Abstract: A seal assembly for a rotating shaft includes an annular seal washer of flexible, fluid-impermeable material and capable of undergoing creep, i.e., slow movement or change in size while under stress. A helical garter spring encircles the washer and stresses it by biasing it radially inwardly. An annular housing of two interlocking members cooperate to enclose the spring and an O-ring which cooperates with the housing to resiliently clamp the washer to inhibit movement axially and circumferentially of the shaft, while accommodating radial creep under the urging of the spring. Inwardly struck tabs in the housing may engage the spring to inhibit circumferential movement thereof. In one embodiment, one of the housing members has circumferentially spaced-apart fingers adapted to be interleaved with the tabs of a fixture to facilitate assembly of the apparatus.

Abstract: A lip seal assembly establishing a sealed relationship between two spaced relatively movable members wherein one of the members has a pair of adjacent annular recesses of different effective diameters. An annular lip seal element of resilient material is disposed in one of the annular recesses, the element having an annular lip portion extending across the space between members into engagement with the other member and establishing a seal therewith due to deformation of the lip portion. An O-ring of resilient material is disposed in the other annular recess, the O-ring exerting bias pressure on the lip seal element to hold the element in sealed relation with the associated member and to maintain the annular lip portion in sealing engagement with the other member.