Seal end plate

A circular seal end plate for use in an oil film bearing of the type employed to rotatably support the neck of a horizontal roll in a rolling mill, said bearing including a sleeve fixed to the neck for rotation therewith, a bushing fixed in a chock and within which the sleeve is journalled for rotation on a film of oil hydrodynamically maintained between the sleeve and the bushing, and a flexible seal encircling and rotatable with the roll neck at a location adjacent to the sleeve, said seal having a radially outwardly projecting resilient flange, said seal end plate comprising:

• a circular body adapted to be secured to said chock at a location surrounding said seal, said body being configured to cooperate with said chock in defining a sump for receiving oil emerging from between said sleeve and said bushing;
• a shoulder projecting axially from said circular body, said shoulder being configured and arranged to be contacted by said resilient flange at a sealing interface;
• a rigid flange projecting radially inwardly from said circular body at a juncture with said shoulder, said rigid flange cooperating with said shoulder to axially retain any leakage of oil past said sealing interface;
• wells in said circular body at said juncture, said wells being positioned to gravitationally receive the thus retained leakage of oil;
• and
• drainage passageways in said circular body leading from said wells to said sump for returning the thus trapped leakage of oil to said sump, said wells being located in lower quadrants of said seal end plate in zones angularly spaced from horizontal and vertical reference planes bisecting said seal and plate.