US3738592A

US3738592A - Loose document retrieval for pneumatic carrier bank teller system

Info

Publication number: US3738592A
Application number: US00187315A
Authority: US
Inventors: D Smith; Z Gagyi; D Ross
Original assignee: Mosler Safe Co
Current assignee: Mosler Safe Co
Priority date: 1971-10-07
Filing date: 1971-10-07
Publication date: 1973-06-12
Anticipated expiration: 1990-06-12

Abstract

Pneumatic conveyor bank teller systems are usually provided with a safety door to protect the teller from an arriving document carrier. Automatic controls release the door only when the carrier has arrived at the teller station or prevent operation of the system when the door is opened. The invention provides for the blowing back toward the teller of loose documents, inadvertently deposited in the tube by a customer, through an alternative mode of operation which functions with the carrier absent from the system and with the teller door opened. The specific embodiment minimizes the chance of teller injury through inadvertent use of the alternative mode with the carrier in the system.

Description

United States Patent 1 Smith et a1.

[ LOOSE DOCUMENT RETRIEVAL FOR PNEUMATIC CARRIER BANK TELLER SYSTEM [75] Inventors: Douglas G. Smith, Pompton Lakes;

Zoltan Gagyi, Bloomfield; Donald Ross, Hawthorne, all of NJ.

[73] Assignee: The Mosler Safe Company,

Hamilton, Ohio 22 Filed: Oct. 7, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 187,315

[52] U.S. Cl. 243/19, 243/38 [51] Int. Cl. B65g 51/32 [58] Field 01 Search 243/1, 19, 24, 2,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,763,446 9/1956 Hanson 243/19 7 2,912,066 11/1959 Ellithorpe 243/1 3,512,735 5/1970 Hallstrom 243/19 Pan [P 0/5/4/24 58 M g 0/; A070 670? L ,5 52

June 12, 1973 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,139,681 1/1969 Great Britain 243/19 [57] ABSTRACT Pneumatic conveyor bank teller systems are usually provided with a safety door to protect the teller from an arriving document carrier. Automatic controls release the door only when the carrier has arrived at the teller station or prevent operation of the system when the door is opened. The invention provides for the blowing back toward the teller of loose documents, inadvertently deposited in the tube by a customer, through an alternative mode of operation which functions with the carrier absent from the system and with the teller door opened. The specific embodiment minimizes the chance of teller injury through inadvertent use of the alternative mode with the carrier in the system. 1

12 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures Pwlzemed June 12, 1973 LOOSE DOCUMENT RETRIEVAL FOR PNEUMATIC CARRIER BANK TELLER SYSTEM tween a remote customer unit and a central unit within\ a business establishment. In banking systems, the remote unit is frequently located adjacent a customer drive-in lane so that the customer may transact banking business from his automobile. The central unit is located within the bank building and is manned by a bank teller. The conveyor systems which connect the two units transport the tangible objects in capsules or carriers through pneumatic tubes. Some systems provide a pair of tubes, each of which serves to transport the carrier in a different direction between the two units. Other systems provide a single tube to which is reversably connected an air supply which is operable to selectively transport the tube in either of both directions through the tube between the two units. Such a system of the latter type is disclosed in US. Pat. No. 2,912,066 of Ellithorpe entitled DRIVE-IN SERVICE APPA- RATUS.

The carriers transported through the tube, when loaded, commonly weigh from 3 to 4 pounds and, upon being transported through the tube, will arrive at the terminal unit with considerable momentum. If either the customer or the teller were to have his hand within the carrier receiving compartment at the time of arrival of the carrier at his respective unit, injury could result. For this purpose, such systems are provided with a variety of safety features for insuring that access to the re- I ceiving compartment is not possible at the time of arrival of the carrier at the compartment. Such safety features usually provide various interlocks or automatic control circuitry which conditions one of the two events, that is the arrival of the carrier and a closure of a door to the compartment, on the other.

It has been found, in the use of such systems, that customers will on occasion deposit documents directly into the tube rather than inserting them into the carrier. When this occurs, the teller, who is not yet aware of what the customer has done, may allow the system to operate through a mode in which the carrier is returned from the customer unit to the teller. Upon receiving the empty carrier, the teller will realize what the customer has done and that, in all likelihood, the documents, which may include checks or currency to be deposited or cashed, deposit slips or withdrawal slips, etc., most probably are lying loose within the tube somewhere between the units. In a normal system, particularly one provided with the safety and interlock features discussed above, it is extremely difficult to recover these documents.

To alleviate this problem, several prior art devices have incorporated what are commonly referred to as money traps which function to trap these documents at the customer unit. These devices are usually somewhat complicated and expensive, but the most important drawback is that they usually require that the teller leave his booth and proceed to the customer unit to retrieve the documents from the money trap. This is an especially time-consuming operation and defeats to a degree the primary objective of such remote banking systems, that of servicing customers in a quick and efficient manner.

