Patents Examined by Karlena D. Schwing
  • Patent number: 6601855
    Abstract: A universal joint seal for retaining lubricant therein. The seal cooperates to form a static seal with the trunnion and a static seal with the bearing cup and permits relative angular movement between the trunnion and bearing cup through a flexible web portion. The seal optionally permits venting of pressure within the grease cavity formed between the trunnion and bearing cup. The seal also has a passage communicating with the grease cavity. The seal has an outward facing lip seal that provides a fluid barrier to the migration of lubricant out of the passage. In response to a moderate pressure level within the grease cavity, the lip moves away from the contacting surface so as to vent the moderate pressure within the grease cavity out of the sealed region and to prevent an excessive pressure differential from developing across the lip. Several alternate embodiments permitting venting of pressure from the grease cavity are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2003
    Inventor: Keith A. Clark
  • Patent number: 6595523
    Abstract: Wear on the sealing surface of mechanical seals may be monitored by placing a sensor or conductor on the seal, at a position opposed to the sealing surface, such as on the back or opposite side of the sealing surface. Mechanical seals require the application of continuous external pressure to maintain fluid tight sealing integrity. Wear on the sealing surface may be monitored by measuring the amount of movement of the seal away from a predetermined starting point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2003
    Inventor: Ralph Heinzen
  • Patent number: 6578849
    Abstract: A sealing configuration is provided for sealing off a first region from a second region through which a fluid can flow and which can be kept at different pressures. The sealing configuration has a deformation region and a sealing surface connected thereto. The sealing surface is spaced apart from an opposing surface by a sealing gap. The width of the sealing gap depends on a deformation of the deformation region as a result of a differential pressure. The sealing configuration preferably serves to seal off a turbine shaft from a turbine casing or a moving blade from a turbine casing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2003
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Detlef Haje
  • Patent number: 6530577
    Abstract: A gasket material for sealing between two members, The gasket material includes a flexible, woven skeletal member. Enclosing the skeletal member is a flexible, compressible resilient body member having a tacky outer surface, the tacky outer surface for engagement between the two members. In a preferred embodiment the flexible skeletal member is closer to a top surface of the resilient body then it is to a bottom surface of the resilient body. The resilient body may be comprised of urethane. The flexible skeletal member may be comprised of a metallic or a non-metallic material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2003
    Assignee: Aviation Device & Electronic Components, L.L.C.
    Inventors: Jeff Busby, Lane Smith
  • Patent number: 6508472
    Abstract: A multi-channel rotary joint with which a plurality of fluids of the same or different types can be made to flow as desired, including first connecting spaces sealed by mechanical seals and second connecting spaces sealed by mechanical seals and by elastic seals, such connecting spaces being between a joint housing and a rotator. A series of fluid passages that pass through the connecting spaces are also formed in the joint housing and the rotator. The mechanical seals are end-contact type seals and comprise balanced seals with a balance ratio &kgr; such that 0≦&kgr;≦1. Each elastic seal has a U-shaped cross section and is engaged and fixed to one of the opposing peripheral surfaces in a state in which an annular groove between inner and outer peripheral lips opens into the space with the higher pressure out of the second connecting space and its adjacent space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2003
    Assignee: Nippon Pillar Packing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Junji Omiya, Jotaro Inoue, Osamu Suzuki
  • Patent number: 6505836
    Abstract: A non-contact type shaft sealing device comprising a stationary sealing ring (9) disposed to axially oppose a rotational sealing ring (2) provided on a rotational shaft (1) of a device that will be shaft-sealed, wherein a number n of air inlets (9b) provided in the stationary sealing ring (9) is in a range of 3 to 24; a bore diameter d of a throttling mechanism provided in each of the air inlets (9b) is in a range of 0.05 to 3 mm; and concurrently, a dimensionless quantity &agr; defined as &agr;=8 hD/nd2 where h=inter-sealing-surface gap, and D=shaft diameter, is 1≦&agr;≦200. Thereby, ensuring stable sealing characteristics in the non-contact type shaft sealing device, and furthermore, minimizing consumption of a barrier gas to be fed through the air inlets (9b).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2003
    Assignee: Nippon Pillar Packing Co., LTD
    Inventor: Fuse Toshihiko
  • Patent number: 6502832
