A.w. Chesterton Company

The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.

Ann T Attenasio

Henri V Azibert

Margaret B Willbrant

Marlen S Clark

Christopher A Kowalski

Howard Marcellus Phillips

Edwin Cid

Timothy Conklin

A split mechanical seal for mounting to a housing containing a rotating shaft comprising a gland assembly configured for mounting to the housing and forming a chamber, where the gland assembly includes a top surface having a gland groove formed thereon. The gland groove is formed at least in part by at least one raised wall portion that extends axially outwardly from the top surface. The seal also includes a stationary seal ring having a groove or recess formed in an inner surface.

Self aligning split mechanical seal employing a selectively engageable axial biasing assembly

A split mechanical composite seal assembly for providing a seal between a rotating shaft and a static surface. The split mechanical composite seal assembly includes first and second axially adjacent annular seal elements. The first and second seal elements each include a sealing edge contacting the shaft to provide a respective seal between the first and second seal element and the shaft. A static housing receives the first and second seal elements and engages the static surface to provide a static stationary seal, while concomitantly providing a flex region that engages the seal elements to form a dynamic seal therewith. A holder assembly receives one seal element and may include a double-angled lead-in to facilitate installation of the seal element. The holder assembly may include a detent groove for receiving and retaining an O-ring disposed about the seal element. The static housing may comprise two mating segments having overlapping surfaces.

Mechanical seal assembly

A shaft sleeve for a mechanical seal assembly having fixed radial lugs for rotationally anchoring one seal ring on an inboard side of the sleeve and depressible anchors for rotationally anchoring a second sealing ring on an outboard side of the seal assembly, the depressible anchors allowing sealing rings and holding rings and other component parts to pass from an outboard side to an inboard side by depressing the flexible anchors radially inwardly. The flexible anchors also fix in axial position a collar which mounts the outboard rotary seal ring. The sleeve provides for advantageous stacking of ring components onto the sleeve for assembly of the seal assembly.

Sleeve for shaft seal

A mechanical seal assembly having dual seals in which the seal faces of the primary seal members remain essentially perpendicular to the shaft of the equipment being sealed regardless of any misalignment between the shaft and the equipment has a sleeve for mounting on the shaft to provide a support structure wherein all primary seal member faces are aligned with respect to this support structure regardless of loading. The primary seals are biased toward the support structure by the combination of net hydraulic pressure at the mated seal faces plus steady bias from a minimally flexing biasing source, such as compression springs, at one end of the sleeve. Another embodiment further includes a gland mounted to the equipment concentrically to the equipment shaft and an axially floating annular flow ring located within the gland. The ring non-rotatably mates with the primary seal members and the gland, and can shift axially. The ring supplies a fluid flow channel associated with the shaft vanes and which can travel with the vanes to accommodate shaft endplay.

Balanced mechanical seal assembly and flow ring therefor

A mechanical seal assembly is disclosed in which the seal faces of the primary seal members remain essentially perpendicular to the shaft of the equipment being sealed regardless of any misalignment between the shaft and the equipment. The seal assembly has a sleeve for mounting on the shaft, the sleeve providing a support structure wherein all primary seal member faces are aligned with respect to this support structure regardless of loading. The primary seals are uniformly and persistently urged toward the support structure by the combination of net hydraulic pressure at the mated seal faces plus steady bias from a minimally flexing biasing source, such as compression springs, at one end of the sleeve. In a double balanced double seal embodiment of the invention, each primary seal piston area and the seal face contact area of the associated mated primary seals is determined without regard to location or thickness of secondary seals. Each piston area is a predetermined fixed area equal to a major portion of the associated primary seal face contact area.

Balanced mechanical seal

A universal gland defining a central opening for mounting the gland coaxially about a machine shaft to the machine housing, the mounting done with a plurality of bolts at bolt hole positions in the housing. A gland body includes a mounting surface for placement adjacent the housing, and facing away from the mounting surface at least one tab-engaging surface is engaged by tabs for transferring forces from the bolts to the machine via the gland body. Bolt-mounting tabs are configured to extend radially beyond the periphery of the gland body a distance at least to the bolt hole positions of the machine. The tabs are angularly adjustable about the gland body.

Universal seal or packing gland

An axially floating annular flow ring is provided for use in a gland mounted to rotary equipment concentrically to the equipment shaft. The ring has an outer circumferential surface for mounting to the gland interior adjacent to gland port mouths opening out of the gland interior surface and axially between the ends of primary seal members associated with the gland. The ring non-rotatably mates with the primary seal members and the gland, and can shift axially. The ring supplies a fluid flow channel in conjunction with fluid-flow vanes associated with the shaft and which ring can travel axially with the vanes to accommodate shaft endplay.

A device for lifting a limp sheet member is disclosed. This device comprises a first tubular sleeve member which encloses an elongated interior region extending along a reference axis. The sleeve member has substantially planar, circular, aperture-defining rim disposed about and coaxial with the reference axis at the distal end of the interior region. The proximal end of the interior region is coupled to a region of relatively low pressure. The device also comprises structure for defining a composite airflow path from a region of relatively high pressure, through the first rim and interior region to the low pressure region, and includes vanes, grooves or sleeves for establishing an airflow vortex in the composite airflow path substantially at the first rim and disposed about the reference axis.

Growing community of inventors

Revere, MA, United States of America

Ann T Attenasio