Semi-unitized shaft seal
AssigneeGarlock Inc.
InventorEdward J. Messenger
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A two-part, separable, semi-unitized shaft seal for sealing between a housing bore and a relatively rotatable shaft extending through the bore and comprising a metal wear sleeve and a sealing member assembled onto the wear sleeve for shipment and installation of the seal as a unitized seal. However, when the housing and shaft are disassembled, the sealing member remains with the housing and the wear sleeve remains with the shaft, whereby each part can be examined and separately replaced, if necessary, without discarding the entire seal. The wear sleeve pressfits onto the shaft and the sealing member forms an elastomeric interference fit in the housing bore.
Claims18
A two-part, separable, semi-unitized shaft seal for providing a seal between a housing bore and a relatively rotatable shaft extending through the bore, said seal comprising:
- (a) a wear sleeve including a radially inner cylindrical portion and a radial flange extending radially outwardly from the axially outer end of said cylindrical portion, said cylindrical portion having an I.D. adapted to press fit onto a shaft and having an O.D. wear surface for the below-recited sealing lip;
- and
- (b) a sealing member movable axially onto and off of said wear sleeve and assembled onto said wear sleeve in separable, semi-unitized relationship relative thereto, said sealing member including a retainer ring, an elastomeric body bonded to said retainer ring, and a sealing element cartridge press-fitted into said retainer ring,
- (1) said retainer ring including a radially outer cylindrical portion connected to an intermediate radial flange connected in turn to a radially inner cylindrical portion connected in turn to a radially inner radial flange extending radially inwardly from one end of said inner cylindrical portion,
- (2) said elastomeric body including a layer of elastomer bonded to the O.D. surface of said outer cylindrical portion of said retainer ring and being adapted to form an interference fit in a housing bore, and said elastomeric body also including an elastomeric bumper member bonded to the axially outer radial surface of the axially outermost of said radial flanges of said retainer ring and extending axially outwardly therefrom into contact with the axially inner radial surface of said radial flange of said wear sleeve, for axially locating said sealing member relative to said wear sleeve and for aiding in preventing dirt from passing inwardly to the below-recited sealing lip,
- (3) said sealing element cartridge comprising a radially outer case, a radially inner case, locked inside said outer case by crimping and a leather sealing element locked between said outer and inner cases and having a sealing lip in sealing contact with said O.D. wear surface of said wear sleeve, said outer case having a radially outer cylindrical portion having an O.D. surface that is press-fitted into the I.D. surface of said inner cylindrical portion of said retainer ring, whereby
- said sealing member is movable axially, with respect to said wear sleeve, away from and out of contact with said wear sleeve and with said sealing lip being slidable axially off of said O.D. wear surface, for disassembling said two part separable, semi-unitized shaft seal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.