US 4,227,702 A · Inflatable sealing device

Abstract

A circumferentially complete seal is received in a circumferentially complete groove machined into a surface of a first member forming part of an ionography imaging chamber. The surface of the first member is separated from a surface of a second member of the imaging chamber by a clearance which occasionally connects the interelectrode gap of the imaging chamber with the atmosphere. The seal has an inflatable elastic inner section adjacent to the bottom of the groove and a reciprocable second section which resembles a plunger and is moved from the groove, across the clearance and into sealing engagement with the surface of the second member in response to inflation of the first section. The latter contains a strip-shaped connector which is bolted to the first member to deform a portion of the first section into sealing engagement with the surface at the bottom of the groove. The second section is also a tube which contains a reinforcing insert and has a sealing lip adjacent to the interelectrode gap and sealingly engaging the surface of the second member in response to inflation of the first section. The width of the second section exceeds the width of the clearance and the thickness of the second section is at least twice the width of the clearance. When the first section is deflated, the width of the seal is slightly less than the width of the groove.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A device for sealing a clearance between a first space and a second space wherein the pressure exceeds, at least at times, the pressure in said first space, particularly for sealingly separating the interelectrode gap of an ionography imaging chamber from the surrounding atmosphere, comprising first and second members respectively having first and second surfaces disposed at the opposite sides of and flanking said clearance, the surface of one of said members having a recess extending substantially transversely of said clearance;

a seal mounted in said recess and including a deformable hollow tubular first section which is remote from said clearance and completely surrounds an enclosed internal compartment, and a second section which is nearer to said clearance and is movable in said recess toward and away from the surface of the other of said members;
means for holding said tubular first section in said recess, including a solid connector fully accommodated in said enclosed internal compartment of said first section of said seal;
and means for selectively admitting a pressurized fluid into said internal compartment of said first section to thereby inflate said first section with attendant movement of said second section across said clearance and into sealing engagement with the surface of said other member.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Inflatable sealing device

Life of this patent

Inflatable sealing device

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims14