Patent ID: 7004478

Claim:
A metallic seal comprising: a first annular end section having a first annular sealing surface facing in a first direction and lying in a first contact plane to contact a first member for creating a first annular sealing dent therebetween, said first annular sealing surface being formed on a convexly curved surface; a second annular end section having a second annular sealing surface facing in a second direction that is opposite to said first direction, and lying in a second contact plane that is substantially parallel to said first contact plane to contact a second member for creating a second annular sealing dam therebetween, said second annular sealing surface being formed on a convexly curved surface; and an annular center section extending between said first and second annular end sections to form a ring having a central passageway with a center longitudinal axis, said annular center section being frustoconically shaped with said first and second annular end sections being contiguously arranged at opposite ends of said annular center section such that sealing loads applied substantially perpendicularly an said first and second annular sealing surfaces primarily deform said metallic seal due to torsional stress of said metallic seal, said first and second annular end sections and said annular center section being arranged to form an S-shaped cross sectional profile, said first and second sealing surfaces being spaced apart by a first distance measured parallel to said center longitudinal axis that is substantially equal to a second distance measured perpendicular to said center longitudinal axis between said first and second sealing surfaces.