US729448A - Pneumatic-despatch apparatus. - Google Patents

Description

No. 729,448.. PATENTED' MAY 26, 1 903 P. R. YTA'ISEYF- PNEUMATIC DBsPATcH APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 8, 1902.

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Patented May26, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

FRED RITAISEY, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO THE TAISEY PNEUMATIC SERVICE COMPANY, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, A COR- PORATION OF INDIANA.

PIN EU MATlC-DES PATCH APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 729,448, dated May 26,- 1903.

Application filed January 8, 1902. Serial No. 88,8281 (No model.)

T0 to whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, FRED R. TAISEY, of Indianapolis, county of Marion, and State of Indiana, have invented a certain new and useful Pneumatic-Despatch Apparatus; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,'and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals refer to like parts. J

This invention relates to improvements in pneumatic-despatch apparatus.

The chief novel feature consists in carriers with a cushion at each end centrally recessed and selecting devices or means within said recesses whereby different carriers will actuate different switchesin the system and the ends of the carriers will be cushioned and free from any pins, projections, or disks ex tending beyond the cushions. Such projecting pins, disks, and the like injure the valves and other parts of the mechanism with which they come into engagement, and when the carrier is discharged-upon a counter, table, or other receptacle it is better thatthe ends Y be wholly cushioned and free from metal projections. Projecting'pinson the ends of car riersalso often cause the ends of twocarriers to engage each other and lock while passing through a curve, and they slip on the trip and fail to act positively. t g

A featureof'the invention also consists in a pneumatic-despatch tube provided with switches for turning thecarriers from the main tube into branch or discharge tubes, the trip mechanisms'for actuating said switches having graduated projections and the carriers having graduatedrec-esses located centrally in the cushioned endsthereof for engaging and actuating saidtrip mechanisms.

In the drawings, Figures 1 and 2 show a central longitudinal section of an end of a series of carriers and the corresponding. trip mechanisms. Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the switch-section of a pneumatic-despatch-tube system, parts being in side elevation and the main tubes broken away. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of said switchsection with the casing removed from the chamber in which the switch-levers are mounte ed. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the same on the movable side plate' 23 line 5 5 of Fig. 2, but considerably enlarged. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a trip mechanism when in its unoperated position and a central longitudinal section of one end of a modified carrier in position to actuate it. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the trip mechanism after it has beenpartially actuated and-sis in position to throw the switch and a section of one end of a modified carrier. Fig. 8 is a central ver tical section of the trip mechanism asshown in Fig. 6 and a section of one end of amodified carrier.

In detail, 10 represents the ends of the main pneum atic-despatch tube,and 11 is the switchsection that connects the two ends of said main tubes, making acontinuous conduit.

12 is a branch tube or terminal.

13 is a switch for deflecting the carrier 14 from the main tube to the branch tube or terminal. The switch normally closes the branch tube 12 and is mounted on the shaft 15, that extends through the sides of the switch-section 11 and has on the outside a crank 16, which is connectedby a bar 17 with a crank 18,0n .a shaft 19,that is mounted in the switch-section in a chamber abovethe path of the carrier 14. The chamber in which shaft 19 is mounted is shown in Fig. 3, being formed by the upwardly-extending walls 20 and 21 and the lid 22 and the re- The chamber is madeonthe side to contain the cranks 16 and 1 8 and bar. 17 by a horizontally-extending wall 24, to which the removable side plate 23'isse'cnred.

On the shaft 19' the trip mechanism for "throwing'the switch is mounted, consisting of the frame 25, that is pivoted on the shaft 19 and hangs downwith its lower end divided into two oppositely-located arms 26 in the path of the carrier. The swinging frame 25 has two side pieces and a front plate, as appears in Figs. 3 and 6. 7 Between the two side pieces a ratchet-wheel 26 is rigidly secured to the shaft 19. On each side of each swinging frame there is a'washer or collar 28 and 29 to hold said frame in position. The collar 29 is spool shaped and has coiled around it the spring 30, which is fastened at its upper end to a lug on the switch-section, and its lower end is connected with the lug 32 on the side of the swinging frame 25. The function of this spring 30 is to return the trip mechanism to its unoperated position. Such return movement of the frame 25 is limited by the stop 33, extending inward from the wall 20 of the casing,which engages the downwardly-turned end of the catch 34, pivoted to the side of the swinging frame by the pin 35.

