GB1047635A - Pneumatic tube dispatching system for handling and distribution of food at hospitals, hotels and similar establishments - Google Patents

Abstract

1,047,635. Dispensing food. REJLERS INGENJORSBYRA A.B. July 8, 1963, No. 26946/63. Heading A4T. [Also in Division B8] In a pneumatic dispatch system for distributing packages of different foodstuffs &c. from a series of storage containers 1, 2, Fig. 2 to various receiving stations 12 in a building, factory, &c. to conveyer routes 3, 4, 6 &c. which may be in part shutes or endless conveyers are arranged so that the foodstuffs requiring heating or thawing &c. are diverted in route 3 through ovens 5 while the cold foodstuffs pass directly through an unheated route 4. The demand for hot or cold foods may be signalled from each station 12, and punched cards or other delayed signal recording systems used to control release of the packages. The ovens 5 may be set to different temperatures or to different speeds of conveyance for varying the degree of heating, and may be set automatically by photo-electric or other scanning of optical, magnetic &c. information on the various packages. Multiple passages 3a, b, c may be arranged through the ovens 5 so that different degrees of heat may be applied to different food-stuffs. Automatic diverters 18 may be arranged at each oven so that foodstuffs may pass from overloaded passages to alternative passages. Puncher card stores 14, 15 may be arranged to record deliveries and operate through a retaining mechanism 17 to prevent the despatch until the previous order has been completed. A pneumatic tube despatch system is necessary for carrying the packages to the final destination in minimum time with a minimum loss of heat. Suitable disposable packages for delivery of foodstuffs are described in Specification 1,047,634.