US706201A - Lubricator. - Google Patents

Description

Patented Aug. 5, |902. W. F. RICHARDS.

LUBRICATOB.

(Application led Jan. 19, 1900.)

(No Model.)

2 Sheets-$heet l.

No. 706,201. Patented Aug. 5, |902.

W; F. RICHARDS.

LUBRICATOR.

(Application filed Jan. 19, 1900.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

dUnire STATES ATENT OFFCE,

VILLARD F. RICHARDS, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES M. GOULD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LUBRICATOR.

i SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 706,201, dated August 5, 1902.

Application tied .Tammy 19,1900. Aserial No. 2.019. lNomodelJ T all whom, it' nrty concern:

Be it known that I, WILLARD F. RICHARDS, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erieand State of New York,ha\7e invented new and useful Im provements in Lubricators, of which the following is a speeiiication.

This invention relates to shaft-bearings which are lubricated by means of a wick imro mersed in au oil-reservoir arranged underneath the bearing. Y

The object of myinvention is to improve the construction of the bearing and its lubricating device with a view of insuringa constant and uniform lubrication of the same, avoiding waste of oil,and facilitating the removal of the wick for cleaning and renewing the same. In the accompanying drawings, consisting of two sheets, Figure l :is a longitudinal seczo tional elevation of the bearing of a dynamo or electric machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse Vertical section of the bearing, taken centrally through the same. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section in line 3 3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary top plan View of the bearing-sleeve. Fig; 5 is a fragmentary horizontal section thereof. l

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.` y

A is a shaft-such, for instance, as the armature-shaft of a dynamo-and B is my improved bearin g, in which the adjacent portion of the shaft is journaled. This bearing cousists of a tube or sleeve which is seated in openings formed in the front and rear walls of an oil well or reservoir C. Vhen the bearing is applied to a dynamo, this reservoir is secured to one of the heads of the dynamo-casing by bolts (not shown) which pass through 4o said head and through a iange D, formed on the reservoir. The bearing -sleeve is held against turning by a set-screw e or any other suitable fastening. The oil-reservoir isprovided at its sides with plugged filling-openingsf and in its bottom with a plugged drainopening f. G G are wicks or capillary feeders which supply the oil to the shaft and bearing-sleeve B. Thesewicks are preferably fiat, and each of the same consists of two depend- 56 ing branches which dip into the oil in the 'reservoir C and rest with their upper portions against opposite sides of the armature-shaft. The bearing-sleeve B is provided on opposite sides of the shaft with openings 71., through which the branches of the wick pass and which intersect the bore of the sleeve, so as to allow the saturated wick to lie against the shaft, as shown'in Fig. 2. The openings of the bearing-sleeve extend from top to bottom thereof, so that the wick branches can 6o be passed downwardly through the openings into the reservoir. The exposed upper portion of the wick which connects its branches passes over the solid portion of the bearingsleeve between its wick-openings, so that the wick is suspended from theV sleeve. The wick preferably consists of a double thickness, as shown, to increase its absorbing-surface, and the portion of the wick on the upper surface ofthe bearing B may be thick- 7o ened by an extra layer or piece of wicking g, if desired.

t represents a pair of rings or loops attached to the upper portions. of the wick branches for withdrawing the same from the openings of the bearing-sleeve when it becomes necessary to clean or renew the wick. The reser- Voir O is provided in its top with an opening for introducing and renewing the wick,which opening is closed by a removable cap or cover 8o j, as shown in Figs. l and 2.

Each of the openings h of the bearing-sleeve is provided in its lower inner wall with alongitudinal groove or recess k, which opens into the bore of the sleeve and forms a ledge or shelf 7c', which is inclined inwardly, as shown in Fig. 2. Thisshelf is adapted to receive any surplus oil fiowing down the wick from the top of the shaft. lis alongitudinal groove or channel formed in the bottom of the bear- 9o ing-sleeve and extending nearly from end to end thereof, and Z represents transverse channels which lead from the foot of the inclined shelves 7c to said longitudinal groove and through which such surplus oil flows to the lower portion of the bearing-sleeve, thereby supplying the surplus oil to the bottom ofthe shaft. By this construction the oil is fed directly to the shaft by the wicks, and the wicks intercept and hold in suspension any 10o grit in the oil, preventing it from reaching the shaft and the bearing-sleeve. The porpis closed bya removable cap M'.

tions of the wicks lying against the shaft also act as wipers, which keep the shaft and bearing-sleeve free from grit.

