Rapid transfer port

A transfer port apparatus comprising

• a canister portion formed to include a canister passageway and adapted to be coupled to a canister to place the canister passageway in communication with a canister chamber formed in the canister,
• an isolator portion formed to include an isolator passageway and adapted to be coupled to an isolator to place the isolator passageway in communication with an isolation chamber formed in the isolator, and coupled to the canister portion to define a transfer conduit extending therebetween,
• a removable conduit closure movable to a position in the transfer conduit to occlude the transfer conduit, and
• pneumatic means for selectively inflating and deflating expansible seal members included in the canister and isolator portions using pressurized fluid and vacuum suction forces passing through the isolator portion to move the seal members to establish airtight sealing engagement with the removable conduit closure.

An apparatus comprising

• an isolator unit including an isolator shell configured to define an interior isolation chamber and formed to include an isolator chamber opening allowing access to the isolation chamber from a region exterior to the isolator unit, an isolator door frame coupled to the isolator shell and positioned to lie in the isolator chamber opening, the isolator door frame including an isolator seal support and an expandable isolator seal member, and an isolator door configured to mount to the isolator door frame and arranged to engage the isolator seal member and occlude an opening in the isolator door frame when in a closed position and to dingo the isolator seal member and allow access into the isolation chamber through the opening in the isolator door frame when the isolator door is an opened position,
• a mobile canister unit including a shell configured to define an interior canister chamber and formed to include a canister chamber opening allowing access to the canister chamber from a region exterior to the canister unit, a canister door frame coupled to the canister shell and positioned to lie in the canister chamber opening, the canister door frame including a canister seal support and an expandable canister seal member, and a canister door arranged to engage the canister seal member and occlude an opening in the canister door frame when in a closed position and to disengage the canister seal member and allow access into the canister chamber through the opening in the canister door frame when the canister door is in an opened position,
• a seal expander configured to urge prized fluid passing through the isolator unit against a surface of the canister seal member and a surface of the isolator seal member to move the canister seal member and the isolator seal member to the expanded position forming a first substantially airtight engagement between the canister seal member and the canister door and a second substantially airtight engagement between the isolator seal member and the isolator door.

An apparatus comprising

• an isolator unit including an isolator shell configured to define an interior isolation chamber and formed to include an isolator chamber opening allowing access to the isolation chamber from a region exterior to the isolator unit, an isolator door frame coupled to the isolator shell and positioned to lie in the isolator chamber opening, the isolator door frame including an isolator seal support and an expandable isolator seal member, and an isolator door configured to mount to the isolator door frame and arranged to engage the isolator seal member and occlude an opening in the isolator door frame when in a closed position and to disengage the isolator seal member and allow access into the isolation chamber through the opening in the isolator door frame when the isolator door is in an opened position,
• a mobile canister unit including a shell configured to define an interior canister chamber and formed to include a canister chamber opening allowing access to the canister chamber from a region exterior to the canister unit, a canister door frame coupled to the canister shell and positioned to lie in the canister chamber opening, the canister door frame including a canister seal support and an expandable canister seal member, and a canister door arranged to engage the canister seal member and occlude an opening in the canister door frame when in a closed position and to disengage the canister seal member and allow access into the canister chamber through the opening in the canister door frame when the canister door is in an opened position,
• a seal expander system including an electronic control device configured to allow pressurized fluid to flow from a pressurized fluid supply when the electronic control device is activated, an isolator conduit configured to receive pressurized fluid flow from the pressurized fluid supply when the electronic control device is activated and configured to lie in fluid communication with a fluid junction located in the isolator unit and in fluid communication with a surface of the expandable isolator seal member, and a canister conduit in fluid communication with the fluid junction and with a surface of the expandable canister seal member.

An apparatus comprising

• an isolator unit including an isolator shell configured to define an interior isolation chamber and formed to include an isolator chamber opening allowing access to the isolation chamber from a region exterior to the isolator unit, an isolator door frame coupled to the isolator shell and positioned to lie in the isolator chamber opening, the isolator door frame including an isolator seal support and an expandable isolator seal member, and an isolator door configured to mount to the isolator door frame and arranged to engage the isolator sea member and occlude an opening in the isolator door frame when in a closed position and to disengage the isolator seal member and allow access into the isolation chamber trough the opening in the isolator door frame when the isolator door is in an opened position,
• a mobile canister unit including a shell configured to define an interior canister chamber and formed to include a canister chamber opening allowing access to the canister chamber from a region exterior to the canister unit, a canister door frame coupled to the canister shell and positioned to lie in the canister chamber opening, the canister door frame including a canister seal support and a canister seal member, and a canister door arranged to engage the canister seal member and occlude an opening in the canister door frame when in a closed position and to disengage the canister seal member and allow access into the canister chamber through the opening in the canister door frame when the canister door is in an opened position,
• a seal expander configured to urge pressurized fluid moving through the isolator unit against the isolator seal member to move the isolator seal member to the expanded position forming a substantially airtight engagement between the isolator seal member and the isolator door and against the canister seal member to move the canister seal member to the expanded position forming a substantially airtight engagement between the canister seal member and the canister door.

