Patent ID: 7182345

Claim:
A brush 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: a bundle of seal bristles each having a first end and a second end, said first ends of said bundle of seal bristles being mounted to one of said first and second machine components and said second ends thereof extending in a direction toward the other of said first and second machine components; at least one spring element having a first end connected to one of said first and second machine components, and a second end extending in a direction toward the other of said first and second machine components; and at least one shoe extending about one of said first or second machine components in position to create a non-contact seal therewith, said at least one shoe being fixed to whichever one of said first and second ends of said spring element is located opposite said first ends of said seal bristles, said at least one shoe preventing said second ends of said seal bristles from directly contacting either said first or second machine component.