Patent ID: 8146670

Claim:
A wellhead seal assembly for sealing between inner and outer wellhead members, comprising: a metal seal ring having upper inner and outer walls separated by a generally cylindrical upper slot and lower inner and outer walls separated by a generally cylindrical lower slot; an upper metal energizing ring generally cylindrical in shape with surfaces that slidingly engage the inner and outer walls in the upper slot of the seal ring during installation to push the upper inner and outer walls into sealing engagement with the inner and out wellhead members; a lower metal energizing ring generally cylindrical in shape with surfaces that slidingly engage the inner and outer walls in the lower slot of the seal ring during installation to push the lower inner and outer walls into sealing engagement with the inner and out wellhead members; a resilient latch member carried by the upper metal energizing ring that is moved radially into latching engagement with the inner wellhead member in response to movement of the upper metal energizing ring; and a spacing member that enables the resilient latch member to engage the inner wellhead member prior to the upper metal energizing ring fully engaging the inner and outer walls in the upper slot of the seal ring.