carrier remaining parallel to the receiver housing. The tray is resiliently mounted to the mechanism which manipulates it and the joint between the tray and housing is contoured both to improve sealing between the two parts and to reduce wear on the seal itself. The air pressure/exhaust ports into the carrier chamber within the receiver are disposed between the ends of the chamber in order to provide an air cushion for reducing the shock of an arriving carrier and to prevent loose items in the system from being sucked into the blower.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The invention concerns customer terminals in single tube pneumatic systems 
for banking or the like, and more particularly terminals in which, when 
the carrier receiver is open, the carrier is forwardly presented to a 
customer. 
An approach somewhat similar to that of the present invention is found in 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,554. There the receiver includes a pair of upper and 
lower, semi-cylindrical trays forming in effect an extension of the 
pneumatic tube. The upper tray is hinged along one edge to the receiver 
proper and its other edge is hinged to one edge of the lower tray. When a 
carrier arrives in the receiver the two trays unfold about their 
respective hinges and at the same time move forwardly so that the lower 
tray presents the carrier to the customer at a position in front of the 
receiver. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention achieves essentially the same thing as that of the 
foregoing patent but in a manner reducing the problem of sealing two trays 
to each other and to the carrier tube when the receiver is closed, as well 
as providing improved means for reducing the shock to the receiver when a 
carrier arrives within it. To that end the receiver of the present 
invention comprises essentially two unconnected pieces: a stationary 
receiver housing having the pneumatic transit tube entering one end and a 
bumper at its other end between which is an upper semi-cylindrical wall 
forming the upper half of a cylindrical chamber, the axis of the receiver 
being parallel to the front wall of the terminal. The lower portion of the 
receiver is formed by a movable tray whose upper wall forms the lower half 
of the carrier chamber. After a carrier arrives in the latter, the tray 
with the carrier on it first moves downwardly and then upwardly and 
forwardly of the receiver housing so that the tray and carrier are 
disposed in front of the receiver housing for better presentation to the 
customer, the tray throughout its movement remaining parallel to the 
receiver housing. 
The tray is resiliently mounted to the machinery which manipulates it, 
which is an adaptation of a Geneva mechanism, so that any misalignment of 
the tray with the receiver housing is accommodated when the tray is in 
engagement with the housing to close the receiver, an appropriate seal 
being provided along the mating edges of the two parts. Furthermore, the 
joint between the receiver housing and the tray is contoured to minimize 
sliding movement between the seal on one part and the edge of the other 
part in order to reduce wear on the seal as the receiver is opened and 
closed. 
The cylindrical wall of the receiver housing is provided with a number of 
small air exhaust/intake ports disposed intermediate the annular seals at 
the ends of a carrier when at rest in the carrier chamber. When the seal 
at the leading end of a carrier arriving in the carrier chamber has passed 
the ports, an air cushion is formed between the leading end of the carrier 
and the bumper at the far end of the receiver, thus slowing the carrier 
and lessening the shock to the receiver of its halt by the bumper. 
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent 
from the drawings and the more detailed description which follows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
In FIGS. 1 and 2, the customer terminal includes a rectangular housing 10 
enclosing inner framework, walls and panels on which the various 
components of the terminal are mounted in the left or right-hand half of 
the housing 10 depending on whether the carrier transit tube 11 enters 
from the left or right (as shown). The remainder of the housing 10 in 
either case merely encloses the entering portion of the tube 11. As shown 
in the drawings, the carrier receiver, generally indicated at 12, is 
mounted in the upper left-hand portion of the terminal, its axis being 
parallel to the housing front wall 13. The upper portion 14 of the latter 
wall is sloped and provided with an opening 15 for access to the receiver 
12, the access opening 15 being opened and closed by a laterally sliding 
panel 16 in customary manner. 
As noted, the receiver 12 consists basically of two parts, a stationary 
receiver housing and a carrier tray. The receiver housing 20 (see FIGS. 5 
and 6) is molded of an appropriate plastic and includes a semi-cylindrical 
wall 21 forming the upper half of a cylindrical carrier chamber, the 
chamber wall 21 being provided with a multitude of small pneumatic ports 
22 midway between its ends. The latter ends terminate in the upper halves 
23, integral with the wall 21, of a pair of split sleeves (for easing 
molding of the housing 20) which are cemented to the lower halves 24 and 
held together by bolts while the cement dries. Into the left-hand end is 
spigotted the transit tube 11 and into the other is cemented a plug 25 
(see FIG. 2) to which a carrier bumper 26 is bolted. The receiver housing 
20 is further molded with a pair of spaced, transverse end walls 27 on its 
exterior adjacent the sleeve halves 23 and extending from the front of the 
housing 20 up and over its top to rearward thereof, as shown in FIG. 6. 
