Improvements in or relating to Lubricators.
Year: 1899

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Lubricators.
.I, WILLIAM JEFFERSON STEPHENS, Engineer, of 7 Side, Newcastle-on-Tyne, in
the County of Northumberland, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention relates to lubricators of the kind described in the Specification
of prior Letters Patent No. 1003 of 1890, granted to Alfred Julius Boult, its
principal objects being the improvement of such lubricators in a manner which
will prevent the interference of air contained in the passages with the regular
delivery of oil therethrough, and will also ensure that the plugs in the cavities
of the main spindle shall not foul the oil openings in the barrel containing it,
that the endwise adjustment of the spindle to compensate for wear shall not
result in interference with the fiee passage of oil into or out of the cavities
provided therein, and to enable the oil to be supplied at quicker speed than
hitherto.
According to this invention the inlet and outlet oilways in the interior cir-
cumference of the barrel containing the rotary spindle are elongated or otherwise
so formed that the plug in each cavity of the spindle cannot move out radially
into them, portions of the barrel extending sufficiently far into the path of the
plug to prevent it from moving outward beyond a predetermined point at which
it cannot come foul of the containing barrel; if, for instance, a slot elongated
in the direction of the length of the spindle be made in the wall of the barrel
there exists the further advantage that considerable endwise adjustment can be
given to the spindle without risk of bringing any of the cavities into such relation-
ship to the unslotted portions of the barrel as to be partially obstructed by them.
A further feature of importance in the present invention is that the oil inlets
and outlets of the barrel are inclined out of the vertical so that the travel of,oil
through them in one direction can always occur simultaneously with the passage
of air in the reverse, direction, any air which may be present passing out of the
upper side of the opening and the oil moving through the lower part. If these
channels were vertical there would be risk that the bodies of air and oil seeking
to pass through them in opposite directions, the air downward and the oil upward,
would oppose and block one another so that the apparatus could not be relied
upon to operate with certainty and constancy.
"I
Moreover the employment of inclined oil outlets enables inspection and clean-
ing orifices closed by screw plugs to be very conveniently provided upon the
exterior of the apparatus.
The barrel containing the rotary spindle is placed lower down in the chamber
or reservoir then has hitherto been customary, thus reducing the waste space
within the chamber to an extent which is not more than is necessary to receive
any settlement of sediment which may in the course of time occur therein, and
reducing also in proportionate degree the weight and size of a lubricator of given
effective capacity; a further reduction of weight, accompanied by a diminution
in the cost of manufacture is obtained by forming the air pipes integral with

page_text: the chamber walls, say as semi-cylinders the bores of which are cored out in the
casting.
Where it is desired--and particularly for high speed work-that the lubricator
should supply a large quantity of oil this may be effected without increasing the
size of the apparatus by cariying the holes entirely through the spindle and
providing each with two plugs so that each hole forms two oil wells instead of
one as hitherto proposed. Further the holes may be formed with their axes
perpendicular to each other across the spindle so as to obtain a larger number
than could be done if they were all formed in the same plane.
As another means of preventing the plugs fiom escaping from the holes a
screwed ring the hole in which would be of somewhat smaller diameter than
that of the hole into which it was screwed may be inserted and the end of the
hole rivetted over sufficiently to prevent the ring from escaping; or instead of
rivetting one or more screwed studs might be screwed partly in the ring and
partly in the metal of. the vessel as will be well understood. Or again the iings
could be sweated in and soldered.
Where high speed is required the ratchet 'movement usually adopted for
apparatus of this description for rotating the spindle may be exchanged for toothed
gearing, chain driving or other continuous means.
10th of Fol 1899
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in or relating to Lubricators.
I, WILLIAM JEFFERSON STEPHENS, Engineer, of 7 Side, Newcastle-on-Tyne, in
the County of Northumberland, do hereby declare the nature of this 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 relates to lubricators of the kind described in the Specification
of prior Letters Patent No 1003 of 1890, granted to Alfred Julius Boult, its
principal object being the improvement of the same in such a manner as to, (1)
allow endwise adjustment of the main spindle or shaft to compensate for wear
without interference with the free passage of oil into or out of the cavities
provided in the main spindle, (2) to ensure that the plugs in the cavities of the
main spindle shall not foul the oil openings of the barrel containing it, (3) to
prevent the interference of air contained in the passages with the regular delivery
of oil therethrough, and (4) to enable oil to be supplied at a greater speed than
hitherto.
The accompanying drawings illustrate a lubricator constructed according to
this invention showing one method of carrying out the above improvements.
Figure 1 is a central vertical section of the lubricator;
Figure 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1;
Figure 4 18 a transverse section of a modified detail of the lubricator,
Figure 5 is a similar view of a second modification; and
Figure 6 is a central vertical section of the same on the line 6-6
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
The oil bath or tank A, which is preferably rectangular in form and may be
made of any suitable material, is provided with a barrel or tubular portion A¹
placed substantially below its floor or bottom.