    Abstract: A glass run portion and an inner weather strip of a door are made integral with each other via a molded portion. A seal lip portion is provided on the molded portion which is adapted to contact an inner side of a window glass and to continuously connect a laterally inner seal lip of the glass run portion with a seal lip of the inner weather strip. Owing to this, seal lines of both the glass run portion and the inner weather strip are made continuous with each other via a seal line of the seal lip portion which contacts the inner side of the window glass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2003
    Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Teruhito Goto, Yuzuru Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: 6485023
    Abstract: A split mechanical face seal assembly wherein stator and rotor face rings and their respective surrounding collar and gland are all split substantially diametrically and are partially factory preassembled to facilitate shipping, handling and subsequent assembly onto a machine at the job site. The split rotor face ring and the split supportive collar have the cooperating parts thereof subassembled into two subassemblies which define opposed halves for permitting them to be assembled on diametrically opposite sides of a shaft, with each subassembly having the rotor face ring segment carried on the support collar segment, and an elastomeric seal ring which cooperates between the segments being preassembled therebetween. The stator face ring and its supporting gland ring also have the respective split segments thereof, and the other cooperating components such as seal rings and the like, preassembled at the factory to define a pair of subassemblies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2002
    Assignee: Flowserve Management Company
    Inventors: James Budrow, Kenneth L. Harris
  • Patent number: 6474653
    Abstract: A seal arrangement for a shaft having a broad rpm range, supported in a housing, in particular for axle drives. A radial shaft seal, arranged in the housing bore hole, seals the shaft bearing space from loss of lubricant. A baffle plate, joined to the shaft, and having a lip seal, is aligned radially to the inside, which under the effect of centrifugal force lifts off from its sealing surface at higher rotational speeds of the shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2002
    Assignee: Firma Carl Freudenberg
    Inventors: Günter Hintenlang, Uwe Henrich
  • Patent number: 6464227
    Abstract: A fluid seal having differing fluid levels is provided on opposite sides of a downwardly opening cup-shaped container that is longitudinally lapped by an upwardly opening annular container that is sealed to a vessel such that the lip of the cup-shaped container is submerged. The fluid seal creates a hydrostatic pressure barrier between ambient and a vessel, for example at a rotating vertical shaft. Relatively high speeds are permitted without leakage due to a number of internal horizontal and vertical baffles on one or more walls of the annular container. Barrier fluid losses due to evaporation or the like can be replaced in an embodiment wherein condensed process fluid is used as the barrier fluid, and wherein excess barrier fluid is returned to the vessel while maintaining a differential pressure barrier via the seal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2002
    Assignee: Philadelphia Gear Corporation
    Inventors: Wojciech R. Wyczalkowski, Steven C. Roselle, Robert Peter Dowd, Ronnie G. Thompson, Ravi K. Sharma
  • Patent number: 6464233
    Abstract: A bellows-type cover (10) into which a clamping member (40) is adapted to be securely integrated to form a pre-assembled unit; a groove shaped recess near one end of the bellows-type cover between first (20) and second (22) retaining means adapted to receive the clamping member has a two-tier positioning arrangement (11) with a radially inward, circumferentially extending bottom surface (27) for engagement by the clamping member when fully tightened and with a temporary bottom for the clamping member to provide a resealable self-retaining support for the closed, but not yet fully tightened clamping member at a radial distance between the bottom surface and the radially outer limit of the recess.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2002
    Assignee: Hans Oetiker AG Maschinen- und Apparatefabrik
    Inventor: Hans Oetiker
  • Patent number: 6460861
    Abstract: A flexible elongated seal for use in sealing the interface between a window frame and the corresponding window glass of a vehicle. The flexible elongated seal has a rigid reinforcement embedded within a portion of it and a flexible wire mesh reinforcement embedded within a different portion of it. The portion of the flexible elongated seal that is reinforced by the rigid reinforcement is very stiff which has advantages, but it cannot be bent along its length to conform to curved portions of a perimeter of the window frame. The portion of the flexible elongated seal that is reinforced by the wire mesh reinforcement is slightly less stiff than the portion reinforced by the rigid reinforcement, but it can be bent along its length to enable it to conform to curved portions of the window frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2002
    Assignee: International Truck Intellectual Property Company, L.L.C.
