EP0054494A1 - Security device for bolting systems between two tight enclosures - Google Patents

Abstract

The locking system comprising a locking ring (36) of an enclosure (10) on the enclosure (12) and an operating lever (68) for locking the double door (18, 24), the safety device is consists of two latches (80, 82) electrically controlled by microswitches (72, 74, 76, 78) to prevent disassembly of the enclosure (10) after unlocking or opening the double door and to prevent the opening of the door (24) when the enclosure (10) is removed. Application to biological and nuclear manipulations in a sealed enclosure.

Description

The present invention relates to a safety device for a locking and opening system making it possible to tightly connect two enclosures each equipped with a flange and a door delimiting an opening of the same diameter and making it possible to establish communication between these two enclosures by simultaneously opening the two doors juxtaposed and locked one on the other.

Such locking and opening systems are used in particular when one of the enclosures constitutes a cell for handling dangerous products such as radioactive or biologically toxic products, the other enclosure being a sealed container making it possible to ensure the transfer of these products.

More specifically, the invention relates to a safety device for a locking and opening system which comprises a locking ring associated with the flange of a first enclosure and movable in rotation between a rest position in the absence of the second enclosure and a locking position of the second enclosure on the first enclosure, and an operating lever associated with the flange of the first enclosure and movable between a locking position and an unlocking position of the door the first enclosure.

• - ouverture de la porte de la première enceinte sans que la deuxième enceinte ne soit présente,
• - déconnexion des deux enceintes alors que les portes de communication sont ouvertes,
• - ouverture des portes des deux enceintes sans que le verrouillage de la deuxième enceinte sur la première enceinte ne soit complet.

The purpose of the safety device according to the invention is precisely to prevent the personnel using the locking and opening system from committing the following handling errors:

• - opening the door of the first enclosure without the second enclosure being present,
• - disconnection of the two speakers while the communication doors are open,
• - opening the doors of the two enclosures without the locking of the second enclosure on the first enclosure is complete.

Safety devices for locking systems of a comparable type have already been studied. However, these known devices are generally entirely mechanical, relatively complex devices which significantly increase the price of the locking system. In addition, these known devices practically never have total security and they can easily be put out of service by a concerted malicious act. Finally, because of their entirely mechanical structure, the known safety devices cannot be installed on an existing locking system without the latter undergoing significant modifications.

The object of the present invention is to provide a safety device which overcomes the drawbacks of known devices. More precisely, the invention has for its object the production of a safety device of particularly simple design and which can be installed without difficulty on an existing locking system while eliminating any risk of accidental or deliberate false maneuvers of this system.

To this end, the security device according to the invention is characterized in that it comprises a first lock normally ensuring the blocking of the locking crown in the rest position and in the locked position and a second lock normally ensuring the blocking of the operating lever in the locking position, first detection means sensitive to the presence of the second enclosure to unlock the first lock, second detection means sensitive to the presence of the locking crown in the locking position to unlock the second lock , third detection means sensitive to the presence of the operating lever in the locked position and fourth detection means sensitive to the presence of the door of the first enclosure to unlock the first lock.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the detection means are constituted by microswitches. Preferably, the locks are electrically controlled and normally closed in the absence of power supply. Thus, any operation of the locking system becomes impossible, in particular in the event of a power failure. The risk of having the safety device taken out of service under these conditions is thus avoided.

• - la figure 1 est une vue en coupe transversale schématique montrant la connexion d'un conteneur de transfert sur une enceinte étanche et l'ouverture de la double porte mettant en communication le conteneur et l'enceinte,
• - la figure 2 est une vue en coupe comparable à la figure 1, montrant à plus grande échelle le système permettant de verrouiller le conteneur sur l'enceinte étanche et les microrupteurs du dispositif de sécurité permettant de détecter la présence du conteneur et la présence de la porte de l'enceinte,
• - la figure 3 est une vue en bout du conteneur et du système de verrouillage prise de l'extérieur de l'enceinte, un arrachement ayant été effectué afin de montrer.le levier basculant commandant la manoeuvre de la double porte,
• - la figure 4 est une vue comparable à la figure 3, à plus grande échelle, montrant notamment les moyens de verrouillage du conteneur sur l'enceinte et les moyens de verrouillage de la porte du conteneur sur la porte de l'enceinte,
• - la figure 5 est une vue de côté représentant la bride et la porte de l'enceinte, le levier basculant permettant de manoeuvrer cette dernière, et le verrou assurant l'immobilisation de ce levier dans la position de verrouillage de la porte de l'enceinte,
• - la figure 6 est une vue en coupe selon la ligne VI-VI de la figure 5 représentant en particulier le verrou permettant d'immobiliser le levier de manoeuvre de la porte de l'enceinte dans sa position de verrouillage, et
• - la figure 7 représente schématiquement un exemple de réalisation du circuit électrique assurant la commande des verrous du dispositif de sécurité selon l'invention.

A particular embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of nonlimiting example, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

• FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic cross-section view showing the connection of a transfer container to a sealed enclosure and the opening of the double door connecting the container and the enclosure,
• - Figure 2 is a sectional view comparable to Figure 1, showing on a larger scale the system for locking the container on the sealed enclosure and the microswitches of the safety device for detecting the presence of the container and the presence of the enclosure door,
• FIG. 3 is an end view of the container and of the locking system taken from the outside of the enclosure, a cutaway having been made in order to show the tilting lever controlling the operation of the double door,
• FIG. 4 is a view comparable to FIG. 3, on a larger scale, showing in particular the means for locking the container on the enclosure and the means for locking the door of the container on the door of the enclosure,
• - Figure 5 is a side view showing the flange and the door of the enclosure, the tilting lever for maneuvering the latter, and the lock ensuring the immobilization of this lever in the locking position of the door pregnant,
• FIG. 6 is a sectional view along line VI-VI of FIG. 5 showing in particular the lock making it possible to immobilize the operating lever of the enclosure door in its locking position, and
• - Figure 7 schematically shows an embodiment of the electrical circuit ensuring the control of the latches of the security device according to the invention.

The locking system and the safety device shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 make it possible to connect a container 10 in a sealed manner to a sealed enclosure 12 and to put them in communication while preventing any false operations leading to a rupture of the seal. one or the other of the two enclosures or the assembly constituted by the two enclosures when they are connected.

As illustrated in particular in FIG. 1, the container 10 is provided with an annular flange 14 defining a circular opening 16 normally closed by a door 18. Similarly, the enclosure 12 is provided with an annular flange 20 defining an opening circular 22 normally closed by a door 24. The container 10 is locked on the enclosure 12 by means of an appropriate system 26, not shown in FIG. 1, which will be described in detail below. The openings 16 and 22 are frustoconical and their generatrices are confused when the container 10 is locked on the enclosure 12 by means of the system 26 so that the double door constituted by the doors 18 and 24 can be removed from the inside of enclosure 12 as will be seen later.

In known manner, the seal between the doors 18 and 24 and the corresponding flanges 14 and 20 as well as the seal between the doors on the one hand and the flanges on the other hand when the container 10 is locked on the enclosure 12 are obtained by means of two seals 28 and 30 respectively disposed in the flange 14 and in the door 24, as described and claimed in French patent No. 1,346,486 in the name of the French Atomic Energy Commission. A system 32, not shown in FIG. 1, which will be described in detail below, makes it possible to unlock the double door constituted by the doors 18 and 24 and to dismantle it by means of a handle 34 formed on the door 24 inside the enclosure 12 as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 1.

There is shown in more detail in FIG. 2 as well as in FIGS. 3 and 4, the system 26 making it possible to lock the container 10 on the enclosure 12, as well as the cover 18 on the cover 24 while unlocking the cover 18 of the container 10. This system 26 comprises a locking ring 36 carried by the flange 20 and mounted to rotate on the latter by means of at least one finger 38 which projects radially inwards in an annular groove 40 formed at the periphery external of the flange 20. The locking ring 36 also comprises lugs 42 which project radially inwards beyond the end of the flange 20. As illustrated in particular in FIGS. 2 and 3, the ends lugs 42 are provided to engage in appropriate axial grooves 44 formed at the outer periphery of the flange 14 of the container 10. In addition, the locking ring 36 is provided at its outer periphery with at least one handle maneuver 46 which allows to simultaneously cause the ring 36 and the container 10 to rotate simultaneously when the latter is engaged in the flange 20 of the enclosure 12.

As shown in particular in Figures 2 to 4, the locking of the flange 14 on the flange 20 is effected by means of a bayonet system constituted by lugs 48 of the flange 14 which penetrate by notches 50 in an annular groove 52 formed in the flange 20. Similarly, the lid 18 is locked on the lid 24 by means of a bayonet connection formed by lugs 54 of the door 24 which penetrate by notches 56 formed in the door 18 in recesses in an arc of a circle 58 terminated by stops 66. The closure of the container 10 by the door 18 is also effected by means of a bayonet system which consists of lugs 60 formed on the door 18 and which penetrate by notches 62 in an annular groove 64 formed in the flange 14.

Of course, the relative arrangements of these different bayonet connections are such that, when the door 18 is locked on the corresponding container 10, and when the latter is presented opposite the flange 20 of the enclosure 12, the tabs 42, 48 and 54 are simultaneously opposite the notches 34, 50 and 56.

In this position, the rotation of the locking ring 36 by means of the operating handle 46 has the consequence, in a first phase, of simultaneously locking the flange 14 on the flange 20 and the door 18 on the door 24. In Indeed, the container 10 and its door 18 are rotated by the crown 36 due to the cooperation of the tabs 42 of the latter with the grooves 44 formed on the container.

At the end of this first part of the rotation of the crown 36, the tabs 54 of the door 24 abut against the stops 66 formed in the recesses 58, so that the door 18 is immobilized in rotation by the door 24 , the latter itself being immobilized in rotation by the device 32. In the second part of the rotation of the locking ring 36, only the container 10 rotates with the latter, so that the tabs 60 formed on the door 18 come opposite the notches 62 formed on the flange 14 when the crown 36 reaches the end of its travel, the end of travel position of the crown 36 being determined with precision as will be seen later.

We will now describe in detail the system 32 for locking and unlocking the door 24 of the enclosure 12 or the double door constituted by the doors 18 and 24 with reference to Figures 3 and 5. This system 32 includes an operating lever in a semicircle 68 disposed inside the enclosure 12 and the two ends of which are pivotally mounted on the flange 20 on either side of the door 24 around two coincident axes passing through the axis of the 'opening 22. Each end of the lever 68 is provided with an open notch and eccentric with respect to its pivot axis in which is received a pin carried by the door 24. Thanks to this characteristic, the door 24 is pressed so watertight against the opening 22 of the flange 20 and cannot be removed when the lever 68 occupies the extreme position shown in solid lines in FIG. 5. On the contrary, the door 24 is remote from the opening 22 and may possibly be withdrawn inward ieur of the enclosure 12 by means of the handle 34 when the operating lever 68 pivots 180 ° around its axis to come occupy the position shown in broken lines in Figure 5. For the details of the embodiment of the lever 68 and its cooperation with door 24, we will usefully refer to patent n ° 71 17358 filed on May 13, 1971 by the Company LA CALHENE. In order to facilitate its handling, the lever 68 is provided in its middle part with a handle 70. The handling of the lever 68 by its handle 70, like that of the door 24 or of the double door 18 and 24 by the handle 34, are done for example by means of a handling glove tightly attached to enclosure 12.

• - en l'absence du conteneur 10, on peut faire pivoter le levier de manoeuvre 68 autour de son axe pour ouvrir la porte 24 de la cellule 12, ce qui a pour conséquence de rompre l'étanchéité de cette dernière,
• - le conteneur 10 peut être déconnecté en faisant tourner la couronne de verrouillage 36 alors que la double porte 18 et 24 est démontée,
• - la double porte 18 et 24 peut être ouverte au moyen du levier de manoeuvre 68 alors que le conteneur 10 n'est pas entièrement verrouillé sur la bride 20.

In the locking system which has just been described, various false maneuvers can be carried out which is remedied by means of the security system produced in accordance with the invention. These false maneuvers are as follows:

• - in the absence of the container 10, the operating lever 68 can be pivoted about its axis to open the door 24 of the cell 12, which has the consequence of breaking the sealing of the latter,
• the container 10 can be disconnected by rotating the locking ring 36 while the double door 18 and 24 is removed,
• the double door 18 and 24 can be opened by means of the operating lever 68 while the container 10 is not fully locked on the flange 20.

In order to avoid these various false maneuvers, a safety device is provided in accordance with the invention which comprises a microswitch 72 sensitive to the presence of the container 10 on the flange 20 of the enclosure, a microswitch 74 sensitive to the arrival of the locking ring 36 in the position corresponding to the locking of the container 10 on the enclosure 12, a microswitch 76 sensitive to the presence of the door 24 in the flange 20 of the enclosure 12, a microswitch 78 sensitive to the presence of the lever of operation 68 in the position corresponding to the locking of the door 24, a first lock 80 making it possible to immobilize the crown 36 in the rest position and in the locking position, and a second lock 82 making it possible to immobilize the lever 68 in the door lock 24.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the microswitch 72 is carried by the locking crown 36 and comprises a pusher 84 with an axis normal to the axis of the opening 22 formed in the flange 20 and a pivoting lever 86 bearing on the pusher 84 and having an inclined surface 88 whose coming into contact with the container 10 controls the tilting of the lever 86 and the movement of the pusher 84 in the direction corresponding to the closing of the microswitch 72. The microswitch 74 is carried by the flange 20 outside the enclosure 12 and it is provided with a pusher 90 disposed tangentially relative to the crown 36, so that the coming into contact of a tab 92 carried by the crown 36 with the pusher 90 controls the closing of the microswitch 74. The microswitch 76 is carried by the flange 20 at the inside the enclosure 12. Like the microswitch 72, the microswitch 76 is provided with a pusher 94 arranged perpendicular to the axis of the opening 22, which cooperates with a pivoting lever 96 provided with an inclined face 98, the coming into contact with the external periphery of the door 24 controls the closing of the microswitch 76 by means of the pusher 94. The microswitch 78 is also carried by the flange 20 inside the enclosure 12 and it comprises a pusher 100 whose axis is parallel to the axis of the opening 22 and on which the lever 68 comes to bear when the latter is in the position corresponding to the locking of the door 24.

