Patent ID: 8181969

Claim:
A lubrication blocking seal, comprising: a hollow body, said body having an upper planar surface, a lower planar surface, a surrounding wall, a reservoir area, an open top, an upper seal-receiving recess disposed in said upper planar surface, a lower seal-receiving recess disposed in said lower planar surface and a lower central aperture sized and shaped to fit slidably about a rotating shaft; a cover, said cover being sized and shaped to fit sealably to said hollow body, an upper central aperture sized and shaped to fit slidably about said rotating shaft and means for mounting a bearing about said shaft and to said cover; a lower seal, said lower seal being sized and shaped to fit slidably about said rotating shaft and into said lower seal-receiving recess; an upper seal, said upper seal being sized and shaped to fit slidably about said rotating shaft and into said upper seal-receiving recess; a lubricant introduction fitting, said fitting penetrating radially through at least one of said hollow body and said cover; at least one back-up bearing surface, said back-up bearing surface being integral with either of said cover and said hollow body and being formed of abrasion resistant material surrounding at least one of said lower central aperture and said upper central aperture, said abrasion resistant material being softer than material forming said rotating shaft; a quantity of lubricating material sufficient to substantially fill said reservoir area; and wherein said back-up bearing surface is instantly available should either of said lubricant be missing and said bearing fail.