page_text: The barrel A¹ may be either integral with the tank A or secured to it by any
convenient means, and is bored throughout its length to receive a spindle or
shaft B. The shaft B is preferably slightly tapered and ground into the barrel A¹
so that it may be an oil-tight fit within the same. As arranged in the drawings
the shaft is driven by ratchet mechanism B¹, but in place of this a cord and
pulley, or toothed or chain gearing, preferably operated by the machine upon
which the lubricator is employed, may be provided to drive the same.
In place of the series of orifices heretofore arranged in the upper side of the
barrel A¹ one or more longitudinal slots A³ are provided and the cavities formed
in the shaft B are, according to the improvements of the present invention, made
in the form of borings B carried right through the shaft and having their axes
at right angles to the same Also the orifices at the bottom or lower side of the
barrel A', which are indicated in the accompanying drawings at A³ and which
communicate with the delivery pipes C, are elongated or slotted so that the
shaft B may be allowed a given amount of endwise movement without bringing
the cavities or borings B2 out of register either with the upper slots A2 or the
lower orifices A³.
Each of the borings B is threaded and made to form two separate cavities by
means of screw plugs B³ arranged within it and which may be set at any desired
height from the outer circumference of the shaft by revolving them in one
direction or the other. As it is found that these plugs tend to work out of place,"
the slots A A3 are preferably made of such a width that the plugs cannot pass
through them should they work their way to the surface of the shaft. To further'
prevent this displacement of the plugs 133 the edges of the borings B2 may be
burred over, or a ring such as 1) (shown in Figure 6) may be screwed into each
end of each bore and secured in place by riveting, soldering or any other con-
venient means.
In cases where it is not desirable to secure the rings into the cavities B2 by
screwing and riveting, they may be plain and sweated only, into the outer ends
of each boring. Another method of securing them (whether threaded or plain)
in the borings 12 is to insert screws at their edges, which engage partly with
the ring and partly with the shaft B in the well-known manner. Again in place
of the ring D being fixed to the mouth of the cavity B2, it may be made in the
form of a lock-nut, such as 11 (Figure 5) and screwed down by a hollow key
until brought into contact with the plug, against which it will lock. In this
arrangement the plug is preferably held stationary (whilst screwing up the lock
nut) by a screw driver, which may be passed through the hollow key and lock-
nut, so that it engages in the usual well-known manner with the screw notch
with which each of the plugs is provided
To avoid interference of air in the cavities 132 with the regular delivery of oil,
the slots A are not placed at the top of the barrel A', but some little way down
on one side of the same so as to ensure that the oil will always enter the
cavities B, the air passing out of the same more easily when the cavity is not
in an absolutely vertical position; also to avoid the interference of the air con-
tained in the delivery pipes C during delivery of the oil through the orifices A³;
the pipes are continued upwards at Cs and are in free communication with the
air, so that as oil flows down on the lower side of the slot A3 and down one side
of the pipe C, air may escape up the pipe C, C³, in the opposite direction and
also flow from the pipe C² into the orifice A3 and cavity B2 as the oil leaves the
same.
The pipes C may for convenience be cast in one piece with one wall of the
tank A as shown in Figures 4 and 5, or if the barrel is placed in the centre of the tank
as in Figures 1, 2 and 3, they may be made of thin tubing screwed into hollow
sockets A cast on the side of the barrel, the pipes C being similarly screwed into
the lower side of the same sockets or lugs.
In order that the oil may flow readily from the orifices A³ these are preferably
placed below the centre of the barrel A¹, and when arranged as in Figures 4 and 5

