Sealing element and assembly
AssigneeSeelynn Toolworks Inc.
InventorsRonald James Downie, Joel Victor-David Dunbar
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A sealing element for a rotating control device is described. The sealing element includes an elastomeric body having a central bore for sealing against a pipe passing therethrough. The elastomeric body has an upper portion which is internally reinforced with a frame and a lower portion formed with a plurality of protrusions. The radial protrusions provide columnar support to the lower portion permitting the lower portion to resist centrifugal and frictional forces against the lower portion during drilling and other operations. The sealing element may be used to form an assembly with reusable parts for connecting the sealing element to a mandrel of a rotating control device.
Claims19
A process for manufacturing a sealing element for use with a rotating control device, the process comprising:
- providing a three-dimensional mold pattern of the sealing element, the mold pattern defined by a shaped outer pattern sidewall;
- casting or injecting a first elastomer over the three-dimensional pattern and curing the first elastomer to produce a mold body having a shaped inner mold sidewall complementary to the shaped outer pattern sidewall;
- placing a frame and a core inside the mold body, the frame held in place by the shaped inner mold sidewall and the core provided with a shaped outer core sidewall;
- casting or injecting a second elastomer into the mold body and curing the second elastomer to produce the sealing element, wherein the sealing element is defined by a shaped outer sealing element sidewall complementary to the shaped inner mold sidewall and a central bore defined by a shaped inner sealing element sidewall complementary to the shaped outer core sidewall.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.