The lower edge of an integral front wall 28 forms an underlying flange 29 
with the lower front edge of the chamber wall 21 and together with an 
L-shaped metal panel 30 joins the end walls 27 to provide a plenum chamber 
31 on the exterior of the housing 20 about the ports 22. An integral 
flange 32 co-planar with the flange 29 extends rearwardly from the lower 
rear edge of the chamber wall 21 and with the end walls 27 and the panel 
30 define a lower opening 33 into the plenum chamber 31. The lower halves 
24 of the split sleeves include exterior splayed flanges 34 which form 
continuations of the flanges 29 and 32, the adjacent faces of the flanges 
29, 32 and 34 being grooved to receive a continuous elastomeric carrier 
tray seal 35. The receiver housing plenum opening 33 leads down into a 
sheet metal duct 36 having a floor 37 through which opens an air 
pressure/exhaust pipe 38 from a reversible blower 39 on the floor of the 
housing 10. 
The carrier tray 40 (see FIGS. 1, 2 and 7) is also an integral plastic 
molding, trapezoidal in side elevation, and provided at its top with a 
longitudinally extending, semicylindrical wall 41 forming the lower half 
of the carrier chamber when the receiver 12 is closed. The upper edges 42 
of the tray 40 outboard of the wall 41 and the upper edges of the tray end 
walls 43 mate with the receiver housing flanges 29, 32 and 34 and bear 
against the seal 35 when the receiver 12 is closed. The tray 40 is hollow 
below the wall 41 and its sloping end walls 43 are provided with two pairs 
of aligned bores 44 which loosely encompass a pair of parallel tray 
mounting bars 45. The latter are resiliently urged downwardly by plugs 46 
and coil springs 47 slidable in blind bores within integral shoulders 48 
on the tray end walls 43, the axes of the plugs 46 intersecting those of 
the mounting bars 45 at right angles. The outer ends of the bars 45 are 
connected by cross plates 49 from which extend a pair of axially aligned 
trunions 50 parallel to the bars 45. The tray 40 and bars 45 are 
symmetrical with respect to a plane A--A (see FIGS. 2 and 3) through the 
trunions 50 and thus also through the axis of the carrier chamber. Each 
tray end wall 43 between the shoulders 48 is further provided with an 
integral boss 51 having a bore 52 whose axis lies in the foregoing plane 
and intersects the common axis of the trunions 50 at right angles. 
A drive shaft 55 is mounted below the receiver 12 parallel to the trunions 
50, the axis of the shaft 55 lying the plane A--A parallel to the axis of 
the carrier chamber. The ends of the shaft 55 are journaled in sheet metal 
brackets 56 and 57 (see FIGS. 1 and 4), the bracket 57 also mounting an 
electric motor and reduction gearbox 58 whose output shaft is fitted with 
a drive sprocket 59. A drive chain 60 is entrained around the sprocket 59 
and a driven sprocket 61 fixed to the shaft 55 intermediate its ends. 
Adjacent the ends of the shaft 55 in turn are journaled a pair of bearing 
blocks 62a, 62b having opposite upper and lower bores 63 whose axes 
intersect the axis of the shaft 55 at right angles. The upper pair of 
bores 63 fixedly receive the lower ends of a pair of parallel tray guide 
bars 64 in the plane A--A whose upper ends are slidably received in the 
bores 52 of the two bosses 51 on the tray end walls 43. Outboard of the 
bearing blocks 62a, 62b a pair of parallel, identical cranks 65a, 65b, of 
the shape shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, are also fixed to the shaft 55 and 
extend upwardly therefrom. To the upper ends of the cranks 65a, 65b are 
pivotally attached at 66 the lower ends of a pair of parallel tray link 
bars 67 of equal length, the axis of the pivots 66 being parallel to that 
of the shaft 55 and the carrier tray trunions 50 to which the upper ends 
of the bars 67 are pivotally attached. One of the link bars 67 includes an 
actuator 68 for the limit switches controlling operation of the motor 58. 