It is a primary objective of the present invention to provide, in such a remote customer service system, for the removal of these extra carrier documents from a pneumatic tube and to transport these to the clerk or. teller unit. A more specific objective of the present invention is to provide such a feature in an automated system, or at least semi-automated system, wherein, for example, access to the carrier compartment at the teller unit is conditioned on certain normal operating events such as the presence of the carrier at the teller unit, or for example the operation of the system is conditioned upon the closure of a protective door at the teller unit.

It is a further objective of the present invention to provide such a feature which has a low likelihood of being inadvertently actuated in a manner which would override the normal safety features under certain conditions.

Accordingly, the present invention is predicated in part upon the concept of providing a document blowback feature which operates to force loose documents through the tube to the teller unit. The present invention is further predicated in part upon the concept of providing for the actuation of the pneumatic power mechanism in an automatic system under conditions which differ from those under which the normal automatic operation depends. Specifically, the present in vention provides for the actuation of the pneumatic means to force air through the tube toward the teller and to allow the teller door to be opened when the carrier has not arrived in a system which has normal protective circuitry to prevent such operation The procedure for initiating such a feature provides for the deliberate execution by the teller of several steps which would not be taken during normal system operation and which would be highly unlikely to be taken during any inadvertent manipulation of the system by a teller. This system results in the advantages of overcoming the problems of the prior art as set forth above while eliminating the need for money traps and further provides such advantages without materially affecting the safety of the teller or increasing his likelihood of injury.

These and other objectives and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description of the drawings illustrating the loose document retrieval concept of the present invention embodied in the drive-in banking 'sys-. tem of the single two-way tube type with teller protection controls.-

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic elevational view of a pneumatic bank dispatch system embodying principles of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of one preferred electrical control circuit for the system of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, the pneumatic dispatch system 10 is incorporated in a bank drive in teller window system and is provided with a teller unit 11 located within the bank building and a remote customer unit 12 located adjacent a drive-in lane outside of the bank building. The units 11 and 12 are connected by a single pneumatic tube 13 through which passes a carrier 14 in either direction between the two units 11 and 12. The carrier 14 is transported through the tube 13 by a pneumatic pressure differential applied across the tube 13. Transportation of the carrier from the teller unit 11 to the customer unit 12 will be hereinafter referred to as dispatch of the carrier, while transportation from the customer unit 12 to the teller unit 11 will be referred to as return of the carrier.

The customer unit 12 is provided with a cabinet 21 having an opening 22 therein through which a carrier 14 is removable from and insertable into the cabinet 21 by a customer. At the opening 22 is provided a horizontal extension 23 of the tube 13. The extension 23 connects at one end to the tube 13 and at the other end to an air source 24 through a conduit 25. The air source 24 includes a turbo blower 31 which has an inlet duct 32 and an outlet duct 33. The

ducts

32 and 33 are respectively connected to the conduit through a pair of

solenoid valves

34 and 35, respectively. The

ducts

32 and 33 are also vented to atmosphere through a pair of

valves

36 and 37, respectively. An opening of

valves

34 and 37 causes the application of negative pressure to the conduit 25 to exhaust air from the tube 13 and thus to transport the carrier in a dispatch mode. Alternatively, an opening of the valves and 36 causes the application of positive pressure to the conduit 25 to transport the carrier 14 through the tube 13 in a return mode. A motor 38 is provided to drive the blower 31 through a belt or chain drive 39. The motor 38 is operated by a motor starter 38' (not shown in FIG. 1).

The unit 12 is provided with electrical signalling means which include a push button 41. This button 41 is accessible by a customer from his automobile when parked in a lane adjacent the teller unit so that he may signal the teller by pressing the button 41. The unit 12 is also provided with a carrier present limit switch 42 which provides an electrical signal for a control system in response to the presence of the carrier 14 at the opening 22.

The customer unit 12 as illustrated in FIG. -1 is in simplified diagrammatic form. Such a customer unit is usually provided with several additional features, none of which are pertinent to the invention of the present application and hence have not been specifically disclosed herein. Such features include a closure for the opening 22 whichmay be in the form of an extendable tray which operates to present the carrier to a customer. Such a customer unit is disclosed in the pending US. application of Alex Schwartz and Zoltan Gagyi for TRANSFER STATION FOR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYOR SYSTEM", Ser. No. 861,686, filed Sept. 29, I969.

The teller unit 11 includes a cabinet 51 containing the mechanical components of the unit 11 and a control module 52. The module 52 is provided with the controls which the teller needs to operate the system. Those controls which are relevant to'the present invention are the power on-off switch 53 and a mode control switch 54 which is effective to select either fully automatic operating mode which is the normal mode of operation of the system, or manually controlled dispatch and return modes for actuating the manual override for retrieving loose documents.

