United States Patent (19
`Wallace
`
`54 DUAL GROOVE SEAL
`
`75 Inventor: Robert B. Wallace, Corpus Christi,
`Tex.
`73) Assignee: Rineer Hydraulics, Inc., Corpus
`Christi,Tex.
`
`IIII US005626345A
`11
`Patent Number:
`5,626,345
`45
`Date of Patent:
`May 6, 1997
`
`4,557,487 12/1985 Banas et al. ........................ 277/206A
`5,190,078 3/1993 Stoll et al. ................................ 277/58
`
`Examiner-William A. Cuchlinski, Jr.
`Pri
`rimary
`mner
`am Cuc ski, Jr.
`Assistant Examiner-Christina Annick
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Fulbright & Jaworski
`
`21 Appl. No.: 494,479
`22 Filed:
`Jun. 26, 1995
`(51
`Int. Cl. .............. F16J 9/20 A method and apparatus for reducing the wear within a
`52 U.S. Cl. .............................. 277/1; 277/9; 277/206A:
`mechanical apparatus having first and second adjacent,
`29/402.02; 29/402.03
`sealable surfaces which move relative to each other and
`58) Field of Search ..................................... 277/9, 206A;
`havi
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`29/402.02, 402.03
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`
`57
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`56
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`3.866,813 2/1975 Arnold ........................................ 277/9
`
`5 Claims, 2 Drawing Sheets
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`Vulcan
`Ex. 1058
`Page 1 of 5
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`U.S. Patent
`U.S. Patent
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`May 6, 1997
`May 6, 1997
`
`Sheet 1 of 2
`Sheet 1 of 2
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`Vulcan
`Ex. 1058
`Page 2 of 5
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`U.S. Patent
`U.S. Patent
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`May 6, 1997
`May 6, 1997
`
`Sheet 2 of 2
`Sheet 2 of 2
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`Vulcan
`Ex. 1058
`Page 3 of 5
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`5,626.345
`
`1.
`DUAL GROOVE SEAL
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`Seals seated in machined grooves have long been used to
`affect a sealing surface within mechanical apparatus. Typical
`of such seals are quad ring seals, spring loaded lip seals or
`even o-rings that seal an annulus defined by concentric
`cylindrical surfaces. In such an arrangement, the seal is
`typically seated in a groove machined within either or both
`of the annular surfaces, and the seal forms a complete seal
`Within the annulus.
`Often, the two surfaces defining the space sealed by the
`seals move relative to each other, typically by rotation such
`as a rotating shaft displaced within a stationary cylinder.
`Over time, the surfaces may wear where they are in contact
`with the seal because of friction caused by the relative
`movement. Such wear can cause leakage along the surfaces
`in contact with the seal. Such wear and resulting leakage is
`expensive to repair, typically requiring the apparatus in
`question to be removed from service and the part bearing the
`worn surface to be completely replaced or resurfaced, pro
`cesses which are labor intensive.
`The two surfaces defining the space sealed by the seals
`may become polished by extended rotation, causing a
`smoother surface that may be incompatible with aparticular
`seal. For example, quad ring seals are typically compatible
`with a surface of finish 24 to 32 Ra, and spring loaded lip
`seals are compatible with a surface finish of 14 to 18 Ra. The
`contact of a seal against a shaft will over time increase
`smoothness beyond the range of the seal, resulting in leak
`age. To merely replace the seal is ineffective because the
`smoothness of the worn shaft is not compatible with the new
`seal.
`
`2
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a hydraulic motor in
`accordance with the prior art,
`FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a hydraulic motor in
`accordance with the present invention,
`DETALED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`INVENTION AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
`The invention may be applied in any mechanical appa
`ratus in which two adjacent surfaces separated by a seal
`move relative to each other. For purposes of illustration, the
`invention will be described herein in its preferred embodi
`ment in a hydraulic motor.
`FIG. 1 depicts a hydraulic motor. 10 as provided in the
`prior art, which hydraulic motor is adapted for use for
`drilling overhead holes in coal mines. FIG. 2 depicts a
`hydraulic motor 12 identical to hydraulic motor 10 but
`exhibiting the features of the invention. Parts of hydraulic
`motor 12 that are identical to parts of hydraulic motor 10
`will be referenced with prime numbers that correspond to
`those of hydraulic motor 10.
`Hydraulic motor 10 is of the double-vane type, compris
`ing a stator 11 and a rotor 13. The rotor 13 exhibits vanes 14
`which are biased by springs 20. The stator 11 exhibits vanes
`16 which are biased by springs 18. The rotor 13 rotates axial
`by relative to the stator 11 as hydraulic fluid is driven
`through hydraulic fluid port 22, exiting from hydraulic fluid
`port 24.
`Rotor 13 is locked to hollow shaft 26 by means of mating
`splines 28. Hollow shaft 26 receives a hollow chuck 30.
`Hollow chuck30 has o-rings 32 displaced within grooves 34
`and is locked within hollow shaft 26 with a lockring 36 and
`keyway 38. Slinger 40 is attached to hollow shaft 26 by
`means of threads 42.
`As rotor 13 rotates, hollow shaft 26, hollow chuck30, and
`slinger 40 rotate. The rotation of hollow shaft 2.6 is facili
`tated by needle bearings 44 and Timken bearings 46 and 48.
