Shaft-seal

Claim 1

A SHAFT-SEAL FOR SEALING A ROTATABLE SHAFT WITH RESPECT TO A WALL COMPRISING: A ROTATING ANNULAR SEALING MEMBER IN FLUID-TIGHT RELATION TO THE SHAFT AND ROTATABLE THEREWITH HAVING A FIRST ANNULAR WORKING FACE TOWARD ONE AXIAL DIRECTION; A NON-ROTATING ANNULAR SEALING MEMBER IN FLUIDTIGHT RELATION TO SAID WALL SPACED FROM SAID ROTATING SEALING MEMBER IN THE SAID AXIAL DIRECTION AND HAVING AN ANNULAR WORKING FACE TOWARD SAID ROTATING SEALING MEMBER; AND A PLURALITY OF INTERMEDIATE ANNULAR SEALING MEMBERS STAKED END-TO-END BETWEEN SAID ROTATING AND STATIONARY SEALING MEMBERS, CONSECUTIVE INTERMEDIATE SEALING MEMBERS BEING IN CONTACT ALONG MATING ANNULAR WORKING FACES, ONE OF SAID INTERMEDIATE SEALING MEMBERS HAVING A WORKING FACE IN CONTACT WITH THE WORKING FACE ON THE ROTATING SEALING MEMBER AND CONFORMING TO THE SHAPE THEREOF AND ANOTHER OF SAID INTERMEDIATE SEALING MEMBERS HAVING A WORKING FACE IN CONTACT WITH THE WORKING FACE ON THE STATIONARY SEALING MEMBER AND CONFORMING TO THE SHAPE THEREOF, A FIRST PAIR OF SAID CONTACTING WORKING FACES HAVING SURFACES OF REVOLUTION DIFFERENT PARTS OF WHICH ARE GENERATED BY PROGRESSIVELY INCREASING RADII AND WHICH ARE NOT PARTS OF A SPHERE TO CONSTRAIN THE CONTACTING MEMBERS TO RELATIVE ROTATION ON A COMMON AXIS, A SECOND PAIR OF SAID CONTACTING WORKING FACES BEING FLAT AND SITUATED IN A PLANE EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY TO THE AXIS OF THE SHAFT TO PERMIT RELATIVE LATERAL DISPLACEMENT OF THE LONGITUDINAL AXES OF THE CONTACTING MEMBER, AND A THIRD PAIR OF SAID CONTACTING WORKING FACES BEING PARTS OF A SPHERE TO PERMIT RELATIVE INCLINATION OF THE CONTACTING MEMBERS.