Patent ID: 8851786

Claim:
A reversible sealing mechanism for sealing a bulkhead disposed between first and second compartments, the bulkhead having a first central aperture defined about a central axis, said mechanism comprising: a cover member configured to cover the first central aperture, said cover member having a recess defined therein by a substantially cylindrical sidewall, wherein an interior surface of said substantially cylindrical sidewall of said cover member comprises at least one protrusion projecting radially inward; a wedge ring having a generally cylindrical body accommodated by said first central aperture and configured to operatively engage said cover member, and at least one upper lip configured to engage said at least one protrusion; a drive mechanism configured to rotate said wedge ring about the central axis, such that a rotation of said wedge ring in a first direction causes said wedge ring to urge said cover member in an axial direction along the central axis into a sealed position and a rotation of said wedge ring in a second direction opposite the first direction about the central axis causes said wedge ring to release from said cover member so as to allow said cover member to move in the axial direction away from said bulkhead into an unsealed position; a first gear cooperatively coupled to and reversibly rotatable by said drive mechanism within a second angular range about a third direction and a fourth direction opposite the third direction; and a second gear having another central aperture concentric with the first central aperture, said second gear fastened to said wedge ring and cooperatively coupled to and reversibly rotatable by said first gear within a first angular range about the first and second directions.