The present invention relates to drive-up or walk-up window constructions and more particularly to an improved pass-through drawer assembly mounted in the outer wall of a building or enclosure so that food or other commodities may be transferred from inside the building to a customer standing outside or seated in a vehicle outside the building.
Drive-up or walk-up window constructions have been used in various environments such as for banking, retail sales, etc., wherein it is desired to make direct business transactions between a customer outside an enclosure and a business employee positioned within the enclosure. For these business transactions, the individual inside the enclosure is able to see the customer through a window in the outer wall of the enclosure and to communicate with the customer through a suitable speaking system. Transfers of bank books, food, or retail merchandise are made through a movable deposit unit in the wall near the window.
The deposit unit is typically moved by hand from a closed position where it is only accessible from within the enclosure to an open position where it projects outwardly from the enclosure for access by a customer either standing outside the enclosure or sitting in a vehicle outside the enclosure. The normal drawer unit is horizontally slidable to a projecting open position, and when the unit is left in its open position, a vehicle, for example, can be damaged by or cause damage to the projecting deposit unit. Thus, there has been a need for an improved pass-through drawer assembly which is movable horizontally between closed and open positions but which will be automatically returned from the open to the closed position if it is contacted by a vehicle or otherwise struck.
Certain prior art drawer assemblies have been adapted for automatic operation, but they require complicated mechanisms including limit switches, motors and timers to cause the movement of the drawer assembly from its open to its closed position to prevent an automobile or the like from striking it. These prior art attempts for automatically closing the drawer assembly are not fool-proof, and there has been a need for a pass-through drawer assembly which is simply adapted for automatic closing when struck during its operation.
These and other disadvantages of present pass-through drawer assemblies have resulted in the present drawer assembly for transferring food and other commodities from inside an enclosure to a customer outside the enclosure.