IMPROVEMENTS IN LUBRICATING APPARATUS FOR STEAM ENGINE CYLINDERS AND OTHER PARTS OF MACHINERY
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Timothy Holland, of Troy, New York, United States
of America, Manufacturer. for au Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LUBRICATING APPARATUS FOR STEAM ENGINE CYLINDERS AND OTHER PARTS
OF MACHINERY"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Timothy Holland at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th April 1883.
TIMOTHY HOLLAND, of Troy, New York, United States of America, Manu-
facturer. " IMPROVEMENTS IN LUBRICATING APPARATUS FOR STEAM ENGINE
CYLINDERS AND OTHER PARTS OF MACHINERY
"
My invention relates to lubricating apparatus for steam engine cylinders and
other parts of machinery and comprises improvements in that class of lubricators
described in the specification of former Letters Patent dated 15th August 1882
N° 3888, in which apparatus the oil is introduced into a cup or vessel which is
connected to a water chamber, the oil being forced from the said cup or vessel, by
the pressure of steam acting upon the water in the said chamber, into a
gauge glass or tube connected at its lower end to the cylinder or other part to be
lubricated.
In the said lubricating apparatus as formerly constructed for supplying two
cylinders, two oil cups or vessels and two water chambers are employed, the latter
being connected to the steam pipe from the boiler by two branch pipes both of
which are closed by a single valve. Another pipe leads downward from the said
steam pipe and has two branches leading to the lower ends of the said cups or
vessels and into the pipes connected to the cylinders, and supplies steam to equalize
the pressure in a chamber immediately above the point of connection of each of the
last named pipes with the apparatus.
According to my present invention, instead of two oil cups and two water
chambers, I employ only one oil cup or vessel and one water chamber for
supplying oil to two cylinders or other parts to be lubricated, thereby greatly
diminishing the cost of the apparatus and simplifying its construction.
For this purpose I fit between the said oil-cup and the water chamber, a
cross-piece formed with a passage which is connected to the steam pipe passing

page_text: through the water chamber and extends through the said cross-piece into an
annular chamber at each end of the same. The said cross-piece is also made with
two passages extending in both directions from the interior of the oil cup and each
connected at its outer end with a pipe leading downward into a tube or gauge
glass; screw-down or other suitable valves are provided for closing or regulating
the amount of opening of the said passages. Another passage is also made in the
said cross piece, pissing around one side of the steam passage, for connecting the
water chamber with the oil-cup.
1 dispense with the pipe de-cribed in the former Specification for admitting the
steam to the pipes connected to the cylinders, and instead thereof I employ the
following means for maintainnng the pressure in the guage glasses uniform, that is
to say, I attach a cross-piece to the lower end of the oil cup, which cross-piece is
made solid at its central part and has at each end a chamber divided by a diaphragm
having an aperture into which fits an adjustable valve for regulating the amount
of opening of the said aperture
It is very important that the pressure in the gauge-glass, which is supplied with
steam directly from the boiler, should be maintained uniform and that, should
there be a vacuum in the cylinder, the pressure in the gauge-glass and the steady
flow of oil through the the same should not be affected thereby. These advantages
are ensured by employing the valve above described, which valve can be so
adjusted that the oil will flow drop by drop into the gauge glass and will be
admitted at a uniform rate into the cylinder.
I sometimes attach the lubricator to a locomotive or other boiler in the following
manner, that is to say, I fix the apparatus by means of a screw nut to a bracket
secured to the interior or exterior of the shell of the boiler by bolts or the like,
and I connect the water chamber directly to the boiler by means of a bent pipe;
by these means I reduce the length of the pipe through which the steam is
conducted to the apparatus, as compared with the methods heretofore adopted, and
I thus obtain a pressure in the apparatus more approximating to the pressure in
the boiler than has hitherto been practicable.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent and of
an Order of the Lord Chancellor filed by the said Timothy Holland in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 10th November 1883.
TIMOTHY HOLLAND, of Troy, New York, United States of America, Manu-
facturer, IMPROVEMENTS IN LUBRICATING APPARATUS FOR STEAM-ENGINE
"
CYLINDERS AND OTHER PARTS OF MACHINERY
"
My invention relates to lubricating apparatus for steam-engine cylinders and
other parts of machinery, and comprises improvements in apparatus of the class
described in the specification of former Letters Patent dated 15th August A.D. 1882,
N° 3888.
In this apparatus the oil is introduced into a cup or vessel communicating with
a condensing chamber, and the said oil is forced, by the pressure of steam acting
upon the surface of water in the said condensing chamber, into a gauge
glass or tube connected at its lower end to the cylinder or other part to be
Jubricated.
According to iny present invention I construct the apparatus with one oil cup
or vessel and one condensing chamber, which cup and chamber are connected with
two gauge glasses or tubes, so that the apparatus will supply oil to two cylinders
or other parts to be lubricated; I thus greatly diminish the cost of the apparatus
and simplify its construction.
I dispense with the pipe described in the said former specification for admitting
steam to the oil-pipes leading to the cylinders or other parts to be lubricated, aud
instead thereof I employ the means hereinafter described for maintaining a uniform
pressure in the gauge-glasses.
My present invention, moreover, comprises various novel features of construction
as hereinafter set forth.
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 is a vertical section, partly in elevation, of my improved apparatus.
Figure 2 is a section on the line y, y, Figure 1, with some of the parts shewn in
elevation, and
Figure 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing improved means for
fixing the oil cup or vessel and connecting the condensing chamber to a boiler.
A
a represents the cup or vessel into which the oil is first introduced, b a chamber
connected by means of an ordinary union with the cross-piece c, which is screwed
into the upper end of the said cup or vessel. The chamber b is designed to receive
the water resulting from the condensation of steam which enters the said chamber
by the pipe d. This pipe is provided with a suitable valve or cock d' for regulating
the admission of steam. A passage e leads from the lower end of the condensing
chamber bthrough the cross-piece c to the upper part of the cup or vessel a.
pipefis inserted in the said cross-piece to conduct the water from the chamber b
to the bottom of the cup or vessel a. To the arms of the cross-piece c the tubes
or gauge-glasses g are connected in the ordinary manner.
Each of these gauge
glasses communicates with the cup or vessel a at the top thereof by a passage / in
the said cross-piece and by a small pipe fixed in the said cross-piece and
projecting downward into the gauge glass. The passages h can be closed, or the
extent of their opening regulated, by means of the screw-spindles h³.
The cross-piece.c.also has a passage i which is connected at its centre to the
pipe j. This pipe projects upward into the chamber b. The passage i extends in
both directions from the pipe j as far as the annular chambers k. The pipe and
passage i serve to conduct the steam from the chamber b into the gauge glasses g.

