Mechanical seal with flow control

Claim 1

AN ASSEMBLY FOR SEALING A ROTATING SHAFT WITHIN A HOUSING COMPRISING SEAL MEANS ADAPTED TO BE DISPOSED WITHIN SAID HOUSING TO PREVENT THE FLOW OF FLUID ALONG THE SHAFT OUTWARDLY OF THE HOUSING, SAID SEAL MEANS INCLUDING A PART ADAPTED TO ROTATE WITH THE SHAFT AND A PART ADAPTED TO BE STATIONARY IN THE HOUSING, SAID PARTS HAVING OPPOSING GENERALLY ANNULAR SEALING FACES WHICH PERMIT SOME FLUID TO FLOW THEREBETWEEN TO COOL AND LIBRICATE SAID FACES, AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE PRESSURE OF SAID FLUID TO CONTROL THE AMOUNT OF FLUID FLOWING BETWEEN SAID SEALING FACES, SAID LAST MENTIONED MEANS COMPRISING, IN ONE OF SAID PARTS, A UNITARY SEALING RING HAVING A FRONT PORTION PROVIDING ONE OF SAID ANNULAR SEALING FACES AND DEFINING INNER AND OUTER PERIPHERIES THEREOF, SAID PORTION FURTHER PROVIDING AN AREA EXTENDING GENERALLY RADIALLY OUTWARDLY FROM SAID ONE SEALING FACE, SAID AREA BEING ADAPTED TO BE EXPOSED TO THE FLUID IN SAID HOUSING, A BACK PORTION AXIALLY SPACED FROM SAID FRONT PORTION, AND A NECK OF SMALLER DIAMETER THAN SAID FRONT PORTION JOINING SAID FRONT PORTION TO SAID BACK PORTION, A CLOSURE RING SPACED RADIALLY OUTWARDLY FROM SAID NECK AND SEALED TO SAID FRONT PORTION AND SAID BACK PORTION TO PROVIDE, WITH SAID BACK PORTION AND SAID NECK, A PRESSURE CHAMBER, SAID FRONT PORTION BEING FREE TO DEFLECT WITH RESPECT TO SAID UNITARY SEALING RING IN RESPONSE TO VARIATIONS IN THE FLUID PRESSURE IN SAID PRESSURE CHAMBER AND VARIATIONS IN FLUID PRESSURE ACTING ON SAID ONE SEALING FACE AND ON SAID GENERALLY RADIALLY OUTWARDLY EXTENDING AREA TO THEREBY DISTORT SAID SEALING FACE, AND MEANS DEFINING AT LEAST ONE BORE IN SAID FRONT PORTION OF SAID UNITARY SEALING RING, SAID BORE HAVING AN OPEN END AT SAID PRESSURE CHAMBER AND AN END OPEN AT SAID SEALING FACE OF SAID RING INTERMEDIATE SAID INNER AND OUTER PERIPHERY THEREOF TO ESTABLISH FLUID COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SAID PRESSURE CHAMBER AND SAID SEALING FACES.