John Crane Inc.

John Crane-houdaille, Inc.

Other

James P Netzel

Douglas J Volden

James R Wasser

Richard Hosanna

Mark Gerard Pospisil

A trailer illumination assembly includes a trailer that has a plurality of running lights disposed on the trailer. The trailer includes a power source is positioned in the trailer and a female light plug which can be electrically coupled to a male light plug on a towing vehicle. The female light plug is in communication with the plurality of running light. An adapter plug is pluggable into the female light plug when the female light plug is not electrically coupled to the male light plug on the towing vehicle. Additionally, the adapter plug places the power source on the trailer in electrical communication with the plurality of running lights on the trailer. In this way the running lights on the trailer can be powered by the power source on the trailer.

Trailer illumination assembly

This invention relates to barrier seal systems for sealing the annular space between a housing and a rotating shaft which extends through a bore in the housing. The seal system has inboard and outboard mechanical end face seals. The inboard seal faces have spiral grooves for pumping a buffer fluid from a buffer chamber between the two seals toward the high pressure side of the inboard seal. The primary ring of the inboard seal may be double balanced. For high pressure applications, the buffer fluid may be pressurized and a pumping ring may be included in the outboard seal to circulate buffer fluid. High pressure applications also require two hard seal rings and optimum dam and face widths. Buffer fluid can be supplied to the seal system by a reservoir connected by a gravity feed line. A buffer fluid containment device may be attached to the high pressure side of the seal to prevent process fluid from contaminating the seal faces or secondary seals.

Barrier seal systems

A double, back to back oriented mechanical end face seal arrangement for use in sealing pumps or other devices used in fluid transfer of toxic or corrosive fluid has an intermediate buffer fluid chamber into which a relatively inert gas, such as nitrogen, is provided for use as a buffer fluid, and is maintained at a pressure which exceeds the process fluid pressure by at least 10 p.s.i. Each seal has a primary ring and a mating ring with gap maintaining means, such as spiral pumping grooves, formed in one of the rings which are shaped and dimensioned to pump the buffer gas through the first seal from the intermediate chamber into the process fluid chamber against the process fluid pressure and through the second seal from the intermediate chamber into the environment external to the housing and sealing area, thus avoiding the escape of the process fluid into the intermediate buffer chamber and thereby to the atmosphere. The inboard seal includes a first secondary sealing means disposed between one seal ring and the housing for sealing therebetween and a second secondary sealing means, disposed between the other seal ring and the shaft for sealing therebetween, the first and second secondary sealing means, which may comprise O-rings, each defining the boundary between the intermediate chamber and the process fluid chamber. The first and second secondary sealing means of the first rotary mechanical end face seal are sized and disposed to define radial walls in the back radial surfaces of each seal ring to thereby present essentially an equal area at an approximately identical radius, such that essentially the same mount of buffer fluid pressure acts on the back radial surfaces of each ring of the first rotary mechanical and face seal but in opposite directions and, on the process fluid side, the identical process fluid pressure acts on opposite sides of a portion of the respective rings of the first rotary mechanical end face seal essentially eliminating thrust forces acting on the first rotary mechanical end face seal.

Gas lubricated barrier seal

A double, back to back oriented mechanical end face seal for use in sealing toxic or corrosive fluids having an intermediate buffer fluid chamber into which a relatively inert gas, such as nitrogen, is provided for use as a buffer fluid. The nitrogen gas is maintained at a pressure which exceeds the process fluid pressure by at least 10 p.s.i. and, in a preferred embodiment, spiral pumping grooves in the mating rings of each of the seals are shaped and dimensioned to pump the nitrogen buffer gas through the first seal from the intermediate chamber into the process fluid chamber and through the second seal from the intermediate chamber into the environment external to the housing and sealing area, thereby avoiding the escape of the process fluid into the intermediate buffer chamber and to the atmosphere. Contamination of the process fluid by the buffer gas may be tolerated. The buffer gas may be any relatively inert gas, a gas which is non-hazardous to the environment and also is compatible with the process fluid used; appropriate examples are nitrogen, carbon dioxide, air or one of the noble gases. The seal can be used to seal a process fluid which is either a liquid or a gas.

Secondary containment seal

A mechanical seal for use between a housing and a rotatable shaft supported by the housing, having adjacent annular primary and mating sealing rings, each ring having a generally radial sealing face. Means seals and holds the first sealing ring nonrotatably relative to the housing, and means seals and holds the second sealing ring to rotate with the shaft. One sealing ring is movable axially of the shaft, and springs urge this one ring toward the other sealing ring, which is axially fixed relative to the shaft. The axially moveable seal ring is centered coaxially with respect to the axis of the seal ring through engagement of a centering element which is centered relative to the shaft and which engages the axially moveable sealing ring to center it relative to the shaft. The centering element engages the axially moveable sealing ring to effect such centering at the periphery of the axially moveable ring exposed to the pressurized fluid to be sealed.

Mechanical face seal having centering means

A package seal particularly suited to pumps or other applications having a drive shaft which terminates internally of a housing at its connection to the impeller or fluid working element. In such an apparatus partial disassembly of the components provides access to the free end of the drive shaft. The package seal has an outer member adapted to be disposed coaxially on the rotatable shaft and pass through the housing bore. The outer member includes a mounting flange adapted to be secured in the interior of the housing and a cylindrical body adapted to extend axially along the rotatable shaft from the seal flange to the exterior of the housing. The cylindrical body houses the seal components which provide a fluid tight seal between the housing and shaft.

Internally installable package seal

A symmetrical package seal containing two balanced end face seals, the stationary components being adapted for use with shafts of different sizes. In addition, the package seal has means for centering the rotating components relative to the stationary components, for aligning the sealing faces parallel contact, and for bleeding fluid from the chamber formed by the end face seals.

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Skokie, IL, United States of America

James P Netzel