ROCK BIT HAVING A SEAL GLAND WITH A CONICAL SEALING SURFACE

摘要

A sealing system is provided for a drill bit including a bit head and a rotating bit cone. The sealing system includes a seal gland and a seal retained within the seal gland. The seal gland is defined by a radial cone surface and is further defined by a head sealing surface and an opposed cone sealing surface. At least one of the head sealing surface and opposed cone sealing surface is not cylindrical (i.e., the surface is conical and not parallel to an axis of rotation for the cone). Additionally, the radial cone surface may be conical (i.e., the surface does not extend perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the cone). The seal is radially compressed between the head sealing surface and the opposed cone sealing surface. The use of one or more conical surfaces in the gland is provided to bias the compressed seal into a preferred dynamic sealing zone.