Accumulator

An accumulator comprising:

• a hollow housing;
• a bellows located inside the housing, said bellows including:
• a bellows body having a first end and a second end, said first end being secured to the housing and said second end being allowed to move in an axial direction of the housing;
• and
• a bellows end plate for closing the second end of the bellows body;
• a liquid chamber defined by an outer face of the bellows and filled with a liquid;
• a gas chamber defined by an inner face of the bellows and charged with a compressed gas;
• an annular support seat opposing the bellows end plate, said support seat having a flow port communicating with the liquid chamber and allowing the liquid in the liquid chamber to pass therethrough when the bellows is compressed or expanded;
• a self-seal mechanism for closing the flow port when the pressure of the compressed gas charged in the gas chamber causes the bellows to be deformed in the axial direction to a predetermined extent, part of the liquid in the liquid chamber being confined to a region outside the bellows when the self-seal mechanism is closed;
• said self-seal mechanism including:
• an elastic seal member formed of a rubber-like elastic material and provided for one of the support seat and the bellows end plate;
• and
• a face which the elastic seal member opposes, those portions of the elastic seal member and the face which oppose each other are shaped in such a manner as to produce a liquid guide gap that causes part of the pressurized liquid introduced through the flow port to flow into a region between the elastic seal member and the face when the elastic seal member is in contact with the face.