Seal with two sealing portions having flange receiving opening therebetween

An integral ring-shaped seal adapted to be carried at the end of a connector housing and provide two spaced-apart sealing portions, said two spaced-apart sealing portions being connected by a web, and said two spaced-apart sealing portions together with said web providing therebetween an opening adapted to receive a flange located in proximity to the end of the connector housing, at least one of said two spaced-apart sealing portions having a cut-out axially disposed away from said opening to provide increased resiliency and wear resistance.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Various ring seals for use at the end of connector housing have been used. 
Kramer U.S. Pat. No. 3,206,226 discloses an annular seal ring having 
radially inner and radially outer sides defining smoothly convex surfaces 
extending across the width thereof and convex axial sides forming a pair 
of radially outer corners and a pair of radially inner corners. Greenwald 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,698,727 pertains to a seal ring which in cross-section is 
essentially U-shaped or J-shaped and having an elastomeric or garter 
spring core. Kramer U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,726 relates to another flexible 
seal member having an insert membrane embodied therein to provide 
reinforcement of the balance of the flexible seal against deformation and 
resistance to abrasion. The disclosure of Shire and Newman U.S. Pat. No. 
3,695,639 is characterized by two generally ring shaped seals mounted in 
spaced side by side relationship at the end of a connector housing. The 
outer seal is generally circular in cross-section and includes a first 
leg, and a second smaller leg connected together by a web portion. The end 
of the connector tube is provided with formations for holding the seals in 
the housing. These formations may include first and second counterbores 
for positioning the inner seal in the end of the connector housing. The 
base of the second counterbore is normally in spaced relation to the inner 
side of the second leg to permit the legs of the inner seal to flex when a 
pipe mounted in the connector pivots or vibrates. 
The basic purposes of these annular rings is to maintain a tight seal over 
the wide range of temperatures and conditions encountered in use. The 
environment encountered is typically that found in the heating and air 
conditioning ducts of a modern commercial jet transport airplane. The 
individual lengths of connector tube are flexible due to thermal expansion 
and contraction, placing substantial and repeated stress on the ring 
seals. 
The prior patents discussed above treat the problem of seal wear due to 
abrasion caused by repeated flexing in several ways. The seals of the 
Kramer patents lack sufficient flexibility and have been generally 
rejected for all practical purposes. 
The other two patents endeavored to provide flexibility. However, the seals 
disclosed therein are rather complex in manufacture involving composite 
structures or a plurality of individual components. In any case, the 
complexity creates opportunity for error in manufacture and installation, 
as well as necessarily involving high cost. 
The present invention for the first time presents an integral annular seal 
which provides excellent sealing, high flexibility and resistance to 
abrasion. The seal of this invention is simpler to make and install in a 
connector and is believed to represent a significant advance over the 
seals of the prior art. It is to be expected that this new seal will be 
widely adopted by the commercial jet transport industry. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Briefly, the present invention comprises an integral ring-shaped seal 
adapted to be carried at the end of a connector housing and provide two 
spaced-apart sealing portions, said two spaced-apart sealing portions 
being connected by a web, and said two spaced-apart sealing portions 
together with said web providing therebetween an opening adapted to 
receive a flange located in proximity to the end of the connector housing, 
at least one of said two spaced-apart sealing portions having a cut-out 
axially disposed away from said opening to provide increased resiliency 
and wear resistance. 
This invention further comprehends the novel combination comprising 
telescoping connector housing sections one of which has an upstanding 
annular flange located in proximity to its open end, and an integral 
ring-shaped seal carried at the end of one of said connector housing, said 
seal having two spaced-apart sealing portions, said two spaced-apart 
sealing portions being connected by a web, and said two spaced-apart 
sealing portions together with said web providing therebetween an opening, 
said flange being received in said opening, at least one of said two 
spaced-apart sealing portions having a cut-out axially disposed away from 
said opening to provide increased resilency and wear resistance. 
Another feature of this invention is that the integral seal of this 
invention is held in position by one flange which is received in an 
opening of complementary size and shape within the seal, as stated above. 
Preferably, a second or end flange is also provided, as shown in the 
drawings. The flanges are "L" shaped and are usually welded to the 
connector wall. The length of the leg of either or both "L" shaped flanges 
abutting the connector wall can be cut to any size before welding and 
thereby adjust the space between flanges to accommodate any desired size 
of seal to vary the spacing between flanges. This feature is highly 
desirable in providing a high degree of manufacturing flexibility and 
product variability from identical standard "L" shaped elements and is 
itself an improvement over the prior art. 
