Patent ID: 8398025

Claim:
A system for sensing a decompression event within an interior area of a pressurized structure, wherein the interior area is partitioned into at least two compartments by a wall having a door, wherein the door is movable between an open position and a closed position, and held in said closed position in either an unlocked or a locked condition, the system comprising: an electronic locking mechanism disposed adjacent said door for allowing said door to be maintained in said locked and unlocked conditions when positioned in said closed position, the electronic locking mechanism including: a control device within one of the two compartments; a controller responsive to said control device to maintain said door in said locked and unlocked positions; a pressure sensor for sensing a decompression event, the pressure sensor generating an output that electrically inhibits the electronic locking mechanism, substantially instantaneously, from holding the door in a closed position, thus allowing the door to open substantially simultaneously in response to said decompression event; a user keypad operably associated with said electronic locking mechanism for enabling a user in a first one of said compartments to request from an individual in a second one of said compartments that said door be unlocked, independently of operation of said pressure sensor; and said control device signals said controller to automatically unlock said door after a predetermined time delay period has expired, said predetermined time delay period including at least a first predetermined delay interval which commences when a user requests that said door be unlocked and the user enters a correct input to the user keypad after which said controller produces at least one short duration audible signal during said first predetermined delay interval that indicates to the individual that a request to unlock said door has been made, a second predetermined delay interval during which said controller produces a second audible signal and a continuous visual indicator to the individual that said controller will automatically unlock said door at an expiration of said predetermined time delay, and a third predetermined delay interval in which said controller produces a continuous audible signal and a continuously flashing visual indicator that is continuous throughout the third predetermined delay interval that indicates to the individual that said controller will automatically unlock said door at the expiration of said predetermined time delay period.