Improvements in Bearings for Shafts and the like.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Aug., 1890-Accepted, 20th Sept., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Bearings for Shafts and the like.
I, ROBERT WASHINGTON MOFFETT of Denver in the County of Arapahoe and State
of Colorado, United States of America, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of my invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Heretofore anti-friction journal bearings have been constructed in which the
journal has impinged upon a surrounding series of rollers interposed between
itself and its journal box. To keep these rollers parallel with their surrounded
journal and prevent their mutual interference they have been spaced relatively to
each other by providing each with a spindle the ends of which are lodged in the
retaining rings of a roller cage. Sometimes this mode of construction has been
so far refined that each of the rollers above referred to impinge upon its own
spindle, not directly but only through the interposition of similarly acting but
smaller and auxiliary rollers. In these latter cases, however, no similar provision
for preserving the proper alignment of these auxiliary rollers has been heretofore
attempted, and in practice it has been found that these auxiliary rollers will not
preserve their parallelism with their enclosed spindle. To obviate this difficulty I
discard the auxiliary rollers and use ball bearings between the main roller and its
spindle. And by locating these balls at each end of each main roller, between it
and the adjacent face of the retaining ring of the roller cage, they perform the
additional function of spherical anti-friction lateral bearings between these parts.
My method of construction by which I attain both of these objects is well
illustrated by the accompanying drawings which represent the best embodiment
of my invention now known to me. This construction may be better understood
by reference to the drawings, in which,
Figure 1, is a longitudinal, vertical central section of a journal bearing embodying
my improvement:
Figure 2, is a cross section of the same, taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 1,
looking in the direction of the arrow in the latter figure:
Figure 3, is a detached, detail end view of one of the anti-friction rollers, its
spindle and the intervening anti-friction balls, and
Figure 4, is a detached, detail side elevation of a part of the roller cage, showing
the mode of connecting the retaining rings together.
In these drawings 2, is the main journal to which my anti-friction bearing is
applied, and 3, is the journal box in which it is encased; 4, is one of the series
of anti-friction rollers interposed between this journal box and its journal, 2, all
around the latter, 5, is the retaining ring in which are mounted the spindles, 6, of
the rollers, 4. To obviate friction between this roller and its spindle each end of
the former is provided with a cup shaped concavity, 7, which forms a seat for a
series of balls, 8, surrounding the spindle. At the same time this scat, 7, is of a
depth slightly less than the diameter of the balls, the object being to interpose
the latter between the roller and the retaining ring so as to obviate all friction
arising from the end thrust of the former against the latter. The end thrust of
the retaining ring itself against the end of the journal box is taken up by the
balls, 9, in the usual manner. It will be observed that the retaining ring is thus
kept clear not only of the roller and the end of the journal box but of main
journal and the sides of its journal box as well, this latter result being obtained
by making the ball seat, 7, of a diameter barely large enough to surround the
balls and their enclosed spindle, while the internal and extreme diameters of the
retaining rings are such as to afford it ample clearance both as to the main
journal and those sides of the journal box parallel therewith. Therefore, aside

page_text: from occasional end thrusts the bearing pressure between the main journal and its
journal box is thus transmitted solely through the rollers, 4, the retaining rings
being in no sense supports of, but on the contrary a load, but only to the extent
of their own weight, upon these rollers (with the intervention of the spindles, 6,
and balls, 8).
To keep the main rollers parallel with each other and their enclosed main
journal the retaining rings are firmly connected together by the bolts, 10, forming
the usual roller cage.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1. declare that what I
claim is:
1. In an anti-friction journal bearing, a bearing roller, its spindle and inter-
posed balls, in combination, substantially as set forth.
2. In an anti-friction journal bearing, bearing roller, retaining rings provided with
spindles for said rollers and balls interposed between the roller, the spindle and
the adjacent retaining ring, in combination, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 19th day of July 1890.
ROBERT WASHINGTON MOFFETT.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.