Patent ID: 8317432

Claim:
A pass-through valve for a pneumatic tube carrier system, comprising: a pneumatic tube having an internal bore at least partially defined by a sidewall extending between a tube inlet and a tube outlet, wherein the internal bore has an internal diameter that is sized to accommodate the passage of a pneumatic carrier there through and the sidewall includes a first plurality of apertures; an outer sleeve circumferentially surrounding at least a portion of an outside surface of the pneumatic tube, wherein the outer sleeve is moveable between an open position and a closed position free of obstruction of said internal bore; an actuator in operative communication with the outer sleeve and operative to move the outer sleeve with respect to the pneumatic tube between the open position and the closed position, wherein when in the closed position the outer sleeve covers the apertures to maintain fluid flow through internal bore of the pneumatic tube and when in the open position the outer sleeve allows for fluid flow through the apertures to exhaust fluid from the internal bore of the pneumatic tube to an exterior of the pneumatic tube.