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US 5,516,118 AGranted
Circumferential hydrodynamic seals for sealing a bidirectionally rotatable member
AssigneeStein Seal Company
InventorRichard A. Jones
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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AssigneeStein Seal Company
InventorRichard A. Jones
Estimating the term…
A seal for sealing between a bidirectionally rotating shaft rotatable in the forward and reverse directions and having a sealing surface thereon located in a pressurized housing containing the shaft. A seal ring mounted in the housing for movement toward and away from the shaft sealing surface and having a high pressure side, a low pressure side, a seal face opposed to the shaft seal surface and an outer face remote from the seal face and exposed to the pressure in the housing. Resilient elements urge the seal ring toward the sealing surface of the shaft. Hydrodynamic elements in the form of a plurality of spaced recesses in the seal face of the seal ring and formed so as to produce negative hydrodynamic lift in the recess and urge the seal ring toward the sealing surface of the rotating shaft during forward rotation thereof. Openings extend through the seal ring from a predetermined section of the grooved seal surface thereof to the remote face of the seal ring to accommodate flow through such openings to reduce pressure build-up in the grooves of the sealing face to prevent seal leakage during reverse rotation of the shaft. A second seal is provided between the housing and the low pressure side of the seal ring.
In a rubbing seal for sealing between a rotatable member and a housing containing a fluid and having (1) a seal ring mounted for movement toward and away from the rotatable member, and having an adjacent sealing face sealing against the rotatable member, (2) said ring having a remote, outer face generally opposite the sealing face, (3) means for biasing said sealing face of the seal ring toward the rotatable member, (4) said seal ring having recesses in said sealing face for producing a negative hydrodynamic lift urging the seal ring toward the rotatable member due to fluid flow induced by the forward rotation of the rotatable member, and (5) means to limit the rotation of the seal, the improvement comprising:
In a circumferential rubbing seal for sealing between a bidirectionally rotatable shaft and a housing containing a fluid and having (1) a seal ring mounted for movement towards and away from the shaft and having a plurality of segments each having a sealing face with a circumferential sealing portion sealing against the shaft with the sealing portions of adjacent sections in contact to form a continuous seal, (2) each segment having a circumferential face remote from said shaft, (3) means to bias the sealing face of each segment towards the shaft, (4) each of said sealing faces having recesses formed therein for producing a negative hydrodynamic lifting force urging each segment toward the shaft due to flow induced during the forward rotation of said shaft, (5) and means to limit the rotation of the seal ring, the improvement comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.