AU635190B1 - Carrier for an air tube conveyer - Google Patents

Description

d 0 AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION PETTY PATENT 6 35190 o ir r Invention Title: "CARRIER FOR AN AIR TUBE CONVEYOR" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- CARRIER FOR AN AIR TUBS CONVEYOR This invention relates to a carrier for an air tube conveyor.

Air tube conveyors form a means of transporting small and comparatively light articles around large buildings.

Air tube conveyors are used especially in department stores, supermarkets, industry sampling and commercial documentation handling. Essentially, air tube conveyors comprise lengths of tube namely; plastics, interconnected to extend between designated points. The tube is usually between 63m to 160m of external diameter An air blower is used to force air at low pressure along the length of the tube. Such devices also operate on suction.

Carriers in the form of small cylinders that are of 15 approximately the same diameter as the internal diameter of the tube are positioned in the tube and can be blown or sucked along the length of the tube by the air pressure within the tube. Each carrier usually has a cylindrical body that is of smaller diameter than the internal diameter 20 of the tube and a pair of accelerator rings are positioned "on each end of the carrier to closely conform with the internal diameter of the tube to reduce the air within the tube flowing past the carrier to improve the efficiency of movement of the carrier along the tube. The elongate body of the carrier is usually provided with a form of closeable aperture whereby times may be positioned within the carrier for transportation.

Carriers for air tube conveyors have proved expensive items and are usually of rigid construction. If th carrier is to be used to transport heavy items such as coins there is a danger that the rigid construction of the carrier causes damage on impact to both the carrier and point of receipt due to the momentum of the contents.

Stiff accelerator rings suffer from a problem that the ends of the carrier can drop into grooves between adjacent tube sections. Considerable damage can be done to the tubes due to impact damage as the carrier crashes into the end of the conveyor.

The present invention concerns the considered need for a carrier that has a capacity to carry a variety of articles such as coins but is sufficiently resilient to reduce impact damage. A further consideration is that the carrier should be cheaper to produce than known carriers.

According to the present invention there is provided a carrier for an air tube conveyor, the carrier comprising a cylindrical body of flexible material with accelerator rings attached to either end of the body, the accelerator rings comprising a plurality of circular sheets of flexible 15 material secured together across the end of the body, the diameter of the accelerator rings being slightly greater than the internal diameter of the air tube conveyor.

In a preferred embodiment three circular end plates are stitched together across each end of the flexible body.

20 The flexible body then may be provided with a zipper extending either longitudinally or circumferentially of the body. Preferably, means is provided to lock the zipper. A flap may be provided to cover the means to lock the zipper and zipper end pieces.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a carrier in accordance with the invention; and Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an air tube conveyor with the carrier inside the tube.

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate a carrier 10 for an air tube conveyor. The carrier 10 comprises an elongate cylindrical body 11 of flexible canvas material. Although in the preferred embodiment the body 11 is of canvas, it is understood that other similar materials such as flexible vinyl are equally suitable. The diameter of the cylindrical body 11 is arranged to be some millimetres less than the internal diameter of the air tube 20 that is shown in Figure 2 to enable the carrier to pass unhindered around bends.

Each end of the carrier comprises three circular sheets of flexible heavy duty PVC with nylon base cloth interwoven material stitched together through a square array 20 of stitching 26 and the stitched to down turned edges 27 of the canvas body portion 11 with a circular array of stitching 28. The diameter of the vinyl end o struts 25 is slightly greater than the internal diameter of 15 the tube 20 so that as shown in Figure 2 as the carrier operates within the tube 20 the annular lip 30 defined by each end is folded back on itself as the carrier 10 moves along the tube 20 in the direction of the arrow of Figure 2. The flexible lip 30 defines an accelerator rings 20 against the interior of the tube reduces the air flow past the carrier.

The body portion 11 of the carrier 10 is also provided with an annular zip 35 that runs around the majority of the circumference of the body 11 to allow ready access to the tube interior. The end pieces 36 and 37 of the zip 35 can be interconnected by a locking device (not shown) for security purposes. A small flap 40 is stitched to the body 11 of the tube adjacent the end pieces of the zip, and as shown in Figure 2, this flap 40 can be folded down onto the locked zip to ensure that the metal components of the zip do not cause damage against the interior surface of the tube.

The carrier due to its inherent flexibility when empty, can be folded to assume a very small volume. The carrier is specifically designed for use in supermarkets where cash can be distributed by the carrier to the tills along an air tube conveyor. The carrier is designed to carry up to 4 kg of coins. The carrier serves such as a vehicle for transport of coins within the tube and as a secure means to store the cash in safes or vaults. The size of the interior of the carrier is such that the carrier cannot be overloaded with coins and the lack of rigid componentry ensures that when the carrier is in motion there is less likelihood of impact damage. The multi-layered flexible accelerator rings allow it to operate satisfactorily with a heavy load and also overcome the problem of the end porticns dropping into gaps between adjacent tube sections.

The carrier of this invention allows an air tube 15 conveyor system to deliver into a receiving station without the need for any form of damping or slowing device designed to reduce impact and impact damage. The invention also permits the size of the carrier to be changed without the major cost of sophisticated tooling to suit specific customer applications. The use of a flexible body to form the carrier allows the carrier to travel around smaller radius bends than those achievable with conventional rigid carriers. It is understood that the closure method of the carrier need not necessarily be a zip, other closure methods include use of VELCRO (Registered TM) strip, pull cord/drawstring, and press studs. The carrier described above is capable of running at higher speeds than a conventional carrier and is thus capable of carrying a heavier load. This is due to the quality of the fit of the carrier within the tube.

Many modifications fall within the scope of this invention such as the means of receiving the end plates to the carrier body. The number of end plates may also vary as may the material from which they are made.

Claims (3)

1. A carrier for an air tube conveyor comprising a cylindrical body of flexible material with accelerator rings attached to either end of the body, the accelerator rings comprising a plurality of circular sheets of flexible material secured together across the end of the body, the diameter of the accelerator rings being slightly greater than the internal diameter of the air tube conveyor.

2. A carrier according to claim 1 wherein three circular e .ates are stitched together across each end of the cylindrical body.

3. The carrier according to either claim 1 or 2 wherein the cylindrical body is provided with a lockable zipper. 15 1 F with reference oand-a t in the accompanying DATED THIS 9th Day of July, 1992 20 METSYS PTY LTD By Its Patent Attorneys; GRIFFITH HACK CO. S 25 Fellows Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia •• •• " . • • • •••• ..... · .. " . •••• .... • •• •• • • ...... • • .. . · .. • •• .... • •• .. . •• t •••• • .... • • .... ••• 41 · . ... • •••••• • • 7 ABSTRACT As shown in Figure 1 a carrier 10 for an air tube conveyor compri~es a cylindrical body 11 of flexible material with accelerator rings 25 attached to either end of the body, the accelerator ;1ngs 25 comprising a plurality of circular sheets of flexible material secured together across the end of the body, the diameter of the accelerator rings 25 beiIlg slightly greater than the internal diameter of the air tube conveyor .