Patent GB-190222304-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in and connected with the Lubrication and Protection against Corrosion of Screw Propeller Shafts and in Bearings and Means connected therewith.
Inventor: VICKERS BENJAMIN THRELFALL
Filed: 1902-10-14
Granted: 1903-09-03
Abstract: 22,304. Vickers, B. T., and Vickers, T. H. Oct. 14. Propeller shafts, preventing corrosion of; stern bearings.-Relates to a method of packing the stern tube and strut bearings of propeller shafts to produce a closed receptacle within the tube to contain a lubricant. The fittings are designed to protect the shaft from corrosion and to exclude foreign matter from the bearings. In one arrangement, a recess is formed in the stern tube C, Fig. 2, and it is fitted with a disc flanged at the inner end, or two flanged discs E, F may be used, as shown, or a .flanged disc and a plain plate may be employed. The discs form a space to receive packing. Elastic or fibrous rings J, retained in position by an annular plate K, embrace the shaft. An oil reservoir placed above the stern tube is fitted with air and filling pipes and with conducting-pipes to lead the oil to the interior of the stern tube, as described in Specification No. 8929, A.D. 1900. In a second arrangement, plates L, M, Fig. 4, are mounted loosely on the shaft A, and bear, respectively, against the stern tube C and the propeller boss B, and an elastic collar N is compressed between the plates to form a space for the lubricant. Oil races are cut in the bore and in the bearing-faces of the plates. The plates and collar may remain stationary or may rotate with the shaft, or the bearing-surfaces may be so formed that the friction between the plate M and the boss B is equal to that between the plate L and the tube C ; the collar and plates then rotate at half the speed of the shaft. In cases in which the propeller boss is at a distance from the stern tube, the plate M may be arranged to bear against a collar fixed to the shaft. To prevent the collar N from entirely embracing the shaft at any time, it may be formed with radial projections P, Fig. 5 ; or a metallic bush provided with oil - ways may be placed between the shaft and the collar ; or the plates L, M may have sleeves which surround the shaft and slide telescopically one into the other. The faces of the plates L, M in contact with the collar N may have recesses or projections to fit corresponding projections or recesses on the collar. In another arrangement, a key or stud on one collar works in a recess in the other, to ensure their mutual rotation while permitting longitudinal movement of the parts. The plate L may be dispensed with ; the collar N then bears on the end of the stern tube, and may be formed with recesses or projections to prevent rotation of the collar, or studs may be fitted to the stern tube for the same purpose. In strut bearings, each end is recessed, as shown in Fig. 9, to receive packing X and a flanged plate Y retained in position by an annular plate K. In applying the invention to existing strut bearings, the packing X and plate Y are fitted to the shaft and an annular ring is placed between the plate K and the body of the bearing. To facilitate fitting the parts into position, they may be divided segmentally. An elastic collar and plates, as shown in Fig. 4, may be used with strut bearings. The packing consists of fibrous material, or metallic packing may be used where the space is limited. The elastic collar, when composed of india-rubber, is preferably coated to protect it from the action of the oil.