Low creep polytetrafluoroethylene gasketing element
AssigneeW. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
InventorsDonald L. Hollenbaugh, Jr., Gordon L. McGregor, Raymond B. Minor
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Abstract
The present invention is an improved gasket for use in a wide variety of sealing applications. The gasket comprises a sheet of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) that is helically wrapped around itself and sealed in that orientation. This construction produces a gasket that has significant tensile strength in both its longitudinal and transverse axes. As such, the gasket of the present invention retains all of the operational advantages of PTFE while being quite resistant to creep.
Claims17
A gasket, having both longitudinal and transverse axes, that comprises:
- a sheet of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) material, having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis, the expanded PTFE material being oriented in at least its transverse axis;
- the sheet of PTFE material being a roll wrapped upon itself essentially around the longitudinal axis of the sheet in the absence of a core;
- wherein the gasket includes an edge adhered to the PTFE sheet;
- and the edge forms a spiraling seam wrapped around the gasket.
A compressible gasket comprising:
- a sheet of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) material, the PTFE material including a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis, the sheet having been expanded along at least its transverse axis;
- the sheet spiral wrapped upon itself essentially around its longitudinal axis in the absence of a core to form a roll with multiple layers of PTFE sheet material and adhered in that orientation;
- the gasket including at least one edge on an outside surface, the edge adhered to the sheet of PTFE, wherein the edge is spirally wrapped around the gasket along its length.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.