As shown in particular in Figure 3, the lock 80 is an electromagnetic lock carried by the flange 20 of the enclosure and having a rod 102 movable along a radial axis relative to the opening 22 of the flange. The end of the rod 102 is capable of entering a hole 104 formed in the locking ring 36 when the latter is in its rest position, and in a hole 106 formed in the locking ring 36, when the latter is in its locked position.

In the variant embodiment shown, it will be noted that the stroke of the crown 36 between its rest position and its locking position is 60 °. When the latch 80 is not excited, a spring 108 normally biases the rod 102 in the hole 104 or the hole 106.

As illustrated in particular in FIG. 6, the lock 82 is also an electromagnetic lock carried by the flange 20 and comprising a movable rod 110 whose end ends in a fork 112. The rod 110 is movable in a tangential direction relative to at the opening 22 formed in the flange, so that the fork 112 can overlap the handle 70 of the lever 68 when the latter is in the locking position of the door 24, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, l excitation of the lock 82 controlling the retraction of the rod 110 and of the fork 112 so as to release the handle 70 and allow the lever 68 to pivot.

As we have just seen, the latches 80 and 82 are normally in the locked position when they are not energized. In fact, it can be seen in FIG. 7 that the winding of the latch 80 is mounted in series with the microswitches 72, 76 and 78, while the winding of the latch 82 is mounted in series with the microswitches 72, 74 and 76. L ' power can be supplied through a transformer 114, the primary of which is placed between phase 116 and neutral 117 of a power supply circuit, controlled simultaneously by two switches 118 and 119. Circuit 116 can be connected to any source suitable electrical supply, in particular at a voltage of 220V, while the voltage across the secondary of the transformer 114 can be, for example, 24 V. Finally, fuses 120 can be arranged upstream and downstream of the transformer. The excitation of the latch 80 is controlled by the simultaneous closing of the microswitches 72, 76 and 78, the opening of any one of them controlling the closing of the latch 80. In a comparable manner, the opening of the latch 82 is conditioned by the simultaneous closing of latches 72, 74 and 76.

The operation of the locking system and of the security device which have just been described with reference to the appended figures is as follows.

In the absence of a container 10, the lock 72 sensitive to the presence of a container and the lock 74 sensitive to the arrival of the locking ring 36 in its locking position are both open. In accordance with what has just been said, it follows that the latches 80 and 82 are closed. In practice, this means that the rod 102 of the lock 80 enters the hole 104 of the crown 36 to prevent any rotation of the latter, and that the fork 112 of the lock 82 is in the position shown in FIG. 6 and thus immobilizes the operating lever 68 of the door 24 in the position corresponding to the locking of the latter. Any unexpected opening of the door 24 by pivoting of the lever 68 is thus prevented by the locking of the lock 82. In addition, the latter cannot be released by rotating the crown 36 until bringing the tab 92 in contact with the pushbutton 90 of the microswitch 74, as this ring is itself immobilized by the latch 80. Finally, the unlocked ^g e voluntary manual lock 82 would require support both on the pushers 84 and 90 of the microswitches 72 and 74 and to simultaneously pivot the lever 68 around its axis, which is practically impossible for a single person, all the more so since the microswitches 72 and 74 are preferably arranged in positions diametrically opposite with respect to the door 24.

As soon as the tabs 48 of a container 10 are introduced into the notches 50 of the flange 20, the tabs 54 of the door 24 simultaneously penetrating into the notches 56 of the door 18, the pusher 84 moves under the action of the lever 86 to close the microrup 72 72. The microswitches 76 and 78 then also being closed, the introduction of the container 10 has the consequence of releasing the latch 80. The end of the rod 102 is therefore released from the hole 104, so that one can do turn the locking ring 36 by means of the handle 46 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3. As already mentioned previously, this rotation has the consequence, firstly, of locking the container 10 on the enclosure 12 and door 18 on door 24 and, in a second step, to unlock door 18 of container 10.

At the end of this second part of the stroke of the crown 36, which represents a total rotation of 60 °, the tab 92 engages the pusher 90 of the microswitch 74 to close the latter. At this moment, the rod 102 of the latch 80 is located opposite the hole 106 formed in the crown 36. The closing of the microswitch 74 which is added to that of the microswitch 72 has the consequence of opening the latch 82, that is to say to release the handle 70 from the lever 68 by moving the rod 110 and its forked end to the right, considering FIG. 6. At this moment, the two latches 80 and 82 are therefore simultaneously open . It is then possible, either to go back, that is to say to unlock the container 10 to dismantle it, or to put the container 10 into communication with the enclosure 12 by dismantling the double door formed by the doors 18 and 24.

In the first case, the unlocking of the container 10 which is carried out by rotating the locking ring 36 in the opposite direction to that of the arrow in FIG. 3 has the consequence of moving the tab 92 away from the pusher 90 of the microswitch 74 , which leads to an opening of the latter and a new blocking of the lock 82 preventing all operations of the lever 68.

In the second case, the double door is unlocked by pivoting the lever 68 180 ° around its axis, which has the effect of subjecting the double door to a movement of translation towards the interior of the enclosure 12 on a distance corresponding to the offset between the pivot axis of the lever 68 and the axis of the open notches in which are received the pins carried by the door 24 and to bring the opening of these notches towards the interior of the enclosure 12 to allow the disassembly of the double door by means of the handle 34. From the start of the pivoting of the lever 68, the pusher 100 of the microswitch 78 is no longer in contact with the lever, so that this microswitch opens. This results in an immediate closing of the lock 80, that is to say that the end of the rod 102 penetrates into the hole 106 of the crown 36 to lock the latter in the locked position of the container 10 on the enclosure 12 Any disassembly of the container 10 after locking the double door is thus practically prevented. In addition, it is practically impossible for a single person wishing to deactivate the safety device according to the invention to actuate the pusher 100 of the microswitch 78 which is located inside the enclosure while rotating the crown 36 outside to dismantle the container.

As already indicated, the disassembly of the double door is carried out for example by means of a handling glove associated in a sealed manner with the enclosure 12, the disassembly being carried out using the handle 34 of the door 24 This disassembly results in the opening of the microswitch 76 which, added to that of the microswitch 78, makes it even more improbable the accomplishment of a malicious act consisting in disassembling at this time the container 10. Indeed, it would then necessary to simultaneously actuate the microswitches 76 and 78 which are preferably located in diametrically opposite positions relative to the door 24, and to operate the locking ring 36 which is itself located outside the enclosure 12.

As the above description shows, the safety device according to. the invention therefore makes it possible both to avoid the opening of the enclosure door without a container being present, the disconnection of a container without the double door being locked, and the opening of the double door without the container locking being complete.

In addition, it will be noted that this security device is particularly simple and can be practically installed without difficulty on existing locking systems. In addition, due to the electrical control of the locks, any interruption of the electrical supply resulting for example from a power failure leads to blocking of the locks preventing any unexpected manipulation of the locking system. Finally, the safety device is fully installed on the enclosure and, more precisely, on the enclosure flange, which allows the use of all types of containers without the latter having to undergo any modification.

Claims (3)

1. Safety device for a locking and opening system enabling communication between two enclosures (10, 12) each equipped with a flange (14, 20) and a door (18, 24), said system comprising a locking ring (36) associated with the flange (20) of a first enclosure (12) and movable in rotation between a rest position in the absence of the second enclosure (10) and a locking position of the second enclosure (10) on the first enclosure (12), and an operating lever (68) associated with the flange (20) of the first enclosure (12) and movable between a locking position of the door (24) of the first enclosure (12), the safety device being characterized in that it comprises a first latch (80) normally ensuring the locking of the locking crown (36) in the rest position and in the locking position, and a second lock (82) normally ensuring the locking of the operating lever (68) in the locked position e, first detection means (72) sensitive to the presence of the second enclosure (10) for unlocking the first lock (80), second detection means (74) sensitive to the presence of the locking crown (36) in the locking position to unlock the second lock (82), third detection means (76) sensitive to the presence of the operating lever (68) in the locking position and fourth detection means (78) sensitive to the presence of the door (24) of the first enclosure (12) to unlock the first lock (80). 2. Safety device according to claim 1, characterized in that the detection means (72, 74, 76, 78) are constituted by microswitches. 3. Safety device according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the latches (80, 82) are electrically controlled and normally closed in the absence of power supply.

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