Patent ID: 7252291

Claim:
A mechanical seal comprising a mechanical housing, a seal gland, a rotating ring and a non-rotating, single-piece mating ring; wherein said seal gland is fixedly attached within said mechanical housing, with said non-rotating mating ring affixed to said seal gland; and wherein said rotating ring is fixedly attached to a shaft that is rotationally mounted within said mechanical housing; wherein: (a) said non-rotating, single-piece mating ring comprises an inner surface and an outer surface having an outer circumferential flow-channel; wherein said outer circumferential flow-channel comprises a plurality of symmetrically-spaced through-channels that extend from said outer circumferential flow-channel to said inner surface to uniformly disperse a coolant through said mating ring in a direction perpendicular to the outer circumferential flow-channel; wherein said through-channels are sized and shaped to inhibit clogging from any debris in a coolant; (b) when a coolant is supplied to said outer circumferential flow-channel, said outer circumferential flow-channel allows the coolant to enter said through-channels and to remove heat uniformly from said mechanical seal by removing heat from said non-rotating single-piece mating ring; whereby heat transfer at the interface of said rotating ring and said mating ring is substantially greater than would be the heat transfer between an otherwise identical rotating ring and mating ring lacking said outer circumferential flow-channel and through-channels.