Earth boring bit with shear compression seal

Claim 1

In an earth boring bit of the type having at least one rotatable cutter sealingly secured to a cantilevered bearing shaft, lubricated with a pressure compensated lubrication system, the improvement which comprises: a body; a cantilevered bearing shaft extending obliquely inwardly and downwardly from the body; a cutter secured for rotation about the bearing shaft, with axial and radial play due to clearances; a lubrication system in the body, including a hydrostatic pressure compensator; a seal groove including a pair of oppositely facing circumferential walls, one located on the cutter and the other on the bearing shaft, each of which intersects a generally radial end wall; a pair of rigid rings positioned in the seal groove to have opposed, sealing faces; a pair of inner and outer resilient, shear/compression energizer rings, having respectively an inner or an outer annular surface sealingly opposing a respective circumferential wall of the seal groove, with an opposite inner or outer annular surface sealingly opposing a rigid ring; the rigid rings being positioned intermediate the end walls of the groove during assembly of the cutter on the bearing shaft and exposed to and moved axially by the dynamic pressure differentials between the lubricant and the ambient drilling fluid; the axial width of the engaged rigid rings being less than the axial, minimum width of the seal groove when the cutter is thrust outwardly on the bearing shaft to define at least one axial clearance to permit unrestricted axial movement of the rigid rings between the end walls of the groove when the cutter moves relative to the bearing shaft; each seal assembly half having energizer rings with load deflection curves wherein: D.sub.H >A.sub.p S and D.sub.C >A.sub.p S[(S-1)/S].sup.1/2 Where: D H =Assembly deflection of shaft seal ring with bearing thrust faces in contact (in.); D C =Assembly deflection of cutter seal ring with bearing thrust faces in contact (in.); A p =Axial cutter play (in.); S=Ratio seal to cutter movement.