US 5,667,224 A · Adjustable seal assembly

Abstract

An adjustable seal assembly for maintaining a fluid tight seal in a vacuum vessel is provided. The disclosed adjustable seal assembly is particularly suited for sealing a vessel that includes two concentrically disposed sections having a small gap therebetween such that the vessel accommodates relative axial motion between the chamber section and the closure section. The disclosed adjustable seal assembly is comprised of a thin, fiber reinforced polymeric membrane having a first edge attached to a surface of one section of the vessel along the entire perimeter thereof and a second edge attached to a surface of the other section of the vessel thereby sealing the gap between the sections of the vessel. The body of the thin membrane is further disposed such that it generally forms an axially adjustable loop configuration within the small gap allowing the two sections of the vessel to move without breaking the seal. The adjustable seal assembly further includes one or more guide mechanisms of various configurations attached to the sections of the vessel to guide the relative axial motion of the vessel sections.

Claims22

Dependent claims

An adjustable seal assembly for maintaining a fluidtight seal between (a) a vessel having an opening leading to chamber means therewithin and (b) closure means proportioned to close the opening except for a gap between said closure means and said vessel, said vessel and said closure means being adapted to function in a vacuum environment and being constructed to accommodate relative motion between said closure means and said vessel when a vacuum exists on one side of the seal assembly, which seal assembly comprises:

a thin flexible membrane for sealing the gap between said closure means and said vessel when a vacuum environment exists on one side of the seal assembly;
means for attaching a first end of said flexible membrane to a surface of said closure means along a perimeter thereof;
means for attaching an opposite end of said flexible membrane to a surface of said vessel;
and
one or more guide mechanisms attached to said closure means and said vessel to guide the relative motion between said closure means and said vessel;
wherein said thin flexible membrane is designed so that a segment thereof generally forms a loop configuration in the region of said gap which permits the relative motion between said closure means and said vessel while maintaining the fluidtight seal.

3 more elements

A vessel which includes a chamber section having an opening leading to chamber means therewithin and closure means for closing the opening except for a gap between said closure means and said chamber section, said vessel being constructed to accommodate relative motion in a straight line between said closure means and said chamber section, wherein the improvement comprises:

a seal assembly for maintaining a fluidtight seal at said gap which includes a thin flexible membrane having a first edge and an opposite edge, means for attaching said first edge to a surface of said closure means along a perimeter thereof, and means for attaching said opposite edge to a surface of said chamber section surrounding said opening so as to seal said gap between said closure means and chamber section;
and
one or more guide mechanisms each of which include a first part fixedly attached to said closure means and movably engaged with a second part that is fixedly attached to said chamber section to guide relative motion therebetween in a straight line;
wherein said flexible membrane is disposed so that a segment of said flexible membrane generally forms a loop configuration within said gap during said straight line relative motion between said closure means and said vessel.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Adjustable seal assembly

Life of this patent

Adjustable seal assembly

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims22