Circumferential sealing arrangement

Abstract

Sealing arrangement (1) made of a one-piece circumferential rubber-like sealing material for sealing the sealing chamber (9) comprising a bearing-side sealing area (17) and inserted between at least one outer ring or an outer rotatable bearing component (7) and at least one inner ring rotatable relative to one another about the same central axis or an inner rotatable bearing component (8) of a rotary joint, for example for use in wind turbines, wherein the sealing arrangement is not irretrievably fixed in a groove but is detachably and replaceably connected in a form-fitting and force-fitting manner in a recess (2) made on an axial surface (20), characterized in that a) the sealing arrangement is held for positive fixing to the outer bearing component (7) by enclosing a protruding material bulge (18) as an integral part of the outer rotatable bearing component (7), without being supported thereon and without forming a force-locking connection with a radial sealing surface located in the sealing area, and b) this material bulge (18) is encompassed by surfaces (5; 10) of the outer rotatable bearing component (7) touching the sealing arrangement and c) the sealing arrangement is secured in particular by this material bulge (18) against axial pushing out from the direction of the sealing space (9) to be sealed and d) the sealing arrangement receives further stabilisation of the position between the bearing components (7; 8) by applying it to surfaces (5; 10) on the outer rotatable bearing component (7) and surfaces (12; 13) on the inner rotatable bearing component (8) and e) the sealing arrangement has one or more upper sealing lips (26; 27) which always bear against the contours of the inner rotatable bearing component (8) at points in the axial direction above the plane spanned by the axial surface (20) and f) the upper edge (4) of the sealing arrangement (1) ends approximately flush in the axial direction with the plane of the outer rotatable bearing component (7) defined by the axial surface (20), wherein in addition to the one-piece rubber-like material of the sealing arrangement, at least one stabilising circumferential ring element in the form of a tension spring strand (6) is introduced on the upper outer side of the sealing arrangement, which fixes the position.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a sealing arrangement made of a preferably one-piece circumferential rubber-like sealing material for sealing the sealing chamber for use in a rotary joint according to patent claim 1.

[0002] Currently commercially available and in-use seals for slewing rings and slewing bearings, which include an inner ring (IR) and an outer ring (AU), vary greatly in their shape and design, although the application is often very similar. The goal is always to reliably protect the slewing ring, slewing drive, or generally the slewing bearing or rolling bearing against external influences, such as moisture, airborne sand, contaminants, dirt, foreign matter, etc.

[0003] Likewise, a practical sealing arrangement must ensure resistance to the internal lubricant pressure in the bearing. In principle, the seal should meet the requirements of preventing foreign matter from penetrating the bearing structure of the connection. At the same time, the seal must support the lubricant remaining in the bearing or escaping from the overall arrangement only in small and defined quantities. It must therefore be able to withstand the internal pressure of the bearing, induced by the lubricant, to a reasonable degree. Experts refer to this as the sealing effect of the seal.

[0004] It is currently state of the art to use lubricants or lubricants in slewing rings, large diameter bearings and slewing drives that come into contact with the sealing material.

[0005] It is also currently state of the art that commercially available seals in use are vulcanizable and can be manufactured using all common processes for producing seal geometries from elastic rubber-like materials, for example FPM, Viton, NBR, ECO, HNBR and similar.

[0006] What the usual sealing arrangements according to the state of the art have in common is that they are usually designed either as a single piece or in multiple pieces, i.e. they consist of at least one sealing component.

[0007] Very often, various annular sealing strips are inserted into the slewing ring or secured in one or more recesses or grooves in the solid material of the slewing ring or on the rolling bearing, thus creating a secure fit. This fixation is achieved by inserting the elastic sealing material into a groove in the (metallic) solid material of the assembly to be sealed. This groove is often created by machining as a result of so-called "plunge turning" during the manufacture of the slewing ring or bearing.

[0008] It is often the case that several such grooves or recesses are present in the overall assembly to be sealed. Often, there are at least as many of these grooves as there are elastic sealing strips to be inserted and secured into the assembly.

