US 5,419,599 A · Rotatable seal

Abstract

A thermoplastic housing has a chamber open at one end and a thermoplastic rotor inserted in the chamber. The housing wall contains bores aligned across the chamber and two annular grooves in the chamber adjacent the chamber entrance. Tabs are formed adjacent the chamber entrance. The rotor has a bore and two annular ridges near its top. The ridges are relieved complementarily to the tabs. The rotor is inserted and locked axially in the housing by snapping the ridges into the grooves. The tabs are located in the relieved areas to align all of the bores so that a seal wire may thereafter be inserted through the bores. The rotor includes flexible spiral-like co-planar pawl teeth which engage ratchet teeth formed on the housing in the chamber. The ratchet and pawl teeth rotationally lock the rotor relative to the housing while permitting the rotor to bend a seal wire inserted in the bores during rotation which rotation in one direction locks the rotor. The ratchet and pawl teeth may also be used align the bores for insertion. The rotor is rotated manually by a hand-operated tool such as a screwdriver. With a seal wire inserted, the rotor and housing are relatively rotated to wrap the wire about the rotor. Each ridge snaps into one groove when the rotor is inserted into a corresponding housing.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A seal of the type which includes a flexible wire insertable through an item to be secured, the seal being non-removably affixable to the wire to prevent opening operation of the item absent destruction of the wire or the seal, such destruction providing a visual indication that such operation has been attempted or has occurred, the seal comprising:

a housing defining a chamber and having first and second aligned bores formed through opposite sides of the chamber;
a rotor received in the chamber in a first axial direction and having a third bore therethrough;
first means for axially locking the rotor fully inserted in the chamber with the third bore aligned with the first and second bores, all said bores for receiving said wire therethrough;
and
second means for permitting the fully inserted and axially locked rotor and the housing to be relatively rotated to a first position in only one direction after insertion of the wire through the bores so as to at least partially wrap and deform the received wire about the rotor, said second means and deformed wire rotatably locking the rotor relative to the housing in said first position.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Rotatable seal

Life of this patent

Rotatable seal

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims17