US704085A - Car-axle box. - Google Patents

Description

Patented July 8, I902.

0. NEWHOUSE.

CAR AXLE BOX.

(Application filed Dec. 28, 1900.)

3 Sheets-$heet 2,

(No Model.)

2 0 H 8 .W u I d e t n e t a P .L S U 0 H W. E N D .m 8 4 U 7 n N GAR AXLE BOX.

(Application filed Dec. 28, 1900.)

3 SheetsSheet 3.

(No Model.)

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OSCAR NElVHOUSE, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

CAR-AXLE BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of. Letters Patent No. 704,085, dated July 8, 1902.

Application filed December 28, 19

To (all 2072/0771, if; may concern:

Be it known that I, OSCAR Nnwnoosn, a citizen of'the United States of America. and a resident of the city and county of San Francisco, in the State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car- Axle Boxes, of which the following is a specilication.

This invention relates to the art of lubricating car-axle journals and their bearings.

The perfect lubrication of car-axle journals and the bearings thereof has hitherto been considered as an unsolved problem by master oar-builders generally, who, among the numberless devices offered to them or tried for this purpose, have found but very few worthy of their attention and absolutely none giving entire satisfaction. The chief difilculty in providing good car-axle boxes, it is apparent, is due to their peculiar construction, wherein provision must be made for the easy insertion, inspection, and withdrawal of theaxlejournal, the placing and renewal of the brasses or bearing-block or saddle and wedge or key therefor while the box is on the axle, the changing of dust-guard occasionally, and the storage of sufficient lubricating material to last for a trip covering several thousand miles at a time. All this requires a roomy or rather large axle-box, leaving a space of considerable depth under the axlejournal, which when filled, as usual, With oilsoaked cotton or waste soon gets emptied of its lubricating matter and gets filled with dirt instead, owing to the'fugitive character of the oil used, particularly when it becomes heated, and the impossibility of keeping the same in a body up to and about the journal. It is the object of my invention to meet and overcome this dimculty. With that end in View I have endeavored to provide, first, a box of solid and stanch construction, affording all the facilities before enjoyed and more, while not departing from approved standards and patterns; second, a convenient means of lubricating the said box and the axle therein, comprising a bountiful supply of non-fugitive lubricant directly and positively applied over practically the entire surface of the axle-journal, and, third, a simple contrivance to feed in the lubricant,as occasion requires,t0 keep it packed against the journal and con- 00. Serial No. 41, L18. (No model.)

fined within the box, so it may not run at the joints, particularly through the opening for the axle-shoulder at the rear where, the dustguard drops.

The principle'which I have followed in designing the present invention has been employed by me with equal success for other bearings and it is presumed will win for my car-axle box a kindly welcome everywhere and cause it to be found in every way satisfactory.

I will now explain my invention in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation showing my improved car-axle box as 1 supply it when an entirely new box is desired. Fig. 2 is a top view thereof, the axle being removed and part of the box broken away at the rear end to expose detail. Fig. 3 is an elevation showing the box on the axle as viewed from the front with one-half in section. Fig. 4 is a sectional side elevation illustrating how my improvement is applied to car-axle boxes that are already in use. 7 Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the line a; of Fig. 4 without the axle. Fig. 6 is a cross-section on the lineg y of Fig. 5 with the axle and brasses added. Fig. 7 is a sectional side elevation similar to Fig. 4, showing a further part of my improvement applied to an ordinary car-axle box. Fig. 8 is a view similar to the preceding, represent ing a modified construction; and Fig. 9 is a similar elevation to Fig. 1, illustrating part of the construction in different form.

Like reference-signs indicate like parts throughout the specification and drawings.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 3, the letter A represents a car-axle box which may be of 'any desired type, but by preference is made on the lines approved and adopted by the master car-builders ofthe United States. No radical or inconvenient change from their standard will be found in this box. 7 The only difference in construction which I suggest is to have the box fully open in front in order to facilitate lubrication as well as access to the parts inside and rounded inside at the corners in the bottom for the purpose of makingits lower interiorsurface substantially concentric with the journal B of the axle C,thereby doing away with angles that would retain and withhold part of the lubricant from use and insuring greater strength in the box at the same time. (See Fig. 3.) To impart additional strength, the upper corners are also filled in, as best seen in Fig. 3, above the brass, saddle, or bearing-block D, that rests on the axle-journal and by the sides of the wedge or key E, which they help maintain in place between the top of the box and said piece D. The axle-journal and parts D and E thereon are of the usual construction, only D is made to reach fully across the box from side wall to side wall, as well as lengthwise from the collar to the shoulder of the axle along the entire journal, so as to prevent the.

aperture Gis located, preferably, opposite the lower half of the axle and the rounded bottom part of the box centrally. The extension or tube H is provided with a slidable pressure-cap I, closely fitted on it. The said pressure-cap has a wide flange J, capable of holding some lubricant also and arranged to be slid over the feed-tube by degrees, and thereby to press against the lubricant previously placed therein and in the box, which is effected by means of studs K, screwed into the cover F and passing through lugs L on said flange J, against which lugs nuts M, engaging the outer ends of said studs, are brought to bear.

In the back of the box A (Figs. 1, 2, and 3) and contacting with the lower half of the axle therein is a guard N, which I place there to prevent the lubricant from being forced out or running out of the box through the bottom of the opening for the axle and through the lower end of the dust-guard 0 around it when pressure is applied through the cap I or when the axle is in motion. This under guard Nreaches across the full width of the boxinside and is guided into position and held up by lateral grooves or vertical slidewaysP made for it in the opposite sides of the box close to the axle-opening or inner wall of the dust-guard chamber in the rear.

In working my invention I prefer the use of a firm non-flowing grease or graphite compound to all oils and other fluid or semifluid lubricants. There are several sorts of such compounds that are quite cheap and available for the purpose of lubricating my improved box. When charging the box, I fill all that part of it which lies below the brasses, as also the feed-tube or tubular extension of the cover and the flanged cap thereof, with as much compound as the same will hold, and after adjusting this cap into the right position I drive it inward over said tube or extension by tightening the nuts on the studs K till the compound is fully compressed and packed tightly against the axle journal and bearing. The box is then in good working order, so far as its lubrication is concerned, and will remain so for an unusually long space of time, through protracted journeys, without recharging with compound, only by readjusting the pressure-cap occasionallysay once a week or thereabout. The lubrication, it will be seen, is efiected in the most thorough and effective manner throughout the entire bearing-surfaces, which are kept embedded in the compound and whose forced contact therewith is consequently intimate,-

constant, and lasting. The compound, it will be further observed, does not run and escape like oil, so that it is much cleaner and more economical to use. On the contrary, it rather operates to fill and stop up the joints, so to say, thus rendering the box tight and virtually proof against dust, and thereby preventing much injury either to the journal or to the bearing.

Passing now from Figs. 1, 2, and 3 to Fig. 9, we see there a construction in all respects identical with that represented by said firstnamed figures with this only variation, that in said Fig. 9the feed-tube or tubular extension H is curved upward from the cover F in the shape of an elbow and its cap I is arranged to move in a vertical plane, whereas in Figs. 1 to 3 the same parts are disposed horizontally. The advantage in having an upwardly-extending feed-tube with a vertically-sliding cap, instead of making these parts horizontal, consists in that they can then be made longer without undue protru sion, and therefore capable of holding more lubricant, and the gravity thereof will be utilized in driving and keeping the lubricating matter in the box up against the bearing and journal therein. In Fig. 9, as in Figs. 1 to 8, the slidable pressure-cap I is worked by means of studs and nuts, as K M; but for convenience each stud K in this case is secured to a lug L on the tube H instead of being screwed into the cover F, as in the other case. Variations like the above, it will be noted, are entirely within my invention, which I am describing in what I deem its best form, but without any intention of limiting it to any particular detail or to such changes only as are herein specifically set forth and illustrated. Togive but one example, the same feed-tube and pressure-cap have been connected with the middle lower part of the cover F, as described and shown in the abovementioned Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 9, not through necessity, but by choice. It would be no divergence from my invention to place them either at the top or bottom or side of the box nor to duplicate them, and I therefore claim them as part of my invention whatever may be their shape or their number or their relative position on or about the box or its cover. Figs. 4 to 6 show a car-axle box A which is much used on our railways and has the same general outline as the box A,'previously described, excepting the forwardly-projecting bottom part in A with its opening high up in front and the plain cover F thereover. This cover, as is well known, is usually bolted to the front end of the box A The axle and its journal, with the wedge on the bearing-block and the dust-guard at the rear in said Figs. 4, 5, and 6, are identical with those seen in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 9, and therefore are marked with the same letters of reference. The bearing-block in box A is not quite as wide as in A and is indicated by D To apply my improvement to a box like A with the least alteration, I placein it a pan or tray Q, made wide enough to contact with its walls at the sides and sufficiently long to take in the whole under surface of the axle-journal from the collar in front to the shoulder in the back when the bottom of said pan or tray rests on the bottom of said box. The front end of this tray Q is located forward of the axle-collar to clear the same, and its rear end is cut to the curvature of the axle-journal to ac commodate it, so that the tray maybe raised under and by the sides of the journal as high up as the brasses, if desired. The lubricating compound is deposited in said tray and in such quantity as will cause the entire exposed surface of the axlejournal to be covered with it. Now to keep the compound up in positive contact as it is being consumed I arrange to raise the tray Q at intervals by means of studs K screwed at their lower ends in corner lugs L of said tray, thence passing upwardly through suitable holes in the top of the box and provided at their outer ends with adjusting-nuts and lock-nuts M M Thus I am enabled to offer a simple and inexpensive means for lubricating car-axle journals and their bearings thoroughly and positively, which may serve as a temporary substitute for the better form of compound-applying device hereinbefore described, wherever for any reason it will be preferred to use the old boxes till they are worn out before discarding them for new fully-improved ones.