The cabinet 51 includes a compartment 55 which communicates with the atmosphere through a vent 56 ,and which further communicates with the tellers end of the pneumatic tube 13. A carrier receiving support 59 is provided in the compartment 55. The support 59 will retain a carrier until it is either drawn into the tube 13 through the operation of the blower 31 in dispatch mode or until it is manually removed through an opening 60 by the teller. A door 62 is slideably mounted in a vertical path within the cabinet 51 and is positioned to move upwardly to close the opening 60 during operation of the system to protect the teller and to move downwardly to expose the compartment 55 and permit access by the teller to the support 59 to move a carrier therefrom or to insert a carrier thereinto.

The door 62 is attached to a cable 63 which forms a closed loop about a set of three idler pulleys 64 and a fourth driven pulley 65 which is attached to the output shaft 66 of a door control motor 67. The door 62 will, in absence of any restraining force on the cable 63, drop under the influence of gravity to its lower positon as illustrated in FIG. 1. The motor 67 is energized in a single direction which is illustrated as clockwise in FIG. 1 to raise the door from its open to its closed position. When the motor is de-energized, the force exerted on the cable 63 is insufficient to retain the door in its upward position. To so retain the door in a closed position is provided a brake 71 which is positioned to normally lock the pulley 65. The brake is released by the energizatin of a door brake solenoid 72.

Signals to the automatic controls of the system are derived from three limit switches in the cabinet 51. These limit switches include a carrier-present limit switch 75 which is positioned in the compartment 55 with its actuator extending onto the support 59 to be activated by the presence of a carrier 14 in the support 59. A door-closed limit switch 76 is provided at the upper end of the compartment 55 to detect that the door 62 is closed. Similarly, the door-open limit switch 77 is provided at the lower end of the door track to detect that the door 62 is in the opened position.

One embodiment of a control system for use in the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 2. This system includes power lines for supplying low voltage control power, one phase AC power, and three phase AC power. The voltage supply includes a common or ground line 80, a set of three AC power lines 71 connected to a source of AC power, and a low voltage power line 82. One of the lines 81, 81-1, provides a source of one phase AC power.

A master power relay 83 is connected in series with the contact 53-1 of the power on-off switch 53 between the power leads and 82. Contact 83-1 of the relay 83 is connected in series with the common line 80. This contact is normally opened and, when the relay 83 is energized, will close to connect the common line 80' to the common line 80 to energize the system.

A pair of mode control relays are provided which include a dispatch mode control relay 84 and a return mode control relay 85. The dispatch relay 84, when energized, causes the system to operate in dispatch mode. Alternatively, the return relay 85, when energized, causes the system to operate in return mode.

An in-flight relay 86 is provided which is energized whenever the system is operating in either mode. A teller door close relay 87 is provided to cause the teller door 62 to be drien to a closed position during certain portions of operation of the system. A dispatchcomplete relay 88 and a carrier-removed-fromcustomer-unit relay 89 are provided to initiate certain internal control functions to effect automatic direction mode changes during automatic mode operation,

The dispatch relay 84 is connected between the control voltage line 82 and a dispatch relay energizing circuit 91. The circuit 91 includes three parallel circuits which connect with the common line 80'. These parallel circuits include an automatic mode dispatch initiating circuit 92, a manual dispatch mode initiating circuit 93, and a dispatch mode holding circuit 94. The circuit 92 includes a set of normally opened contacts 75-1 of the teller carrier present limit switch 75 connected in series with a set of normally closed contacts 89-1 of the carrier-removed relay 89. The manual dispatch mode initiating circuit 93 includes a set of normally closed contacts 7 5-2 of the teller carrier present mode switch 75 connected in series with a normally opened set of contacts 54-1 of the mode switch 54. The c0ntacts 54-1 will close when the mode switch 54 is switched to the manual dispatch position. The dispatch relay holding circuit 94 includes a set of normally closed contacts 41-1 of the customer carrier present limit switch 42 connected in series with normally opened contacts 84-1 of the dispatch relay 84 and a set of normally closed contacts 85-2 of the return mode relay 85.

The return mode relay 85 is connected in series with a return mode relay energizing circuit 96 between lines 80' and 82. The circuit 96 includes a holding circuit 97 and automatic and manual return

mode initiating circuits

98 and 99, respectively, which are connected in parallel with each other and in series with normally closed contacts 77-1 of the door open limit switch 77.

