Glove port safety mechanism

摘要

A safety device for a glove port includes a hatch that is rotatably fixable by a hinge to an outer frame of a glove port so as to rotate between a closing position and an opening position for preventing or allowing access to the glove port, respectively. The device further includes a sensor associated with the glove port and arranged for engaging and/or detecting an abutment portion of said the hatch in the closing condition and generating an alarm signal when the abutment portion does not engage the sensor means, in particular when the hatch is not in the closing position.

主权项

1. A method for stopping an automatic machine comprising a safety device for a glove port, the safety device comprising a hatch providing access to the glove port, the hatch including an appendage containing a through hole, a hinge connecting the hatch with a frame of the machine and including a pivot pin fixed to the frame by a pivot assembly and arranged in the appendage through hole, the pivot assembly including a cam containing a recess, and an active sensor that detects an element fixed to a portion of the hatch when the hatch is in a closed position, said method comprising mechanically blocking the hatch in the closed position where the hatch is adjacent to the frame and prevented from rotating by a roller mounted on the hatch and arranged in the cam recess to prevent access to the glove port, opening the hatch by rotating the hatch about an axis X to the open position where the hatch is away from the frame to allow access to the glove port;
and before the hatch is rotated there being provided the steps of: (a) linearly displacing the hatch along the axis X from the closed position to an intermediate position in which the active sensor stops detecting the element, the hatch is linearly displaced relative to the frame and continues to prevent access to the glove port, and the roller is out of the cam recess to engage a race of the cam, (b) generating an alarm and stop signal for the automatic machine when the hatch reaches the intermediate position where the hatch is linearly displaced relative to the frame, and (c) stopping the automatic machine when the alarm and stop signal are generated, and wherein the step of rotating the hatch about the axis X from the intermediate position to the open position being provided after the alarm and stop signal have been generated.