Improvements in and relating to Lubricators for Car Axles.
Year: 1889

page_text: Improvements in and relating to Lubricators for Car Axles.
I, THEODORE SAUNDERS, residing at Crosby Street, in the City of Danbury, County
of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, one of the United States of America, Engineer,
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:-
Car axle lubricators have heretofore been devised in which pads provided with
pendant wicks, have been relied upon for conveying oil from a supply thereof in the
axle box to the underside of the axle journal and thence to the brasses or bearings.
In many of these prior lubricators, spring actuated devices have been employed for
supporting the pad in contact with the journal, but so far as my knowledge extends,
the pads have been interposed between the undersurface of the journal, and either
flat or concave or angular surfaced plates or bars mounted upon springs, which
cause the pad to be forcibly pinched or compressed against the journal. In one old
variety of lubricator, an oil chamber encloses the axle box, and a wick passes through
holes in the two side walls of the box, and beneath but in contact with the underside
of the journal, the two ends of the wick being outside of said box and submerged in
oil held in said chamber, and having weights or springs applied so as to pull
downward on, said ends of the wicks, and cause its central portion to bear upward
against the journal. A wick thus arranged to also do duty as a pad, is always under
tension throughout its length, and it is tightly drawn over and in close contact with.
the bottom side of the holes in the axle box, and the absorbent capacity of the wick
is obviously impaired because of its being in a stretched or distended condition, and
its capacity to convey oil from its submerged ends to the journal is impaired because
of the passage of the wick over surfaces on which the wick closely impinges, resulting
in the stripping of much of the oil from the wick, before it can reach the journal.
In my improved lubricators I employ a pad or oil spreader having pendant wicks,
but instead of pinching or compressing the pad against the journal, it is flexibly
held under slight tensile strain in free contact with a large portion of the journal below
the bearing, because it is suspended from two spring supports which are attached

page_text: thereto at its two ends, at the sides of the journal. By thus obviating pinching and
compression of the pad, it can freely receive the oil carried upward by the wicks, and
as freely impart it to and spread it over the journal and it is not exposed to undue
wear, nor is it as liable to get clogged with solid matter, as when forcibly pinched
between the journal and any form of supporting plate.
The pad as used by me operates as an oil spreader to which oil is freely supplied
by pendant wicks which are not under tension, and hence they can exercise their
fullest absorbing and oil-conveying capacities, and the pad, its supports, and the
pendant wicks can be used within any ordinary car-axle box.
My pads supports are novel in their structure, arrangement and mode of operation
in that each has a straight top to which one end of the pad is secured, so as to hinge
thereon and each has a pair of crossed legs, each having
9
delicate spring action.
a curl or two to afford a
When the legs of both supports rest upon the bottom of an axle-box, and the pad
is beneath the journal, both supports exert pressure in vertical planes, alongside of
but not against the journal, and hence they hold the distended suspended pad in free
flexible contact with nearly all of the exposed portion of the journal. These supports
being connected with each other by the pad, they can be folded toward each other and
against the underside of the pad, thereby enabling them to occupy so little space, that
they can be readily inserted into and removed from any ordinary axle-box. When
in position for service, it is only necessary to prevent the lower ends of said supports
from moving toward each other, and this I accomplish in ordinary axle-boxes, by the
use of a detachable keeper, having edges at its sides which serve merely as loose
lateral braces for keeping the feet or lower ends of the supports in their proper
positions. If, however, an axle-box be specially constructed with a view to the use
of my lubricators, it should be provided with keeping edges in the bottom of the box
the yielding capacity of the supports readily enabling their disengagement from
any such form of keepers.
To more particularly describe my improvement, I will refer to the accompanying
drawings, in which-
Figure 1, in perspective illustrates one of my lubricators with its several parts in
the positions they would occupy if the whole were placed within an axle-box.
Figure 2, illustrates a convenient perforated hinge-plate and a gang-staple for
uniting the ends of a pad to its supports.
Figure 3, illustrates a car-axle-box and bearing in longitudinal vertical section, an
axle journal, and my lubricator in side view as when applied to service.
Figure 4, illustrates the same parts in cross vertical section.
The axle-box, A, the journal bearing or <<
of the usual character..
brass," B, and car-axle journal, C, are all
The pad or oil spreader, D, is composed of flexible absorbent fabric, usually about
as long as one half the circumference of the axle-journal, and of somewhat less width
than the length of said journal, and it has pendant wicks, E, which are long enough
to admit of their lower ends resting upon the bottom of the axle-box, so that when
the latter is supplied with oil, the wicks and pad will be freely saturated, said wicks
extending through the pad for better contact with the journal. It is immaterial how
the pad and wicks may be constructed so long as they can take up oil from below
and convey it to the upper surface of the pad. This pad is suspended so as to be in
free flexible contact with a coincident-exposed portion of the journal, upon vertical
spring supports, J, J, each being secured to one end of the pad, so as to afford a
hinging effect which may be obtained readily either by enclosing the top of said
supports in folds of the pad, or by means of holder-plates, F, each having a hinge-
tube, G. occupied by the top of a support, and gang staples, I, which pass through
the pad and through the perforation, H, in said plate, F, and are then.clinched.
This hinging arrangement of the pad, and its supports enables the latter to be
swung toward each other, and folded up toward the underside of the pad, thus
providing for. a minimum of bulk, and enabling these parts to be readily passed into
an opened axle-box, and as readily removed.