Since the door 62 is opened in FIG. 1, the contacts 77-1 are illustrated as opened in FlG. 2. The circuit 97 includes a normally closed contact 75-3 of the teller present carrier limit switch 75 connected in series with normally closed contact 84-2 of the dispatch mode relay 84 and normally opened contact 85-3 of the return mode relay 85. The automatic return mode energizing circuit includes normally opened contact 42-3 of the customer carrier present limit switch 42 connected in series with normally opened contacts 88-4 of the dispatch complete relay 88 and 89-2 of the carrier removed relay 89. The manual return mode initiating circuit 99 includes normally opened contact 54-2 of the mode switch 54 connected in series with normally opened contact 86-1 of the in-flight relay 86. The contacts 54-2 will close when the mode switch 54 is switched to the manual return mode position.

The in-flight relay 86 is connected in series with an in-flight relay energizing circuit 101 between lines 82 and 80. The circuit 101 includes parallel connected normally opened contacts 84-3 and 85-4 of the dispatch and return mode relays 84 and 85, respectively.

The teller door control relay 87 is connected in series, between lines 80' and 82, with normally closed contact 75-4 of the teller carrier present limit switch 75 and a door close relay energizing circuit 102. The circuit 102 includes parallel connected normally opened contacts 823-] and 86-2 of dispatch complete relay 88 and in-flight relay 86, respectively. 7

The dispatch complete relay 88 is connected in series with a pair of circuits 103 and 104 between the line 82 and line 80. Circuit 103 includes normally opened holding contact 88-2 of the relay 88 connected in parallel with normally opened contact 42-3 of the customer carrier present limit switch 42. The circuit 104 includes normally opened contact 75-6 of the teller carrier present limit switch connected in parallel with normally opened contact 76-1 of the teller door closed limit switch 76.

The carrier-removed relay 89 is connected in series with normally closed contact 42-4 of the customer carrier present limit switch 42 and normally opened contact 88-3 of the dispatch complete relay 88 between lines 82 and 80'. A holding contact 89-3 of the relay 89 s is connected across the contact 42-4 of switch 42.

A turbo starter coil 100 is provided connected in series with normally opened contact 86-3 of the in-flight relay 86 between the common line 80' and the one phase power line 81-1.

Solenoid windings 34' and 37' of the

solenoids

34 and 37 respectively are connected in parallel with each other and together in series with normally closed contact -6 of return relay 85 and normally opened contact 84-4 of dispatch relay 84 between common line 80' and one phase power line 81-1.

Windings 35 and 36' of

solenoid valves

35 and 36 respectively are connected in parallel with each other and together in series between lines 81-1 and 80' with the normally opened contact 85-7 of return relay 85.

The winding 67' of the door motor 67 is connected in series with normally opened contact 87-1 of door control relay 87.

The winding 72 of the door brake release solenoid 72 is connected in series with a door brake solenoid energizing circuit 110 between lines 81-1 and 80'. The circuit 110 includes normally opened contact 87-2 of door motor solenoid 87 connected in parallel with a series circuit consisting of the normally opened contacts 85-8 of return solenoid 85 and 75-5 of the teller carrier present limit switch 75.

The three phase windings 38 of the blower or turbo motor 38 are each connected between common line 80' and a different one of the three phase power lines 81 through respective contacts -1, 100-2 and 100-3 of the turbo starter coil 100.

OPERATION IN NORMAL AUTOMATIC MODE In normal automatic operation, the power switch 53 is turned on closing the contacts 53-] to energize the power relay 83 which closes the contacts 83-1 connecting the common line 80 with the common line 80 conditioning all of the circuits for operation. When a customer approaches the customer unit 12, he presses the' call button 41 which sounds an audible device in the teller unit 12 to alert the teller to the customers presence. At this time, a carrier 14 is usually absent from the system and all limit switches are de-activated with the exception of the teller door open limit switch which is activated, the teller door 62 being in its opened condition. All of the relays and solenoids and motors are de-energized and the system is generally in the condition illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The teller initiates automatic dispatch by placing a carrier 14 into the carrier support 59. This actuates the teller carrier present limit switch 75 which closes contact 75-1 in circuit 92, opens contact 7 5-2 in circuit 93, opens contact 75-3 in circuit 97, opens contact 75-4 in series with relay 87, and closes contacts 75-5 in circuit and 75-6 in circuit 104. The closure of contact 75-1 completes circuit 92 and energizes relay 84, the dispatch relay. relay, This closes contact 84-1 to complete the holding circuit 94 to hold the relay 84 in energized condition. Contact 84-2 opens. Contact 84-4 closes to energize the solenoid windings 34' and 37' which connects the blower turbine 31 to tube 13 in the exhaust or dispatch mode direction. Contact 84-3 also closes, which energizes the in-flight relay 86. This closes contacts 86-1 and 86-2, and also 86-3 which energizes the turbo starter coil 100, which in turn closes starter contacts 100-1 through 100-3 to energize the blower motor 38.

