Patent ID: 8641045

Claim:
A seal for sealing a circumferential gap between a first machine component and a second machine component which is rotatable relative to the first machine component about a longitudinal axis, comprising: at least one shoe extending along one of said first and second machine components in a position to create a non-contact seal therewith, said at least one shoe being formed with a slot; at least one spring element connected between one of the first and second machine components and said at least one shoe, said at least one spring element being effective to deflect and move with said at least one shoe in response to the application of fluid pressure to said at least one shoe in such a way as to assist in the creation of a primary seal of the circumferential gap between the first and second machine components; at least two sealing elements oriented side-by-side, each of said at least two sealing elements comprising an annular plate extending into said slot of said at least one shoe, said at least two sealing elements being effective to radially deflect and move with said at least one shoe in response to the application of fluid pressure to said at least one shoe in such a way as to assist in the creation of a secondary seal of the circumferential gap between the first and second machine components, each of said at least two sealing elements comprise an annular plate having an inner edge and an outer edge spaced from said inner edge, a slit being formed in said annular plate extending from said inner edge towards said outer edge defining opposed ends of said annular plate that abut one another, at least one cut-out being formed in said annular plate which is spaced from said slit.