Ring seal including a core surrounded by a metal jacket

Details Ring seal including a core surrounded by a metal jacket Ring seal including a core surrounded by a metal jacket

1998-10-30

2001-09-11

Brittain, James R. (Department: 3626)

Seal for a joint or juncture

Seal between fixed parts or static contact against...

Contact seal for a pipe, conduit, or cable

C277S611000, C277S612000, C277S626000, C277S647000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06286839

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a seal. More particularly, it relates to a ring seal suitable as a vacuum seal.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In fields easily affected by the presence of a foreign material, such as the semiconductor field, there is a demand for a ring vacuum seal that does not release gas or particles. As a sealing ring, there have been conventionally known a rubber O ring (ring having an O sectional shape when cut to open the ring), a metal O ring, a C ring with a coil spring and the like. Of these, the rubber O ring is unsuitable for use as a vacuum sealing ring in this field, since it releases gas or particles. In contrast, the metal O ring serves as a vacuum seal, because it does not release a foreign material when washed thoroughly with water before use. However, this ring requires tight clamping for the exhibition of sufficient sealing function, which in turn gives rise to a need for a large clamping mechanism that can provide enough clamping force, consequently making the vacuum apparatus bulky.
As disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. 92870/1989, for example, a C ring with a coil spring has a structure wherein a hard metal (e.g., stainless) helical coil is housed in a jacket having a C sectional shape. As this ring is made exclusively from metal materials, it, like a metal O ring, does not release a foreign material when washed thoroughly with water before use and the force necessary for clamping this ring is not as big as that for the metal O ring. Even this C ring with a coil spring, nevertheless, still requires a greater force than a rubber O ring to clamp the helical coil set inside. This in turn makes the clamping mechanism comparatively large, again making the vacuum apparatus bulky.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a seal that does not release a foreign material into the sealed space and that does not require a great force for clamping.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides the following.
(1) A ring seal comprising a core made from an elastic organic polymer and a metal jacket having a U-shaped section, which jacket surrounds the core to prevent transfer of a substance generated from the core into a sealed space.
(2) The seal of the above (1), wherein the metal jacket comprises a means for preventing the core from extruding from an opening of the metal jacket when said jacket is clamped to close the opening.
(3) The seal of the above (1), wherein the metal jacket has a lip on its outer surface, which improves its sealing property.
(4) The seal of the above (1), wherein the core is an O ring made from an elastic organic polymer, and the ring seal is a circular seal.
(5) The seal of the above (4), wherein the metal jacket of the ring seal has a lip on its outer surface, which improves its sealing property.
(6) The seal of the above (5), wherein the lip has a vertex in a parallel relation to the pressure receiving surface when the seal is clamped, and the intersection of the normal line at the outermost point of the section the ring and the perpendicular line drawn from the vertex toward the normal line falls within the range of from 0.1 to 0.7 times the radius of the O ring, from the center of the O ring.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3336659 (1967-08-01), Staples et al.
patent: 3775832 (1973-12-01), Werra
patent: 3869132 (1975-03-01), Taylor et al.
patent: 4548415 (1985-10-01), Bendl
patent: 4561662 (1985-12-01), de Villepoix et al.
patent: 4603892 (1986-08-01), Abbes et al.
patent: 4817994 (1989-04-01), Bronnert
patent: 5076617 (1991-12-01), Bronnert
patent: 5193616 (1993-03-01), Hynes
patent: 5538262 (1996-07-01), Matsumura

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