In order to insure a constant supply of oil t0 the shaft-bearing under all conditions, I prefer to combine with the wicks G an auxiliary feed device which is constructed as follows: M is a rectangular casing which surmounts the cap j and which is preferably formed integral therewith. This casing is bottomless and opens into'thetop of the oilreservoir C, and the upper end of the casing N is an auxiliary oil-reservoir arranged within 'the casing M and adapted to receive a supply of oil from 'the reservoir C. This auxiliary reservoir is provided in its bottom with a discharge-opening lm, arranged directly over the bearing-sleeve B, so that the oil flows upon the portion of the wicks G extending over said sleeve,v ois an endless feed chain or cord which hangs loosely from an upright .pulley o', journaled in the auxiliary reservoir N, and dips into the oil in the main reservoir C, so that the rotation of said pulley causes the endless feed-chain to roll around the same and elevate a portion ot' the oil in the main reservoir in to the auxiliary reservoir. The pulley o is secured to a hollow shaft 02, which turns upon a transverse pin p, secured in openings formed in the side walls of the auxiliary oil-reservoir. q is a main actuatingshaft which is journaled lengthwise in the lower portion of the auxiliary oil-chamber and which is driven from the lubricated shaftA by a friction-wheel q', secured to the actuating-shaft and running in contact with the lubricated shaft- The bearing-sleeve B is provided in its top with airansverse slot q2, through which the lower portion of the friction-wheel q extends. Motion is transmitted from the actuating-shaft vq lo the pulley-shaft o2 by a Wol-m4', formed in or secured to the main shaft and meshing -with a worm-wheel r', secured to the pulleyshaft, or by any other suitable mechanism. The upper portion of the friction-wheel q' is inclosed by a housing g3, formed on the casingM. The auxiliary oil-reservoir N is vertically movable in the casing M and free to slide therein, so that the friction-wheel q' is at all times held in contact with the lubricated shaft by the weight of said reservoir and the various parts mounted on the same. ,S represents guide-tubes for the depending portions of the feed-chain o, which pass through the `bottom of the auxiliary oil reservoir and extend downwardly nearly to the lower extremity of said chain. When the shaft A is in motion, the actuating-pulley o of the feed-chain o is turned through the medium of the frictionwheel q and the worm-gearing r fr. As the chain rolls over this pulley a portion of the oil picked up by the ascending side ofthe chain vis elevated into the auxiliary reservoir N,.and upon reaching the upper side of the pulley o' the oil is thrown from the chain into said reservoir by centrifugal force. From this reservoir the oil Hows through the discharge-opening m upon the wicks G. The motion of the actuating-pulley o as compared to that of the shaft A is a relatively slow one; but the shaft A is driven at such a high speed that if the chain ran directly thereon the shaft-bearings would be flooded by the oil elevated by the chain, whereas by the employment of the speed-reducing gearing between the shaft and the pulley o the latter operates the chain just fast enough to deliver a drop or two of oil at a time, as above explained, to

the auxiliary reservoir, and this amount is suicient for 4 the desired purpose. By the employment of this auxiliary feed device the portions of the wicks in contact with the lubricated shaft are kept supplied with oil, even if the capillary action of the wicks should become impaired by the thickening of the oil or the clogging of the wicks.

When it is desired to cleanse the wicks or renew the same, the coverj is removed and the wicks are withdrawn from the openings of the bearing-sleeve B by means of the rings t, and after cleaning the wicks they can be conveniently replaced or new ones can be substituted therefor when they become unserviceable. y

t is a horizontal pin or screw secured to the front wall of the vertically-movable oil-reservoir N and projecting into a vertical slot t, formed in the adjacent wall of the casing M. This screw, while permitting the auxiliary reservoir to slide in the casing M, acts as a stop, which prevents said reservoir and the parts carried by it from falling out of the casing M when the coverj is removed from the main oil-reservoir for inserting or removing the wicks.

I claim as my inventionl. The combination with an oil-reservoir, of a horizontal 'bearing-sleeve arranged in the upper portion of said reservoir and provided in its side wall with an aperture which intersects the bore of thesleeve, and a stationary wick supported on said sleeve and immersed in the oil in said reservoir and having its upper portion arranged in said aperture so as to lie against the shaft journaled in said bearing-sleeve, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with a journal, and an oil-reservoir, of a horizontal bearing-sleeve arranged in the upper portion of said reservoir and provided with an upper side over the journal and provided in its side walls withl openings which open into the bore of the sleeve, and a wick supported upon the upper sidey of said sleeve and having depending branches which pass downwardly through said openings and are immersed in the oil in said reservoir, substantially as set forth.

