AN IMPROVED MODE OF LUBRI- CATING THE PISTONS AND VALVES OF STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER MACHINES ACTUATED BY STEAM
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Ramsbottom, of Crewe, in the County of
Chester, Engineer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MODE OF LUBRI-
CATING THE PISTONS AND VALVES OF STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER MACHINES
ACTUATED BY STEAM.""
Sealed the 27th March 1861, and dated the 10th October 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Ramsbottom at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th October 1860.
I, JOHN RAMSBOTTOM, of Crewe, in the County of Chester, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED MODE OF
LUBRICATING THE PISTONS AND VALVES OF STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER MACHINES.
ACTUATED BY STEAM," to be as follows:-
This Invention is applicable in lubricating the slide valves, pistons, and
cylinders of steam engines, steam hammers, rivetting machines, and other
O machines actuated by steam, and it consists in employing a vessel with a
narrow neck or orifice opening into or connected with the steam chest or
cylinder, or both; this vessel is filled with oil or other lubricating material.
When the engine is at work the action of the steam displaces a little of the, oil
or other lubricating material from the orifice of the vessel, and the condensed
steam or water takes the place of the lubricating material thus displaced; the
water being of a greater specific gravity than the lubricating material, descends
in the vessel and displaces a corresponding quantity of the lubricating material,

page_text: which is thus raised to the orifice and carried off as before by the action of the
steam; this action continues as long as the engine is at work, or until all the
lubricating material has been displaced by the water. The vessel is con-
sequently always filled with lubricating material or water, or both.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Ramsbottom in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th April 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
RAMSBOTTOM, of Crewe, in the County of Chester, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Ramsbottom, Her special licence that I, the said John Ramsbottom,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Ramsbottom, 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 "AN IMPROVED MODE
OF LUBRICATING THE PISTONS AND VALVES OF STEAM ENGINES AND OTHER MACHINES
ACTUATED BY STEAM," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
John Ramsbottom, 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 John Ramsbottom, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):-
This Invention is applicable in lubricating the slide valves, pistons, and
cylinders of steam engines, steam hammers, rivetting machines, and other
machines actuated by steam, and it consists in employing a vessel with a
narrow neck or orifice opening into or connected with the steam chest or

page_text: cylinder, or both; this vessel is filled with oil or other lubricating material..
When the engine is at work the action of the steam displaces a little of the oil
or other lubricating material from the orifice of the vessel, and the condensed
steam or water takes the place of the lubricating material thus displaced; the,
water being of a greater specific gravity than the lubricating material, descends
in the vessel and displaces a corresponding quantity of the lubricating material,
which is thus raised to the orifice and carried off as before by the action of the
steam; this action continues as long as the engine is at work, or until all the
lubricating material has been displaced by the water. The vessel is con-
sequently always filled with lubricating material or water, or both.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect, I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Fig. 1 is a section, and Fig. 2 a side elevation, of part of a locomotive
steam engine, with outside cylinders, to which my improvements are applied..
In these views a is the cylinder, and b the steam chest, both of which are
furnished with my patent gravity lubricators; the details of their construction
will be described hereafter in reference to Figs. 6 and 7. I wish it to be
understood, that although two lubricators are shewn in the Drawing, it is only
requisite to employ one of them; the same remark applies to Figs. 3, 4, and 5.
Fig. 3 is a section, and Fig. 4, a side elevation, also in section, of part of a
locomotive steam engine, with inside cylinders, to which my improvements are
applied. a and b are the cylinder and steam chest; in this case the lubricator
for the steam chest is similar to that shewn in Figs. 1 and 7, but the lubricator
for the cylinder is shewn detached in Fig. 8.
Fig. 5 is part of a stationry steam engine, shewing the mode of applying
my improved lubricators to the cylinder a, or to the steam supply pipe c; these
lubricators are shewn in Figs. 6, 7, and 9.
Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9, are detached views on an enlarged scale of my patent
gravity lubricators. Fig. 6 represents, the lubricator suitable for being fixed
upon a steam pipe, steam chest, or steam cylinder, such as the one shewn at a
in Figs. 1, 2, and 5: d is the vessel containing the oil or other lubricating
material; this vessel is screwed on the tube e, which is screwed into the metal
of the pipe, chest, or cylinder; within the tube e, and secured to it below, is
the pipe f, a space being left between the two throughout the greater part of
their length for the admission of air to cool the pipe f; the air enters through
the passages e', which are drilled in the shoulder of the tube e. The upper
part of the vessel d is closed by the plug g, which is taper at the bottom, and
partially closes the orifice of the pipe f. The action of the lubricator is as

