Piston and seal assemblies

Claim 1

A piston and seal assembly adapted to work in a cylinder comprising a piston reciprocably slidable in the cylinder bore to perform a pressure stroke and a return stroke, a seal generally U-shaped in cross section having inner and outer arms interconnected by an interconnecting portion to define a space between said arms, the inner arm engaging said piston and the outer arm defining a lip portion sealingly engaging said cylinder bore during the pressure stroke of said piston, retaining means having an axially extending portion projecting into the space between the arms and engaging said inner arm to hold it in permanent sealing engagement with said piston, said axially extending portion engaging said interconnecting portion during the return stroke of the piston along a line of engagement which is spaced radially inwardly from the lip portion defined by said outer arm, said seal being flexible about a line of flexure determined by said line of engagement of said retaining means with said interconnecting portion so that said seal flexes about said line and establishes a recuperation flow path between said lip portion and said cylinder bore upon the return stroke of the piston, said piston having an enlarged portion which supports one side of said seal, said enlarged portion including means defining at least one axially extending fluid passage, said passage being closed by said seal during said forward stroke of said piston and forming part of said recuperation fluid flow path during said return stroke of said piston.