ARTICLE CARRIER TRANSFER AND TRACKING SYSTEMS

• US 3,627,231 A
• Filed: 07/14/1970
• Issued: 12/14/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Clement H. Kalthoff
• Original Assignee: Clement H. Kalthoff
• Inventors: Kalthoff, Clement H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wegbreit, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): Silverman, I. Kenneth
• Application Number:
  US05/054,710
• Time in Patent Office: 518 Days
• Field of Search: 243/1,2,9,16,19,36
• US Class Current: 406/3
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 51/04 Conveying the articles in carriers having a cross-section approximating that of the pipe or tube; Tube mail systems

Abstract

An article in a carrier, such as magnetic media, is pneumatically dispatched through an incoming pneumatic tube to an automatic carrier terminal. The carrier is automatically unloaded with the article being processed. Upon completion of the processing, the carrier terminal supplies the carrier with the article therein through an outgoing tube to be picked up by a carrier exchanging system. The carrier is tracked throughout the dispatch system. A status byte is generated and memorized which indicates location of every carrier in a system. This tracking system is applicable not only to pneumatic dispatch systems but to other article carrying systems as well. A plurality of dispatch systems operate with one carrier exchanging system. A common control circuit controls article processing, the carrier exchanging system, the automatic carrier terminals and pneumatic dispatching.

Claims

1. An article carrier tracking system for tracking along a path of travel;

including in combination;

a plurality of latch means disposed along said path of travel dividing said path into tracking segments and each responsive to a passing carrier in said path to latch in a first state, each latch means maintaining said first state in a no-work condition;

means in each latch means responsive to said latch means being in said first state to supply a latch releasing signal to the immediately upstream latch means;

each upstream latch means being responsive to the respective releasing signals from one downstream latch means to release said first state and assume a second state; and

last means for releasing said most downstream latch means.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said path of travel comprises an input leg, a terminal leg having a work position and an output leg;

the improved combination further including;

first and second latch means in said first leg respectively indicating a carrier having entered and ready to leave said first leg;

third latch means in said terminal leg indicating a carrier in said work position;

fourth and fifth latch means in said output leg respectively indicating a carrier entering and ready to leave said output leg, said fifth latch means being the most downstream latch means.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said input leg has an input portion and said output leg has an output portion for temporarily storing a carrier, said first latch means sensing a carrier in said input portion and said fifth latch means sensing a carrier ready to enter said output portion;

said last means including carrier sensing means in said output portion responsive to a carrier therein to supply a releasing signal to said fifth latch means.

4. The system of claim 2, further including momentary sensing means along said terminal leg for monitoring carrier travel therealong and logic means and said second and third latch means to perform a function indicating carrier movement.

5. The system of claim 2 further including carrier movement control means responsive to said function being performed to effect transfer of said carrier to said output leg from said terminal leg and not trying to effect such transfer of the absence of such function.

6. The system set forth in claim 2, wherein said tracking system is operatively associated with a pneumatic-dispatch system, said input leg is an input pneumatic tube, said output leg is an output pneumatic tube, and said terminal leg includes means for transferring a carrier from said input to said output leg, control means for controlling said pneumatic-dispatch system including selectively actuatable valve means in communicative relationship to said input and output legs, and means responsive to said latches being in said first state to selectively actuate said valves for coordinating carrier transfer through the system.

7. The system set forth in claim 6, further including carrier presence-sensing means in said terminal leg and means responsive to said presence-sensing means and to said latch means for supplying electrical signals indicative of the carriers in the system, and said control means being further responsive to said presence-indicating signals for effecting transfer of carriers through said terminal leg.

8. The apparatus set forth in claim 7, wherein said control means is responsive to said latch means for actuating said valve means for simultaneously operating both of said input and output legs irrespective of carriers therein so long as at least one carrier is in one of said legs.

9. A pneumatic carrier transporting and tracking system including in combination:

incoming and outgoing pneumatic tubes each having a transfer portion at one end;

a carrier terminal operatively connected to said tubes at opposite ends from said portions for exchanging article containing carriers with said tubes and having a work station location;

an article processing station operatively associated with said terminal for automatically operating on an article carried to said location by a carrier;

a plurality of latch means including condition indicating means disposed along said tubes and said carrier terminal forming tracking segments therebetween, each latch means being responsive to a passing carrier to assume a first stable condition and reset the last latch means passed by a carrier;

last means in said output tube transfer portion responsive to a carrier entering such transfer portion to reset a last-passed latch means by such entering carrier;

pneumatic means supplying carrier urging fluid to said input and output tubes respectively remote from and adjacent said terminal; and

control means receiving said latch means indications and responsive to said article processing station and said indications to control said pneumatic means and said terminal for effecting simultaneous carrier urging in said tubes and operation of said terminal to exchange carriers with said tubes for effecting a circuitous carrier transfer between input to output transfer portions.