Seal for a joint or juncture – Seal between fixed parts or static contact against... – Contact seal for a pipe – conduit – or cable
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-28
2004-03-23
Knight, Anthony (Department: 3676)
Seal for a joint or juncture
Seal between fixed parts or static contact against...
Contact seal for a pipe, conduit, or cable
C277S602000, C277S608000, C277S609000, C285S328000, C285S330000, C285S379000, C285S054000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06708985
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to seals, often referred to as gaskets, for making a fluid or gas tight joint between opposed mating surfaces. More particularly, the present invention relates to retainers for positioning seals between opposed mating surfaces.
Ring seals are typically annularly shaped, defining an axially aligned hole for gas or fluid passage, two axially opposed end surfaces, a radial inner surface and a radial outer surface. The most simplistic ring seal includes planar end surfaces and smooth circular radial inner and outer surfaces which define the inner diameter (ID) and outer diameter (OD) of the ring seal.
An additional commonly used ring seal is circular and has a radial cross-section of a “C” shape. These “C seals” are constructed with the open side of the C construction facing the center of the ring such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,072, or with the open side of the C facing away from the center of the ring. As two mating surfaces are brought together with the C seal in the middle, the C seal is compressed with the open side of the C cross-section closing during compression. The ductile properties of the seal permit plastic deformation to occur without damaging the mating surfaces.
Additional seals which have been available include “V seals” which are also circular, but instead of having a “C” cross-section, the V seal has a “V” cross-section with the low point of the V constructed to point either inwardly or outwardly towards the center of the seal. Moreover, seals in the art include “Z seals” and simple “O rings”.
The above described ring seals often include a recessed sealing surface. With reference to
FIGS. 1 and 4
, the typical ring seal
1
includes an annular body configuration and a circumferential groove
15
formed on the ring seal's outer radial surface. In addition, the ring seal includes a recessed sealing surface
19
formed into each of the axial end surfaces. With reference to
FIG. 28
, in operation, the opposed mating surfaces
17
of the sealing assembly engage and form an air or fluid tight seal at the ring seal's recessed sealing surface. However, the opposed mating surfaces typically do not engage or form a seal at the ring seal's recessed regions. The sealing surface is recessed to protect the surface from becoming damaged during handling. For example, ring seals having planar surfaces often become scratched when placed on flat surfaces due to dirt or metal shavings scratching the ring seal's sealing surface. To overcome this drawback, the ring seal's sealing surface is recessed so as to not come into contact with debris prior to assembly within a sealing assembly. Unfortunately, ring seals having recessed sealing surfaces are expensive to manufacture and the recessed sealing surface is very difficult to polish.
Retainers are often used to hold and position a ring seal in place between two opposed mating surfaces. Retainers have been constructed in various forms. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,170 describes a retainer for positioning a gasket in a pipe joint. The retainer includes a cylindrical sidewall, an inwardly extending edge for engaging a ring seal and a plurality of claws for grabbing a pipe.
Meanwhile, U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,580 discloses a retainer having a semicircular sidewall for grasping the outer edge of a ring seal and extremity of a pipe. Moreover, additional retainer arrangements are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,552,389; 4,650,227; and 4,838,583.
An additional prior art ring seal and retainer assembly is shown in
FIGS. 1-4
. The ring seal includes a typical annular body configuration and circumferential groove formed on the ring seal's outer radial surface. In addition, the ring seal includes a recessed sealing surface
19
formed on each of the axial end surfaces. The retainer is obtained from a single loop of a coil spring, which is then formed into a circular band. The coil retainer is positioned within the ring seal's circumferential groove so that the outer edge of the coil projects outwardly beyond the edge of the ring seal. Meanwhile, the opposed mating surfaces include a fitting including a recess sized and positioned for receipt of the coil retainer's edge. Once press fit into place, the retainer is restrained from inadvertent movement.
Unfortunately, the above-described retainers all suffer from significant disadvantages. For example, the coil retainer and sharp edges of the ring seal are prone to scratching, or otherwise harming, the opposed mating surfaces. This can impede the ring seal's ability to provide a gas or fluid tight seal. Moreover, ring seals having a recessed sealing surface are expensive to manufacture. Meanwhile, the retainer described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,170 is capable of use only with a ring seal of an unusual construction. Furthermore, the retainer disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,580 also does not protect the edge of a ring seal from unwantingly scratching one of the opposed mating surfaces.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide an improved ring seal and retainer assembly which is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to use.
In addition, it would be desirable to provide an improved ring seal and retainer assembly which does not require recessed sealing surfaces which are expensive to manufacture and difficult to polish.
Moreover, it would be desirable to provide an improved ring seal and retainer assembly which provides protection against damage to a ring seal's sealing surfaces, while not being susceptible to scratching or otherwise marring the opposed mating surfaces prior to forming an air-tight or gas-tight seal.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention addresses the aforementioned disadvantages by providing an improved ring seal and retainer assembly. To this end, the ring seal is annularly shaped having an axially aligned hole for gas or fluid passage. The ring seal further includes a radial inner surface, a radial outer surface and first and second axial end surfaces. Meanwhile, the retainer is circular in shape, and includes a sidewall which is sized and positioned to cover and engage the ring seal's radial outer surface. The sidewall protects the ring seal's radial outer surface from becoming damaged prior to assembly within a sealing assembly, and protects the opposed mating surfaces from being damaged by preventing the ring seal's outer edge from scratching the opposed mating surfaces during assembly. Moreover, preferably, the retainer's circular sidewall projects axially beyond the ring seal's axial end surfaces. The protruding extremities of the circular sidewall protect the ring seal's axial end surfaces during storage and transportation, thereby eliminating the need for the ring seal having a recessed sealing surface.
The annular retainer includes means for affixing the retainer's circular sidewall adjacent to the ring seal's radial outer surface. In a first embodiment, to maintain the annular retainer affixed to the ring seal, the ring seal includes a circumferential groove which circumnavigates the ring seal's radial outer surface. The circumferential groove may be constructed in similar form to grooves constructed in the prior art; such as the groove including planar walls forming a squared indent. Alternatively, the circumferential groove may be formed in alternative configurations, such as V-shaped or rounded recesses as can be determined by those skilled in the art. Meanwhile, the annular retainer includes a circumferential ridge sized and positioned to project inwardly from the retainer's circular sidewall into the ring seal's circumferential groove. The circumferential ridge projects into the ring seal's groove to inhibit the annular retainer from inadvertently being dislodged or disengaged from the ring seal.
In an alternative embodiment, the annular retainer does not include a single ridge which circumnavigates the annular retainer's interior surface, but instead includes a plurality of ridges which
Drummond & Duckworth
Knight Anthony
Peavey Enoch
LandOfFree
Ring seal and retainer assembly does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Ring seal and retainer assembly, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Ring seal and retainer assembly will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3260602