Patent ID: 8899594

Claim:
An adjustable seal apparatus for mounting a drive mechanism having a movable shaft in sealed engagement with a wall of a vessel and in a selected orientation with respect to the wall of the vessel, said adjustable seal apparatus comprising: a male seal member including a pipe and a flange, said pipe including a peripheral side wall having a first end, a second end and a hollow bore, said flange including an outer peripheral rim and an aperture formed by an inner peripheral rim, said first end of said side wall of said pipe attached to said flange such that said aperture of said flange is in fluid communication with said bore of said side wall of said pipe, said flange adapted to be coupled in sealing engagement with the wall of the vessel with the shaft of the drive mechanism extending through said bore of said side wall of said pipe from an exterior of the vessel to an interior chamber of the vessel; a female seal member including an end wall having an aperture and a peripheral side wall attached to and extending outwardly from said end wall, the shaft of the drive mechanism adapted to extend through said aperture in said end wall and to be coupled in sealing engagement with said end wall, said side wall of said female seal member including a first end coupled to said end wall and a second end including a peripheral rim forming an aperture, said end wall and said side wall of said female seal member forming a chamber, said aperture of said side wall of said female seal member being in fluid communication with the chamber of the vessel, said second end of said side wall of said male seal member adapted to be located within said chamber of said female seal member such that said chamber of said female seal member is in fluid communication with said bore of said side wall of said male seal member, said chamber of said female seal member and said bore of said side wall of said male seal member adapted to receive a sealing liquid such that said sealing liquid forms a gas-tight seal between said aperture of said flange of said male seal member and said aperture of said side wall of said female seal member and thereby between the exterior of the vessel and the interior chamber of the vessel while allowing the shaft and female seal member to conjointly move with respect to said male seal member; and one or more adjustable mounting apparatus for mounting the drive mechanism to the wall of the vessel, each said mounting apparatus having an adjustably positionable support member adapted to support the drive mechanism in a desired orientation, whereby the orientation of the drive mechanism can be selectively adjusted with respect to the wall of the vessel to place the shaft of the drive mechanism in a desired orientation while maintaining the gas-tight seal between said female seal member and said male seal member.