Sealed bearing

Claim 1

A sealed tapered roller bearing for use between a shaft and a housing having a bore therein; said bearing comprIsing: a cup sized to fit in the housing bore and having an inwardly presented tapered raceway and a front face at the large diameter end of the tapered raceway; a cone sized to fit over the shaft and having an outwardly presented tapered raceway located opposite the cup raceway, the cone further having a thrust rib located at and projecting beyond the large diameter end of the cone raceway; tapered rollers interposed between the cup and cone and having their tapered side faces engaged with the tapered raceways and their large diameter end faces abutting against the thrust rib; and an elastomeric seal having a base extended over and bonded directly to the thrust rib of the cone, a primary sealing lip engaged with the front face of the cup, and an outwardly directed web interposed between and connected to the base and the primary sealing lip, the primary sealing lip extending generally axially from the web toward the cup front face and having a first sealing surface engaged with the cup front face and a second sealing surface presented toward, but normally set slightly inwardly from the housing bore, the second sealing surface being adapted to engage the housing bore upon yielding of the elastomeric seal as the result of an increase in pressure within the bearing, whereby a barrier to the passage of lubricants is created across the space between said cup and cone.