Interlock (engineering)
FEATURE OF AN ENGINEERED SYSTEM THAT TIES TOGETHER SYSTEM ELEMENTS' STATES TO PREVENT THEM FROM CHANGING IN A HAZARDOUS OR INCOMPATIBLE WAY
Hardware interlocks; Interlock; Defeatable interlock
An interlock is a feature that makes the state of two mechanisms or functions mutually dependent. It may be used to prevent undesired states in a finite-state machine, and may consist of any electrical, electronic, or mechanical devices or systems.