When the blower 31 operates, the carrier will move in the dispatch direction through the tube 13. As the carrier 14 moves off of the support 59 the teller carrier present limit switch 75 will de-actuate. This will cause the door motor relay 87 to energize through contacts 86-2 of the in-flight relay 86 and contacts 75-4 of the limit switch 75. This in turn closes the contacts 87-1, energizing the door motor winding 67. This also closes contacts 87-2 which energizes the brake release solenoid 72. While the carrier 14 is in flight, the teller door 62 will close, first de-activating the door open limit switch 77, then, upon closure of the door 62, activating the door close limit switch 76 When the carrier 14 arrives at the opening 22 of the customer station 12, the customer carrier present limit switch 42 is activated. This opens contacts 42-1, braking the holding circuit 94 to dispatch relay, causing it to de-energize. This also closes contacts 42-3 which energizes the dispatch-complete relay 88 through contact 76-1. The energizing of relay 88 closes holding contact 88-2. It also closes contact 88-1 which bypasses contact 86-2 which has been de-energized upon the opening of contacts 84-3. The de-energization of relay 86 deenergizes the starter coil 100 through the opening of contacts 86-3 and thereby turns off the turbo motor 38, and de-energizes solenoids 34 and 37' by breaking contact 84-4. At this point, the carrier 14 is present awaiting removal by the customer from the customer unit 12.

When the customer removes the carrier from the unit 12, the customer carrier present limit switch 42 deactivates, opening contact 42-2 and 42-3, closing contact 42-1, and closing contact 42-4 thereby energizing carrier-removed relay 89 through contacts 88-3 of relay 88. This closes contact 89-2 in circuit 98, closes holding contact 89-3, and opens contact 89-1 in circuit 92.

When the customer returns the carrier 14 to the opening 22, he re-activates limit switch 42 which opens contacts 42-1 and 42-4, closes contact 42-3, and closes contact 42-2 in the automatic return mode initiating circuit 98, which energizes relay 85 through contacts 89-2, 88-4 and 77-1. This re-energizes relay 86 through contacts 85-4 and activates holding circuit 97 through contacts 85-3, 84-2, and 75-3. Contact 85-8 closes and contacts 85-2 and 85-6 open. This further closes contact 85-7 to energize the solenoids 35' and 36' to connect the blower 31 in return direction. The energizing of relay 86 again activates the blower 31 by energizing the turbo starter coil 100. The energizing of relay 86 further closes contact 86-2 and closes contact 86-1. As the carrier 14 moves from the tube extension 23, the customer carrier present limit switch 42 is released, closing contacts 42-1 and 42-4 and opening contacts 42-2 and 42-3, all having no immediate effect on the operation.

The carrier 14 will continue to move toward the teller unit 11 and when it arrives in the support 59 within the compartment 55 it will activate the teller carrier present limit switch 75. This causes contact -1 to close and contact 75-2 to open, both having no immediate effect, and causes contact 75-6 to close which prevents premature drop-out of the relay 88. Contact 75-3 opens to break the holding circuit 97 to relay to de-energize the return relay 85. This will deenergize the solenoids 35 and 36' and the in-flight relay 86 which in turn de-energizes the starter coil to thereby de-energize the blower motor 31. The closure of switch 75 will open contact 75-4, de-energizing door motor relay 87, opening contact 87-1 to deenergize the door motor 67. This also closes contact 75-5 which will energize the door brake release solenoid 72' to allow the door 62 to drop. This de-activates the door closed limit switch 76 to open contacts 76-1 and activates the door-open limit switch 77, breaking contact 77-1, both having no immediate effect. At this point, all operations will have terminated and the teller can remove the carrier through the opened compartment 60. As he does this he releases the teller carrier present limit switch 75 which restores all of its contacts to their original positions. This opens contact 75-6 to de-energize relay 88. This opens circuit 104 to deenergize relay 88 which, through the opening of contacts 88-3, de-energizes relay 89. This closes contacts 89-1, restoring the automatic dispatch initiating circuit 92 to its initial condition. The entire circuit is at this time in the condition shown in FIG. 2.

OPERATION FOR LOOSE DOCUMENT RETRIEVAL At this time, upon inspecting the contents of the carrier 14, the teller may discover that the contents are missing which indicates that the customer has inadvertently deposited the documents directly into the extension portion 23 of the tube 13, rather than into the carrier 14. This means that some documents 19 (FIG. 1) such as currency, checks, deposit slips, etc., have been drawn into the tube 13 and are now loose somewhere in the tube between the customer unit 12 and the teller unit 11. To recover these documents, the teller initiates the following procedure.

