Sealing means for rotary vessels

Claim 2

A sealing arrangement comprising in combination a large diameter hollow rotary member having an end projecting into an apertured stationary member, said sealing arrangement including a sealing ring encircling said hollow member end, a back-up ring supporting said sealing ring, means for supporting said back-up ring from said stationary member for axial movement of said back-up ring relative to said rotary member end, a wear ring surrounding said rotary member end and being carried thereby, means for applying constant pressure to said back-up ring to urge the latter axially such that contacting interfaces of said wear ring and sealing ring are at all times held in sealing contact during relative rotation of said members, and said back-up ring is supported by means of pivotally mounted supported links attached to brackets secured to said stationary member.

Claim 3

A sealing arrangement comprising in combination a large diameter hollow rotary member having an end projecting into an apertured stationary member, said sealing arrangement including a sealing ring encircling said hollow member end, a back-up ring supporting said sealing ring, means for supporting said back-up ring from said stationary member for axial movement of said back-up ring relative to said rotary member end, a wear ring surrounding said rotary member end and being carried thereby, means for applying constant pressure to said back-up ring to urge the latter axially such that contacting interfaces of said wear ring and sealing ring are at all times held in sealing contact during relative rotation of said members, and the means for applying constant pressure between said interfaces of said back-up ring and said wear ring comprise a plurality of circumferentially spaced bellcrank levers, each of said levers being supported on a bracket secured to said stationary member, a pulley mounted on one arm of each of said bellcrank levers, an endless tension wire positioned over said pulleys, and means for applying constant tension to the ends of said tension wire to urge the other arm of each of said bellcrank levers into pressure contact with said back-up ring.

Claim 4

A sealing arrangement comprising in combination a large diameter hollow rotary member having an end projecting into an apertured stationary member, said sealing arrangement including a sealing ring encircling said hollow member end, a back-up ring supporting said sealing ring, means for supporting said back-up ring from said stationary member for axial movement of said back-up ring relative to said rotary member end, a wear ring surrounding said rotary member end and being carried thereby, means for applying constant pressure to said back-up ring to urge the latter axially such that contacting interfaces of said wear ring and sealing ring are at all times held in sealing contact during relative rotation of said members, and the means for applying constant pressure between said interfaces of said back-up ring and said wear ring comprise a plurality of circumferentially spaced bellcrank levers, each of said levers being supported on a bracket secured to said stationary member, a pulley mounted on one arm of each of said bellcrank levers, an endless tension wire positioned over said pulleys, and means for applying constant tension to the ends of said tension wire to urge the other arm of each of said bellcrank levers into pressure contact with said back-up ring.

Claim 5

A sealing arrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein said means for applying constant tension to said ends of said tension wire comprise a dead weight.

Claim 6

A sealing arrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein each said pulley is formed with a pair of circumferential wire receiving grooves.

Claim 7

A sealing arrangement comprising in combination a large diameter hollow rotary member having an end projecting into an apertured stationary member, said sealing arrangement including a sealing ring encircling said hollow member end, a back-up ring supporting said sealing ring, pivot and linkage means for supporting said back-up ring from said stationary member for axial movement of said back-up ring relative to said rotary member end, a wear ring surrounding said rotary member end and being carried thereby, and means for applying constant pressure to said back-up ring to urge the latter axially such that contacting interfaces of said wear ring and sealing ring are at all times held in sealing contact during relative rotation of said members.

Claim 8

A sealing arrangement comprising in combination a large diameter hollow rotary member having an end projecting into an apertured stationary member, said sealing arrangement including a sealing ring encircling said hollow member end, a back-up ring supporting said sealing ring, pivot and linkage means for supporting said back-up ring from said stationary member for axial movement of said back-up ring relative to said rotary member end, a wear ring surrounding said rotary member end and being carried thereby, and means for applying constant pressure to said back-up ring to urge the latter axially such that contacting interfaces of said wear ring and sealing ring are at all times held in sealing contact during relative rotation of said members.

Claim 9

The sealing arrangement as defined in claim 5 including annular static sealing means surrounding said rotary member end for effecting a seal between said back-up ring and said stationary member.

Claim 10

The sealing arrangement as defined in claim 5 including annular static sealing means surrounding said rotary member end for effecting a seal between said back-up ring and said stationary member, and said static sealing means being a flexible sleeve disposed between a first annular element secured to said back-up ring and a second annular element secured to said stationary member.

Claim 11

A sealing arrangement as claimed in claim 7 wherein said pivot and linkage means include pivotally mounted supported links attached to brackets secured to said stationary member.

Claim 12

The sealing arrangement as defined in claim 5 wherein said sealing ring is made up of a plurality of co-acting segments, and said segments are held in position relative to each other by an annular securing band.

Claim 13

A sealing arrangement as claimed in claim 9 wherein said pivot and linkage means include pivotally mounted supported links attached to brackets secured to said stationary member.

Claim 14

The sealing arrangement as defined in claim 6 wherein said sealing ring is made up of a plurality of co-acting segments, and said segments are held in position relative to each other by an annular securing band.

Claim 15

The sealing arrangement as defined in claim 7 wherein said sealing ring is made up of a plurality of co-acting segments, and said segments are held in position relative to each other by an annular securing band.