Pressure acummulator with seal assembly

Claim 1

A hydro-pneumatic pressure accumulator comprising a container having substantially hemispherical ends, one of which is formed with a liquid port, a bladder mounted within the container to divide the interior of the container into a gas chamber and a liquid chamber, a liquid outlet member retained in the liquid port and extending outwardly therefrom, a valve member disposed in the outlet member, the liquid outlet member being provided with means for preventing extrusion of the bladder through the outlet member, and a neck member surrounding the outwardly extending portion of the outlet member, the neck member being secured to the container by the outlet member, the neck member and the container being provided with substantially flat seal receiving surfaces, sealing means between said seal receiving surfaces, said sealing means comprising a rigid annular member having a central web, thickened peripheral portions formed at the radial innermost and outermost edges of said web, said thickened portions projecting above and below the surface of said web, said thickened portions terminating in inner and outer knife edges which define the maximum thickness of said annular member, the knife edges above said web and the knife edges below said web defining therebetween upper and lower annular troughs respectively, an annular washer of deformable material in each said trough, the height of each said washer in the unstressed condition being greater than the maximum height of its respective trough, and the volume of each said washer being greater than the volume of its respective trough, said knife edges bearing against the faces of said neck member and said container, said washers filling the entirety of said troughs.