Claims
- 1. A drive mechanism, comprising:
a housing; a shaft mounted within said housing, said shaft being capable of being rotatably driven; a face seal system positioned intermediate said housing and said shaft, said face seal system being configured for promoting at least one of a substantially constant load versus deflection curve and a substantially flat loading curve with respect to wear thereof.
- 2. The drive mechanism of claim 1, wherein said housing includes a first housing surface and a second housing surface, said first housing surface being substantially orthogonal to said shaft, said second housing surface being substantially orthogonal to said shaft, said first housing surface, said second housing surface and said shaft bounding a housing cavity, said face seal system being located within said housing cavity.
- 3. The drive mechanism of claim 1, wherein said face seal system includes a seal washer, a sealing element, and at least one of an energizer element and a coil spring.
- 4. The drive mechanism of claim 3, wherein said housing includes a first housing surface, said first housing surface being substantially orthogonal to said shaft, said seal washer being located proximate said first housing surface, said sealing element abutting both said seal washer and said shaft, said at least one of an energizer element and a coil spring being positioned opposite said seal washer relative to said seal element.
- 5. The drive mechanism of claim 4, wherein said at least one of an energizer element and a coil spring is configured for biasing said sealing element and said seal washer against one another.
- 6. The drive mechanism of claim 3, wherein said at least one of an energizer element and a coil spring biases said sealing element and said seal washer against one another.
- 7. The drive mechanism of claim 3, further including a retaining clip, said retaining clip retaining said seal washer, said sealing element, and said at least one of an energizer element and a coil spring in position relative to one another.
- 8. The drive mechanism of claim 3, wherein said face seal system includes a first energizer element and a first coil spring, said first energizer element being positioned between said sealing element and said first coil spring.
- 9. The drive mechanism of claim 8, wherein said first energizer element is configured for statically sealing said face seal system.
- 10. The drive mechanism of claim 3, wherein said face seal system includes a first energizer element and a second energizer element, said first energizer element being positioned against said sealing element, said second energizer element being positioned against said seal washer.
- 11. The drive mechanism of claim 10, wherein said face seal system includes a first coil spring, said first energizer element being positioned between said sealing element and said first coil spring.
- 12. The drive mechanism of claim 1, further including a bearing mounted intermediate said housing and said shaft.
- 13. A face seal system for facilitating a mounting of a shaft within a housing, said face seal system comprising:
a seal washer; a sealing element, said sealing element having a first element surface and a second element surface, said first element surface being substantially flat and abutting said seal washer, said second element surface being configured for engaging the shaft; and at least one of an energizer element and a coil spring, said at least one of an energizer element and a coil spring being positioned opposite said seal washer relative to said sealing element, said at least one of an energizer element and a coil spring biasing said sealing element and said seal washer against one another.
- 14. The face seal system of claim 13, wherein said face seal system is configured for promoting at least one of a substantially constant load versus deflection curve and a substantially flat loading curve with respect to wear thereof.
- 15. The face seal system of claim 13, further including a retaining clip, said retaining clip retaining said seal washer, said sealing element, and said at least one of an energizer element and a coil spring in position relative to one another.
- 16. The face seal system of claim 13, wherein said face seal system includes a first energizer element and a first coil spring, said first energizer element being positioned between said sealing element and said first coil spring.
- 17. The face seal system of claim 16, wherein said first energizer element is configured for statically sealing said face seal system.
- 18. The face seal system of claim 13, wherein said face seal system includes a first energizer element and a second energizer element, said first energizer element being positioned against said sealing element, said second energizer element being positioned against said seal washer.
- 19. The face seal system of claim 18, wherein said face seal system includes a first coil spring, said first energizer element being positioned between said sealing element and said first coil spring.
- 20. The face seal system of claim 13, wherein said sealing element has a third element surface, said face seal system including a first energizer element, said third element surface contacting said first energizer element, said third element surface being angled in such a manner so as to be configured for biasing said first energizer element toward the shaft.
- 21. The face seal system of claim 13, wherein said face seal system includes a first energizer element, said first energizer element being an o-ring.
CONTINUATION DATA
[0001] The present application hereby claims the benefit under Title 35, United States Code §119(e) of U.S. provisional application No. 60/309,365 filed Aug. 1, 2001.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60309365 |
Aug 2001 |
US |