In the swinging frame 25, between its two sides, a trip-pawl 36 is pivoted near its middle by the pin 37. The upper end of this tripis turned toward the ratchet-wheel to form a projection or tooth to enter the notch of the ratchet-wheel 26. on it that is engaged by the hooked end of the catch 34, and such catch holds the trip in engagement with the ratchet, as seen in Fig. 5, during the operation of the trip mechanism. A spring 39 tends to hold the catch 34 in engagement with the pin 38. The stop tends to throw it out of engagement with said pin as the trip mechanism returns after actuation. The spring 40 (seen in Fig. 6) is mounted between the front plate of the swinging frame 25 and the trip-pawl 36 above its pivotal point and tends to hold the trip-pawl out of engagement with the ratchetwheel. The lower end of the trip 36 extends forward between the arms 26 of the swinging frame and beyond and in advance of the same, as shown. In the series of the switchthrowing mechanisms scattered through the system this extension or projection 42 on the lower end of the trip-pawl 36 is graduated in length, or at least such projections beyond frame 25 are of different lengths.

The carriers 14 consist of a suitable metal casing, the ends of which are held between an inside cap 45 and an outside cap 46, (shown in Fig. 7,) said caps being held in place and together by the screw-bolts 47, which extend also through the cushion 48, and a selecting device, consisting here of a metal plate 49.

All the cushions have central recesses 50, in which said plates 49, which are made of metal, are embedded or held so that every carrier has both its ends wholly cushionedthat is, without any hard projection or surface. The recesses in the cushions of the various carriers differ in depth and, if desired, may be graduated, as shown. As shown in Fig. 1, the cushions are graduated in thickness, or, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the distances of plates 49 from the bodyof the boxv may be graduated. The result of either construction, however, is the same, as they both cause recesses graduated in depth, with a hard trip actuating surface at the bottom of the recess.

In operation the carrier-box is forced pneumatically through the main tube, as seen in Fig. 2. When a carrier comes into engagement with a trip mechanism that has not been designed to be actuated by itthat is, whose trip projection is not sufiicient to cause it to engage the metal plate in the bottom of the recess before the cushion engages the swing- The trip 3l has a pin 38 ing frame 2,5-the trip mechanism will be thrown back without operating the switch. In such case the trip mechanism remains in the position shown in Fig. 4, except that it is swung back and out of the way of the carrier, and the upper end of the trip-pawl 36 does not engage the ratchet-wheel 26. The foregoing operation results where the depth of the recess in the end of the carrieris greater than the length of the projection of the lower end of the trip in front of the lower end of the swinging frame. When a carrier is passing the depth of whose recess is less than the extent of the projection of the lower end of the trip, the plate 49 in the carrier will engage the trip 36 before the cushion engages the swinging frame 25. Then the trip 36 is instantly changed from the position shown in Fig. 5 to that shown in Fig. 6-tha,t is, the lower end of the trip is thrown backward and the upper end forward into the notch in tho ratchet-wheel 26-and the catch 34 drops down over the pin 38 and holds the trip in such engaging position. The further movement of the carrier pushes the whole trip mechanism backward and upward, and during such movement the upper end of the trip-pawl rotates the ratchet-wheel 26, which in turn actuates the shaft 19, crank 18, bar 17, crank 16, shaft 15, and switch 13, changing the switch from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. In such case the carrier will be deflected from the main tube to the branch tube or terminal. After the carrier has entered the branch tube or terminal the switch and trip mechanismwill return to their unoperated position through the action of gravity, and especially of the spring 30, until the swinging frame is stopped by the catch 34 engaging the. stop 33. Such stopping movement throws the hook end of the catch 34 upward, whereby the pin 38 on the trip escapes the catch under the influence of the spring 41. Then the trip mechanism is in the unoperated position. (Shown in Fig. 5.) A bufier 60 on the top plate 22 stops the opening movement of the switch, and a buffer 51 on the same plate receives the backward throw of the trip mechanism as the carriers rush through. The branch tube 12 is closed by the cap 53, hinged at 54, and held closed by the arm 55, pivoted by the pin 56 to the post 57, and held and controlled by the spring 58, wound about said pin 56, with one end resting on the post 57 and the other end acting against the arm 55. When the trip mechanism returns after a carrier has passed through and the lower end of the catch 34 strikes against the stop 33 to disengage the catch from the pin 38, the lug 61 on the side of the frame 25 to which the spring 39 is attached acts as a stop to limit the movement of said catch. To do this, the lower end of the catch 34 has an extension 62 on it turned toward the lug 61, as shown in Fig. 6. This takes the strain off of the spring 39 in the return movement of the trip mechanism caused by the spring 30 and makes a positive and sudden stop.

