Conveyors: fluid current – Carrier – Having end opening
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-11
2001-05-22
Ellis, Christopher P. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: fluid current
Carrier
Having end opening
C292S113000, C406S184000, C406S187000, C220S219000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06234723
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a conveying capsule for a pneumatic tube conveyor system. The capsule has a capsule body which is open at one end face and a lid is hinged on the capsule body about a transverse pin. The lid has a closure on the side of its peripheral wall opposite from the hinge pin which bears a closure hook engaging into a latching cutout in the capsule body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Prior art conveying capsules of that type are described in Austrian Patent AT 403 032 B. They offer the advantage, as compared with the conventional pneumatic post capsules having a lid that can be pivoted open about a pin parallel to the axis, that after the lid has been swung down, the aperture on the end face of the capsule body is fully exposed and is not overlapped by a peripheral wall extending over half the periphery and forming a conical capsule head together with the peripheral wall of the lid, which likewise extends over half the periphery. Furthermore, handling is facilitated, since the lid closure can be opened and the lid swung down with one hand. The lid closure is formed by an outward-facing closure hook which engages from the interior of the capsule into a latching cutout in the capsule body, in the manner of a snap closure. To open the closure, therefore, it is merely necessary for the tongue forming the closure hook, produced by slits in the edges of the peripheral wall of the lid, to be pivoted inward against the force of its own resilience in order to press the closure hook out of its latching cutout. Because of the tongue which is to be pivoted inward toward the peripheral wall of the lid, however, such a conveying capsule cannot be closed in a liquid-tight manner, so that such conveying capsules are not suitable for the conveying of, for example, liquid samples, although the swing-up lid offers advantages with regard to the insertion and removal of such samples.
Conveying capsules that can be liquid-tightly closed have become known, heretofore, from Austrian Patent AT 394 179 B. There, the lid is removable from the capsule body and can be locked on the body by a bayonet closure. An O-ring is placed in an annular groove at the face end so that, when the bayonet closure is clamped, the O-ring is correspondingly compressed between the lid and the capsule body. The liquid-tight connection and the functional liquid-tightness in that prior art system depends on the presence of the bayonet closure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a conveying capsule for a pneumatic tube conveyor system, which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the heretoforeknown devices and methods of this general type and which provides for a liquid-tight connection between a swing-up lid and the capsule body.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a conveying capsule for a pneumatic tube conveyor system, comprising:
a capsule body formed with an open end face and a latching cutout in a vicinity of the open end face;
a lid pivotally hinged on the capsule body about a transverse pivot axis relative to the capsule body, the lid having a peripheral wall;
a closure disposed on the peripheral wall opposite from the pivot axis, the closure including an actuating lever and an inwardly pointing closure hook connected to the actuating lever, the closure hook engaging into the latching cutout of the capsule body when the lid closes the end face of the capsule body;
the peripheral wall having a wall recess formed therein and the actuating lever being pivotally mounted in the wall recess; and
an annular seal disposed between the lid and the capsule body, the annular seal being inserted in an annular groove formed in one of the capsule body and the lid.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the lid is formed with an end face abutting the open end of the capsule body when the conveying capsule is closed, and wherein the annular groove is formed in the end face of the lid and the annular seal is an O-ring.
In other words, the objects of the invention are satisfied in that the actuating lever for the closure hook is pivotally mounted in a wall recess on the outside of the peripheral wall, the inward-pointing closure hook engages into the latching cutout which is open on the outside, and, between the lid and the capsule body, an annular seal is provided which is inserted into an annular groove on the end face of the peripheral wall of the lid or of the capsule body.
As a result of providing an actuating lever separate from the peripheral wall of the lid and its transfer to the outside of the peripheral wall of the lid, a continuous peripheral wall of the lid, an essential precondition for a liquid-tight closure of the capsule body, is made possible, the closure, in its closed position, not projecting above the outline shape of the lid as a result of the arrangement of the actuating lever in a wall recess of the peripheral wall. The closure hook borne by the actuating lever, which closure hook must extend with the actuating lever on the outside of the conveying capsule, can thus engage only by means of an inward-directed hook into a latching cutout of the capsule body which is open on the outside. Since the closure hook pulls the lid in an axial direction toward the capsule body, particularly advantageous sealing conditions are achieved for the annular seal provided between the lid and the capsule body, so that, with the lid which can be swung down about a transverse pin, a conveying capsule is obtained which conforms to all requirements in respect of handling and tightness. The annular seal can be inserted into an annular groove at the end either of the peripheral wall of the lid or of the capsule body. Since this annular seal interacts with a continuous annular surface of the respective other structural part, tightness in the region of the abutment surface between lid and capsule body is guaranteed irrespective of the arrangement of the annular groove.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the actuating lever is a two-armed lever spring-biased towards a locking position, and wherein the closure hook is formed on an arm of the two-armed lever projecting toward the capsule body. The actuating lever, transferred to the outside, allows various designs of closure. In the case of the two-armed lever, when the actuating lever is pivoted toward the peripheral wall of the lid, the closure hook is pivoted out of the latching cutout in the capsule body and the closure is thus opened. In order to close this closure, the lid merely has to be swung toward the capsule body until the closure hook engages in the latching cutout in the manner of a snap closure. In this latching position, the annular seal is clamped under prestress between the lid and the capsule body.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the actuating lever is a tension lever pivotally supported about a pivot axis, the closure hook formed on the actuating lever at a distance from the axis of rotation thereof forming a closure lever of a tension lever closure. By actuation of the tension lever in the direction of closure, the closure lever is thus pulled axially toward the lid together with the closure hook engaging into the latching cutout, whereby an additional axial tensioning force for the annular seal can be achieved.
In accordance with again another feature of the invention, the peripheral wall of the lid is formed with a plug-in aperture for receiving a plug-in securing device for securing the actuating lever, the plug-in aperture being interrupted by the wall recess formed in the peripheral wall.
In accordance with a concomitant feature of the invention, the actuating lever has a passage aperture formed therein, and the plug-in aperture extends in the passage aperture.
The fact that the actuating lever is transferred to the outside of the peripheral wall of the lid permits an additional securing of the closure in order reliably to
Ellis Christopher P.
Greenberg Laurence A.
Lerner Herbert L.
Ridley Richard
Stemer Werner H.
LandOfFree
Conveying capsule for a pneumatic tube conveyor system does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Conveying capsule for a pneumatic tube conveyor system, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Conveying capsule for a pneumatic tube conveyor system will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2484800