A THERMO-PNEUMATIC LUBRICATOR FOR OILING SHAFTS, AXLES, MACHINERY, &c
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Bickerton, of Oldham, in the County of
Lancaster, for the Invention of "A THERMO-PNEUMATIC LUBRICATOR FOR
OILING SHAFTS, AXLES, MACHINERY, &c."
Sealed the 5th October 1858, and dated the 12th April 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Bickerton at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th April 1858.
I, SAMUEL BICKERTON, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "A THERMO-PNEUMATIC LUBRICATOR
FOR OILING SHAFTS, AXLES, MACHINERY, &c.," to be as follows:-
This Invention is an instrument for oiling the bearings of shafts, axles, and
parts of machinery liable to friction; I call it "thermo-pneumatic," because its
action depends on the expansive effect of heat and on the pressure of the
atmosphere. The principle may be embodied in various forms; a simple and
efficient one is a vessel of glass or other suitable material (but glass is preferred),
hermetically or otherwise sealed at the top, so as to exclude the atmosphere.
The lower and open end of the vessel is cemented into a metal tube, which
forms a continuation thereof. From the end of this tube for a short distance
the outside diameter is less than at the higher part, and has a screw thread.
An opening is made in the side of the tube for the oil to pass; a cup having a
larger diameter than the outside of the tube is screwed thereon, forming an
annular space to contain the oil, and also assists to regulate the action of the

page_text: instrument. A funnel is attached to the cap of the journal (so as to convey
the oil with certainty to the shaft), and the instrument placed therein is caused
to operate by the working of the shaft or other part of machinery.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Bickerton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
11th October 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
BICKERTON, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the 12th day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the 21st year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Samuel Bickerton, Her special license that I, the said Samuel
Bickerton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Samuel Bickerton, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "A
THERMO-PNEUMATIC LUBRICATOR FOR OILING SHAFTS, AXLES, MACHINERY, &c.,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Samuel Bickerton,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Bickerton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :—
This Invention is called a thermo-pneumatic lubricator, because its action
depends upon the expansive effect of heat and the pressure of the atmosphere.
It may be made of any required shape or form, and of any suitable material,
but by preference I construct it as follows, and as will be easily understood by
referring to the annexed Drawings. A glass vessel, hermetically sealed at the

page_text: top, is cemented or fitted into a metal cup having a pipe or tubular stem of
suitable length. A metal funnel with a screw-thread tubular stem, Fig. 2, is
attached to the cap of the journal to be oiled, & so as to secure a passage for
the oil to reach the shaft. The lubricator, Fig. 1, is placed in this funnel in
such a manner that the extremity of its pipe shall nearly touch the shaft, but
not quite. The action of the thermo-pneumatic lubricator is as follows:-
When a vessel, as above described, is wholly or partially charged with oil, and
then inverted, that is, having the open pipe or stem downwards, no oil will
escape, in accordance with a well-known natural law; but the slightest expan-
sion of the contents of the vessel will destroy the equilibrium, and a portion of
the oil will escape. When, therefore, the lubricator is fixed, as before described,
with the extremity of its pipe nearly touching the shaft, the heat engendered
by the revolution of the latter is communicated to the air and oil in the vessel,
expansion takes place, and a small quantity of oil drops upon the shaft. When
the shaft is sufficiently lubricated or becomes cool, the air and oil will contract,
a portion of air enters the vessel, the equilibrium is restored, and the lubricator
is ready to act again, as before. The varying temperature of the room during
the night and day will also cause the lubricator to oil the shaft by producing an
expansion and contraction, as before described. The lubricator may be made of
any suitable material and shape or form.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which
it may be put in operation, I do not confine myself to the precise details as
herein expressed, as the same may be varied without departing from the
principle of my Invention; for example, a spiral spring may be made to expand
and contract by the varying temperature, as herein described, & may be
thereby made to open & close a valve in the pipe of the oil vessel, and thus
allow oil to flow on to the shaft; but what I claim is,―
1st, the use or application of a pneumatic contrivance, as above described,
as a lubricator or containing vessel for the oil or lubricating matter.
2nd, the use of the expansive force of heat generated by the friction of the
shaft or the varying temperature of the room itself, as a motor to cause the
oil to be discharged from the said lubricator, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Bickerton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of October 1858.
SAM BICKERTON. (L.S.)