IMPROVE- MENTS IN AND RELATING TO BEARINGS FOR AXLE AND OTHER JOURNALS
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Harris Lake of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co
Patent Agents Southampton Buildings, London for an Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN AND RELATING TO BEARINGS FOR AXLE AND OTHER JOURNALS
"
communicated to him from abroad by George Washington Stewart of
Atlanta, Georgia United States of America. Gentleman
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Henry Harris Lake at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th July 1883.
HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO BEARINGS
FOR AXLE AND OTHER JOURNALS " communicated to ine from abroad by George
Washington Stewart of Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America Gentleman
This Invention relates to bearings with supporting and strengthening shoes or
boxes, and more particularly to solidified, condensed, or compressed bearings for the
journals of axles for railway vehicles which are subjected to very great weight or
pressure; and the object of the said Invention is the production of comparatively
inexpensive, almost frictionless, and very durable bearings, with means for holding
them in working position and strengthening them.
The said Invention consists essentially in constructing an axle or shaft journal
bearing of a piece of compressed, condensed, or solidified wood; or of compressed
condensed or solidified paper-stock pulp, such as fibrous vegetable substances or of
pulp formed of the fibrous substance, asbestos; the said bearing being supported,
strengthened and held in working position by a metal shoe or box, and its body of
undivided wood, or its moulded body of pulp, being rendered solid, firm, tough,
and durable, and comparatively frictionless, and in degree self lubricating in the
manner hereinafter described.
In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a vertical, central longitudinal
section and.
Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section on the line x, x, of a rail-road car-axle
and journal box provided with the improved car axle journal bearing and its
sustaining shoe or box.
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the shoe and the bearing.
A indicates the car-axle box, B the axle journal bearing, and C the supporting

page_text: and strengthening shoe or box, the parts B and C being shown more plainly in
Figure 3.
The journal d of a railway vehicle or car axle.D in the axle box A Figures 1
and 2 is in working contact with the improved bearing B within the box A. The
car axle journal box A is as usual provided with an ordinary hinged cap b and an
_elliptical opening c with accomodating and dust excluding packing pieces g of
leather or other suitable material. The shoe or box C is provided on its top with a
semi cylindrical rib a and with an upper crowning surface which does not touch
the under surface of the plate of the box A, except on each side of the rib a, when
the shoe or box C is in the horizontal position shown in Figure 1. The said
rib a is fitted loosely in a transverse oblong slot, a formed in the top plate of
the box A and thus fitted, it prevents the shoe from sliding either longitudinally
or laterally while it allows the said shoe freedom to rock in a vertical plane to the
extent required when the axle journal is caused to rise or descend by the
undulations of the rail road track or from other influences.
On each side of the journal box a lug f¹ may be provided for preventing the
shoe C and the bearing B from falling down too far after it has been placed in
its position within the box A. These lugs are not necessarily used and might be
dispensed with. The shoe on its underside, is formed with a dovetailed or other
suitably shaped groove f of considerable depth and either open or closed at both
ends. It is intended that the shoe shall serve as a confining and strengthening
support for the hearing B, and therefore its groove or chamber f should be deep
enough to contain nearly the. entire bearing. In some constructions when the
bearing is formed from moulded condensed or compressed vegetable fibrous pulp, a
light metal shell of brass or of alloy may completely surround the sides and ends of
this woody bearing, and the bearing thus constructed is slipped into the dovetailed
groove of the iron shoe C in the same manner as the solid wood block shown in
Figure 3 is slipped into the said shoe. A bearing thus bound with brass, or an
alloy of metals would have the frictional wear come upon the lower narrow edge of
the brass which would extend down below the flanges of the shoe, as well as upon
the woody body, and the whole would wear away about equally. It will be seen
that the flanges which form the groove or chamber f are vertical with the sides of
the box A on their outer surfaces while their inner surfaces are inclined inwards
and downwards as shown. With reference to this construction of the flanges
-forming the groove or chamber the wood bearing B as shown in Figures 2 and 3 is
made tapering to correspond with the dovetailed form of the groove or chamber f
and therefore, (when the bearing is inserted or driven endwise, into this groove, or
into a chamber closed on four sides two of which will be inclined the same as
shown in Figure 3) it will be held from downward movement by the flanges
forming the sides of the groove or chamber. The bottom of the bearing B is
curved at m to correspond with the journal d of the axle D and when the said
journal is in contact with the bearing B and end flanges are not formed on the
shoe or box C, end wise movement of the said bearing will be prevented by the
shoulder of the axle D, and the collar of the axle journal d as shown.
When the bearing is formed from a solid block of wood and not moulded from
fibrous pulp the shoe will be made open at both ends as shown; and when it is
made from fibrous pulp and moulded I prefer to have, the shoe formed with
end and side flanges.
I will now more particularly describe the bearing B, which with a suitable
sustaining shoe or box C, or any equivalent thereof constitutes the essential part
of this Invention. The material used for the construction of the bearing B is
either solid or undivided wood; or paper stock pulp such as vegetable comminuted
substance; or pulp formed of the fibrous comminuted substance asbestos; and
the material for the shoe or box C is either cast or wrought iron; or cast iron
with a light brass lining extending down below the cast iron to the lower face of
the bearing B so as to wear away, with the same,
The brass lining may if desired be dispensed with..
1