[0009] The fixing of the sealing strands or sealing profiles in the aforementioned grooves or recesses is normally achieved on the one hand by positive locking, since the elastic springs or lips of the sealing strand or sealing profile that are introduced into the grooves often have barb-like profile geometries, and on the other hand by the fact that any deformation forces that may occur on the seals as a result of the correct operation of the rotary joint always act approximately perpendicular to the insertion axis of the aforementioned groove and thus not in the direction in which the profile geometry(s) of the sealing ring would be pulled out of the aforementioned groove or recess.

[0010] Furthermore, the aforementioned fixation of the seal assembly in the solid metal material can generally be removed again by applying force. This means that by applying a certain tensile force, which must act in the opposite direction to the force exerted by the seal on the solid material, the practitioner or specialist can release the installed seal from the metal assembly (slewing ring, slewing drive, or generally: slewing bearing).

[0011] According to the known state of the art and primarily due to the fact described, it is often the case that the part of the sealing profile used which is to be inserted into a groove or recess is designed in the manner of a barb.

[0012] According to the current state of the art, each seal is secured at least at one point by the aforementioned method of fixation in the solid material of the slewing ring or slewing bearing, to prevent it from moving from its fixed position during normal operation. The sealing effect is generally respectable.

[0013] It is currently frequently seen that an elastic part of the described profile geometry(s) of the sealing arrangement is fixed to one rotating part of a rotary joint and another part of the same sealing arrangement is fixed to the other rotating part of a rotary joint, and that the sealing effect is caused by the interaction of all sealing components involved in the overall arrangement (these are, for example, a first elastic seal, an additional stainless steel band, an additional tension spring band and a second elastic seal, possibly third elastic sealing components).

[0014] For example, EP 1 920 176 A1, based on DE 10 2005 041 720 A1, describes such a successful arrangement for sealing a rotating connection, in which the sealing arrangement consists of many individual components, each extending in a ring shape, and in which the sealing ring is fixed to one of the rotating parts in the manner described above. The respective groove or recess for fixing the seal in the bearing component can, as is clearly visible here, either lie in the same direction as the sealing gap or perpendicular to the sealing gap.

[0015] DE 103 09 383 A1 also involves an annularly extending, circumferential sealing ring, which is fixed to one of the rotating parts in the manner described above. In this case, the barb-shaped part is pressed into a groove or recess arranged perpendicular to the sealing gap in one of the rotating bearing components. To further fix this seal in the horizontal direction, this solution requires a second circumferential element.

[0016] DE 10 2006 053 832 A1 should also be mentioned here. This is a one-piece, circumferential sealing element in which, as mentioned above, a part of the seal is pressed into a groove or recess arranged perpendicular to the sealing gap in one of the rotating bearing components.

[0017] According to the current state of the art, sealing arrangements are very often encountered in the field in which the recess or the groove is located either in the gap to be sealed between two bodies that can be rotated relative to each other, in such a way that the groove of the recess is perpendicular to the gap, such as the small gap seal on the bearing side in DE 10 2005 041720 A1, which, however, cannot exert a sealing effect on its own, but for this reason is only used in a supporting capacity and in conjunction with other, larger sealing arrangements.

[0018] Alternatively, according to the current state of the art, such one-piece, circumferential developments of sealing arrangements are found in the field in which the recess or groove is located in the direction of the gap. In particular, the German applications DE 10 2008 025 725 A1 and DE 10 2008 027 890 A deal with such sealing systems in which a groove—or rather, a recess—is located in the same direction as the gap. Here, too, the highly asymmetrical geometries of the sealing profiles are present, which are applied at several points on the rotating opposing part or the rotating opposing bearing component.

[0019] Also very striking is document WO 2010 / 043249 A1, which also describes a one-piece circumferential sealing component. Here, too, it is clearly visible that there is a barb-like part that is pressed into the recess facing the sealing gap.