3; The combination with an oil-reservoir, of abearing-sleeve provided on opposite sides thereof with openings which intersect its bore,

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pass through said openings and are immersed in the oil of said reservoir, and which are provided at their exposed, upper ends with rings or handles for withdrawing the wick from the openings of the sleeve, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination with an oil-reservoir, of a bearing-sleeve provided in its side wall with a wiek-opening which intersects its bore, and a transverse channel which leads from the inner lower edge of said opening to the bottom of the sleeve-bore, and a wick supported by said sleeve and arranged in said opening and immersed in the oil in said reservoir, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with an oil-reservoir, of a bearing-sleeve provided in its side with an opening which intersects its bore, a shelf or ledge arranged' at the lower, inner wall of said opening, alongitudin al channel arranged in the bottomof the sleeve-bore, and a transverse channel or channels leading from said ledge to said longitudinal channel, and a wick arranged in said opening and immersed in the oil in said reservoir, substantially as set forth.

6. A bearing-sleeve provided in its side with a wick-opening which intersects its bore, and having a recess in its lower, inner wall which forms a ledge or shelf adapted to receive any surplus oil flowing down the wick, a longitudinal channel arranged in the bottom of the lsleeve-bore and a transverse channel or channels leading from said ledge to said longitudinal channel, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination with a shaft to be lubricated, of a main oil-reservoir arranged below said shaft, an auxiliary reservoir arranged above said shaft and provided with a discharge-opening, a pulley arranged in said auxiliary reservoir, a depending flexible feed member running loosely over said pulley and dipping into the oil in said main reservoir, and means for turning said pulley, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination with a shaft to be lubricated, of a main oil-reservoir arranged below said shaft, an auxiliary reservoir arranged above said shaft and provided with a discharge-opening, a pulley arranged in said auxiliary reservoir, a depending flexible feed member running loosely over said pulley and dipping into the oil in said main reservoir, and intermediate gearing whereby said pulley is rotated from said shaft, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination with a shaft to be lubricated, of a main oil-reservoir arranged below said shaft, an auxiliary reservoir arranged above said shaft and provided with a discharge-opening, a pulley arranged in said auxiliary reservoir, a depending flexible feed member runningloosely over said pulley and dipping into the oil in said main reservoir, a worm-wheel mounted on the shaft of said pulley, and an actuating-shaft having a frictionwheel which runs in contact with the lubricated shaft and a worm which meshes with said worm-wheel, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination with a shaft to be lubricated and a main reservoir arranged below the same, of a bottomless casing arranged above said shaft, a vertically-movable auxiliary oil-reservoir capable of sliding freely in said casing and provided in its bottom with a dischargebpening, a pulley mounted on a horizontal shaft journaled in said auxiliary reservoir, an endless flexible feed member depending froln said pulley and dipping into said main reservoir, and an actuating-shaft j ourn aled in saidauxiliary reservoir and having a friction-wheel which runs in Contact with the shaft to be lubricated, and a worm which meshes with a worin-wheel mounted on the shaft of said pulley, substantially as set forth.

1l. The combination with a shaft to be lubricated, of 'a main oil-reservoir arranged underneath the shaft, an auxiliary oil-reservoir arranged above the shaft and provided in its bottom with a discharge-opening, a wick depending from the shaft into said lower reservoir and exposed at the upper side of the shaft, a pulley journaled in the auxiliary reservoir, an endless flexible feed member suspended from said pulley and dipping into the oil in the lower reservoir, and intermediate gearing whereby said pulleyis turned from the lubricated shaft, substantially as set forth.

l2. The combination with a shaft, of a main oil-reservoir arranged below the shaft, an auxiliary reservoir arranged above the main reservoir and provided with a discharge-opening, a pulley arranged in said auxiliary reservoir, a flexible feed member running over said pulley and dipping into the oil in said main reservoir, means for driving said pulley, and a wick located between said discharge-opening and the shaft for catching any grit or sediment in the oil, substantially as set forth.

Witness my hand this 23d day of Decembei-,1899.

WILLARD F. RICHARDS.4 Vitnesses:

JNO. J. BONNER, THEO. L. Porr.

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