JPS599787B2 - Airtight door lock mechanism - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a locking mechanism for an airtight door.

When opening and closing an airtight door that airtightly closes the entrance and exit of a room that has a pressure difference from the outside air, there is an airtight maintenance function that ensures the airtightness of the room when the door is closed, and an airtight maintenance function that maintains the airtightness of the room before opening the door. A pressure equalization function that matches the atmospheric pressure of outside air, a safety confirmation function that confirms that the pressure difference between indoor and outdoor is canceled by the pressure equalization function and that it is safe to unlock the door are required.

Conventionally, the airtight maintenance function has been achieved by pressing and holding the door against the wall around the entrance using a force-increasing mechanism using cams and links, and by pressing the door directly against the wall around the entrance using a cylinder-piston device operated by hydraulic or pneumatic pressure. This has been achieved through such means.

Further, the pressure equalization function is performed by communicating the inside of the airtight chamber with outside air using a pressure equalization valve.

Furthermore, the safety confirmation function that confirms that the pressure difference between indoor and outdoor has disappeared due to the pressure equalization function is performed by the display of the differential pressure gauge, and the output of the differential pressure gauge operates the actuator and interlocks the door opening/closing mechanism. It is also being done.

This type of airtight chamber is often used to test various devices whose operating performance changes due to changes in atmospheric pressure conditions or changes in altitude.

Therefore, the door at the entrance to the room is often opened relatively frequently for entry and exit by workers, and the above-mentioned airtightness maintenance function and safety confirmation function must be performed repeatedly.

Moreover, in the case of entrance/exit doors, people are often standing in front of the door before opening it, so if the airtight maintenance function is released without the pressure equalization function being fully activated, the indoor and outdoor There is a risk that the door may explode due to the differential pressure, causing harm to workers.

When the airtightness function, pressure equalization function, and safety confirmation function can be performed manually, it is necessary to perform them reliably according to predetermined operating procedures, especially when the door is frequently opened and closed as mentioned above. In such cases, work involving such operating procedures is complicated and there is a high risk of operational errors occurring.

In addition, if these functions are performed automatically using individual electrical equipment, their reliability or in the event of an abnormality (power outage, etc.)
The problem is how to deal with this.

The present invention addresses the above-mentioned problems related to the locking mechanism of the airtight door that closes the entrance and exit of the airtight room, and allows the airtightness maintenance function, pressure equalization function, and safety confirmation function to be integrated into one simple operation without having to separate them individually. It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple and reliable locking function for an airtight door, which is configured to be automatically achieved by being naturally incorporated into the door.

The invention will now be described in detail by way of example embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a somewhat exploded front view showing an example of an airtight door incorporating one embodiment of the locking mechanism according to the present invention;
The figure is a somewhat exploded diagrammatic sectional view taken along line 1-H in FIG.

In the figure, 1 is an airtight door, which opens and closes an entrance 3 formed in a chamber wall 2.

When the entrance/exit 3 is hermetically closed by the door 1, the interior of the room 4 is maintained in an atmosphere having a pressure difference with respect to the outside air.

A packing 5 is provided on the peripheral wall 2atF- of the entrance/exit 3 at a position where it engages with the door 1, and by pressing the door 1 against the peripheral wall 2a through the packing, airtightness is maintained therebetween. ing.

A door 1 is rotatably attached to a room wall 2 by a double hinge 6.

In the illustrated embodiment, cams 7 are provided at four locations on the peripheral wall portion 2aK of the chamber wall.

A cam follower 8 corresponding to and cooperating with these cams is still provided on the door side.

Cam followers 8 are each carried on the ends of racks 9.

Each rack 9 has a sliding bearing 10, which is schematically shown in the figure.
are supported so as to be slidable in the axial direction of the door 1, that is, in the horizontal direction in the figure.

The rack 9 is provided with rack teeth 9a at its other end.

The pinion 11 that meshes with this rack tooth 9a is the pinion shaft 1.
It is supported by 2.

The pinion shaft 12 also carries a worm gear 13,
It is rotatably supported with respect to the door 1 by a rotation bearing 14 schematically shown in the figure.

A worm 15 is provided meshing with the worm gear 13, passes through the worm door 1, and is supported by a nozzle shaft 17, which is suitably rotatably bearing at its penetration portion 16.