`The hollow shaft 26 is adjacent to and rotates relative to a
`seal plate 50. Groove 52 within seal plate 50 receives quad
`ring seal 54, which communicates with both the seal plate 50
`and hollow shaft 26, forming a sealtherebetween. Seal 54 is
`protected by dustring 56. The bearings 44, 46, and 48 and
`seal 54 are lubricated by a portion of the hydraulic fluid that
`drives the hydraulic motor 10, which portion leaks into the
`areas occupied by the foregoing bearings and seal, and
`drains from passageway 57.
`In operation, a drill bit (not shown) is mounted in hollow
`chuck 30. Drill debris is displaced by the rotation of slinger
`40 and is also drawn through the hollow portions 58 and 60
`of the hollow chuck 30, hollow shaft 26, and vacuum ports
`62. Over time, dust breaches the dust ring 56 and causes
`abrasion of the hollow shaft 26 at its point of contact with
`seal 54. Such abrasion will so wear the hollow shaft 26 at its
`point of contact with seal 54 that the seal affected by seal S4
`is broken. Once the seal is so broken, hollow shaft 26 must
`be replaced or resurfaced.
`FIG. 2 depicts the apparatus of FIG. 1, but exhibits the
`present invention. In addition to groove 52, hydraulic motor
`12 exhibits a second groove 58. The existence of the second
`groove 58 effectively doubles the life of hollow shaft 26 by
`providing an alternate site for a seal similar to 54. As seal
`54' wears the hollow shaft 26 at a point of contact opposite
`groove 52 to a degree that breaches the seal made by seal
`54, a seal can be placed in the groove 58. Opposite groove
`58, hollow shaft 26 has no wear. Thus, a seal can there be
`effectively made.
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`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`It is an object of the present invention to reduce the need
`to replace or resurface parts of apparatus that move relative
`to a seal. It is a further object of the present invention to
`facilitate quick repair of fluid leaks around a seal.
`To achieve the foregoing objects there is disclosed a
`method reducing wear within a mechanical apparatus having
`first and second adjacent, sealable surfaces which move
`relative to each other, one or both of the surfaces defining a
`plurality of adjacent grooves, comprising the steps of plac
`ing a seal within a first of the plurality of adjacent grooves
`whereby a seal is formed between the first and second
`adjacent surfaces while leaving an adjacent groove empty,
`and when the seal fails removing the seal from the first of the
`plurality of adjacent grooves, and placing a sealin one of the
`adjacent grooves.
`Still a further objection of the present invention is the
`method in which the first and second surfaces comprise
`concentric cylindrical surfaces.
`Stillafurther object of the present invention is the method
`in which the seal is a quad ring seal.
`Still a further object of the present invention is a sealing
`apparatus consisting essentially of first and second adjacent
`surfaces defining a space betweenthemselves, one or both of
`the adjacent surfaces defining a plurality of adjacent grooves
`for receiving a seal; and a seal positioned in only one of the
`grooves.
`Still a further object of the present invention is the
`apparatus in which the surfaces comprise concentric cylin
`drical Surfaces.
`Still a further object of the present invention is the
`apparatus in which the single seal is a quad ring Seal.
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`Vulcan
`Ex. 1058
`Page 4 of 5
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`5,626.345
`
`3
`It is undesirable to have seals within both grodives 52 and
`58, because a first sealin groove 58 will prevent lubricating
`fluid from contacting a second ring in groove 52. Absent
`lubricating fluid, a second seal in groove 52 will quickly
`disintegrate from the friction generated by the relative
`movement of the hollow shaft 26 and the seal plate 50.
`The seal of the present invention may wear independently
`of the surface against which it abuts. For example, seal 54
`may wear faster than the surface of holiow shaft 26 which
`lies in contact with quad ring seal. Accordingly, it may be
`desirable to replace seal 54' without moving the location of
`the replacing seal from groove 52' to groove 58.
`Accordingly, for purposes of the claims, "seal” includes
`replacement seals.
`The instant invention is applicable in numerous apparatus
`having surfaces than move relative to a seal, and is particu
`larly useful in apparatus that are subjected to abrasive dust.
`The preferred embodiment includes two grooves, but any
`plurality of grooves may be used in accordance with the
`invention.
`In applications where there is excessive wear between the
`seal and the shaft, it would be of great advantage to provide
`multiple grooves in the seal plate, to provide additional areas
`of contact for the ring seal to seal against the shaft each time
`by moving to the next groove in the seal plate to be in
`contact with a unworn portion of the shaft. This would put
`the new ring seal in each instance in contact with the shaft
`
`4
`with original shaft finish of compatible roughness required
`by the ring seal in use.
`I claim:
`1. A method of reducing wear within a mechanical appa
`ratus having first and second adjacent, sealable surfaces
`which move relative to each other, one or both of the
`surfaces defining a plurality of adjacent grooves, comprising
`the steps of:
`placing a seal within a first of the plurality of adjacent
`grooves whereby a seal is formed between the first and
`second adjacent surfaces while leaving an adjacent
`groove empty,
`when the seal fails removing the seal from the first of the
`plurality of adjacent grooves, and
`placing a seal in one of the adjacent grooves.
`2. The method of claim 1 in which the first and second
`surfaces comprise concentric cylindrical surfaces.
`3. The method of claim 2 in which the seal is a quad ring
`seal.
`4. The method of claimi in which the movement of the
`first and second surfaces is in a direction parallel to the
`grooves.
`5. The method of claim 2 in which the concentric cylin
`drical Surfaces share an axis and rotate relative to each other
`about the axis.
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`Ex. 1058
`Page 5 of 5
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