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By thus employing a solid wood bearing; or a vegetable fibrous bearing
moulded from pulp; or a fibrous bearing as asbestos moulded from pulp into a .
solid form, I avoid the greater expense attending the use of the ordinary brass or
alloy metal bearings. When solid wood is adopted for the bearing a solid hard
piece of "water oak maple "beech" "elm or other close grain hard wood
is selected, and from the same a bearing B of the form shown in the drawing is
constructed. This block of wood is boiled say for about three hours in linseed oil,
in order to solidify it and render it durable, tough and in a degree self lubricating;
or it is impregnated with borax, or silicate of soda, or with other equivalent solidi-
fying and non-conducting, fire and water proof substance. The block is then
subjected to pressure sufficient to compact and condense its parts and thereby
render it as perfectly solid throughout its body as practicable. In some cases the
wood for the bearing may be steamed to expel sap from its pores preparatory to
its treatment with the oil, or with the silicate of soda or with other substance
mentioned and before it.is compressed..
In preparing the solid blocks of wood for bearings, care should be taken that the
grain of the wood in all cases where practicable should run crosswise of the length
of the journal d of the axle D, so that the revolution of the said journal will be
transverse of the grain ee of the wood, which is represented in Figure 3.
By thus disposing or placing the grain of the wood in the construction of the
bearing B, greater durability is insured and breakage and disturbance of the fibre
by the heavy weight and frictional contact of the journal with the bearing, are
avoided. The block of wood formed into a bearing B, will prior to its treatment
require to be of a much greater thickness than what it is after being compressed
or condensed; and therefore in selecting blocks for forming bearings due
allowance for their reduction with respect to the sizes of the shoes or boxes into
which they are to be used will have to be made. If the wood should be of such
close grain as to be so solid, and durable as not to require compression or con-
densing, the blocks are cut of exact sizes to fit the shoes or boxes Ċ and treated by
boiling them in linseed oil; or by impregnating them with borax silicate of soda
or other non conducting and fire-proof material as herein before described.
Boiling the bearing in linseed oil, or impregnating it with borax, silicate of soda,
or other equivalent agent, has the effect of solidifying the wood of which the
bearing is made; the bearing is thus rendered capable of working with less friction,
while the non conducting substance with which it is treated prevents it from
becoming ignited by overheating. The bearing B by being placed in a metal shoe
or box C has nearly all the heat which may be about it rapidly conducted off by
the metal shoe itself and thus any liability of ignition of the bearing from frictional
heat is further overcome. When the bearing B is made of fibrous vegetable
substance or the fibrous substance asbestos comminuted and mixed as paper pulp,
a cementing fire and water proof composition consisting of quick lime and linseed
oil or other equivalent materials, is mixed with the paper-stock-pulp or asbestos
pulp; and the bearings are formed by pressing or condensing the pulp into
properly shaped independent moulds, or into the shoes or boxes such as C, or
other suitable boxes. In forming the bearings B in this manner it is necessary
that the "pulp" should be pressed to the proper density and hardness or compact-
ness for ensuring solidity and durability of the bearings.
I do not confine myself to the special form of shoe or box shown, nor to the
form of car axle box represented I have merely shown one form of each for the
purpose of plainly illustrating one practical mode of applying the said invention
as I may modify the same by using other forms of axle and shaft journal boxes
than A, and other forms of metal sustaining shoes than C.
Having tbus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign Correspondent and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I Claim.―
First The wood bearing for axle and other journals, in combination with a
metal sustaining shoe or box, substantially as, and for the purpose, described.

page_text: Second-The fibrous bearings for axle and other journals, formed from coni-
minuted fibrous substances cemented together and pressed into solid form, in
combination with a metal sustaining shoe or box, substantially as, and for the
purpose, described.
In witness whereof I the said Henry Harris Lake have hereunto set my
hand and seal this sixteenth day of July in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty three.
HENRY H LAKE,
(L.S.)