Seal assembly and method of manufacturing
AssigneePratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
InventorDaniel Alecu
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The seal assembly can have a support ring having an annular shape defined around a seal axis, and a plurality of strips of a metal material, each strip of the plurality of strips being folded along a length of the strip forming a fold and a pair of segments extending radially inwardly from the fold, relative the seal axis, the fold secured at the support ring, the fold having a bending radius defined around a bending axis, the bending axis oriented parallel to the seal axis, the plurality of strips being arranged circumferentially relative one another, around the seal axis.
Claims11
A process of making a seal assembly, the process comprising:
- folding a strip of metal material into an alternating sequence of internal folds and external folds;
- and
- securing the strip of metal material to a support ring having an annular shape defined around a seal axis, including securing the external folds to the support ring in a manner for the strip to be arranged circumferentially relative the seal axis with the internal folds located radially inwardly relative the external folds;
- wherein said folding includes feeding the strip into a spacing defined between an external fold hammer and an internal fold hammer in a manner for the feeding of the strip to alternatingly engage the internal fold hammer and the external fold hammer, the internal fold hammer forming the internal folds and the external fold hammer forming the external folds;
- and
- wherein said feeding includes a first roller and a second roller driving the strip into the spacing, the first roller being adjacent the external fold hammer, the second roller being adjacent the internal fold hammer;
- wherein the engagement of the strip with the internal fold hammer is in the form of an impact forming a bending radius;
- wherein the impact generates a wave in the strip, the wave propagating and forming a next fold against the external fold hammer.
A process of making a seal assembly, the process comprising:
- folding a strip of metal material into an alternating sequence of internal folds and external folds;
- and
- securing the strip of metal material to a support ring having an annular shape defined around a seal axis, including securing the external folds to the support ring in a manner for the strip to be arranged circumferentially relative the seal axis with the internal folds located radially inwardly relative the external folds;
- wherein said folding includes feeding the strip into a spacing defined between an external fold hammer and an internal fold hammer in a manner for the feeding of the strip to alternatingly engage the internal fold hammer and the external fold hammer, the internal fold hammer forming the internal folds and the external fold hammer forming the external folds;
- and
- wherein said feeding includes a first roller and a second roller driving the strip into the spacing, the first roller being adjacent the external fold hammer, the second roller being adjacent the internal fold hammer;
- wherein the external fold hammer has a larger bending radius than the internal fold hammer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.