Airlock system
AssigneeBritish Nuclear Fuels plc
InventorRichard J. Critchley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An air lock system for the transfer of large containers into a containment comprises a set of horizontally and vertically slidable doors adapted to define a variable opening for the passage of containers. The set of doors cooperate with a further preceding set, which can be a single slidable door, to form an airlock. Ventilation means in the containment provide an inward air flow through the opening into the containment.
Claims4
An airlock system comprising, in combination, means defining a containment constructed and arranged for receiving radioactive waste containers, means defining an opening through which the radioactive waste containers can be transferred into said containment, conveyor means to transfer radioactive waste containers through said opening into said containment from outside said containment, means forming a vertically oriented, vertically slidable door and at least one vertically oriented, horizontally slidable door, said doors being in contiguous relationship and selectively and variably movable across said opening in relatively transverse directions to vary a size of said opening by varying relatively transverse dimensions thereof to adapt the opening dimensions to dimensions of radioactive waste containers being transferred into said containment, and ventilation means for providing an inward airflow into the containment through the opening to prevent escape of atmosphere from the containment through the opening during transfer of the radioactive waste container through the opening.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.