Explosively separable coupling

Claim 1

A QUICK-RELEASE COUPLING COMPRISING: A FIRST AND A SECOND MEMBER TO BE COUPLED TOGETHER, EACH MEMBER HAVING A CENTRAL AXIS, THE AXES BEING ALIGNED WHEN THE MEMBERS ARE COUPLED; ENGAGEMENT MEANS COMPRISING A SHOULDER ON EACH OF THE MEMBERS; A LOCK FOR INTERCONNECTING THE ENGAGEMENT MEANS, AND THEREBY INTERCONNECTING THE MEMBERS, COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF SEGMENTS ADAPTED TO BE ASSEMBLED INTO A RING, EACH OF SAID SEGMENTS HAVING A PAIR OF OPPOSED SHOULDERS ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE ENGAGEMENT MEANS TO HOLD THEM TOGETHER; A RECIPROCABLE LATCH CARRIED BY ONE OF THE MEMBERS AND ENGAGEABLE WITH THE LOCK BY SURROUNDING AND EMBRACING THE SEGMENTS IN A FIRST POSITION OF THE LATCH SO AS TO HOLD THE SEGMENTS AGAINST THE ENGAGEMENT MEANS, AND SAID LATCH BEING SHIFTABLE TO A SECOND POSITION TO REMOVE IT FROM SAID SEGMENTS; EXPANSIBLE CHAMBER MEANS AT LEAST PARTIALLY ENCLOSED BY THE LATCH; MEANS ON OPOSITE ENDS OF SAID CHAMBER ADAPTED TO SEAL SAID LATCH WITH ONE OF SAID MEMBERS; A SQUIB OF THE TYPE WHICH DISCHARGES GAS UNDER PRESSURE DISPOSED IN FLUID CONNECTION WITH THE EXPANSIBLE CHAMBER MEANS, SAID SQUIB BEING MOUNTED TO THE COUPLING AND ADAPTED TO DISCHARGE SAID GAS INTO THE EXPANSIBLE CHAMBER MEANS TO SHIFT THE LATCH FROM THE