PATENTS

September 2012 Sealing Technology13

to lubricated piston compressors, they are filled and use, for example, plastics and composite materials or a metal such as lead or tin bronze. The ring carrier (2) is made from metal – par-ticularly steel, stainless steel, bronze or grey cast-iron, or a plastic, in particular PEEK or

such as PEEK, PI or epoxy.Patent number: WO/2012/028661Inventor:Publication date:

Gasket for a compressor

Applicant: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, JapanThis patent provides details of a gasket, which is used in an electric compressor that is provided with an inverter housing portion, with a flat, metallic core and a foamed elastic body, cover-ing both surfaces of the core. A bead is created on the sealing surface by embossing the gasket. Sealing performance can be improved by sealing the inverter housing portion using this gasket. This gasket also helps to reduce vibration.Patent number: WO/2012/032967 Inventors: T. Hagita, S. Takahashi,

and T. WatanabePublication date:

Sealing structure for an optical-fibre drawing furnace

Applicant: Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd, JapanThis invention concerns a sealing structure for an optical-fibre drawing furnace. It is able to suf-ficiently seal a gap created between an upper-end opening of the drawing furnace and the glass preform using a simple structure – even when the outer diameter of the glass preform varies in size. A heat-resistant and flexible ring-shaped seal member is positioned so as to surround the outer peripheral surface of the optical-fibre glass preform. The seal member is formed from carbon felt or ceramic felt. External pressure appears to be supplied to the external surface of the seal ring.Patent number: WO/2012/033158 Inventors: T. Enomoto, T. Yamazaki and I. OkazakiPublication date:

Inter-stage sealing on a turbo-compressor

Applicants: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor Corp – Japan

A seal designed for inter-stage sealing on a turbo-compressor has been developed. According to this patent, it is positioned at the outside and inside diameter of the impeller and on the shaft. A labyrinth seal is illustrated that has a series of axial holes arranged around the circumference of the seal body. The purpose is to reduce the cir-cumferential flow of the leak path. It is also said to reduce manufacturing costs.Patent number: WO/2012/033192Inventor:Publication date:

Rotary piston machine seal

Applicant: EN3 GmbH, GermanyThis invention relates to a seal for the piston used in a rotary piston machine that consists of two or more rotor segments. The seal com-prises a circumferential segment that covers the rotor surface, and is retained by the sealing vanes and, in this way, seals the gap between the rotor segments. Specific applications men-tioned include vane machine rotors and Wankel engine rotors.Patent number: WO/2012/035091Inventors:Publication date:

Sealing device and method

Applicant: Alstom Technology Ltd, SwitzerlandThis patent covers a sealing device that is designed to prevent unwanted fluid flow through an aperture through which a control rod passes. According to this patent, it can be used in a fabric filter system. The filter plenary space contains hot, chemically aggressive gases at a low pressure. If cold, ambient air leaks into this area the interior gas temperature falls, possibly causing the interior gas to condense. The device may need to allow for a degree of flexibility. The packing box used to seal the rod is mounted on a flexible structure such as a bellows, which ensures that the rod is free to move easily.Patent number: WO/2012/035389 Inventor:Publication date:

Sealed and bendable catheter

Applicant: Vital View Ltd, IsraelThis invention relates, in general, to bendable catheters. The patent describes a tubular frame member with an articulated segment which enables the catheter to bend easily. An enclos-ing sheath and an optical window, or lens, provide a means of sealing the lumen of the catheter. The segment contains vertebrae that

are symmetrically disposed relative to the axis of the frame member. Transverse slits – each of which has a pair of longitudinal slits disposed at each of their ends – separate adjacent ver-tebrae. The spacing disposed adjacent to each end of a vertebra provides a convenient way of deflecting the vertebra relative to the axis of the frame member by inducing plastic deformation in segments and extensions of the axial shafts connecting coplanar vertebrae.Patent number: WO/2012/035531 Inventor: E. PelegPublication date:

Sealing agent with low softening

Applicant: Daunia Solar Cell Srl, ItalyThis invention concerns a composition for a sealing agent. It is generally in the form of glass frit, is lead-free and is composed, by weight (over the total weight of the composition), of 30–80% Bi2O3; 2–10% ZnO; 2–10% B2O3;

2O; 1–10% SiO2; 1–8% Al2O3;

describes a sealing paste containing the compo-sition, a possible filler, an organic binder and,

-ducing the composition and the sealing paste are discussed.Patent number: WO/2012/035565Inventor: A. AntoniniPublication date:

Sleeved sealing device

Applicant: SNECMA, FranceThis invention relates to a sealing device that uses a sleeve to contain a connecting rod, through a partition, for a system that con-trols the orientation of the blower blades in a turboprop engine. The device includes a tube that is attached to the partition to be sealed, and a frusto-conical sleeve through which the connecting rod passes. The sleeve is capable of sliding axially inside the tube. At its larger end the sleeve provides a seal with the tube and, at its narrow end, a sealed-attachment at the cor-responding end of the connecting rod. The way in which the sealing action is achieved is not obvious from the information available.Publication number: WO/2012/038638Inventor:Publication date:

Capacitor seal

Applicant: Panasonic Corp, JapanThis patent provides details of a seal for a capacitor that contains an electrolyte solution.