Patent ID: 9682242
Date: 2017-06-20
CPC Classifications: A61N,F16J,H01R

Claim:
1. A seal assembly comprising: an elastomeric annular seal body comprising a first end opening having a substantially cylindrical inner surface with a first diameter thereat, a second end opening having a substantially cylindrical inner surface with a second diameter thereat, and an interior surface defining a bore connecting the first end opening and the second end opening, and wherein the bore defines a lengthwise axis running axially through a middle of the bore; an annular sealing lip comprising a first side, a second side, and a tip located between the first side and the second side, the tip defining a reduced section within the bore having an inside diameter that is smaller than the first diameter and the second diameter; a width of the sealing lip measured from the first side to the second side of the sealing lip; a shaft extending through the reduced section within the bore, from the first side to the second side of the sealing lip; and wherein the sealing lip is part of the interior surface and extends in a radial inward direction in the bore; wherein the bore has a first undercut formed adjacent the first side of the sealing lip inside the bore, the first undercut having a third diameter which is a largest diameter of the first undercut measured orthogonal to the lengthwise axis and is located at a deepest point of the first undercut; wherein the bore has a second undercut formed adjacent the second side of the sealing lip inside the bore, the second undercut having a fourth diameter which is a largest diameter of the second undercut measured orthogonal to the lengthwise axis and is located at a deepest point of the second undercut; wherein the first and second undercuts are reliefs formed in the bore and the third and fourth diameters are larger than the first and the second diameters prior to the shaft extending through the reduced section within the bore so as to reduce an insertion force needed to place the shaft through the reduced section by allowing the sealing lip to axially deflect when the shaft is inserted through the reduced section within the bore; and wherein the first undercut has a depth measured radially from the substantially cylindrical inner surface of the first opening to the deepest point of the first undercut, the second undercut has a depth measured radially from the substantially cylindrical inner surface of the second opening to the deepest point of the second undercut, and a substantial majority of an overall height of the sealing lip, measured radially from a base of the sealing lip at the deepest point of each undercut to the tip of the sealing lip, is defined by the depths of the first and second undercuts.