Patent ID: 6905107

Claim:
An apparatus for use with a vacuum chamber having an enclosure wall and a pocket formed in the enclosure wall, the pocket having an inner pocket wall with an inner opening and an outer pocket wall with an outer opening in line with the inner opening, the apparatus comprising: a movable mechanism adapted to couple within the pocket; a door assembly including: a door having: a frontplate adapted to sealingly engage the outer pocket wall to seal the outer opening; a backplate operatively coupled to the frontplate and at least one inflatable member located between the frontplate and the backplate and adapted to selectively move the frontplate into sealing engagement with the outer opening; the door assembly being mounted to the movable mechanism so as to move between a closed position wherein the door occludes the inner and the outer openings, and an open position wherein the door does not occlude the inner or the outer opening, when the movable mechanism is coupled within the pocket of the enclosure wall; and a sealing plate different from the frontplate and the backplate and coupled to the movable mechanism, the sealing plate adapted to seal the pocket, thereby creating a gas tight region within the pocket and adjacent the inner and the outer openings.