[0020] Based on the solutions WO 2010 / 043249 A1 as well as DE 10 2008 025 725 A1 and DE 10 2008 027 890 A1 it can be clearly seen that upper and lower sealing lips are present which rest against the opposite bearing component in order to seal there. When the bearing is displaced, they can deform towards each other or, to compensate for any bearing play, upwards or downwards, whereby the upper sealing lip is then pushed upwards and the lower sealing lip is pushed downwards. In all cases, however, these upper and lower sealing lips not only perform a sealing function, but also serve to fix the respective bearing arrangement against axial extrusion. This fixation is only present, however, if the bearing play (i.e. the gap between the inner ring and outer ring) does not become too large.The larger the gap size, the more the seal's fixation in the groove depends on how well the barbs hold the groove. This is particularly disadvantageous when the internal pressure in the bearing increases significantly.

[0021] What all of these aforementioned solutions have in common is that they can be used, for example, for sealing slewing rings used in wind turbines—for example, for sealing slewing rings of yaw bearings, tower bearings, as rotor bearings, or even as bearings for adjusting rotor blades. However, any other application in this area is also conceivable.

[0022] In practice, there has recently been an increasing demand for profile geometries of such sealing arrangements that can be inserted between the two rotating parts, provide good fixation, and achieve a very good and, above all, lasting sealing effect. A major problem with many of the aforementioned sealing arrangements is that their inherently good sealing effect depends on how stable or well the seal holds its position in the installed position. Many of today's sealing systems fail during operation because excessive internal bearing pressure (for example, due to excessive lubricant) forces the sealing arrangement out of its installed position.

[0023] In practice, it is always very disadvantageous when the seals fall out of the slewing rings, as this causes the entire system to fail. In particular, the barbed part of the seal occasionally falls out of the groove in the slewing ring or is forced out axially due to excessive lubricant pressure. All of the solutions mentioned so far are designed to withstand many years of service under weather conditions and still seal reliably. However, practical experience shows that all of the seals mentioned so far are not simple sealing solutions, or that the sealing solutions lose their positional stability within the seal after a certain period of operation due to a lack of fixation options, or are simply forced out of the seal.

[0024] Especially with multi-part solutions, additional assembly complexity arises (since several individual parts must be assembled). In practice, this costs time and money.

[0025] In particular, the last three technical documents mentioned, WO 2010 / 043249 A1, DE 10 2008 025 725 A1, and DE 10 2008 027 890 A1, are very similar in their geometry and therefore present the problem that they run the risk of losing their positional stability during operation. This means that they can be forced out of the bearing during system operation due to excessive deformation or excessive internal pressure in the bearing, which is dissipated via the sealing chamber or sealing gap. Even if this process occurs gradually, it will soon lead to failure of the slewing ring to be sealed or the associated entire system. In practice, this also costs time and money.

[0026] In particular, in the documents DE 10 2008 025 725 A1 and DE 10 2008 027 890 A1, which represent the current state of the art, there is no further arrangement on the side of the bearing where the seal is fixed in a recess to secure the seal against axial displacement. Assuming that the internal bearing pressure becomes too high due to lubricant, a seal according to the two solutions just described is secured against axial displacement only by the barb-shaped design of the seal in the recess. In practice, this is far from sufficient to ensure reliable positional stability of the seal.Such a desired type of securing is indeed present in WO 2010 / 043249 A1 - here it is referred to as an annular groove whose shape is reminiscent of a tongue-and-groove securing type commonly used in robust construction - but even this is far from sufficient to ensure reliable positional securing of the seal against axial extrusion as a result of excessive pressure from the direction of the bearing center.

[0027] What is actually needed from a practical perspective is a one-piece (fewer parts means faster assembly, less complexity, etc.) solution that surrounds the entire slewing ring and is made of conventional sealing materials, possibly even of a magnetizable or magnetic elastomer material that remains very securely in the seal. In particular, the practical user wants a sealing arrangement that is held firmly in place by a suitably sensible design of the bearing component's geometry. Ideally, the seal is not only held firmly in place, but its cross-sectional profile is designed in such a way that with increasing pressure from the direction of the sealing space to be sealed, i.e., from the direction of the bearing interior, an increasing counterforce is also exerted, counteracting axial extrusion.The practitioner therefore wants a sealing solution that practically “claws” itself into place when the pressure from inside the bearing increases and threatens to push the seal out of the bearing.