To prevent the compound from going out through the rear opening of the box A at the bottom, I further provide it with a guard N similar to the guard N of box A and fitting in a similar manner around the lower half of the axle C. This rear under guard is kept in a vertical position across the axle by placing its edges in slideways P formed at the rear end of the tray Q, as shown in Fig. 5, which slideways of the tray avoid grooving the box, as in A. The guard N will remain in place whatever may be the position of the tray Q, since the axle bears on it and holds it down as the tray is being elevated. The said guard N and tray Q combine in shuttingin and applying the lubricating compound under pressure to the axle-journal substantially in the same manner as the similarly-functioned feeder and guard employed in connection with the box A.

A feeder can also be used in combination with a tray in either form of car-axle box hereinabove described. This, however, is illustrated only in connection with the box A in Figs. 7 and 8, which, it is thought, will be su flicient to give a clear idea of the combination. The box A in these two views is the same as is represented in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, and it comprises the same parts, performing the same functions, with this only difference that in Fig. 8 the tray Q is stationary, while in Fig. 7 it is movable, as in said Figs. 4to 6. The feeder in Figs. 7 and 8 consists, as in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 9, of a tube H, with a flanged pressure-cap I slidable over it. By preference this tube H is passed through the cover F and arranged to discharge the lubricating compound directly into the tray Q, to the forward part of which it is connected, though it may be made to discharge into the box, as in the figures last named, and thence into the tray, if desired. When the tray Q is made movable toward the axle-journal, as in Fig. 7, the tube H is passed through a slot Win the cover F which allows it to move with said IOO the'tray Q is to remain stationary, as in Fig.

8, no slot or.washer need be provided, as onlya plain opening of the shape of the feedtube, to allow it to go through the cover, is required then. The lugs L, that hold the lower or inner ends of the studs K, through which the slidable pressure-cap I is operated, are made detachable in Figs. 7 and 8, screwing into the tube H as shown, in order to let this tube pass freely through the cover F or the washer F unless the said cover or washer, or both, be made of separable parts. The said pressure-cap I of the feed-tube H is worked by the same means as in Fig. 9, but moves in an oblique direction. The under guard N at the rear end of the box in Figs. 7 and 8 is the same as the guard N in Figs. 4 to 6. The other parts of Figs. 7 and 8 not specifically mentioned here are the same as appear in the other figures bearing the same reference-signs and will be recognized without further description. The tube H its pressure-cap I, the tray Q, (whether movable or stationary,) and the guard N it will be seen, cooperate to produce similar effects to those obtained through the employment of the other forms of construction previously de= scribed.

WVhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. The combination with a car-axle and the box thereof, of a device adapted to feed lubricating matter to the axle-journal, and

means extending through the top of the box for adjusting said feed device, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a car-axle and box therefor provided with a suitable inlet, of a tray adapted to hold a lubricant under the journal in said box, a feed-tube at the outer end of the box extending through the cover thereof and operating to deliver the lubricant through said inlet to the box and into the tray therein, and a pressure-cap at the end of the tube bearing on the lubricant therein, substantially as described.

3. In a car-axle box, the combination with the journal and bearing therein, of a tray adapted to hold a lubricant under said journal and bearing, a feeder arranged to supply the lubricant to said tray, a cap fitted to said feeder so as to press on the lubricant, and means extending upwardly through the top of the box for positively drawing up the tray and its contents toward the journal and bearing, substantially as described.

4. In combination with the axle-journal, and the bearing therefor, of a feeder adapted to discharge lubricating matter into said bearin g, means suspended from the upper portion of the bearing for supporting the feeder, and means extending through the top of the box for adjusting said suspended means, substantially as described.

5. In combination substantially as described, a journal, a bearing-box therefor, a tray beneath the journal, a curved tube leading from the outside of the box and connected with one end of the tray constituting therewith a continuous unobstructed passage for a lubricant material, and a cup-shaped cap held at the end of said tube and adapted to press directly upon the lubricant material therein.

6. In combination with the axle-journal and the bearing therefor, of a feeder adapted to discharge lubricating matter to said bearing comprising an open-top tray, its outer wall extending beyond the endof said axle and its inner wall being cut away to permit an extended vertical adjustment of the tray and means adjacent the top of the box for adjusting said tray, substantially as described.

7. In combination substantially as de scribed, a lubricant-holding tray comprising a body portion having an open top, a tubular inlet at one end of said body portion, and a pressure-exerting device at the end of the tube, the inner end of the said body portionbeing cut away for the purpose described.

8. The combination with a car-axle its box and the cover therefor, ofa feed-tube adapted to discharge lubricating matter into said box through said cover so that the same will reach the axle-journal, a cap fitted to said tube having a smooth hollow interior and arranged to press on the lubricant matter, and means for advancing said cap and retaining the same in such advanced position, substantially as described.

9. The combination with a car-axle and its box, of a feed-tube at the lower portion of said box adapted to discharge lubricating matter beneath the axle-journal, and means for feeding the lubricating matter through said tube

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