page_text: The oil is indicated in the drawing by the black surface a¹ and the water by the
broken lines a. The oil is forced out of the cup or vessel a by the water rising
therein as hereinafter set forth.
This
Another cross-piece c¹ is screwed into the lower end of the oil cup a.
cross-piece is made with a central recess c³, which forms part of the oil chamber;
it also has chambers at its ends. Each of the chambers is divided by a
diaphragm m which is perforated and counter-sunk as shown to serve as a seat for
a valve formed by the extremity of the spindle n, which is screwed into the end of
the cross-piece c' and is provided with a stuffing box in the ordinary manner. The
gauge glasses g are connected in the ordinary manner to the tubes p which are
screwed into sockets in the cross-piece c' above the chambers l. A valve 9 is fitted
in the bottom of each of the said tubes p for the purpose hereinafter specified. The
pipes are connected to the apparatus below the chainbers to conduct the oil to
the cylinders or other parts to be lubricated.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows, that is to say-The cup or vessel a
is first filled with oil through the inlet 8, the stopper & being removed for this
purpose. The said stopper is then replaced and the inlet tightly closed thereby;
The valve d' is then opened to admit steam from the boiler by the pipe d into the
chamber b, in which some of the steam condenses and the water resulting from
the condensation is forced, by the pressure of the steam, through the passage e and
pipe finto the lower part of the cup a. The passages h being partially opened, the
oil is forced, by the rising of the water in the said cup, through the said passages
and the pipes h¹ into the gauge glasses. Steam also enters the said gauge glasses
by the pipe and passage i so that the pressure within the gauge glasses is usually
approximately the same as that in the boiler, and the liability of the oil to be
forced out of the cup a too rapidly is thus obviated. The valves n are then
slightly opened to permit the oil to flow into the cylinders or other parts to be
lubricated.
It is of great importance that the pressure in the gauge glasses should be
maintained uniform because, assuming the pressure therein to be high (one hundred
and forty pounds per square inch for example), if there is a vacuum in the cylinder
the oil would have a tendency to flow rapidly from the oil cup into the cylinder.
This uniformity of pressure is ensured by the employment of the diaphragms m
and the screw-spindle valves n, as each of these valves can be so adjusted that
there will only be a passage sufficient for the oil to enter the piper drop by drop
at any desired intervals. Should the pressure in the cylinder, by reason of the
compression of steam, therein by the piston for instance, exceed that in the boiler,
the valve q will prevent the forcing back of the oil into the gauge glass by such
pressure.
A valve is provided at the lower part of the cup a for the purpose of draining
the water therefrom when necessary.
I sometimes provide the following means for fixing the cup or vessel a and
connecting the chamber b to a locomotive or other boiler, that is to say:-The cup
or vessel a is provided with a screw-threaded stemn t which is passed through an
aperture in a bracket u, Figure 3, and secured therein by a nut v. This bracket
is fixed either to the exterior of the boiler B as shown, or in any other suitable
manner. A bent pipe w is connected at one end to the top of the boiler and at
the other end to the top of the condensing chamber 6 for the supply of steam to
the latter, and the said pipe is provided with a stop cock w².
It is obvious that, if desired, the oil cup or vessel may be made with a solid
bottom and the central part of the lower cross-piece c' be dispensed with, each of
the gauge glasses being arranged in connection with a chamber as above
described.
Having thus fully described my said invention and the manner of performing
the same I wish it understood that I claim the improvements in lubricating
apparatus for steam-engine cylinders and other parts of machinery, comprising:-
First. The combination, with an oil cup or vessel and a condensing chamber.

page_text: connected as above described, of two gauge glasses or tubes each connected by
pipes and passages with the said cup or vessel and with the upper part of the
condensing chamber, substantially as, and for the purpose, set forth.
Second. The upper cross-piece connected with the oil cup or vessel and formed
with the passages e, h and i, and arranged in combination with the pipes f, h¹
and j, and provided with the screw-spindles h², substantially as, and for the
purposes, set forth.
Third. The lower cross-piece connected with the oil cup or vessel and formed
with the chambers divided by the perforated diaphragins, and provided with the
adjustable screw spindle valves, substantially as, and for the purposes, set forth.
Fourth. The combination, with the gauge glass or tube, of the chamber divided
by the perforated diaphragm, the adjustable screw-spindle valve n and the valve q,
all substantially as, and for the purposes, set forth.
Fifth. The means for fixing the oil cup or vessel and connecting, the condensing
chamber to a boiler, substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof I the said Timothy Holland have hereunto set my hand
and seal this First day of October in the year of Our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and eighty three.