[0028] Considering these disadvantages, the goal is to create the most optimal sealing arrangement possible, offering the best possible positional stability. The primary goal is to create a cost-effective, versatile, one-piece solution for sealing rolling bearings, slewing bearings, slewing rings, slewing drives, etc. In particular, the seal must be ideally suited for use in slewing rings in wind turbines.

[0029] To mitigate the aforementioned disadvantages of the current state of the art and to create a versatile sealing solution with maximum positional stability, particularly against pressure dislodgement from the bearing, the present invention, which offers significant improved advantages and features, is particularly suitable. The problems associated with the aforementioned disadvantages are solved by the features listed in claim 1.

[0030] The solution to the disadvantageous problems according to the conventional state of the art is particularly successful if the sealing arrangement according to the invention or the element for sealing the arrangement to be sealed has a geometry such that it can always remain in place, integrated into the overall construction, both during operation of the rotary joint and in rest phases, without the involvement of other components, i.e. without falling out.

[0031] A primary objective is always to seal the opening to be sealed by the arrangement according to the invention. This can be achieved, in particular, by advantageously designing a so-called material bulge on one of the bearing components, for example, on the outer ring, in which the sealing arrangement is fixed in a recess.

[0032] The inventive seal for the sealing chamber or bearing gap is made of a one-piece, circumferential, rubber-like sealing material. The main load of a compressive load from the bearing is absorbed by a sealing area on the bearing side. The seal is inserted, for example, between the outer ring and inner ring of a slewing ring, although the solution can also be used in slewing rings consisting of multi-part outer or inner rings. To ensure the replaceability of the seal in the event of a repair in the field without the need for laborious replacement of the entire bearing, the sealing assembly can be removed from the recess in which it is mounted and reinserted (for example, the old seal is replaced with a brand-new seal).The sealing arrangement is not permanently fixed in a groove, but rather is detachably and replaceably connected, which engineers refer to as a positive-positive connection. The positive connection is achieved by the geometry of the recess, while the non-positive connection is achieved by the barbed parts of the sealing profile. As already known, the recess is located in the direction of the bearing gap, i.e., in a surface parallel to the horizontal outer surface of the rotatable bearing component.

[0033] The most characteristic feature of the invention is a material bulge, for example on the outer ring, in which the recess is also located and where the sealing arrangement is consequently located. This material bulge is not a proverbial annular groove, but rather a geometry protruding into the sealing chamber, to whose underside – meaning the bearing-side underside – the sealing arrangement grips so firmly that it withstands the lubricant pressure in the bearing in every situation and installation position. Only because this material bulge protrudes toward the bearing center and is encompassed by the seal on the bearing-side underside can a counterforce be built up at high pressure in the bearing, which counteracts the axial extrusion of the seal.Because the seal contacts the bearing-side underside not at a point, but across a surface, the counterpressure generated is higher than with purely point-like contact between the seal and the surface. (The counterforce generated in this way corresponds to the product of pressure and this surface area.)

[0034] The above-mentioned "clinging" effect, which is desired according to the invention, is achieved particularly well when the material bulge mentioned, or more generally a material undercut located in the bearing gap, is located on the bearing part to which the seal is primarily attached, where the seal can counteract the maximum axial forces. Therefore, the material undercut or material bulge must be located in the bearing gap itself to achieve maximum effectiveness. The claw effect would not be nearly as good if the material undercut or material bulge were located outside the bearing gap. The claw effect would be even less good if the material undercut or material bulge were located on a surface perpendicular to the bearing gap.The aforementioned “claw-lock” effect is particularly pronounced when the material bulge protrudes in the direction of the opposite rotatable bearing component (which limits the bearing gap on the opposite side).

[0035] The sealing arrangement according to the invention is stabilized in its position by, for example, applying the sealing arrangement to additional surfaces of the (optionally multi-part) outer ring and the (optionally multi-part) inner ring. It has several sealing lips located on the opposite bearing side (e.g., on the inner ring), which always contact the opposite, second, rotatable bearing component such that all contact points or contact surfaces are either above the horizontal outer surface of the first rotatable bearing component or below the horizontal outer surface of this first rotatable bearing component (e.g., the outer ring).

