Patent ID: 7967348

Claim:
A system comprising: a keyed safety interlock comprising a body assembly and a key assembly wherein the body assembly comprises a locking member and a keyhole and wherein the key assembly comprises a key, at least one alignment pin, a floating plate, and a mounting plate; and a fixed alignment assembly comprising at least one alignment hole; wherein the key and the at least one alignment pin are fixedly attached to the floating plate, and wherein the floating plate is attached to and suspended from the mounting plate by a plurality of springs that provide the floating plate with limited two dimensional travel with respect to the mounting plate; wherein the body assembly has a multiplicity of states comprising a hold state and a release state, wherein the locking member traps the key in the keyhole and does not release the key from the keyhole when the body assembly is in the hold state, and wherein the key is free to enter and exit the keyhole when the body assembly is in the release state; and wherein pressing the at least one alignment pin into the at least one alignment hole causes the floating plate to move and to thereby align the key to the keyhole.