Seal Ring Radial Tab Interlocking Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Seal rings used to prevent leakage between components are difficult to manage during shipping, storage, and handling due to their tendency to unstack or move, leading to challenges in handling and usage.
Innovation Solution
A seal ring design featuring a body with a tab that extends radially inward and axially beyond the side surface, allowing for interlocking with adjacent seal rings and accommodating a relief portion for coaxial disposition, enabling easier stacking and engagement with components while preventing rotation, thereby improving handling and usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If seal rings are stacked or arranged relative to one another during shipping and storage, then multiple seals can be managed in batches, but the seals can unstack or move making them difficult to manage
Solution Approach 1:
The seal ring is segmented into a body and a separate tab portion. The tab extends from the body and can engage with corresponding features on adjacent seal rings, creating modular interlocking units that maintain stack integrity while allowing individual seal replacement or inspection.
Solution Approach 2:
The tab of one seal ring nests into a corresponding recess or engagement feature of an adjacent seal ring body. This nested arrangement allows multiple seal rings to be stacked securely, with each tab fitting within the structural envelope of neighboring seals, preventing unstacking or movement during handling.
2Ease of operation
If a tab extends radially inward and axially beyond the side surface for interlocking, then stacking and engagement are facilitated, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tab is designed as a distinct segment extending from the seal ring body, with simplified geometric features that enable interlocking. This segmented approach allows the tab to provide stacking functionality without requiring complex internal structures within the main seal body.
Solution Approach 2:
The tab features localized geometric variations at specific positions (radial and axial extensions) while the remainder of the seal ring body maintains a simple, uniform structure. This local quality approach adds complexity only where needed for interlocking, preserving simplicity elsewhere in the design.
3Reliability
If the tab prevents rotation of the seal ring, then operational reliability is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The tab is designed with an asymmetric cross-sectional geometry that provides inherent anti-rotation capability. The asymmetric shape creates a mechanical key-way effect where the tab fits into a corresponding asymmetric recess, preventing rotational movement without requiring extremely tight manufacturing tolerances.
Solution Approach 2:
The tab is designed as a separate geometric feature with distinct dimensional characteristics that simplify manufacturing. By segmenting the rotation-prevention function into the tab's geometric form rather than requiring precision machining of the entire seal ring, the manufacturing precision requirement is reduced while maintaining reliability.
Data Source
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AI summary
A seal ring including a body having an inner surface, an outer surface, and a first side surface, and a tab extending from the body and adapted to prevent rotation of the seal ring relative to a component receiving the tab, wherein the tab extends radially inward beyond the inner surface and axially beyond the first side surface. In an embodiment, the seal ring further includes a relief portion adapted to accommodate a tab of an adjacent sealing ring such that the first side surface of a seal ring directly contacts the second side surface of the adjacent seal ring. In an embodiment, the tab locks the seal ring from rotational movement in relation to a first component.