US 6,485,024 B1Granted

Split mechanical face seal

AssigneeUtex Industries, Inc.

InventorsFrederick B. Pippert, John I. Nunn, II

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Abstract

A split mechanical face seal having a rotating seal assembly comprising a rigid seal ring of split ring segments and a pair of attachable body ring segments holding the rotating seal ring segments together when the body ring segments are attached, a stationary seal ring assembly comprising a rigid seal ring of split ring segments and a pair of attachable housing segments holding the stationary seal ring segments together when the housing segments are attached, a single segment retainer ring having a split forming first and second opposing end faces, the retainer ring being made of a flexible material, the retainer ring being operatively engaged with the stationary seal ring segments and resilient members carried by the retainer ring and operatively engageable with axially facing abutments formed in the housing segments when the housing segments are attached such that the retainer ring exerts a biasing force against the stationary seal ring segments in a direction toward the rotating seal ring segments.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A split mechanical face seal comprising:

a rotating seal ring assembly comprising a rigid seal ring of split ring segments forming rotating seal ring faces and a pair of attachable body ring segments holding said rotating seal ring segments together when said body ring segments are attached;
a stationary seal ring assembly comprising a rigid seal ring of split ring segments forming stationary seal ring faces and a pair of attachable housing segments holding said stationary seal ring segments together when said housing segments are attached;
a single segment retainer ring having a split forming first and second opposing end faces, said retainer ring being made of a material that has sufficient flexibility such that said first and second end faces can be spread apart by a distance at least equal to the diameter of the circle formed when said first and second end faces are in engagement, said retainer ring having first and second axially facing surfaces, said retainer ring being operatively engaged with said stationary seal ring segments;
and
at least one resilient member carried by said retainer ring and extending from said second axially facing surface, said housing segments forming axially facing abutments for operative engagement by said resilient member when said housing segments are attached whereby said retainer ring exerts a biasing force against said stationary seal ring faces in a direction toward said rotating seal ring faces.

2 more elements

In a split mechanical face seal having a rotating seal ring assembly comprising a rigid seal ring of split ring segments forming rotating seal ring faces and a pair of attachable body ring segments holding said rotating seal ring segments together when said body ring segments are attached, a stationary seal ring assembly comprising a rigid seal ring of split ring segments forming stationary seal ring faces and a pair of attachable housing segments holding said stationary seal ring segments together when said housing segments are attached, the improvement comprising a removable sleeve adapted to center said stationary seal ring assembly with respect to a shaft on which said stationary seal ring assembly is positioned, said sleeve being a single segment having a split forming first and second opposing sleeve end faces, said sleeve being made of a material that has sufficient flexibility such that said first and second sleeve end faces can be spread apart by a distance at least equal to the diameter of a circle formed when said first and second sleeve end faces are in engagement.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.