The teller sets the mode control switch 54 momentarily to the dispatch position, which energizes the dispatch mode relay 84 through the contact 75-2 of the circuit 93. This energizes the solenoid valves 34' and 37 through contact 84-4 and the relay 86 through contact 84-3 which energizes the door close relay 87 through contacts 86-2 and 75-4. This in turn energizes the blower starter 100 through contact 86-3 which starts the blower motor 38, and also energizes the brake release solenoid 72 through contact 87-2 and door close motor 67' through contact 87-1. At this time, the teller manually holds the door in a partially opened position so that it will not completely close and prevent his access to the compartment 55. The teller must allow the door to close at least partially so that the door open limit switch 77 is de-activated allowing contact 77-1 to close.

Contact 86-1 having closed by the energizing of relay 86, the teller can initiate return mode by setting the switch 54 to the return position, closing contact 54-2 and thereby energizing relay 85 through the circuit 99. This opens contact 85-2, braking the holding circuit 94 to relay 84, de-energizing it, and energizes the solenoid direction control valves 35 and 36' while deenergizing the valves 34' and 37', thus causing the blower 31 to be operative in the return direction. This action will cause the documents to be blown from the tube into the compartment 55. The teller may then reach in to retrieve the documents. Since there is no carrier which can actuate switch 75 to signal the stopping of the system, it is necessary for the teller to momated pneumatic dispatch system or any system which is automated to the extent that a protective door (e.g., 62) is provided at the teller unit to prevent injury to the teller due to the arriving carrier, that a system is provided wherein loose documents can be retrieved from the system provided that a certain number of steps are executed by the teller to cause the system to operate in this manner. By provision for the number of steps and the deliberate manner in which the steps must be executed to initiate this safety override, the likelihood that the teller will inadvertently employ this manual override with a carrier in the tube so as to result in his injury is substantially reduced.

We claim:

1. An improved method for retrieving loose documents from the tube of a pneumatic conveyor system including a pair of terminal units, a conveyor tube extending between said units, a carrier movable through said tube and removable therefrom, a blower, said blower being operable to force air through said tube toward one of said units, a door at said one of said units, said door when opened permitting access to said unit for insertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, and when closed preventing access to said unit, and controls for conditioning the operation of said blower to normally permit operation of the blower only with the door closed, said improved method comprising the steps of:

positioning the door in an open condition,

overriding said controls and initiating the operation of said blower when said door is open, and operating said blower while said door is open to move air through said conveyor tube until said loose documents are blown to said one of said units.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein said controls are operable to normally condition the operation of said blower on the presence of a carrier within the tube, said method further comprising the steps of:

overriding said control to permit operation of said blower in the absence of a carrier from said system.

3. A method according to claim 1 wherein said overriding step comprises the steps of:

manually holding said door in opened condition; and

manually initiating the operation of said blower.

4. An improved method for retrieving loose documents from the tube of a pneumatic conveyor system including a pair of terminal units, a conveyor tube extending between said units, a carrier movable through said tube and removable therefrom, a blower, said blower being operable to force air through said tube toward one of said units, a door at said one of said units, said door when opened permitting access to said unit for insertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, and when closed preventing access to said unit, controls for normally closing said door when said blower is operating and for preventing operation of said blower when said door is opened, said improved method comprising the steps of:

overriding said controls and initiating the operation of said blower, and then operating said blower with said door open to move air through said conveyor tube until said loose documents are blown to said one of said units.

5. A method according to claim 4 wherein said controls are operable to normally condition the operation of said blower on the presence of a carrier withinthe tube, said method further comprising the steps of;

6. An improved method for retrieving loose documents from the tube of a pneumatic conveyor of a drive-in bank system including a teller unit located in a bank building, a customer unit located adjacent a drive-in lane remote from said bank building, a conveyor tube extending between said units, a carrier movable through said tube and removable therefrom, a blower, said blower being operable to force air through said tube toward said customer unit when said system is operating in a dispatch mode, said blower being operable to force air through said tube toward said teller unit when said system is operating in a return mode, controls for effecting the operation of said system in said dispatch and return modes, a door at said teller unit, said door when opened permitting access to said teller unit for insertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, and when closed preventing access to said unit, and controls for closing said door during the operation of said system, and for preventing the initiation of operation of said system in said return mode when said door is opened, said improved method comprising the steps of:

manually initiating at least a momentary operation of said system in said dispatch mode, and then manually reversing the operation of said system from said dispatch mode to said return mode, allowing said door to partially close, then manually holding said door at least partially opened, operating said system in said return mode until said loose documents are blown to said teller unit, and then withdrawing said documents through said opened door and manually terminating the operation of said system.

7. A method according to claim 6 wherein said con trols are operable to normally condition the operation of said blower on the presence of a carrier within the tube, said method further comprising the steps of:

8. In a pneumatic conveyor system which includes a pair of terminal units, a conveyor tube extending between said units, a carrier movable through said tube and removable therefrom, a blower, said blower being operable to force air through said tube toward one of said units, a door at said one of said units, said door when opened permitting access to said unit for insertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, and when closed preventing access to said unit, and controls for conditioning the operation of energization system to normally permit system operation in said return mode only when said door is closed, the improvement for retrieving loose documents from said tube comprismg:

means for overriding said controls to permit the operation of said blower when said door is open,

means for initiating the operation of said blower, and

means for operating said blower to move air through said tube until said loose documents are blown to said one of said units 9, The improvement according to claim 8 .wherein said controls are operable to normally condition the operation of said blower on the presence of a carrier within the tube, said improvement further comprising:

means for overriding said control to permit operationof said blower in the absence of a carrier from said system.

10. A drive-in bank system comprising:

a teller unit located in a bank building;

a customer unit located adjacent a drive-in lane remote from said bank building;

a conveyor tube extending between said units;

a carrier movable through said tube and removable therefrom;

a blower operable to force air through said tube to ward said customer unit when said system is operating in a dispatch mode, and operable to force air through said tube toward said teller unit when said system is operating in a return mode;

a door at said teller unit movable between opened and closed positions, said door when opened permitting access to said teller unit for insertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, and when closed preventing access to said unit;

an electrical control circuit for normally operating said system automatically in said disptach and return modes to transport said carrier between said units;

said control circuit including interlocks for conditioning the operation of said system in said return mode and the closure of said door one upon the other; and

said control circuit including an interlock override circuit for operating said system in said return mode with said door opened to retrieve loose documents from said tube.

11. A bank system according to claim 10 wherein:

said interlock circuit is operable to normally condition the operation of said blower on the presence of a carrier within the tube; and

said interlock override circuit is operable to permit operation of said blower in the absence of a carrier from said system.

12. A drive-in bank system comprising:

a teller unit located in a bank building;

a conveyor tube extending between said units;

a carrier movable through said tube and removable therefrom;

a blower operable to force air through said tube toward said customer unit when said system is operating in a dispatch mode, and operable to force air through said tube toward said teller unit when said system is operating in a return mode;

an electrical control circuit for normally operating said system automatically in said dispatch and return modes to transport said carrier between said units;

said control circuit including interlocks for conditioning the operation of said system in said return mode and the closure of said door one upon the other;

said control circuit including first circuit means for initiating the operation of said system in dispatch mode in response to the insertion of a carrier into said teller unit, second circuit means for causing said door to close in response to the actuation of said first circuit means, third circuit means initiating operation of said system in said return mode only when said door is closed, and fourth circuit means for terminating operation of said system and conditioning such system for initiation by said first circuit means and for permitting said door to be opened during said return mode operation only when said carrier is present at said teller unit;

said control circuit including an interlock override circuit for operating said system in said return mode with said door opened to retrieve loose documents from said tube; and

said interlock override circuit including a manual dispatch mode initiating circuit connected in parallel with said first circuit means for initiating the operation of said system in the absence of a carrier therein, a manual return mode initiating circuit connected in parallel with said third circuit means for causing operation of said system in said return mode independent of the closed condition of said door, and a manual reset circuit operable to terminate operation of said system and to condition said system for initiation by said first circuit means in the absence of a carrier at said teller unit.

Claims

1. An improved method for retrieving loose documents from the tube of a pneumatic conveyor system including a pair of terminal units, a conveyor tube extending between said units, a carrier movable through said tube and removable therefrom, a blower, said blower being operable to force air through said tube toward one of said units, a door at said one of said units, said door when opened permitting access to said unit for insertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, and when closed preventing access to said unit, and controls for conditioning the operation of said blower to normally permit operation of the blower only with the door closed, said improved method comprising the steps of: positioning the door in an open condition, overriding said controls and initiating the operation of said blower when said door is open, and operating said blower while said door is open to move air through said conveyor tube until said loose documents are blown to said one of said units.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein said controls are operable to normally condition the operation of said blower on the presence of a carrier within the tube, said method further comprising the steps of: overriding said control to permit operation of said blower in the absence of a carrier from said system.

3. A method according to claim 1 wherein said overriding step comprises the steps of: manually holding said door in opened condition; and manually initiating the operation of said blower.

4. An improved method for retrieving loose documents from the tube of a pneumatic conveyor sYstem including a pair of terminal units, a conveyor tube extending between said units, a carrier movable through said tube and removable therefrom, a blower, said blower being operable to force air through said tube toward one of said units, a door at said one of said units, said door when opened permitting access to said unit for insertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, and when closed preventing access to said unit, controls for normally closing said door when said blower is operating and for preventing operation of said blower when said door is opened, said improved method comprising the steps of: overriding said controls and initiating the operation of said blower, and then operating said blower with said door open to move air through said conveyor tube until said loose documents are blown to said one of said units.

5. A method according to claim 4 wherein said controls are operable to normally condition the operation of said blower on the presence of a carrier within the tube, said method further comprising the steps of; overriding said control to permit operation of said blower in the absence of a carrier from said system.

6. An improved method for retrieving loose documents from the tube of a pneumatic conveyor of a drive-in bank system including a teller unit located in a bank building, a customer unit located adjacent a drive-in lane remote from said bank building, a conveyor tube extending between said units, a carrier movable through said tube and removable therefrom, a blower, said blower being operable to force air through said tube toward said customer unit when said system is operating in a dispatch mode, said blower being operable to force air through said tube toward said teller unit when said system is operating in a return mode, controls for effecting the operation of said system in said dispatch and return modes, a door at said teller unit, said door when opened permitting access to said teller unit for insertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, and when closed preventing access to said unit, and controls for closing said door during the operation of said system, and for preventing the initiation of operation of said system in said return mode when said door is opened, said improved method comprising the steps of: manually initiating at least a momentary operation of said system in said dispatch mode, and then manually reversing the operation of said system from said dispatch mode to said return mode, allowing said door to partially close, then manually holding said door at least partially opened, operating said system in said return mode until said loose documents are blown to said teller unit, and then withdrawing said documents through said opened door and manually terminating the operation of said system.

7. A method according to claim 6 wherein said controls are operable to normally condition the operation of said blower on the presence of a carrier within the tube, said method further comprising the steps of: overriding said control to permit operation of said blower in the absence of a carrier from said system.

8. In a pneumatic conveyor system which includes a pair of terminal units, a conveyor tube extending between said units, a carrier movable through said tube and removable therefrom, a blower, said blower being operable to force air through said tube toward one of said units, a door at said one of said units, said door when opened permitting access to said unit for insertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, and when closed preventing access to said unit, and controls for conditioning the operation of energization system to normally permit system operation in said return mode only when said door is closed, the improvement for retrieving loose documents from said tube comprising: means for overriding said controls to permit the operation of said blower when said door is open, means for initiating the operation of said blower, and means for operating said blower to move air through said tube until said loose documents are blown to said one of said units.

9. The improvement according to claim 8 wherein said controls are operable to normally condition the operation of said blower on the presence of a carrier within the tube, said improvement further comprising: means for overriding said control to permit operation of said blower in the absence of a carrier from said system.

10. A drive-in bank system comprising: a teller unit located in a bank building; a customer unit located adjacent a drive-in lane remote from said bank building; a conveyor tube extending between said units; a carrier movable through said tube and removable therefrom; a blower operable to force air through said tube toward said customer unit when said system is operating in a dispatch mode, and operable to force air through said tube toward said teller unit when said system is operating in a return mode; a door at said teller unit movable between opened and closed positions, said door when opened permitting access to said teller unit for insertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, and when closed preventing access to said unit; an electrical control circuit for normally operating said system automatically in said disptach and return modes to transport said carrier between said units; said control circuit including interlocks for conditioning the operation of said system in said return mode and the closure of said door one upon the other; and said control circuit including an interlock override circuit for operating said system in said return mode with said door opened to retrieve loose documents from said tube.

11. A bank system according to claim 10 wherein: said interlock circuit is operable to normally condition the operation of said blower on the presence of a carrier within the tube; and said interlock override circuit is operable to permit operation of said blower in the absence of a carrier from said system.

12. A drive-in bank system comprising: a teller unit located in a bank building; a customer unit located adjacent a drive-in lane remote from said bank building; a conveyor tube extending between said units; a carrier movable through said tube and removable therefrom; a blower operable to force air through said tube toward said customer unit when said system is operating in a dispatch mode, and operable to force air through said tube toward said teller unit when said system is operating in a return mode; a door at said teller unit movable between opened and closed positions, said door when opened permitting access to said teller unit for insertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, and when closed preventing access to said unit; an electrical control circuit for normally operating said system automatically in said dispatch and return modes to transport said carrier between said units; said control circuit including interlocks for conditioning the operation of said system in said return mode and the closure of said door one upon the other; said control circuit including first circuit means for initiating the operation of said system in dispatch mode in response to the insertion of a carrier into said teller unit, second circuit means for causing said door to close in response to the actuation of said first circuit means, third circuit means initiating operation of said system in said return mode only when said door is closed, and fourth circuit means for terminating operation of said system and conditioning such system for initiation by said first circuit means and for permitting said door to be opened during said return mode operation only when said carrier is present at said teller unit; said control circuit including an interlock override circuit for operating said system in said return mode with said door opened to retrieve loose documents from said tube; and said interlock override circuit including a manual dispatch mode initiating circuit connected in parallel with said first circuit means for initiating the operation of said system in the absence of a carrier therein, a manual return mode initiating circuit connected in parallel with said third circuit means for causing operation of said system in said return mode independent of the closed condition of said door, and a manual reset circuit operable to terminate operation of said system and to condition said system for initiation by said first circuit means in the absence of a carrier at said teller unit.