page_text: .
a screw plug C¹ may be placed in the wall of the tank A, so that when the plug C¹
is removed the orifice A" and cavity B can be conveniently' inspected and the
plugs B3 adjusted. Screw plugs may similarly be inserted in the lugs or sockets A+
(Figures 1, 2 and 3) the sockets being lengthened to allow the plugs to be placed
opposite the orifices A".
The operation of the lubricator is the same as that described in the Specifi-
cation of the Letters Patent referred to above, and is briefly as follows:
As the, shaft B evolves under the action of the mechanism B¹, or any other
driving mechanism which may be provided, the cavities formed in each boring 'B3
by the plugs 133 are each presented first at the slots A2, where they are 'filled
with oil, and then to the ofices A through which the oil is discharged down
the delivery pipes C. The amount of oil supplied at each revolution' of the shaft
is regulated as before, by adjusting the height of the plugs B³ from the surface
of the barrel B.
It is obvious that by having two cavities B² delivering to each feed pipe Ca
steadier and quicker supply of oil is maintained than when one cavity is used
as heretofore and this principle may be further utilised without materially in-
In the device
creasing the size of the lubricator, as shown in Figures 5 and 6.
illustrated in these figures the shaft B' is provided with two sets of borings form-
In this case the orifices A³
ing cavities B arranged at right angles to one another.
are made of sufficient length to receive the oil from each pair of borings, the
object of the modification being to provide means by which a large quantity of
oil can be kept flowing through each delivery pipe when the lubricator is used
for machinery running at a high speed. It will be seen that by this means a
given quantity of oil is delivered four times in every revolution to each delivery
pipe C.
It is obvious that combinations of cavities communicating with one
common delivery pipe may be variously arranged to suit different requirements,
for instance, where it was desired that a very continuous supply of a small
quantity of oil should be supplied, two or more borings B³ may be arranged to
intersect one another, so long as the amount of oil supplied at each interval is
not required to be so great as to necessitate the screwing of the plugs B³ so far
into their respective borings that they would foul one another.
It will be understood that the improvements described with reference to
Figures 3, 4 and 5 may be applied to the form of apparatus shown in Figures 1, 2
and 3, the only essential difference between these devices being that in one case
the pipes C are made in one with the wall of the tank whilst in the other, they
are separate from the same. When cast in one with the tank the pipes may if
preferred be rectangular in cross section as shown in Figure 6
To prevent any obstacles, such as metal cuttings for instance, from entering
the barrel A and so damaging the lubricator, a gauze partition E (Figure 4)
may be arranged over the barrel in any convenient manner, and the tank A may
be provided with a plug or other device E¹ by which the smaller obstacles or
dirty oil collected in the course of time may be removed from the bottom of the
tank; or the partition E may be made in one with an internal vessel or lining
as shown in Figure 3.
The object of placing the barrel A¹ somewhat below the floor or bottom of
the tank A is to enable as much of the oil in the tank to be used as is advisable,
leaving only a sufficient quantity within the same to ensure against any foreign
matter, which may accumulate at the bottom of the tank, from being fed to the
engine, or the mechanism upon which the lubricator is used.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. In a lubricator of the kind described the combination with a cavity B2 in
the shaft B and the feed pipe C of an air pipe C arranged above the pipe C so
as to communicate with the upper side of the orifice A³ substantially as and for

page_text: the purpose described and made either integral with one wall of the oil bath or
separate from the same.
2. In a lubricator of the kind described the formation of a pair of cavities Ba
by boring transversely through the shaft B and inserting two plugs, such as B³,
in the boring substantially as and for the purpose described.
3. In a lubricator of the kind described the combination with an orifice A³ in
the barrel and a cavity B2 in the shaft of a plug hole C¹ arranged substantially
as and for the purposes described.
4. In a lubricator of the kind described the combination with the barrel A¹
of a shaft B having cavities arranged substantially as described and illustrated
in Figures 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.
5. In a lubricator of the kind described the combination with a cavity Bº of
a stop such as D or D¹ or their equivalents substantially as and for the purpose
described.
6 In a lubricator of the kind described the arrangement in the barrel A¹ of
slots such as As A³ which permit the adjustment of the shaft B without inter-
fering with the working of the machine while preventing the escape of the
plugs 133 from their respective cavities substantially as described.
7. In a lubricator of the kind described the arrangement of the barrel A sub-
stantially below the bottom of the oil tank A as and for the purpose described
8. The complete lubricator substantially as described and illustrated in
Figures 1, 2 and 3 with or without the arrangements of air tubes shown in
Figures 4, 5 and 6 or cavities arranged as shown in Figures 5 and 6, of the accom-
panying drawings.
1000