page_text: It will be seen that after placing the pad beneath a journal, it will be only necessary
to swing the lower ends of the supports outward, towards the sides of the box for
causing the pad to rise and occupy its proper position with relation to the journal:
The pad is maintained in free flexible contact with the journal, because the supports
exert slight vertical strains on the pad at each side of the journal, and a consequent
slight tensile strain on the pad, throughout its length, but no portion of the pad is
compressed or pinched, and hence undue wear is obviated, and great durability with
a maximum absorbent capacity is assured; and although journals may vary in.
diameter, the pads may in each instance be easily adjusted thereto.
If portions of a pad should at any time be so worn or burned as to render it
unable to withstand the slight tensile strain thereon, it is desirable that the tops of the
supports should still be maintained in their proper relations with reference to each other
and to the journal, and continue to present remaining portions of the pad in contact
with the journal, and hence I sometimes employ the small loose chains, K, suspended
between the supports below the pad, and near its front and rear sides.
It will be seen that it is important that the legs or lower ends of the pad supports *
should be prevented from moving toward each other as would naturally be liable
from the jolting of a car-truck, and hence I introduce a keeper, L, which serves as a
loose lateral brace, because its two side edges present surfaces against which the
lower ends of the supports engage laterally. In this instance the keeper, L, is a
sheet-metal plate in two parts, hinged together on a central longitudinal line, so that
it may be folded more or less to enable its ready insertion and removal from the
usual lid covered opening of an axle-box. This keeper, L requires to be removed,
preliminary to the removal of the pad and its supports, only because in this instance
cach leg of the springs is provided with a foot which stands inwardly toward the
middle of the box, it being obvious that the lower ends of each of said springs
should have such smooth contact with the bottom of the box, as will enable the two
legs of each spring to move freely toward and from each other in exerting its spring
functions, and although each crossed leg of the support, is straight from its foot to
near its top, a coil or two in each affords ample spring capacity for the delicate service
desired.
While this particular form of spring support has special value, other forms of spring
support may be employed without departure from those portions of my invention
which relate to the suspension of the pad in free flexible contact with a journal.
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-
1st. In a car-axle lubricator, a flexible absorbent pad or oil spreader, in combination
with supports which are connected to said pad only at its ends, and wicks pendant
from said pad between said supports, substantially as described, whereby said pad
may be maintained in free flexible contact with the exposed portion of a journal, under
slight tensile strain, and enable it to freely absorb oil taken up by the wicks, and to
impart the same to the surface of a journal.
2nd. In a car-axle lubricator, the combination of an absorbent pad or oil spreader,
having pendant wicks, of a pair of spring supports attached to the ends of said pad,
and between which it is suspended, said supports being adapted to rest upon the
bottom of an axle-box, substantially as described, for maintaining the pad under
slight tensile strain in free flexible contact with the exposed surface of an axle journal.
3rd. In a car-axle lubricator, the combination with an oil spreading pad, of spring
supports which are hinged to the two ends of said pad, substantially as described,
whereby said supports may be folded toward each other below the pad for enabling
the whole to be readily placed into, or removed from an axle-box.
4th. In a car-axle lubricator, the combination with an oil spreading pad, of two
spring supports attached at their tops to the ends of said pad, and each support
having two crossed spring legs, adapted to rest upon the bottom of an axle-box, and
by exerting vertical strains to maintain the pad against the exposed portion of a
journal, under a light tensile strain, substantially as described.

page_text: 5th. In a car-axle lubricator, the combination substantially as hereinbefore described,
of an oil spreading pad, two vertical spring supports, attached to the ends of said pad,
and adapted to rest upon the bottom of an axle-box, and a detachable keeper,
operating as a loose brace. between the lower ends of said supports for maintaining
them in a vertical position when in service.