DETAILED DESCRIPTION The foregoing and other objectives are achieved in accordance with the teachings of the present invention through the provision of a new and improved pressure-assist closed cover, door or hatch closure which, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, is adapted to be utilized in connection with a rear-entry space suit hatch.
More particularly, the pressure-assist closed door or hatch closure comprises a substantially trapezoidal or triangularly-configured closure which is adapted to sealingly mate with a similarly configured access opening framework provided within a rear portion of the astronaut space suit, specifically, within the head or helmet and upper-torso region of the space suit.
The wider base portions, having the larger lateral or transverse dimension, of the closure and access opening framework, are provided within the bottom or lower regions of the closure and framework components, while the narrower or apex portions, having the smaller lateral or transverse dimension, of the closure and access opening framework, are provided within the top or upper regions of the closure and framework components, with the narrower or apex portions of the closure and framework components being rounded and defined by means of a large radiused curve so as to match or complement the suit helmet curvature.
Substantially identical tongue-and-groove elements, having suitable seal members operatively associated therewith, extend continuously around the perimeter portions of the door or hatch closure and the space suit access opening framework, and the door or hatch closure is slightly larger in all dimensions than the space suit access opening framework so as to define a pressure-assist closed type closure therewith.
When the interior of the space suit is therefore pressurized, the tongue-and-groove elements and their associated seal members of the door or hatch, and the space suit access opening framework, will thus engage each other so that pressure loads upon the door or hatch closure are effectively and uniformly distributed to the suit access opening framework without stress concentration points whereby the proper and desired pressurized sealing of the space suit environment in a pressure-assist closed type manner is achieved
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