It is an object of this invention to provide a novel annular ring seal. 
It is a further object of this invention to provide an integral ring seal 
which is superior in manufacture and use than seals heretofore known in 
this art. 
A related object of this invention is to provide a novel combination of 
connector sections and ring seal which is better adapted to manufacturing 
control and field use conditions. 
These and other objects and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in 
the art from the more detailed description which follows, particularly 
when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Considering the drawings in more detail, and using the embodiment of FIGS. 
1 to 5 for purposes of illustration, connector end sections 10 and 12 
telescope together as shown. Section 12 has two inwardly directed annular 
flanges 14 and 16 which are affixed to the body of section 12. The 
integral annular sealing ring 18 has two spaced-apart portions 20 and 22 
interconnected by web 24. The opening 26 receives the flange 16. The 
portion 22 has a cut-out 28 which is axially disposed from opening 26. 
When installed, the portion 22 is more resilient and flexible than portion 
24 due to the presence of cut-out 28. The integral ring 18 is composed of 
an elastomer which is reinforced with a fiberous or filamentary material 
such as fiberglass. The entire ring 18 can be made in one molding 
operation. The engagement of flange 16 with opening 26 maintains the ring 
18 in the proper position within the connector end over virtually any and 
all ranges of operating conditions. This structure has been found to be 
uniquely resistance of abrasion and wear as the connector ends 10 and 12 
intergo flex due to thermal cycling and other stresses. The connector 
portions per se are normally made of titanium. However, the specific 
materials of construction do not bear on the present invention. 
As can be seen in FIGS. 6A to 6L, the integral annular seal can have a 
variety of cross-sectional configurations including the embodiment wherein 
both portions which are interconnected by the web have axially disposed 
cut-out at opposite sides of the flange-receiving opening. The symmetrical 
configurations afford greater flexibility than the asymmetrical 
configurations. 
The embodiments of FIGS. 7 to 12 illustrate the case where the 
flange-receiving opening and the axially displaced cut-out merge to form 
an L-shaped integral annular ring which has one leg adapted to abut the 
flange and the other leg adapted to abut the surface of one connector end 
on one of its sides and the free end of the flange on the other side. 
The "L" shaped seal of FIGS. 7 through 12 is the same seal as is shown in 
FIGS. 19 through 22. Thus, this version is characterized by exceptional 
versatility. It should also be noted that this seal affords far greater 
sealing area than the "J" seals of the prior art, and is superior in 
function and durability. 
FIGS. 14 through 22 relate to the structure wherein the connector ends 100 
and 102 are telescoping. Connector end 100 has outwardly disposed flanges 
104 and 106. The integral annular seal 108 has two spaced-apart portions 
110 and 112 with interconnecting web 112. The space 114 is adapted to 
receive flange 106. The axially disposed cut-out 116 functions as 
described hereinabove. 
As is illustrated by FIG. 15 in particular, the invention is applicable to 
the full range of connector configurations. 
The present invention provides numerous advantages some of which are as 
follows: 
1. Longer sealing edge surface which provides longer service life. 
2. Maintains its sealing capabilities under angulation and negative 
pressure. 
3. Construction allows greater side loads. 
4. Seal will not roll during installation. 
5. Even if seal is installed beyond its design limits the web prevents the 
inner seal from disintegrating into the ducting system. 
6. Design does not allow seal to be put into housing incorrectly. 
7. Single seal design eliminates human error of omitting inner seal during 
installation. 
8. "C" area of seal will accommodate "O" ring for additional squeeze if 
required, such as in cold air ducting. 
9. Only required to stock one seal per joint, which is more cost effective 
resulting in less inventory. 
10. Dimensionally the joint is used in a compression and tension system by 
changing the primary sealing surface of the seal from the housing to the 
sleeve. 
It is to be understood that the present invention allows the use of the 
same general configuration of telescoping parts to be used in a 
compression or tension system, or a system that is mixed compression and 
tension. 
It is also to be understood that the connector can be used as an integral 
part of a duct or separately as a reducer. 
Having fully described the invention, it is intended that it be limited 
only by the lawful scope of the appended claims.