Drive-in facilities by means of which bank customers may transact their business without leaving their vehicles have become increasingly popular, particularly in suburban locations, to the point where two, three, or even more stations are required to accommodate the traffic; and where multiple stations are involved, it is extremely difficult to provide two or more teller stations in locations where the motorist can drive up to the teller station and transact business with the teller by means of an extensible drawer in which currency, deposit slips and the like may be transferred between the teller and the customer. To alleviate this problem, as well as conserve space and enhance traffic flow, remote customer stations have been provided in the form of islands having remote facilities for transferring items back and forth between the remote customer station and the teller station. In addition to increasing the number of customers who may transact their business at any given time, a lesser number of tellers is usually required in that one teller can service more than one customer station.
For the most part, vacuum systems are utilized to convey the items back and forth between the customer stations and the teller stations. Such vacuum systems are expensive to install and to operate, and the number and size of items which can be transported is relatively limited due to the size of the normally cylindrical containers required for travel through the vacuum lines. In addition, should one of the lines be plugged, either by one of the containers or by foreign materials inadvertently, or even deliberately, introduced into the vacuum lines, considerable difficulty is often encountered in removing the obstruction and any containers which might be trapped in the system by reason of the obstruction. Similar objections are encountered with other forms of moving conveyors, particularly those which move underground or are otherwise relatively unaccessible for maintenance and repair; and if a stoppage results due to a malfunction in only a portion of the system, the entire system may have to be shut down until the necessary parts can be obtained and the repairs made, which may put the system out of operation for a number of hours, days, or even weeks.
In contrast to the foregoing the instant invention provides an integrated conveyor system which is relatively inexpensive both insofar as initial cost is concerned as well as in its cost of operation, and which can be easily installed and service.