Lip seal assembly for crankshafts

Claim 1

A lip seal assembly in combination with a stationary housing, having an axial bore and an annular shoulder formed therein, a shaft rotatably mounted in said bore for rotation about a longitudinal axis thereof, an annular hub secured on said shaft and an annular wear ring secured on said hub, an annular groove formed on said hub to underlie said wear ring and an O-ring seal disposed in said groove to sealingly contact said wear ring, comprising an annular case including an annular outer wall having a recessed end disposed adjacent said shoulder, a sealing element, mounted on said case extending between said wear ring and said housing, including an annular flexible lip means circumventing and maintained in dynamic sealing contact with said wear ring, a first annular portion extending generally radially outwardly from said axis engaged by said case wall end and maintained in static sealing contact axially between said case and said annular shoulder by compressing it thereagainst, and a second annular portion connected directly to said first annular portion by a reverse bend and extending away from said first annular portion in general parallel relationship with respect to said axis and maintained radially between said recessed end of said annular wall and said shoulder, whereby said second annular portion is maintained in said parallel relationship, and an annular adapter releasably attached to an outboard side of said housing and at least one retainer releasably attached on an outboard side of said adapter and contacting an outboard side of said case to precisely retain said lip seal assembly in place on said hOusing.