What is claimed to be the invention to be secured by Letters Patent is- 1. A carrier for pneumatic-despatch'apparatus havinga switch-selecting device located on the end thereof, and a cushion surrounding and extendingvbeyond the same.

2. A carrier for pneumatic-despatch apparatus having a cushion on the end which is centrally recessed, and a switch-selecting device at the bottom of said recess.

3. A series of carriers for pneumatic-despatch apparatus with recesses centrally located in the ends thereof that are graduated in depth.

4. A series of carriers for pneumatic-despatch apparatus having cushions on their ends, and centrally-located recesses therein that are graduated in depth.

5. A series of carriers for pneumatic-despatch apparatus having cushions on their ends that are graduated in thickness.

6. A series of carriers for pneumatic-despatch apparatus having a switch-selecting device located centrally on the ends thereof, and a cushion surrounding and extending beyond the same, the extension of the cushion beyond the switch-selecting device in theseries of carriers being graduated.

7. In a pneumatic despatch apparatus, switch throwing trips having projections graduated in length, and carriers with ends having recesses graduated in depth adapted to engage the projections on the trips.

8. In a pneumatic-despatch apparatus, the combination with-the main tube, of switchtuhes leading therefrom, switches for deflecting the carrier-box from the main tube to the branch tubes, trip mechanisms for operating said switches that extend into the passageway of the main tube, and a series of carriers having central recesses in their ends that are graduated in depth to operate said trip mechanism.

9. In adespatch-tube system, the combination with a main tube and a series of branch tubes leading therefrom, of switches located at the junctions of the several branch tubes,

with the main tube, switch-operating mechanisms located at said junctions, said mech-' anisms including as an element thereof carrier-selecting devices graduated as to length,

and a series of carriers having recesses formed therein for cooperation with said selecting devices correspondingly graduated in depth, substantially as described.

10. In a despatch-tube system,the combination with a main tube and a series of branch tubes leading therefrom, of switches located at the junctions of the several branch tubes with the main tube, switch-operating mechanisms located at said junctions, said mechanisms having as an element thereof pivoted tripping-levers disposed across the path of the carriers and provided with projections graduated in length, and a series of carriers having recesses in their heads, to cooperate with said projections and correspondingly graduated in depth, substantially as described.

11..In a pneumatic-despatch apparatus, a switch-throwing trip mechanism including a pivoted frame, and a trip-pawl pivoted to said frame which when actuated throws the switch, a portion of said trip-pawl extending in front of said frame.

12. In a pneumatic-despatch apparatus, a series of switch-throwing trip mechanisms including a pivoted frame, and a trip-pawl pivoted to said frame which when actuated throws the switch, a portion of said trip-pawl extending in front of said frame and such extension being graduated in the series.

13. In a pneumatic-despatch-apparatus,carriers with the ends thereof centrally recessed, and a switch-throwing trip mechanism including a pivoted frame that extends into the path of the carrier, and a trip-pawl pivoted to said frame which when actuated throws the switch, a portion of the trip-pawl extending in front of said frame and adapted to enter the recesses in the carriers and be actuated thereby.

14. In a pnenmatic-despatch apparatus,carriers whose ends have central recesses graduated in depth, and a series of switch-throwing trip mechanisms each of which includes a pivoted frame that extends into the path of the carriers, and a trip-pawl pivoted to said frame and which when actuated throws the switch, a portion of said trip-pawl extending in front of said pivoted frame and such ex: tension being graduated in'the series and adapted to enter the recesses in the carriers and be actuated thereby.

15. In a pneumatic-despatch apparatus, a switch, a shaft, a connection between the shaft and the switch for operating the switch, a ratchet secured on the shaft, a frame pivotally mounted on the shaft and extending into the path of the carriers, a trip-pawl pivoted between its ends to said frame, the upper end adapted to engage the ratchet-wheel when actuated and thereby throw the'switch and the lower end adapted to be engaged and actuated by the carriers, a pin on said switch pawl, a catch on the side of the pivoted frame pivoted between its ends with a hooked end adapted to engage the pin on the trip-pawl, a stop for limiting the return movement of the trip mechanism which engages'and actuates the catch to disengage it from the pin on the trip-pawl, and a stop on the pivoted frame to limit the movement of said catch.

In witness whereof I have hereunto affixed mysignature in the presence of the witnesses herein named.

FRED R. TAISEY.

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