Westinghouse Electric Corporation

United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force

Alfred A Zucchi

Frank E Altoz

Roald N Horton

John W Hughes

The compression air seal for containing air between equipment racks and electronic modules is described incorporating a metal base having a slot opening and an inclined or tapered upper surface with respect to the lower surface, a double layer of elastomeric material having two hardness values one upon the other in enclosing the opening and a coating of low-friction material over the upper elastomeric material to facilitate low friction when an electronic module having a tapered surface is slid over and compresses the seal.

Sliding compression air seal for removable electronic units

A wedge-shaped printed wiring assembly is inserted into a chassis having guide rails for coarse positioning of the unit the final alignment being accomplished with male and female pins on the connector. Slotted air openings at the entrance and exit of the printed wiring assembly are matched to corresponding openings through the seal. The seal surfaces are tapered a nominal 1.5 degrees top to bottom to facilitate insertion of the printed wiring assembly into the chassis which causes the taper surfaces to come together and force the seal to deflect uniformly and provide a tight interface across the entire surface. The seal material is preferably polyether urethane or a like material.

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Severna Park, MD, United States of America

Alfred A Zucchi