Patent ID: 7363106

Claim:
A method for storing a travel path of pneumatic carrier through a pneumatic carrier system where the pneumatic carrier system includes a plurality of user stations, pneumatic tubes and communication devices, comprising the steps of: using a communication device, reading identification information from an identification device of a pneumatic carrier, wherein the pneumatic carrier is at an origination location within a pneumatic carrier system; receiving a destination location for the pneumatic carrier via a user interface; storing the identification information, the origination location and the destination location to a transaction record on a computer readable storage medium; launching the pneumatic carrier through the pneumatic system to the destination location; reading the identification device at a plurality of intermediate locations in the pneumatic carrier system using communications devices having known intermediate locations between the origination location and the destination location; upon reading the identification device at an intermediate location, storing the known intermediate location of said communications device to the transaction record, wherein the transaction record records a travel path of the pneumatic carrier through the pneumatic carrier system; and using the transaction record to identify a portion of the pneumatic system on which to perform maintenance.