Patent ID: 8205670

Claim:
A wellhead seal assembly for sealing between inner and outer wellhead members, comprising: a metal seal ring having inner and outer walls separated by a generally cylindrical slot; a metal energizing ring generally cylindrical in shape with surfaces that slidingly engage the inner surfaces of the slot of the seal ring during installation to push the inner and outer walls of the seal ring into sealing engagement with the inner and outer wellhead members; a resilient latch member mounted in an annular recess on an outer diameter of the energizing ring, the latch member being moved into latching engagement with the seal ring in response to movement of the energizing ring relative to the seal ring to prevent movement of the energizing ring out of the slot; and a tapered surface on the metal seal ring initially abuttingly contacting the resilient latch member to prevent movement of the resilient latch member relative to the seal ring at a select applied force to prevent premature movement of the energizing ring into the slot of the seal ring, whereby increased force on the energizing ring causes the latch member to move radially into the annular recess, thus allowing movement of the resilient latch member and energizing ring relative to the seal ring.