page_text: follows: On starting' the' engine the vessel d is filled with oil or other
lubricating material until it is level with the upper orifice of the pipe f, the
lower end of the pipe f being open to the interior of the steam pipe, chest, or
cylinder. During the working of the engine the steam rises up the pipe f, and
a portion becoming condensed by contact with the lubricating material,
descends through it by its own gravity in the form of water, thereby displacing
a little of the lubricating material, which then descends through the pipe f into
the cylinder and lubricates the piston; or if the apparatus is placed on a steam
pipe' or chest, the portion so displaced is carried with the steam into the valve
box. Each successive stroke of the engine produces a similar effect, but as
the water is of greater specific gravity than the lubricating material, it is
evident that the water collects at the bottom of the vessel d, and keeps the
upper surface of the lubricating material at all times level with the orifice of
the pipe f; the action continues as long as the engine is at work; or until all
the lubricating material has been displaced by. the water; the vessel dis
consequently at all times filled either with lubricating material or water, or
with both. When it is requisite to replenish the vessel d with lubricating
material, the plug g is removed, and the water is drawn out by means of a
syphon or syringe, the fresh supply of lubricating material is then introduced,
and the plug g again screwed in its place. The lubricator shewn in Fig. 7 is
applicable when placed below the steam pipe; steam chest, or steam cylinder,
as represented in Figs. 1, 3, 4, and 5; in this case the vessel d is screwed into
a socket, which is permanently secured in the lower part of the steam pipe,
chest, or cylinder, and the pipe ƒ enters partly into the steam pipe or chest in
any convenient position, and so as to be above the level of any condensed
water that may accumulate therein. On starting the apparatus the vessel d
must be filled with the lubricating material until it is level with the orifice of
the pipe f; the steam which becomes condensed at the top of the pipe f
descends to the bottom of the vessel d, and gradually displaces the lubricating
material, which is conveyed with the steam to the valve facing, and from
thence to the cylinder. In replenishing, the vessel d is unscrewed and the
water discharged, the lubricating material is then supplied, and the vessel
replaced; or, when the lubricator is applied in a steam pipe, as in Fig. 5, the
plug g' can be removed, and the water withdrawn by a syphon or syringe; or
in order to avoid the necessity of removing the vessel d, stop cocks may be
applied at the top and bottom of the vessel for discharging the water and
replenishing with lubricating material, but the simpler arrangement, as shewn,
is preferred.
Fig. 8 represents a lubricator similar to the one shewn attached to the lid

page_text: of the cylinder a in Fig. 4; the vessel d is provided with a pipe f which rises
up through the neck of the vessel d, and is partially closed by the taper plug 9;
to the neck of the vessel d is cast or attached the conical plug i, which passes
through the socket j, forming together a stop cock; the socket j has a pro-
jecting arm, which is screwed into the lid of the cylinder, or into the side of a
steam chest or steam pipe. When the lubricator is in operation, the passage
is
s open from the cylinder to the vessel d, as shewn in Fig. 8, but when it is
requisite to replenish the vessel d with lubricating material the plug is
unscrewed, and the vessel d is turned partly round to shut off the com-
munication with the cylinder, and to allow the water to run off; the vessel d
is then brought back to its original position and refilled with lubricating
material; when the plug 9 is replaced, the lubricator is again ready for use.
Fig. 9 represents a lubricator suitable for lubricating the cylinder of a
stationary engine, as shewn in Fig. 5; in this case the vessel d is supported
by a bracket k fixed to the wall of the engine house, or in any other con--
venient manner, and the pipe 7 forms the communication between the vessel d
and the lid of the cylinder; the pipe l is connected to the vessel d by a union
joint; the water in the vessel d is discharged when required by a syphon or
syringe, and replenished with lubricating material, as before described. The
vessels shewn are of such dimensions as to contain about a week's consumption.
of lubricating material, but the dimensions may be increased or diminished.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described several
modes of carrying the same into operation, I wish it to be distinctly understood
that I do not intend to limit myself to the precise forms or details given, as
the apparatus may be constructed in various other ways without departing
from the principle thereof; I therefore claim as the Invention secured to me
by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, the lubricating of the
pistons and valves of steam engines or other machines actuated by steam, by
displacing minute portions of lubricating material by the condensed steam, and
conveying the said portions of lubricating material to the rubbing surfaces of
the pistons and valves with the steam, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Ramsbottom, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
J. RAMSBOTTOM. (L.S.)