Multiple dock station for pneumatic transport system
First Claim
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1. A method for operating a carrier station of a pneumatic tube system, comprising:
- rotating a carriage having multiple carrier docks about an axis to align a receiving end of a first of the multiple carrier docks with a pneumatic port connected to the pneumatic tube system;
receiving a first pneumatic carrier within the first carrier dock while aligned with the pneumatic port;
identifying the first pneumatic carrier as a secured carrier requiring a security input from a user prior to providing access to the first pneumatic carrier;
first rotating the carriage to position the first carrier dock holding the first pneumatic carrier at an angular position that is non-aligned with said pneumatic port and non-aligned with an access opening in the carrier station;
receiving the security input from a user interface; and
second rotating the carriage to align the first carrier dock holding the first pneumatic carrier with the access opening, wherein a user can access the first pneumatic through an open radial outer edge of the first carrier dock.
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Abstract
Provided herein is a pneumatic tube system station having a rotating carriage with multiple carrier ports. The multiple carrier ports allow for receiving multiple carriers and/or staging multiple carries for dispatch. In one arrangement, one or more carriers may be securely maintained within the station while permitting users to continue utilizing the station.
59 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A method for operating a carrier station of a pneumatic tube system, comprising:
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rotating a carriage having multiple carrier docks about an axis to align a receiving end of a first of the multiple carrier docks with a pneumatic port connected to the pneumatic tube system; receiving a first pneumatic carrier within the first carrier dock while aligned with the pneumatic port; identifying the first pneumatic carrier as a secured carrier requiring a security input from a user prior to providing access to the first pneumatic carrier; first rotating the carriage to position the first carrier dock holding the first pneumatic carrier at an angular position that is non-aligned with said pneumatic port and non-aligned with an access opening in the carrier station; receiving the security input from a user interface; and second rotating the carriage to align the first carrier dock holding the first pneumatic carrier with the access opening, wherein a user can access the first pneumatic through an open radial outer edge of the first carrier dock. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification