Rotatable seal assembly
- Pleasanton, CA
- Livermore, CA
An assembly is provided for rotatably supporting a rotor on a stator so that vacuum chambers in the rotor and stator remain in communication while the chambers are sealed from ambient air, which enables the use of a ball bearing or the like to support most of the weight of the rotor. The apparatus includes a seal device mounted on the rotor to rotate therewith, but shiftable in position on the rotor while being sealed to the rotor as by an O-ring. The seal device has a flat face that is biased towards a flat face on the stator, and pressurized air is pumped between the faces to prevent contact between them while spacing them a small distance apart to avoid the inflow of large amounts of air between the faces and into the vacuum chambers.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- Assignee:
- United States of America as represented by United States (Washington, DC)
- Patent Number(s):
- US 4361332
- OSTI ID:
- 864420
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
seal
assembly
provided
rotatably
supporting
rotor
stator
vacuum
chambers
remain
communication
sealed
ambient
air
enables
ball
bearing
support
weight
apparatus
device
mounted
rotate
therewith
shiftable
position
o-ring
flat
biased
towards
pressurized
pumped
prevent
contact
spacing
distance
apart
avoid
inflow
amounts
rotatably supporting
pressurized air
seal assembly
ambient air
vacuum chamber
biased towards
prevent contact
seal device
vacuum chambers
distance apart
ball bearing
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