Patent ID: 6540234
Filing Date: 2003-04-01
Classification: F16J

Abstract:
A gasket adapted when clamped between a first body and a second body to seal the gap between the first and second bodies around a chamber or passage jointly defined by the bodies, the gasket comprising:a sealing member which forms a closed loop extending around a hole which corresponds to the chamber or passage, wherein the sealing member being formed from resilient metal; and in cross-section, the sealing member comprises a first arm and a second arms which project inwardly of the hole, the inwardly projecting first and second arms being adapted to resiliently engage the first and second bodies, respectively, to form a first seal around said hole, wherein the first arm extends from a first junction with the remainder of the gasket to a tip of the first arm, the second arm extends from a second junction with the remainder of the gasket to a tip of the second arm, the first arm has its greatest thickness at said first junction and a lesser thickness away from the first junction characterized in that the first arm is arranged, in use, to initially resiliently flex and subsequently plastically yield from a location away from the first junction in a direction towards the first junction as the clamping pressure on the gasket increases thereby causing the part of the first arm that resiliently engages and seals with the first body to move from a location away from the first junction towards the first junction, and the second arm has its greatest thickness at said second junction and a lesser thickness away from the second junction characterized in that the second arm is arranged, in use, to initially resiliently flex and subsequently plastically yield from a location away from the second junction in junction in a direction towards the second junction as the clamping pressure on the gasket increases thereby causing the part of the second arm that resiliently engages and seals with the second body to move from a location away from the second junction towards the second junction.