Spring seal

Claim 1

A sealing device comprising: a unitary spring member including a base with a first diameter and having a convex surface extending fully around its exterior, and further including a pair of opposite arms together having a generally V-shaped cross section and rearwardly connected to said base through a narrow neck having a second diameter less than said first diameter and with forwardly divergent free ends normally separated a third distance greater than said first diameter; and a casing in contact with a sealing surface and including a channel for receiving said spring, said channel having a heel formed at the rear of said channel by concave end wall means extending fully around said heel for snugly abutting said exterior convex surface of said spring base, and further having an entrance passage formed at the front of said channel by forwardly divergent side wall means for snugly abutting the outside surface of said spring arms leaving said spring arms free of any circumferential constraint directed rearwardly against said forward ends of said spring arms, and further having constricted junction means between said end wall means and said side wall means for engaging said neck to securely hold said base of said spring in cantilever fashion in said heel of said casing while enabling the forward end of said spring arms to flex freely exerting a lateral sealing force against said side walls of said casing.