Patent ID: 7461847

Claim:
A self centering, floating brush seal assembly comprising: a machine housing including a seal channel disposed circumferentially about a rotating shaft; a radially floating brush seal disposed in said seal channel but not fixed in the machine housing, the brush seal including: a front plate, a back plate, a plurality of bristles sandwiched between the front plate and the back plate and having an upper end and free radially extending ends disposed circumferentially about and contacting the rotating shaft, a pressure channel is formed between the back plate and an axially adjacent surface of the housing that forms a portion of the seal channel; and a radially extending rub feature associated with at least one of the front plate and the back plate and also disposed circumferentially about and contacting the rotating shaft, wherein the brush seal is centered with respect to said rotating shaft, not the machine housing; a radial gap is formed in the seal channel between the upper end of the bristles and a portion of the machine housing defining an outer radial boundary of the seal channel; and the axial thickness of the rub feature is greater than the axial thickness of the back plate, the rub feature extending beyond a surface of the back plate such that when the rub feature is in axial contact with the axially adjacent surface of the housing, the pressure channel exists between the back plate and the axially adjacent surface of the housing.