    Inventor: Raymond R Castner
  • Patent number: 6457722
    Abstract: A sealing element for dry running systems has a segmented sealing ring (2) which comprises at least two ring segments (21) which are arranged adjacently in its peripheral direction, with two adjacent ring segments (21) each contacting one another in the assembled state along an intersection line (22) which subtends an intersection angle (&agr;) which is different from 90° to a tangent (23) at the inner jacket surface (24) of the sealing ring (2). The sealing ring (2) has an axial height (H1) which amounts to at most 5.5 mm, in particular to between 2 mm and 4.5 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2002
    Assignee: Maschinenfabrik Sulzer-Burckhardt
    Inventor: Norbert Feistel
  • Patent number: 6454274
    Abstract: A joint assembly for joining a ceramic membrane of tubular form to a tube sheet used in supporting the ceramic membrane within a reactor. The ceramic membrane is received within a fixture connected to the tube sheet and a follower, extending into the fixture, exerts a force on a high temperature sealing element located between the fixture and the ceramic membrane to effect a seal and to hold the ceramic membrane in place. The force can be exerted directly on the sealing element or on the ceramic membrane itself.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2002
    Assignees: Praxair Technology, Inc., BP Amoco Corporation
    Inventors: James Eric White, Prasad Apte, Thomas Gilbert Halvorson, Victor Emmanuel Bergsten, Ajit Yeshwant Sane, Terry Joseph Mazanec
  • Patent number: 6454269
    Abstract: A mechanical device having a shaft, a sealing device for sealing around the shaft, a housing, and a first abutment means. The sealing device has a carrier means on which a plurality of resilient sealing elements are arranged. The mechanical device further has an enclosure means. The sealing device has a first sealing element with an inner dimension, which is larger than the outer dimension of the shaft. The enclosure means at least partially encloses the first sealing element. After the sealing means has been mounted and compressingly fastened in the mechanical device, the first sealing element is compressed in a first direction (A), axially along the shaft and expanded in a second direction (B), radially towards the shaft. The first sealing element is thus brought to a sealing engagement with the shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2002
    Assignee: Parker Hannifin AB
    Inventors: Filip Alm, Per-Ove Josefsson
  • Patent number: 6443459
    Abstract: Sealing arrangement between relatively rotatable components that includes a first component having a cylindrical circumferential surface on one of an interior and exterior circumference, and a second component having a ring groove open toward the circumferential surface. A ring-shaped carrier is arranged to be displaceable in the ring groove, a centering rod is arranged to guide the ring-shaped carrier on the circumferential surface, and a radial lip seal is arranged to rest against the circumferential surface in an elastic manner. An axial seal is arranged to rest against a side wall of the ring groove, and an anti-twisting device is coupled to the ring-shaped carrier and arranged to enable a limited range of motion in all directions of a radial plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2002
    Assignees: Voith Sulzer Papiertechnik Patent GmbH, Furon Seals N.V.
    Inventors: Francis Lebeau, Reinhard Wenzel
  • Patent number: 6443460
    Abstract: A guide roller with a sealing element (14) formed in one piece in a T-shape having a first axial sealing portion (15) that is placed securely onto a shoulder of the inner race, a second sealing portion (16) that extends radially outwardly and is located inside a second groove of the outer race (13), and a third sealing portion (17) that extends radially inwardly branching off from the first sealing portion (15) at its inner end is provided so that axial contact between the shoulder and the outer race (10) is prevented by the third sealing portion (17).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2002
    Assignee: Ina Walzlager Schaeffler Ohg
    Inventor: Josef Weiss
  • Patent number: 6428013
    Abstract: An improved dual lip radial shaft seal is disclosed. The free end of the dual lip seal extends toward the air side of the seal. Optionally, the dual lip seal has an oil side excluder lip seal, an air side dust excluder lip seal, an elastomeric static seal extending from the elastomeric portion of the dual lip seal. In another optional embodiment, a relief groove is formed in the seal. A unitized seal version is also disclosed with two embodiments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2002
    Assignee: Freudenberg-Nok General Partnership
    Inventors: David E. Johnston, Milton Griswold, David Sakata
  • Patent number: 6422573
    Abstract: A monolayer metal gasket is disclosed in which variations in radial width of a core plate around bore apertures help regulate a sealing stress throughout around bore apertures. The monolayer metal gasket is comprised of a core plate extending around the bore apertures and a perimetral member surrounding throughout the core plate. The core plate is varied in its own radial width circumferentially of every bore aperture in such a manner as to become narrow at areas neighboring tightening holes while wide at the remainder. In this monolayer metal gasket, the sealing stress around the bore apertures may be compensated in part by varying the radial width of the core plate circumferentially of every bore aperture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2002
    Assignee: Nippon Gasket Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kenichi Sekioka
  • Patent number: 6422574
    Abstract: This invention relates to a more serviceable seal assembly of the above type, particularly adapted for applications in the cooling systems of internal combustion engines. The seal assembly of this invention comprises an annular ferrule, an elastomeric seal circunferentially disposed thereabout, a pair of annular mounting rings and a clamping device. Tightening of the clamp expands the elastomeric seal outward against the annular mounting rings which are statically sealed within the members of the engine. Selective sizing of the annular mounting rings can be used to control coolant flow. The use of this seal assembly does not require the removal and replacement of members of the engine for installation or servicing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2002
    Inventor: Charles J. Mooklar