Patent ID: 7527450

Claim:
A pin assembly comprising: (a) a pair of pin sockets mounted on a first structure, wherein the pin sockets are spaced apart and have opposed coaxially aligned pin receiving bores; (b) a second structure having a longitudinal midline and a through bore penetrating a distal end of the second structure defining a pin mounting bore, wherein the through bore has a through bore diaphragm coplanar with the midline of the second structure and fixedly mounted in the through bore; (c) a pair of opposed pin members, with one pin member positioned on each side of the through bore diaphragm, wherein the pin members are coaxially aligned in the through bore and the pin members are reciprocably comateable with the pin receiving bores when the second structure is coaxially received between the pin sockets of the first structure, wherein each pin member has a hollow pin casing and at least one pin diaphragm disposed on the pin casing to support the casing; (d) a pin chamber bounded by the pin members, the through bore and the through bore diaphragm; (e) a sealing means for sealing a gap between each pin casing and the through bore, (f) a flow passage communicating between an inside of the pin chamber and an outside of the pin chamber; (g) a selectably operable valve in communication with the flow passage, wherein whenever the valve is open flow is permitted through the flow passage and whenever the valve is closed flow is prevented through the flow passage; and (h) a pair of selectably operable, reciprocable actuators, each actuator fixedly attached at a first end to the through bore diaphragm and at a second end to a respective one of the pin members, wherein each pin member and actuator is selectably reciprocable between a first position wherein the pin member is partially extended from the through bore and comateably engages a respective one of the pin sockets and a second position wherein the pin member is within the through bore and an external face of the pin member is substantially flush with an outer end of the through bore.