... Handles 18 are attached to both ends of the handle shaft 170, located on both ′ sides of the door 10.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the details of the cam 7 and the manner in which the cam follower 8 and therefore the door 1 are driven by engaging with the cam surface.

Cam lj: first cam part α, second cam part β as shown
, a third cam portion γ, and a fourth cam portion δ1 or δ2.

When the cam follower 8 is engaged with the cam portion α, the cam follower is located at a distance of 11 from the reference point O of the chamber peripheral wall, and in this state, the door 1 is moved against the packing 5 as shown in FIG. 4A. It is in a state of being compressed and crimped to the peripheral wall portion 2a, and the chamber 4
The inside is kept airtight from the outside air.

From this, when the cam follower 8 is driven 1 to the left in the figure and moves along the cam portion β, the cam follower opens the door by a distance Δl from the distance l1 to the reference plane O at a distance l2=1. is forcibly driven in the direction.

When the cam follower reaches the cam portion γ, the cam follower is now held at a position separated by a distance 12 from the reference plane O for seven periods.

The state of engagement between the door 1 and the chamber peripheral wall 2a when the cam follower is at position B in the middle of cam part β and in position C in cam part γ is as shown in FIGS. 4B and C. be.

In this case, the B position is a position where the flexible packing 5 is released from the crimped state at the A position by a crimped amount Δl and returns to its natural state.

At position C, door 1 is further away from packing 5 by a distance Δl2.
A gap corresponding to this amount of separation is formed between them.

When the cam follower 8 is guided in engagement with the cam portion δ1, that is, when the pressure inside the room is still higher than the outside air and the door is still pressed outward, when the cam follower reaches the cam portion δ1, That is, when the position DK is reached, the cam follower is prevented from moving further to the left by the cam portion δ1.

That is, the cam portion δ1 guides the cam follower only toward the door closing side in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the door, and therefore, as long as the cam follower is in the position indicated by 8 at position D. , the cam follower has a handle of 18 and a worm of 1.
5. Depending on the driving force transmitted via the worm gear 13, pinion 11, and rack 9, it is no longer driven to the left in the figure.

To move the cam follower further out of engagement with the cam, once press the door in the closing direction with your hand and move the cam follower from position D to position 8'. The cam follower must be moved through the position shown by ``'' to the position shown by ``'', and then when the drive of the handle 18 is resumed, the cam follower is moved from position E to position F, and the cam follower is completely engaged with the cam. To be released.

Therefore, in this case, even if the pressure equalization function in the cam portion γ is not fully achieved, the risk of the cam and the cam follower coming out of engagement and causing the door to explode inadvertently is reliably avoided.

When the cam follower moves to the left in the figure beyond the cam portion γ, that is, the pressure equalization region, and the pressure inside the chamber 4 is still lower than the outside pressure, the cam follower is guided along the cam portion δ2. Become.

In this case, if the cam follower continues to move to the left, the door will move in the closing direction again.

Of course, this does not pose a danger such as the door suddenly exploding, but it is inconvenient for the purpose of opening the door, so in such a case, reverse the driving direction of the cam follower, return the cam follower to the cam part γ, and fully After achieving the desired pressure equalization function, the cam follower can be moved to the left again.

To bring the door from the open state to the closed state, first drive the cam follower at position F to the left in the diagram, then move the cam follower to E, D,
It is clear that it is only necessary to bring it through positions C and B and finally to position A.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the bottom C of the cam portion δ1
Although the horizontal portion (located below in the figure) is one step lower than the surface of the cam portion γ, this configuration is not necessarily necessary, and the bottom surface of the cam portion δ1 is configured as a continuous surface that is the same as the surface of the cam portion γ. may be done.

FIG. 5 is a partial front view of the door showing one modification of the present invention mainly regarding the cam fitting position and the cam follower drive mechanism.

In this case, the cam 7 is mounted on the chamber peripheral wall above the door, and the cam follower 8 is driven vertically by a rack 9 guided by a shaft bearing 10 to slide vertically in the figure. It is now possible to do so.

Further, in this case, the pinion shaft 12 supporting the pinion 11
' is the pinion shaft 1 in Fig. 1 via the bevel gear 19.20.
It is adapted to be driven by a shaft 12 similar to 2.

FIG. 6 shows that the pinion shaft 12 in the configuration shown in FIG. 1 or 5 is replaced by manual force using the handle 18.
FIG. 2 is a partial front view of a door portion configured to be driven by a motor 21 via pinions 22 and 23;

FIG. 7 is a partial front view of a door section showing still another modification of the present invention.

In this modified example, the cam 7 is provided on the side of the door, and the cam follower 8 is provided on the side of the chamber wall.

Also in this case, the rack 9 carrying the cam follower 8 is connected to the piston rod 25 of the cylinder-piston arrangement 24 and is driven by the cylinder-piston arrangement.

Thus, according to the present invention, the handle 18 is rotated monotonically in the hand, or alternatively, an electric device such as the motor 21 is monotonically operated, or a hydraulic drive device such as the cylinder-piston device 24 is monotonically driven. By doing so, the airtightness maintenance function, pressure equalization function, and safety confirmation function described above are automatically achieved by the simple operation of driving the cam follower 8 monotonously, ensuring a high level of safety and making it easy to create an airtight door. It will be appreciated that a door locking mechanism is provided which can be opened and closed at any time.

Although the present invention has been described above in detail with reference to several embodiments, it is understood that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and that various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. will be clear to those skilled in the art.

[Brief Description of the Drawings] Fig. 1 is a front view showing a sealed door device incorporating one embodiment of the door locking mechanism according to the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a front view of a sealed door device incorporating one embodiment of the door locking mechanism according to the present invention.
3 and 4 are diagrams explaining the operation of the cam device incorporated in the door locking mechanism according to the present invention, and FIGS. FIG. 3 is a partial front view of the door apparatus illustrating some modifications that may be made to the embodiment as shown; 1...door, 2...room wall, 2 a. ．． ．． Peripheral area of entrance/exit of room wall, 3... Entrance/exit, 4... Indoor space, 5...
・Packing, 6...double hinge, 7...cam, 8...
・Cam follower, 9... rack, 9a... rack tooth, 10... sliding bearing, 11... pinion, 12...
- Pinion shaft, 13... Worm gear, 14... Rotating bearing, 15... Worm, 16... Door penetration bearing portion, 17... Handle shaft, 18... Handle, 19.
20...Bevel gear, 21...Motor, 22.23...
・Pinion, 24... Cylinder piston device, 25
... Piston Rondo.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A locking mechanism for a door that airtightly closes the entrance and exit of a chamber having a pressure difference with respect to the outside air, including a cam provided on either the chamber wall defining the chamber or the door, and the like. a cam follower provided on one side, and a driving device for driving either one of the cam followers, and the cam has first, second, third, and fourth parts for guiding the cam follower. and when the cam follower is in the first part of the cam, the door is sealed and crimped to the peripheral wall of the doorway, and when the cam follower is in the second part of the cam, the door is in contact with the peripheral wall. The door is adapted to be moved between a hermetically crimped position and a position separated by a relatively small predetermined distance such that when the cam follower is in the third portion of the cam, the door is The fourth portion of the cam is adapted to be held at a position spaced apart from the peripheral wall by the predetermined distance, and the fourth portion of the cam moves the cam follower to open the door in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the door. A locking mechanism characterized by being guided only toward the closing side. 2 A locking mechanism for a door that airtightly closes the entrance and exit of a chamber that has a pressure difference with respect to the outside air, and includes a cam provided on either the chamber wall defining the chamber or the door, and a cam follower provided on the other side. and a drive device for driving either the cam or the cam follower, the cam having first, second, third, and fourth portions for guiding the cam follower, and the cam follower having a drive device for driving either the cam or the cam follower. When the door is in the first part of the cam, the door is hermetically crimped to the peripheral wall of the doorway, and when the cam follower is in the second part of the cam, the front door is hermetically crimped to the peripheral wall. and a position separated by a relatively small predetermined distance, and when the cam follower is in the third part of the cam, the door is moved further away from the peripheral wall than the other. The locking mechanism is adapted to be held at a position separated by a predetermined distance, and the fourth portion of the cam is an inclined surface that guides the cam follower only in the door closing direction.