Bearing seal with flexible lip

1. A seal for use on the tapered section of a roll neck in a rolling mill, said seal comprising:

a flexible circular seal body having a central axis and at least one radially outwardly extending flange joined by a hinge to an angularly extending lip, said hinge having a reduced thickness as compared to the thicknesses of said flange and said lip, said lip having converging first and second sides leading to an enlarged rim and defining an included angle (α 1 )of between about 4° to 10°, said rim having first and second peripheral faces that converge to an outer edge contained in a reference plane parallel to said central axis, said first side and said first peripheral face defining an acute included angle ({acute over (α)} 5 ), and said second side and said second peripheral face defining an obtuse included angle ({acute over (α)} 6 ).

2. The seal as claimed in claim 1 wherein said included angle ({acute over (α)} 1 ) is about 7°.

3. The seal of claim 1 wherein said first and second peripheral faces define an included angle ({acute over (α)} 4 ) of between about 90° to 106°.

4. The seal as claimed in claim 3 wherein said angle ({acute over (α)} 4 ) is about 98°.

5. The seal as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a protuberance on the first side of said lip location spaced inwardly from the juncture of said first side and said peripheral first face.

6. The seal as claimed in claim 5 wherein said protuberance comprises a rib having a semi-circular cross section.

7. A seal for use on the tapered section of a roll neck in a rolling mill, said seal comprising:

a flexible circular seal body having a central axis and at least one radially outwardly extending flange joined by a hinge to an angularly extending lip, said hinge having a reduced thickness as compared to the thicknesses of said flange and said lip, said lip having converging first and second sides leading to an enlarged rim, said rim having first and second peripheral faces that converge to an outer edge contained in a reference plane parallel to said central axis, said first side and said first peripheral face defining an acute included angle ({acute over (α)} 5 ), and said second side and said second peripheral face defining an obtuse included angle ({acute over (α)} 6 ), wherein when said flange and said lip are in an unstressed condition, the first side of said lip is arranged at an angle ({acute over (α)} 2 ) of between about 46° to 54° with respect to said reference plane.

8. The seal as claimed in claim 7 wherein said angle ({acute over (α)} 2 ) is about 50°.

9. A seal for use on the tapered section of a roll neck in a rolling mill, said seal comprising:

a flexible circular seal body having a central axis and at least one radially outwardly extending flange joined by a hinge to an angularly extending lip, said hinge having a reduced thickness as compared to the thicknesses of said flange and said lip, said lip having converging first and second sides leading to an enlarged rim, said rim having first and second peripheral faces that converge to an outer edge contained in a reference plane parallel to said central axis, said first side and said first peripheral face defining an acute included angle ({acute over (α)} 5 ), and said second side and said second peripheral face defining an obtuse included angle ({acute over (α)} 6 ), wherein when said flange and said lip are in an unstressed condition, the second side of said lip is arranged at an angle ({acute over (α)} 3 ) of between about 39° to 47° with respect to said reference plane.

10. The seal as claimed in claim 9 wherein said angle ({acute over (α)} 3 ) is about 43°.

11. A seal for use on the tapered section of a roll neck in a rolling mill, said seal comprising:

a flexible circular seal body having a central axis and at least one radially outwardly extending flange joined by a hinge to an angularly extending lip, said hinge having a reduced thickness as compared to the thicknesses of said flange and said lip, said lip having converging first and second sides leading to an enlarged rim, said rim having first and second peripheral faces that converge to an outer edge contained in a reference plane parallel to said central axis, said second side and said second peripheral face defining an obtuse included angle ({acute over (α)} 6 ) and said first side and said first peripheral face defining an acute angle ({acute over (α)} 5 ) of between about 66.5° to 77.5°.

12. The seal as claimed in claim 11 wherein said included angle ({acute over (α)} 5 ) is about 72°.

13. A seal for use on the tapered section of a roll neck in a rolling mill, said seal comprising:

a flexible circular seal body having a central axis and at least one radially outwardly extending flange joined by a hinge to an angularly extending lip, said hinge having a reduced thickness as compared to the thicknesses of said flange and said lip, said lip having converging first and second sides leading to an enlarged rim, said rim having first and second peripheral faces that converge to an outer edge contained in a reference plane parallel to said central axis, said first side and said first peripheral face defining an acute included angle ({acute over (α)} 5 ), and said second side and said second peripheral face defining an obtuse included angle ({acute over (α)} 6 ) of between about 157.5° to 168.5°.

14. The seal as claimed in claim 13 wherein said included angle ({acute over (α)} 6 ) is about 163°.