Guiding and sealing unit, in particular for a rod of a mono-tube shock absorber and annular sealing assembly therefore

A guiding and sealing unit for a rod of a mono-tube shock absorber, the unit comprising:

• an annular rod guide bushing fixedly sealed to an inner lateral wall of a body of the mono-tube shock absorber, and wherein,
• the annular rod guide bushing is located around the rod and is engaged with the rod;
• a sealing assembly pressed into a cup-shaped seat formed on a first end of the annular rod guide bushing, facing a piston, and slidingly engaged within the shock absorber body,
• wherein the sealing assembly provides a sealing ring made of an elastomeric material and having an annular sealing lip, which radially and axially protrudes towards an axis of symmetry of the sealing ring to slidingly engage with the rod, and
• a metallic reinforcing structure having a flange-shaped reinforcing structure portion, and a sleeve portion operatively associated to the lip,
• the flange-shaped reinforcing structure portion abuts against a face of the annular rod guide bushing and circumscribes the cup-shaped seat,
• the sealing ring having a flange-shaped sealing ring portion which radially extends from a root portion of the lip,
• an annular projection integrally formed in one piece with the flange-shaped sealing ring portion of the sealing ring and which axially and protrudingly extends from the flange-shaped sealing ring portion from a side thereof which faces the piston, the annular projection forming a portion of the guiding and sealing unit is positioned closer to the piston than any seal between the guiding and sealing unit and the rod, wherein the flange-shaped reinforcing structure portion is coupled to the flange-shaped sealing lip portion, on a side of the sealing lip opposite to the annular projection,
• the flange-shaped reinforcing structure portion is at least partially embedded in the flange-shaped sealing ring portion and radially extends under the annular projection to such an extent that an outer peripheral edge of the flange-shaped reinforcing structure portion at least circumscribes the annular projection such that the flange-shaped reinforcing structure portion is configured and aligned to underlay all of an area of the sealing ring on which the annular projection is located,
• the flange-shaped reinforcing structure portion is interposed between the entire annular projection and the first end of the annular rod guide bushing, and
• wherein the annular projection is shaped to create a limit stop element for the piston.