IMPROVED MEANS FOR LUBRICATING CAR AXLES
Year: 1884

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
We, SAMUEL ALBERT FLOWER and PHILIP ROSS, residing at Jersey City in
the County of Hudson and State of New Jersey, one of the United States of
America, Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of our Invention for
IMPROVED MEANS FOR LUBRICATING CAR AXLES, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :—
Our Invention consists of improvements in fibrous material to be employed as
a vehicle by which to apply the oil in a car axlo box to the journal for lubricating
it, the said improvements consisting of strong resilient fibres such as cocon-nut
fibres, or it may be fine springy metal wires combined with the absorbent fibres,
such as jute, cotton waste, wool or woolen yarn commonly used for the purpose,
but not having the resilient power to resist the shocks to which it is subject and
being incapable of standing up, so to speak, and maintaining the contact for
any material length of time that is necessary for successful lubrication by such
material.
Our Invention also consists of an improvement of absorbent materials of woody
fibre, which will be mostly used on account of cheapness for such lubricating
purposes, by a chemical treatment for removal of the natural gummy and oily
matters to increase their absorbent and capillary action.
The fibrous materials such as cotton waste and the like sometimes used in car
axle boxes as an absorbent are not very satisfactory because they have but little
capillary power and less resilience and very soon settle down in a soggy mass and
fall away from contact with the journal so that both the capillary action and the
bearing contact are soon lost and whatever absorptive properties the fibres may
yet retain are of but little or no benefit.
The value of fibrous packing for car axle boxes lies almost wholly in these two
properties, the resilience being perhaps the most valuable of the two because the
oil which is thrown up in considerable quantities by the sbocks and jars of the
cars while in motion lodges on the fibres bearing up against the surface of the
journal and is conducted thereto in liberal measure by the tendency of the oil to
flow along the fibres.
The preparation by which we effect the desired improvement of the lubricating
properties of the fibres consists of boiling them in a solution of caustic alkali

page_text: under pressure to open the pores, cells &c., and remove the oily and gummy matters
which renders the fibres more lasting in the lubricating oils and enables the
cellular structures of the fibres to absorb and conduct the oils much more effectively
than when not so treated and the resilience of the fibres is increased by the
substitution of the lubricating oil for the natural gummy and oily matters which
do not when retained in the fibres fill and distend the fibres as the lubricating oil
does, which maintains the resilience.
The utility of the combination of the strong resilient metal or cocoa-nut fibres
and absorbent jute and other like fibres lies chiefly in the greater size strength and
resilience of the metal or cocoanut fibres to re-inforce the lesser resilience of the
finer jute fibres which have greater capillary power and also greater power of
holding up the oil against the journal than the coarser cocoa-nut and wire
fibres.
For this reason these fibres combined afford a better vehicle for lubrication in
their natural state than any absorbent fibres alone and we propose to so employ
them without the chemical treatment in some cases, but the absorbent fibros and
also the cocoa-nut fibres are greatly improved by such treatment.
The proportions of the different fibres which we prefer are about fifty per-cent
of each when cocoa-nut and absorbent fibres are used, but it will be understood
that the proportion may be varied as desired and when wire is employed the
proportion of wire may be much less than of the absorbent fibres.
In the accompanying Drawing we have represented a longitudinal sectional
elevation of a car axle box a, and a side view of a portion of an axle b, showing
the mode of using the fibrous material c, which is placed in the box under the
journal d, in sufficient quantity to pack up around and against the journal suitably
to enable the oil thrown up amongst the fibres of the upper part by the shocks of
the cars or raised up by capillary action to flow on to the journal and thus
effectually keep it lubricated.
We have found in practice that our improved fibrous packing affords better
lubrication with much less oil than cotton waste and other like fine and highly
absorbtive fibres alone.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. A fibrous packing for car axle boxes consisting of cocoa-nut or other resilient
fibro and jute or equivalent absorbent fibre in combination substantially as
described.
2. A fibrous packing for car axle boxes consisting of combined cocoa-nut or
other resilient fibre and jute fibre or other equivalent absorbent woody fibro
chemically treated with caustic alkali for the removal of the natural resinous and
gummy matters of the fibres substantially as described.
Dated this 94th day of May 1884
SAMUEL ALBERT FLOWER.
PHILIP ROSS.