An apparatus comprising

• an isolator unit including an isolator shell configured to define an interior isolation chamber and formed to include an isolator chamber opening allowing access to the isolation chamber from a region exterior to the isolator unit, an isolator door frame coupled to the isolator shell and positioned to lie in the isolator chamber opening, the isolator door frame including an isolator seal support and an expandable isolator seal member, and an isolator door configured to mount to the isolator door frame and arranged to engage the isolator seal member and occlude an opening in the isolator door frame when in a closed position and to disengage the isolator seal member and allow access into the isolation chamber through the opening in the isolator door frame when the isolator door is an opened position,
• a mobile canister unit including a shell configured to define an interior canister chamber and formed to include a canister chamber opening allowing access to the canister chamber from a region exterior to the canister unit, a canister door frame coupled to the canister shell and positioned to lie in the canister chamber opening, the canister door frame including a canister seal support and an expandable canister seal member, and a canister door arranged to engage the canister seal member and occlude an opening in the canister door frame when in a closed position and to disengage the canister seal member and allow access into the canister chamber through the opening in the canister door frame when the canister door is in an opened position, the mobile canister unit placed adjacent to the isolator unit and configured with the canister door frame removably connected to the isolator door frame and the opening in the canister door frame arranged to communicate with the opening in the isolator door frame when both the canister door and isolator door are in the opened position, and
• a seal member pressure control system including a pressurized air supply in fluid connection with a slave valve supply conduit and a pressure supply conduit and configured to allow flow of pressurized air into both the slave valve supply conduit and the pressure supply conduit, a master valve in fluid connection with the slave valve supply conduit and configured to move between a first position halting flow of pressurized fluid through the slave valve supply conduit and a second position allowing flow of pressurized fluid to continue through the slave valve supply conduit, a pressure selector valve in fluid connection with the pressure supply conduit and also in fluid connection with a vacuum generator, the pressure selector valve configured to move between a first position allowing the vacuum generator to remove air from the pressure supply conduit and a second position allowing the pressurized air supply to urge pressurized air into the pressure supply conduit, an isolator slave valve having a first input in fluid connection with the slave valve supply conduit and a second input in fluid connection with the pressure supply conduit and an output in fluid connection with the isolator seal member and configured to move from a first position wherein the movement of air through the pressure supply conduit to or from the isolator seal member is prohibited and a second position wherein movement of air through the pressure supply conduit to or from the isolator seal member is allowed and further configured to be biased in the first position and moved to the second position upon the receipt of pressurized air from the slave valve supply conduit, and an electronic controller electronically connected to the master valve and pressure selector valve and configured to command the master valve and pressure selector valve to increase or decrease the pressure on the isolator seal member, wherein the command to increase pressure on the isolator seal member is accomplished by communicating a signal from the electronic controller to the master valve causing the master valve to move to its second position allowing pressurized air to flow from the pressurized air supply to the first input of the isolator slave valve causing the isolator slave valve to move to its second position and by communicating a signal from the electronic controller to the pressure selector valve causing the pressure selector valve to move to its second position allowing pressurized air to flow through the pressure supply conduit through the second input of the isolator slave valve and through the output of the isolator slave valve to move the isolator seal member to its expanded position, and wherein the command to decrease pressure on the isolator seal member is accomplished by communicating a signal from the electronic controller to the master valve causing the master valve to move to its second position allowing pressurized air to flow from the pressurized air supply to the first input of the isolator slave valve causing the isolator slave valve to move to its second position and by configuring the pressure selector valve to its first position allowing the vacuum generator to remove pressurized air from the pressure supply conduit through the second input of the isolator slave valve and through the output of the isolator slave valve to move the isolator seal member to its contracted position.

A method of opening a transfer conduit in a transfer port apparatus to enable a user to move an object between a canister chamber formed in a canister and an isolation chamber formed in an isolator through the transfer conduit without exposing the transfer conduit and the canister ad isolation chamber to the atmosphere, the method comprising the steps of

• providing a canister door frame arranged to surround an opening into the canister chamber, the canister door frame defining a portion of the transfer conduit and including a seal support and an inflatable seal coupled to the seal support,
• providing an isolator door frame arranged to surround an opening into the isolation chamber,
• first moving an isolator door from a central opening formed in the isolator door frame without passing the isolator door through a central opening formed in the canister door frame,
• second moving a canister door from the central opening formed in the canister door fame through the central opening formed in the isolator door after deflating an inflated seal included in the canister door frame and arranged to establish an airtight scaling engagement between the canister door fame and the canister door.

A method of closing a transfer conduit in a transfer port apparatus to block fluid communication between a canister chamber formed in a canister and an isolation chamber formed in an isolator through a transfer conduit, the method comprising the steps of

• providing a canister door frame arranged to surround an opening into the canister chamber, the canister door frame defining a portion of the transfer conduit and including a seal support and an inflatable seal coupled to the seal support,
• providing an isolator door frame arranged to surround an opening into the isolation chamber,
• first moving a canister door through a central opening formed in the isolator door frame into a central opening formed in the canister door frame,
• inflating the inflatable seal to establish an airtight scaling engagement between the canister door frame and the canister door, and
• second moving an isolator door into the central opening formed in the isolator door frame.