Improvements in Lubricators.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 5th May, 1896
Complete Specification Left, 5th Feb., 1897-Accepted, 6th Mar., 1897
Improvements in Lubricators.
I, CHARLES ANKERS, of 22, Hospital Street, Nantwich, Chesbire, Watchmaker,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to lubricators or oilcups, and has especially reference
to oilcups for cycles and for other uses in which such oilcups are difficult of
access.
In order to render such oilcups more easy to manipulate, I provide the lid or
cover of such cups with a spring, the function of which may be to close the lid
or cover or to partially close and partially open the lid. I thus obtain a self-
closing oilcup, or an oilcup which is partially self-closing and partially self-
opening, and which may be conveniently opened and closed by the spout of an
oil-can.
To form an entirely self-closing oilcup, I partially cover the mouth of the cup
with a plate, leaving an aperture for the admission of oil. Swivelled on said plate
is a lid adapted to cover said aperture. Between pins fixed in said plate and lid
respectively, and within the cup, I dispose a spring, the tendency of which is to
close the lid. The lid may be pushed open against the spring by the spout of an
oilcan, disclosing the aperture for oil, and is automatically closed by the spring
on withdrawal of the oilcan spout. Or, I may dispense with the pin fixed in the
covering plate and allow the spring to abut against the cup wall.
In a modification I dispose the spring on an elbow-shaped pin within the cup,
one end of which pin is swivelled in the lid, the other end passing through a
guide hole in the wall of the cup. The spring in this instance abuts against the
wall of the cup surrounding the hole through which the pin end passes as the
lid opens.
In another modification I arrange the spring to perform the double function
of opening and closing the lid. In order to do this I may employ the elbow
pin and spring above referred to, but in this instance I arrange the point
at which the lid is swivelled and the point at which the pin passes through
the cup wall diametrically opposite each other, and I swivel the pin to the
lid at a point normally out of alignment with said points, so that as the
lid is opened the latter point passes from one side to the other of a line
passing through said first mentioned points. The lid is thus opened against the
spring until all three points are in alignment, after which the tendency of the
spring is to open the lid to its full extent. The closing action is the reverse of
this, namely the lid is closed against the spring until all three points are in
alignment, and then the spring closes the lid. By this means the lid may be only
partially opened or closed by an oilcan spout, the remainder of the movement being
effected by the spring. Or, I may dispense with the pin in this modification, and
attach the spring to the wall of the cup opposite to the point at which the lid is
swivelled, the other end of the spring being connected to the lid at a point out of
alignment with said first mentioned points, so that the spring partly opens and
partly closes the lid.
Dated this 4th day of May 1896
J. A. COUBROUGH,
Registered Patent Agent,
10 St. George's Crescent, Liverpool, Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in Lubricators.
I, CHARLES ANKERS, of 22, Hospital Street, Nantwich, Cheshire, Watchmaker,
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 or oilcups, and has especial reference
to oilcups for cycles and for other uses in which such oilcups are difficult of
access.
In order to render such oilcups more easy to manipulate, I provide the lid or
cover thereof with a spring, the function of which may be to close the lid or cover
or to partially close and partially open the lid. I thus obtain a self-closing
oilcup, or an oilcup which is partially self-closing and partially self-opening,
and which may be conveniently. opened and closed by the spout of an oilcan..
In the drawing hereto annexed are illustrated several different constructions of
oilcups according to this invention, on an enlarged scale.
Figure 1 is an elevation of a self-closing oilcup, Figure 2 being a plan of same
when closed, and Figure 3 a plan when opened. I partially cover the mouth of
the cup a with a plate b, leaving an aperture c for the admission of oil. Swivelled
on the plate 6 is a lid d, adapted to cover said aperture. Between pins, e and f,
fixed in the plate baud lid d respectively, and within the cup, I dispose the
spring g, the tendency of which is to close the lid. The lid d may thus be pushed
open, against the spring, by the spout of an oilcan, disclosing the aperture c for oil,
and is automatically closed by the spring on withdrawal of the oilcan spout. In a
modification the pin e may be dispensed with, and a compression spring used, the
end of which abuts against the wall of the cup.
Figure 4 is an elevation of a modified form of self-closing oilcup, Figure 5
being a plan of same when closed, and Figure 6 a plan when opened. In this
modification I dispose a compression spring 9 on the elbow shaped pin h within the
cup, one end of the pin h being swivelled in the lid d and the other end passed through
a guide hole in the wall of the cup. The spring g in this instance abuts against
the wall of the cup. The lid d is recessed at d¹ to receive the point of an oilcan,
and forms-when the lid is pushed back-the oiling aperture.
Figure 7 is an elevation of an oilcup whose lid is partially self-opening and
partially self-closing, Figure 8 being a plan of same when closed, and Figure 9 a
plan when opened. In this modification I arrange the spring g to perform the
double function of partially opening and partially closing the lid. In order to do
this I employ the elbow pin h and spring 9 above referred to, but in this instance
I arrange the point at which the lid is swivelled and the point at which the pin /
passes through the cup wall, diametrically opposite each other, and I swivel the
pin h to the lid d at a point normally out of alignment with said points, so that as
the lid is opened the latter point passes from one side to the other of a line passing
through said first mentioned points. The lid d is thus opened against the spring g
until all three points are in alignment, after which the tendency of the spring g is
to open the lid to its full extent. The closing action is the reverse of this,
namely, the lid d is closed against the spring g until all three points are in align-
inent, and then the spring closes the lid. By this means the lid may be only
partially opened or closed by an oilcan spout, the remainder of the movement being
effected by the spring 9. In a modification the pin h may be dispensed with, and
one end of the spring g is attached to the wall of the cup opposite to the point at
which the lid is swivelled, the other end of the spring being connected to the lid at

page_text: a point out of alignment with said first mentioned points, so that the spring 9-in
compression-partially opens and partially closes the lid d.
Although I have in the annexed drawing illustrated the spring g as a metallic
spiral, it must be understood that india rubber springs, and other springs, may be
used to perform the same function.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A self-closing oilcup or lubricator, consisting of the cup a, cover plate 6 having
an oil aperture c, and the lid d swivelled on the plate b, said lid being kept in its
closed position by the tension spring g, whose ends are attached to the pin e fixed in
the plate b, and the pin f fixed in the lid d, combined, arranged, and adapted to operate
substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the
drawing hereto annexed.
2. A self-closing oilcup or lubricator, consisting of the cup a, the recessed lid d
swivelled on the cup, said lid being kept in its closed position by the compression
spring g disposed on the elbow pin h one end of which is swivelled in the lid d and
the other end passed through a guide hole in the wall of the cup, combined, arranged,
and adapted to operate substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 4, 5
and 6 of the drawing hereto annexed.
3. An oilcup or lubricator, the opening and the closing actions of whose swivelled
lid d are partly and ultimately performed by means of the spring a disposed on an
elbow pin h, one of whose ends passes through the cup wall at a point diametrically
opposite to the point at which the lid is swivelled, and the other end of which is
swivelled to the lid at a point out of alignment with said points, combined,
arranged, and adapted to operate substantially as herein described with reference
to Figures 7, 8 and 9 of the drawing hereto annexed.
J. A. COUBROUGH,
Registered Patent Agent (Qual. by Exom.),
10 St. George's Crescent, Liverpool, Agent for the Applicant.