To the inboard face of the crank 65a is bolted an annular shift lever 
locking cam 70 centered with respect to the drive shaft 55 and interrupted 
at 71 symmetrically with respect to the adjacent tray guide bar 64. The 
peripheral surface of the cam 70 is rotatable in each of two circular 
recesses 72 on the periphery of a sector shaped carrier tray shift lever 
73, the recesses 72 each having a radius equal to that of the cam 70 and 
subtended by minor chords. The shift lever 73 is pivotally attached at 74 
to the bracket 56 about an axis parallel to the drive shaft 55 and the two 
recesses 72 are separated by a slot 75 extending radially inwards of the 
lever 73. A tray shift bar 76 extends down from the lower bore 63 of the 
bearing block 62a and is slidably received in a locating block 77 pivoted 
at 78 to the lever 73 about an axis parallel to that of the drive shaft 55 
and disposed radially inwards of the slot 75. Finally, the pivot 66 on the 
crank 65a is co-axially provided with a cylindrical shift lever driver 79 
in planar alignment with the lever 73 and of a diameter equal to the width 
of its slot 75. 
Accordingly, when the receiver 12 is closed, as shown in FIG. 2, a one-half 
rotation of the drive shaft 55 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4 
causes the cranks 65a, 65b and link bars 67 to move the carrier tray 40 
downwards on the guide bars 64 in the plane A--A, thus opening the 
receiver 12. During that movement the driver 79 engages the lever slot 75 
and rotates the tray shift lever 73 about its pivot 74 in the opposite 
direction to that of the crank 65a, movement of the lever 73 being 
accommodated by the interruption 71 in the locking cam 70. As the lever 73 
rotates, the tray shift bar 76 and slide block 77 swing the bearing blocks 
62a, 62b, the tray guide bars 64 and thus the carrier tray 40 about the 
shaft 55 to the right in FIG. 2, the locking cam 70 then riding in the 
adjacent lever recess 72. Continued rotation of the shaft 55 in the same 
direction causes the cranks 65a, 65b and the link bars 67 to move the 
carrier tray 40 upwards on the guide bars 64 in the plane B--B shown in 
FIG. 3 and along an inclined panel 79 at the lower edge of the housing 
opening 14 parallel to the plane B--B. The tray 40 is then in a position 
forward of and parallel to the receiver housing 20 to present a carrier 80 
in the tray 40 to a customer through the housing opening 14. Reversal of 
the motor 58 will reverse the procedure, first lowering the carrier tray 
40 in the plane B--B and then elevating it in the plane A--A to the 
receiver housing 20 to close the receiver 12. The two planes A--A, B--B 
intersect at the axis of the drive shaft 55 about which the tray 40 tilts 
back and forth as the receiver 12 opens and closes. In a commercial 
embodiment of the invention the included angle between the two planes is 
32 degrees. 
As the carrier tray 40 engages the receiver housing 20 to close the 
receiver 12, the resilient mounting of the tray 40 relative to the tray 
mounting bars 45, by virtue of the coil springs 47, is activated. That in 
turn compensates for any minor misalignment between the housing 20 and 
tray 40 owing to production variances in the manufacture and installation 
of the parts concerned, all so that the tray 40 will so far as possible 
uniformly engage the receiver housing seal 35 to render the joint between 
the housing 20 and tray 40 air-tight. The splayed housing flanges 34 and 
tray end walls 43 not only reduce sliding contact between the housing 20 
and tray 40 and thus wear on the seal 35 at those points as the receiver 
12 is opened and closed, but also provide better sealing than if the 
housing flanges 34 and tray end walls 43 were perpendicular to the axis of 
the carrier chamber. 
The location of the ports 22 in the receiver housing 20 midway along the 
carrier chamber, rather than at its far end through the bumper 26, reduces 
the shock of an arriving carrier 80 inasmuch as once its leading seal ring 
81 passes the ports 22, an air cushion is formed between the leading seal 
ring 81 and the bumper 26 before the carrier 80 strikes the latter. When 
pressurized air is supplied by the blower 39 through the pipe 38, duct 36 
and plenum chamber 31 to the ports 22 in order to dispatch the carrier 80 
from the receiver 12, the air acts against the then leading seal ring 81 
to move the carrier 80 until the then trailing seal ring 81 passes the 
ports 22. A large number of small ports 22 are preferred rather than a 
single large one in order to prevent loose papers, coins and the like in 
the transit tube 11 from being sucked from the carrier chamber into the 
blower 39 when it is reversed to send the carrier 80 from the teller 
terminal (not shown) to the customer terminal. Other details of the 
customer terminal, such as the various sensors, switches, and the electric 
"logic" involved in its structure and operation are all conventional and 
well within the skill of the art to provide, so are not here described 
since they are independent of the present invention. 
Lastly, though the invention has been described in terms of a particular 
embodiment, being the best mode known of carrying out the invention, it is 
not limited to that embodiment alone. Rather, the following claims are to 
be read as encompassing all adaptations and modifications of the invention 
falling within its spirit and scope.