Fuel transfer tube quick opening hatch

A quick operating hatch assembly for sealing and unsealing an opening at an outer peripheral end of a transfer tube located in a lower portion of a containment pit of a nuclear reactor building, wherein said opening is surrounded by a circumferential weldment, comprising:

• a locking ring connected to said weldment;
• a hatch cover fitably received within said locking ring and having a base portion seatable onto said weldment;
• locking assembly means including latching means movably connected with said hatch cover, housing means in said locking ring, and latching means movable means connected with said hatch cover and said latching means for movement of said latching means into locking engagement with said housing means for locking said hatch cover to said locking ring and out of engagement with said housing means for releasing said hatch cover from said locking ring whereby to permit removal of said hatch cover from said locking ring to provide access to the transfer tube, wherein said latching means movable means includes a shaft rotatably coupled to said hatch cover coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the transfer tube in the locked condition of said hatch cover and said locking ring, a spider assembly fixed relative to said hatch cover, rotatably coupled to said shaft and movable transversely therealong in response to rotation of said shaft, a crank arm for each said latching means for coupling thereof to said spider assembly for movement of said latching means into said housing means upon rotation of said shaft for movement of said spider towards the top of said hatch cover and out of said housing means upon movement of said spider assembly away from the top of said hatch cover, wherein said latching means includes a latch movable on the top of said hatch in a direction radially on the axis of said shaft and latching end having a sloped camming surface, and including, a latch guideway on the top of said hatch cover for guiding said latch for movement in the radial direction, and wherein said housing means includes a latch receiving opening for receiving said latching end, said latch housing having an inner sloped roof portion forming a camming surface for engagement with said aforementioned camming surface to upon closure of said hatch cover force said hatch cover against said weldment;
• a pair of elastomeric rings coupled to the base of said hatch cover juxtaposed to the periphery thereof for compression thereof to provide a tight seal when the base of said hatch cover is engaged with the rim of the transfer tube and said weldment when said camming surfaces are pressure engaged together for locking said hatch cover to said locking ring;
• and
• external drive connection means remotely connectable to and detachable from said shaft and operable when connected to said shaft to remotely and selectively drive said shaft in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction to affect correspondingly closure or opening of said latching means from a location external of said pit.