[0036] This design compensates for the disadvantage of the documents DE 10 2008 025 725 A1 and DE 10 2008 027 890 A1, as well as WO 2010 / 043249 A1, cited in the latter section of the technical specification, namely that the strength of the seal's fixation in the bearing depends significantly on the size of the bearing gap. In the present invention, the strength of the invention is significantly dependent on the fixation effect of the enclosed material bulge.

[0037] In order to ensure surfaces that are as planar as possible, the sealing geometry according to the invention is adapted to the shape of the bearing component (e.g. the outer ring) such that the upper edge of the sealing arrangement is approximately flush with the horizontal outer surface (e.g. the outer ring) in which the material bulge of the sealing arrangement is located. In addition to the one-piece rubber-like material of the sealing arrangement, at least one circumferential ring element in the form of a tension spring strand is introduced at the upper edge of the sealing arrangement. This step further promotes the positional stability of the sealing arrangement. Another option for additionally fixing the sealing arrangement is additional screw or rivet connections, which are inserted from above into the bearing component (e.g. the outer ring) and serve to hold down the upper edge of the sealing arrangement.This is typically achieved by several circumferential screws or rivets that are countersunk into the bearing component where the seal is to be secured. For example, the groove or recess (e.g., in the outer ring) can then be completely eliminated if the circumferential seal assembly is secured to the bearing component by screws or rivets. In this case, the barb-shaped fixing part of the seal assembly can also be eliminated.

[0038] Those surfaces or edges of the bearing components (e.g., the outer ring) into which the sealing arrangement according to the invention is incorporated or which are located in the immediate vicinity of the sealing arrangement can be coated with a non-metallic or metallic layer. Such a coating serves, for example, to protect against corrosion, surface protection, abrasion, mechanical damage, scratching, etc. As can be seen in the following drawings, it is irrelevant whether the other surfaces or edges, for example, of the outer ring or those of the corresponding (opposite) inner ring, are beveled or always at right angles. For example, beveled surfaces are particularly useful at the points where the sealing lips of the sealing arrangement abut or are opposite one another.Inclined surfaces are also advantageous where the material bulge or undercut is in contact with the seal.

[0039] A further and essential characteristic of the sealing arrangement according to the invention is its somewhat "articulated" design, which is realized by a tapered area located approximately in the center. The tapered area of ​​the seal will be located where the upper and lower recesses in the sealing material, referred to as rounded "deformation spaces," allow the deformation of the seal geometry. The center point of the tapered area is located approximately in the middle of this tapered area.When radial positional changes occur between the mutually rotatable bearing components, for example when the inner ring moves towards the outer ring due to changing bearing load and the bearing gap thereby becomes smaller, the seal is deformed in such a way that part of the sealing arrangement, for example the upper side, is pressed towards the outer ring, while the underside of the sealing arrangement remains essentially stable in position due to its fixation at the material bulge. The relative movement then creates a moment in the sealing material, which results in a roughly joint-like movement around the center of the tapered area. For this reason, the tapered area, or rather the center of the tapered area, acts as a type of spring joint. This spring joint compensates for radial positional changes between the mutually rotatable bearing components.

[0040] Returning to the tapered area, it should be noted that the radius of the center of this tapered area relative to the central axis of the slewing ring may be smaller than the radius of the outer radial surface of the outer rotatable bearing component (e.g., the outer ring) relative to the central axis of the slewing ring. However, the radius of the center of this tapered area relative to the central axis of the slewing ring may be larger than the radius of the inner radial surface of the inner rotatable bearing component (e.g., the inner ring) relative to the central axis of the slewing ring.

[0041] The upper deformation space is bounded axially approximately by the plane that defines the axial surface that defines the outer bearing component. The lower deformation space lies below this plane.

[0042] Returning to the material bulge, it should be noted that the sealing material encompasses the material bulge, which is understood to be an integral part of the bearing component in which the circumferential seal is incorporated (e.g., as an integral part of the outer ring), without being supported on the adjacent surface and without forming a force-locking connection with a radial sealing surface located in the sealing area. As mentioned above, the fixing effect is primarily achieved by the underside, i.e., bearing-side, surface acting as a counterbearing against axial extrusion (e.g., due to grease / lubricant pressure); therefore, an adjacent radial surface could not function as a counterbearing.

[0043] According to the features described above, the fixation in the rotary joint or the rolling bearing as well as the positional stability of the comprehensive sealing arrangement according to the invention, among other advantages, are significantly improved compared to the currently available solutions of the prior art.

[0044] Further features, properties, advantages, and effects based on the invention will become apparent from the following descriptions of a preferred embodiment of the invention, as well as further advantageous refinements of the invention, as well as from the drawings. Herein:

[0045] Fig. 1 shows a first view of the sectional geometry of a one-piece embodiment of this sealing arrangement (1) when observing the end-cut surface of a cut segment; this is a section through a rotary joint (1) that can use spherical, roller, conical, barrel-shaped rolling elements (28) or sliding components, or a hybrid form of all of these. The sealing arrangement according to the invention is fixed by the recess (2) and by the material bulge (28) on one bearing component and is fixed by the contact of the upper sealing lips (26; 27) on the opposite bearing component.

[0046] Fig. 2 a further embodiment of this sectional geometry of this one-piece design of this sealing arrangement (1), wherein the contours, especially concerning the sealing space (24), are slightly changed due to the no longer inclined surface (13) in contrast to Fig. 1.

[0047] Fig. Figure 3 shows a variation of the surfaces that define the sealing arrangement (1) in the area of ​​the material bulge or the material undercut (18). In particular, it can be seen that the arrangement according to the invention is not dependent on vertical or straight surfaces (3; 5), but can also be effective in hybrid shapes.

[0048] Fig. Figure 4, however, shows another variation of the surfaces (13; 14; 3; 5) that define the sealing chamber and are located near the sealing arrangement (1). These surfaces, as mentioned above, can also be inclined. The surface (15) on which the sealing arrangement (1) "rests" can also be designed as a slope.

[0049] In all figures Fig. 1 up to and including Fig. 6 it can be seen that the sealing arrangement is inserted into a recess (2) in a form-fitting manner on one of the two bearing components (7), for example on the outer ring, and that in addition to this insertion, there is always a material bulge (18) or a material undercut, wherein the material bulge is an integral part of the bearing component. In a further advantageous embodiment, it would also be conceivable, for example, for the material bulge to be realized by an additional and separately inserted body that is inserted into the bearing component. In the present example, however, the material bulge has been introduced into the bearing component, for example the outer ring (7), for example by the turning manufacturing process. Characteristic is, as in all figures Fig. 1 up to and including Fig. 6, it is easily seen that the material bulge can protrude into the sealing chamber. In a further advantageous embodiment, the outer surface (5) of this material bulge (18) is even raised above the surfaces that define the gap at the location of the sealing chamber (9), so that the material bulge (18) can definitely protrude into the bearing gap. This could create an even larger surface (10). Thus, the counterforce or counterpressure against axial extrusion of the seal would be even stronger, and the fixing effect even greater.

[0050] In all figures Fig. 1 up to and including Fig. 6 clearly shows how the barb-shaped parts of the sealing arrangement (1) are designed so that the form-fitting and force-fitting fixation of the arrangement (1) in the recess (2) is achieved. It should be noted that the seal (1) is inserted, for example, by manually pressing it into the recess (2), can also be manually removed again, and can thus be replaced in the field, for example during repair, with a new sealing arrangement (1) of the same or a similar design. It is conceivable that in future embodiments, the insertion can also be automated using a special assembly process. In all figures, in particular Fig. 3 the bearing-side sealing area is clearly visible, which arcuately separates the space to be sealed (9) from the environment outside the bearing gap in which the seal is inserted.

Claims

[1] Sealing arrangement (1) made of a one-piece circumferential rubber-like sealing material for sealing the sealing chamber (9) comprising a bearing-side sealing area (17) and inserted between at least one outer ring or an outer rotatable bearing component (7) and at least one inner ring rotatable relative to one another about the same central axis or an inner rotatable bearing component (8) of a rotary joint, for example for use in wind turbines, wherein the sealing arrangement is not irretrievably fixed in a groove but is detachably and replaceably connected in a form-fitting and force-fitting manner in a recess (2) made on an axial surface (20), characterized in that a) the sealing arrangement is held for positive fixing to the outer bearing component (7) by enclosing a protruding material bulge (18) as an integral part of the outer rotatable bearing component (7), without being supported thereon and without forming a force-locking connection with a radial sealing surface located in the sealing area, and b) this material bulge (18) is encompassed by surfaces (5; 10) of the outer rotatable bearing component (7) touching the sealing arrangement and c) the sealing arrangement is secured in particular by this material bulge (18) against axial pushing out from the direction of the sealing space (9) to be sealed and d) the sealing arrangement receives further stabilisation of the position between the bearing components (7; 8) by applying it to surfaces (5; 10) on the outer rotatable bearing component (7) and surfaces (12; 13) on the inner rotatable bearing component (8) and e) the sealing arrangement has one or more upper sealing lips (26; 27) which always bear against the contours of the inner rotatable bearing component (8) at points in the axial direction above the plane spanned by the axial surface (20) and f) the upper edge (4) of the sealing arrangement (1) ends approximately flush in the axial direction with the plane of the outer rotatable bearing component (7) defined by the axial surface (20), wherein in addition to the one-piece rubber-like material of the sealing arrangement, at least one stabilising circumferential ring element in the form of a tension spring strand (6) is introduced on the upper outer side of the sealing arrangement, which fixes the position. [2] Sealing arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the position of the sealing arrangement is fixed by at least one additional screw connection, which serves to hold down the upper edge (4) of the sealing arrangement (1) at exactly the same height as the plane spanned by the axial surface (20) on the outer bearing component (7). [3] Sealing arrangement according to claim 2, characterized in that the groove or the recess (2) in the outer bearing component (7) as well as the geometrically similar and associated barb-shaped fixing part of the sealing arrangement (29) can be omitted if the at least one screw connection is used. [4] Sealing arrangement according to the preceding claims, characterized in that the surfaces or edges which delimit the area of ​​the sealing arrangement (1) or the recess (2) (12; 13; 14; 10; 3; 5; 15; 16) as well as the outermost surfaces (20; 21) of the rotatable bearing components (7; 8) can be non-metallic or metallically coated sealing contact surfaces, the coating of which serves to protect the surface of the bearing components or to protect the bearing components against corrosion. [5] Sealing arrangement according to the preceding claims, characterized in that the surfaces or edges which delimit the area of ​​the sealing arrangement (1) or the recess (2) (12; 13; 14; 10; 3; 5; 15; 16) can each be designed as oblique or rounded surfaces. [6] Sealing arrangement (1) made of a one-piece circumferential rubber-like sealing material for sealing the sealing chamber (9) comprising a bearing-side sealing area (17) and inserted between at least one outer ring or an outer rotatable bearing component (7) and at least one inner ring rotatable relative to one another about the same central axis or an inner rotatable bearing component (8) of a rotary joint for use in wind turbines, wherein the sealing arrangement is not irretrievably fixed in a groove but is detachably and replaceably connected in a form-fitting and force-fitting manner in a recess (2) made on an axial surface (20), characterized in that the sealing arrangement (1) has an approximately central tapered region (22) and this tapered region is located where recessed deformation spaces (24; 25) not filled with sealing material on the surfaces (5; 15) of one outer bearing component (7) and on the surfaces (12; 13) of the other inner bearing component (8) of a rotary joint have a maximum extent in the direction of the center point (23) of this tapered region, an upper deformation space (24) is delimited in axial extent approximately by the plane which defines the axial surface (20) for delimiting the outer bearing component in space and a lower deformation space (25) is located below this plane thus defined. [7] Sealing arrangement according to claim 6, characterized in that the radius of the center point (23) of this tapered region relative to the central axis of the rotary joint is always smaller than the radius which the surface (3) of the outer radial surface of the outer rotatable bearing component has with the central axis of the rotary joint. [8] Sealing arrangement according to claim 6, characterized in that the radius of the center point (23) of this tapered region relative to the central axis of the rotary joint is always greater than the radius which the surface (14) of the inner radial surface of the inner rotatable bearing component has with the central axis of the rotary joint.

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