Claims
- 1. A carrier for use in a cylindrical pneumatic tube system, the carrier being a generally cylindrical, normally closed container for transporting articles through the system, the carrier comprising:
- a generally cylindrical, tubular body symmetrical about a central axis, said body having opposed open ends communicating with an interior cavity for holding said articles to be transported;
- flange means formed about the periphery of each of said open ends of said body:
- a pair of removable caps, one cap mounted on one open end and the other cap mounted on the other open end of said body, each of said caps being dimensioned to correspond to said one or the other of said open ends of said carrier body, and having an axis oriented to generally correspond to said central axis of said body when said cap is mounted thereon, each of said caps including:
- a plurality of latch elements operable to grip said flange means, each of said latch elements movable along an individual path perpendicular to said axis of said cap between an attached position wherein said latch elements engage said flange means and secure said cap to said carrier body and a release position wherein said latch elements are disengaged from said flange means wherein said cap may be removed from said carrier body,
- an actuator movable along the axis of said cap between a first position and a second position,
- link means operable to connect said actuator to said plurality of latch elements, said latch elements being in said attached position when said actuator is in said first position and being in said release position when said actuator is in said second position, and
- means for biassing said actuator toward said first position; and
- means for pneumatically sealing at least one of said caps with said tubular body when said at least one of said caps is in said attached position.
- 2. A carrier as defined in claim 1 wherein said latch elements are movable along paths which extend radially outward from the axis of said cap.
- 3. A carrier as defined in claim 2 wherein said paths are equally spaced from each other.
- 4. A carrier as defined in claim 3 wherein latch elements move radially outward along said paths from said attached position to said release position.
- 5. A carrier for use in a cylindrical pneumatic tube system, the carrier being a generally cylindrical, normally closed container for transporting articles through the system, the carrier comprising:
- a generally cylindrical, tubular body symmetrical about a central axis, said body having opposed open ends communicating with an interior cavity for holding said articles to be transported,
- flange means formed about the periphery of each of said open ends of said body,
- a pair of removable caps, one cap mounted on one end and the other cap mounted on the other open end of said body, each of said caps being dimensioned to correspond to said one or the other of said open ends of said carrier body, and having an axis oriented to generally correspond to said central axis of said body when said cap is mounted thereon, each of said caps including:
- a plurality of latch elements operable to grip said flange means, each of said latch elements movable along an individual path perpendicular to said axis of said cap between an attached position wherein said latch elements engage said flange means and secure said cap to said carrier body and a release position wherein said latch elements are disengaged from said flange means wherein said cap may be removed from said carrier body along the axis of said cap between a first position and a second position,
- link means operable to connect said actuator to said plurality of latch elements, said latch elements being in said attached position when said actuator is in said first position and being in said release position when said actuator is in said second position, and
- means for biasing said actuator toward said first position.
- 6. A carrier as defined in claim 5 wherein said latch elements move radially outward along said path from said attached position to said release position as said actuator moves along said axis of said cap from said first position to said second position.
- 7. A carrier as defined in claim 5 wherein said carrier body is approximately 8 inches in diameter.
- 8. A carrier for use in a cylindrical pneumatic tube system, the carrier being a generally cylindrical, normally closed container for transporting articles through the system, the carrier comprising:
- a generally cylindrical, tubular body symmetrical about a central axis, said body having opposed open ends communicating with an interior cavity for holding said articles to be transported,
- flange means formed about the periphery of each of said open ends of said body,
- a pair of removable caps, one cap mounted on one open end and the other cap mounted on the other open end of said body, each of said caps being dimensioned to correspond to said one or the other of said open end of said carrier body, and being generally symmetrical about an axis oriented to generally correspond to said central axis of said body when said cap is mounted thereon, and each of said caps including:
- a cap housing, a plurality of latch elements within said housing operable to grip said flange means, each of said latch elements movable along an individual path perpendicular to said axis of said cap between an attached position wherein said latch elements engage said flange means and secure said cap to said carrier body and a release position wherein said latch elements are disengaged from said flange means wherein said cover may be removed from said carrier body,
- an actuator within said housing movable along said axis between a first position and a second position, said actuator including engagement surface means external of said housing, said actuator moving from said first position to said second position when said engagement surface means is moved away from said housing along said axis,
- link means within said housing operable to connect said actuator to said plurality of latch elements, said latch elements being in said attached position when said actuator is in said first position and being in said release position when said actuator is in said second position, and
- means for biassing said actuator toward said first position.
- 9. A carrier as defined in claim 8 wherein said caps are essentially identical.
- 10. A carrier as defined in claim 8 further comprising seal means for pneumatically sealing at least one of said caps with said tubular body when at least one of said caps is attached thereto.
- 11. A carrier as defined in claim 8 further comprising seal means for pneumatically sealing said interior cavity of said tubular body when said caps are attached thereto.
- 12. A carrier as defined in claim 10 or claim 11 wherein said sealing means includes a gasket on said cap for sealing against said tubular body when said cap is attached thereto.
Parent Case Info
This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 07/621,015 filed on Nov. 30, 1990, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,792.
US Referenced Citations (11)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2131052 |
Jan 1973 |
DEX |
38086 |
May 1936 |
NLX |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
621015 |
Nov 1990 |
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