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US 5,474,307 AGranted
Piston ring employing elastomeric sealing member within the ring groove
AssigneeRichard DeBiasse
InventorsRichard DeBiasse, Donald J. Altobe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A piston head assembly has one, two or more grooves to receive piston rings. One or more of the grooves may receive multiple piston rings. A circumferential groove from the bottom of the elastomeric material allows oil pressure to aid in sealing. A novel piston ring employs a circumferential channel facing outwardly with a shorter bottom channel facing outwardly with a shorter bottom channel sidewall. The elastomeric material extends to form a circumferential extension cooperative with a subgroove of the piston ring groove.
Claims29
A sealing piston ring for preventing blow-by of fluids between such piston ring and a ring retaining groove of a piston, comprising:
- a split, resilient, radially compressible piston ring having inside and outside edges;
- and
- an annular elastomeric sealing member dimensioned to be received within said ring retaining groove and having (i) an outer circumferential portion in sealing engagement with said inside edge of said piston ring, (ii) an inner circumferential portion at least part of which is dimensioned to be received within and radially unrestrained within a subgroove in a surface of said ring retaining groove, and (iii) an intermediate portion between said inner and outer portions, at least pan of said intermediate portion having a reduced axial cross section and being movable relative to said outer circumferential portion under the influence of fluid pressures within said ring retaining groove to cause said inner circumferential portion to sealingly engage one or more surfaces of said subgroove or ring retaining groove without exerting a substantial radial load upon said piston ring.
A piston configuration comprising:
- a piston head having an inwardly directed circumferential ring retaining groove;
- a split, resilient, radially compressible piston ring having inside and outside edges;
- and
- an annular elastomeric sealing member received within said ring retaining groove and being generally unrestrained in the radial direction, said sealing member comprising (i) an outer circumferential portion in sealing engagement with said inside edge of said piston ring, (ii) an inner circumferential portion at least part of which is received within and radially unrestrained within a subgroove in a surface of said ting retaining groove, and (iii) an intermediate portion between said inner and outer portions, at least pan of said intermediate portion having a reduced axial cross section and being movable relative to said outer circumferential portion under the influence of fluid pressures within said ring retaining groove to cause said inner circumferential portion to sealingly engage one or more surfaces of said subgroove or ring retaining groove without exerting a substantial radial load upon said piston ring.
1 more element
A piston configuration for an internal combustion engine comprising:
- a piston head having an inwardly directed circumferential ring retaining groove terminating in a wall defining an end of said groove and a subgroove extending radially inwardly from said end of said groove;
- a split, resilient, radially compressible piston ring having inside and outside edges, said inside edge of said piston ring defining an annular, circumferential, radially extending groove;
- and
- an annular elastomeric sealing member received within said ring retaining groove, said sealing member comprising (i) an outer circumferential portion received within and sealingly engaging said groove in said inside edge of said piston ring, (ii) an inner circumferential portion received within, sealingly engaging, and free to move radially within said subgroove of said ring retaining groove, and (iii) an intermediate portion between said inner and outer portions, at least pan of said intermediate portion having a reduced axial cross section and being movable relative to said outer circumferential portion under the influence of fluid pressures within said ring retaining groove to cause said inner circumferential portion to sealingly engage one or more surfaces of said subgroove or ring retaining groove, said sealing member being generally radially unconstrained within said ring retaining groove and subgroove such that said movement of said intermediate portion of said sealing member exerts a minimal radial load upon said piston ring.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.