Patent ID: 8342353

Claim:
An interlock assembly for use with decompression chambers, comprising: an air tight vessel provided with one opening at each of the vessel ends; an outer door mounted at an exterior end of the vessel; an inner door mounted at an interior end of the vessel, said inner door selectively communicating with the decompression chamber when the inner door is open; a first latch mounted at the exterior end of the vessel for selectively locking the outer door in a sealed engagement with the exterior end of the vessel, said first latch allowing the outer door to move between a locked position and a plurality of selectively open positions; a second latch mounted at the interior end of the vessel for selectively locking the inner door in a sealed engagement with the inner end of the vessel; a third latch operationally connected to said vessel for preventing rotational movement of the outer door before pressure inside the vessel is equalized with pressure outside of the vessel wherein the third latch comprises a piston chamber in air communication with the inside of the vessel, a piston slidably moveable inside the piston chamber, and a safety lock pin operationally connected to the piston and engageable with the peripheral ring to prevent rotational movement of the outer door; and a pressure relief valve operationally connected to the first latch for rapidly venting pressure inside the vessel when the first latch is moved to an open position.