Sealing structure for a spherical bearing assembly

A seal arrangement for sealing opposite sides of an internally self aligning spherical bearing assembly for a drive shaft mounted to the inner periphery of a recessed housing said spherical bearing assembly including axially extending and concentrically disposed spaced inner and outer race rings having spaced rows of spherical bearings disposed between opposed faces of said inner and outer race rings with said inner race ring being press fit to said drive shaft and having a longitudinal protuberance extending radially from the outer face thereof intermediate the bearing sides and said outer race ring being axially slidable relative said housing comprising;

• two pairs of concentrically disposed sealing discs positioned in mirror-image spaced relation substantially within said inner faces of said spaced race rings to extend along opposite sides of the spaced rows of spherical bearings from opposite directions, each disc of each disc pair including an end portion in overlapping preselectively spaced relation with the end portion of the other disc pair and an end portion in pressfit relation with one of said spaced opposed inner and outer race rings with that disc press-fit to said outer race ring being of substantial U-shaped cross-section with the base leg thereof extending substantially normal to and between the spaced opposed inner faces of said spaced rings with one side leg extending along the inner face of said outer ring and turned at the extremity thereof to extend along the side of said outer race ring in press-fit relation with said outer race ring and the opposite side leg extending at an oblique angle from said base leg to serve as one of said overlapping end portions of said disc and with the sealing disc press-fit to said inner race ring being of V-shaped cross-section to include one leg extending along the inner face of said inner race ring with its extremity abutting the side of said longitudinally extending protuberance on said inner race ring to be in press-fit relation with said inner race ring and with the other leg serving as a spaced overlapping end portion to said other end portion formed by said leg of said other sealing disc press-fit to said outer race ring, said other end portion including a turned extremity to limit the minimal spacing between overlapping end portions, said overlapping end portions of said press-fit sealing discs being in the form of concentrically disposed spaced spherical segments having differing radii with a common center falling on the axis of rotation of said bearing and determined by a line extending midway between said rows of spherical bearings normal to said axis of rotation;
• and, a compressible annular sealing ring of felt material fixed to one of said opposed overlapping end portion faces and moveable relative the other face, said annular sealing ring having a center common with that of said overlapping spherical segments with a radius intermediate said differing radii of said segments.