IMPROVE- MENTS IN LUBRICATING AXLES AND OTHER MOVING PARTS OF MACHINERY
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Archibald Brooman, of 166, Fleet Street,
in the City of London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN LUBRICATING AXLES AND OTHER MOVING PARTS OF MACHINERY."--A
communication from abroad' by Jean Francois Auguste Aerts, of Anvers,
Belgium.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard. Archibald
Brooman at the Office of the "Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 2nd June' 1864.
I, RICHARD ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of 'the' said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LUBRICATING AXLES AND OTHER MOVING PARTS OF
MACHINERY," to be as follows:-
:
This Invention consists in improvements upon one for which Letters Patent
In the
were granted to Auguste Aerts, the .12 March 1861, No. 608.
Specification, of that Patent, there was fixed,at the back of the slide, a collar
upon the axle to prevent escape of water, the lubricating agent employed, on
the side of the nave of the wheel. Around this collar a leather washer was
fixed by small screws in the back plate, this washer was furnished with a
circular spring to cause it to adhere to the collar. This arrangement is found
-to be imperfect, as after a certain time the leather becomes more or less worn
and allows of water escaping from the box.

page_text: To obviate this defect this Invention consists in the arrangements herein-
after described. I substitute for the collar a simple groove A (see the accom-
panying Drawing, made in the axis itself for the purpose of preventing the
water following the longitudinal direction of the axle and thereby escaping at the
back of the box. I alter the form of the plate B, B, as shown, and substitute
for the leather washer and the circular spring a packing of leather or other
suitable material which fits in a groove formed in the body of the plate B, B.
The result of these arrangement is that as soon as the water has passed
between the slide and the journals it reaches the projection C on the axle and
is immediately projected towards the sides of the plate B, on which it descends
to enter the lower reservoir of the box through the annular ring b formed in
the plate B. From this new application of centrifugal force I maintain the
water in the box at a permanent level. Hitherto above each slide of the. axle
the old grease box was retained as a reserve, but as it was found that the
grease blocked up the longitudinal groove made in the journal and prevented
the water reaching the slide, it became necessary to get rid of this defect; I
therefore convert the reserve grease box into a reservoir for water, whereby a
constant and plentiful supply is obtained. Heretofore pure water was used as
the lubricating agent, but from the continual passage of this water between
the rubbing surfaces covered with grease this latter became removed and the
rubbing parts were left bare, giving rise to heating. To prevent this and to
provide for the rubbing parts being always coated with a fatty body, I employ
a composition of soap and fatty body which dissolves in water and forms a new
lubricating agent which not only does not remove the grease previously placed
upon the rubbing surfaces but on the contrary preserves it. The following
are the proportions I prefer for my composition,-one-fifth of soap to two-fifths
of grease or oil, but these proportions may be varied according to whether more
or less saponification is required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Archibald Brooman in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 2nd December 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent,
Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of June, in the year of our Lord

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, Her special licence that I,
the said Richard Archibald Brooman, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, my exe-
cutors, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN LUBRICATING AXLES
AND OTHER MOVING PARTS OF MACHINERY," (communicated to me from abroad
by Jean Francois Auguste Aerts, of Anvers, Belgium,) upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, my .exe-
cutors 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 Richard Archibald Brooman, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say:-
This Invention consists in improvements upon one for which Letters Patent
were granted to Auguste Aerts, the 12th March 1861, No. 608. In the
Specification of that Patent there was fixed at the back of the journal a collar
upon the axle to prevent escape of water, the lubricating agent employed, on
the side of the nave of the wheel. Around this collar a leather washer was
fixed by small screws in the back plate, this washer was furnished with a
circular spring to cause it to adhere to the collar. This arrangement is found
to be imperfect, as after a certain time the leather becomes more or less worn
and allows of water escaping from the box.
Now this Invention consists in the arrangements hereafter described and
represented in the accompanying Drawings.
i
Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 shew the Invention applied to railway axle boxes;
Figure 1 is a section of an axle box through the line a, b, of Figure 3;
Figure 2 is a front elevation partly in section; Figure 3, a plan, and Figure 4,
a transverse section through the line c, d, of Figure 1.

page_text: The journal A of the axle enters the body of the box A, A, which contains
at its lower part a reservoir B for water or other lubricating matter. At the
extremity of each journal of the axle I fix a flanged disc C, secured by means
of a key or catch either on the disc or on the journal, and of a central bolt
furnished with a circular metal plate slightly bulged so as to act as a spring.
By the elasticity of this plate 1 destroy the vibrations produced by rotation,
which unscrew all the bolts acting on hard bodies, as a precaution also with a
view of obviating vibration 1 place under this plate a washer of india-rubber
or other elastic material. The form of the disc and the manner of securing it
to the axle may be varied in many ways, but those shewn in the Drawings
are preferred; D is a packing or block (deversoir) free to play in a vertical
groove cut in the box, it rests on the disc C. The bearings or brasses E, E,
are formed longitudinally with a groove whereby the lubricating matter may
reach all the rubbing surfaces; E is an opening in the front plate of 'the axle
box for the introduction of the lubricating matter. This opening is kept
closed by a spring G fixed against the inside of the plate in order to prevent
dust getting into the box. The lubricating matter may also be introduced at H,
but the special object of the lid or flap H is to regulate the level of the liquid
and to allow of ascertaining at any moment the liquid level; I is circular plate
fitted against a projection cast in the box, against which it is pressed by a
spring J, or it may be fixed by screws instead of being held by the spring.
In this plate, near the bottom of the axle box, holes are formed to allow the
lubricating liquid to pass from the first compartment to the second. This
plate or partition I, which separates the interior of the box into two compart-
ments, filters the lubricating liquid and removes impurities therefrom, the
impurities fall to the bottom of the first compartment. To prevent the escape
of the lubricating matter between the partition 1 and the projection in front
of the block D, I fix an arch of thin metal i in the form of a horse-shoe,
forming a sort of inverted gutter covering all the upper part of the projection,
in order that all the liquid which passes may be caused to fall into the first
compartment; L is a groove formed in the axle at the back of the journal to
prevent the lubricating liquid following the longitudinal direction of the axle
and thereby escaping at the back of the box. This method may be applied
in different ways; it is suflicient to form at the back of the journal one or
more grooves or enlargements to prevent the liquid following the longitudinal
direction of the axle. At the back of the bearing I fix an arch or horse-
shoe P, which covers the enlargement in front of the groove L; this arch
extends down beyond the centre of the axle to prevent the liquid being
thrown against the plate M and thereby escaping at the back of the box.

page_text: M is a plate which I prefer to form as represented in the Drawing; this
plate is made with a groove O in which I fit a packing of leather or other
suitable material; the plate M is also formed with a groove q in which I place
a caoutchouc or other elastic washer, the washer is pressed against the back
of the box by a plate R and bolts S, whereby hermetic closing all round is
obtained. The front plate T is united to the body of the box by bolts U, U,
and hermetic closing between this plate and the box is formed by means of
india-rubber or other packing fitted in the groove Y. To prevent dust
getting into the box by the nave of the wheel I secure to the nave or cast the
nave with a conical recess W, in which the central part of the plate M is
lodged and is thereby protected from dust.
The action is as follows:-When the carriage or wagon is put in motion
the disc C by the action of centrifugal force carries lubricating matter to the
upper part of the box, the lubricating matter being removed from the disc by
the block D is led directly above the journal which it completely covers."
The lubrication thus commences immediately the wheel is put in motion
and is in proportion to the speed of the wheel, for the faster the wheel and
consequently the disc revolve the greater is the quantity of lubricating matter
supplied to the journal; X, X, represents the whole grease box converted
into a reservoir for water or liquid in order that there may always be a large
quantity of liquid immediately over the journal; Z is a trough filled with water
and furnished with a pad almost entirely covered by the water. The upper
part of the pad is coated with a fatty body, and the trough Z is so situated
that the pad touches the journal immediately but lightly. By this arrange-
ment the journal is kept greased and at the same time lubricated with water
on the movement of the wheel. During great speed the sheet or film of
water which falls from the journal passes by one or several openings
formed under the pad, and by reason of the impulsive motion with which
it is actuated proceeds to lubricate the part of the journal at the other
side of the pad. The pad is formed of cloth, sponge, list, or other stuff
capable of absorbing water. The pieces of list are placed side by side but
separated by one or several pieces of cloth. The pad is held compact by
rivets or screws.
It is above stated that the upper part of the pad placed
under the journal is coated with a fatty body. On account of the affinity
of the grease for the metal, the journal and consequently the bearings are
kept by the working of the apparatus continually covered with a thin layer
of grease. This grease not only prevents oxidation but also completely
insulates the water from the journal and the bearings during the passage of the
water between these parts. Being forced by these greased parts between

page_text: which it passes in a thin stream the water prevents contact of the metal of
these paris. By mixing with the water a fatty matter which it will hold in
suspension and which becomes mixed with the water by the motion of the
disc, I am enabled to maintain the bearings and journal well greased
without the employment of the pad, as the liquid mass is continually returning
or passing between the journal and the bearings. The best water for this
purpose is rain water or water as soft as possible. I prefer to employ as
the fatty bodies mixed with the water compounds containing fats and which
dissolve more or less in water without sensibly oxidizing either the iron or
the brasses. Of these compounds I prefer that formed of about one-fourth
oil, one-fourth grease, and two-fourths soap.
Having found that in carriages and wagons with four or six wheels the
ends of the bearings and the shoulders of the journals become much worn
owing to the lateral pressure exerted by the flanges of the wheels on the
rails in going round curves, 1 remedy this defect by allowing the axle boxes
to become displaced with the wheels and axles in the direction of the length
of the latter; for this purpose I form under the carriage spring a double
semicircular slide or two small rollers y, y.
I now proceed to describe the Invention as applied to bearings and shafting
generally.
line f, g, of
This box is
Figure 5 is a longitudinal section of a box through the
Figure 6, and Figure 6 is a front view partly in section.
composed of three main parts, viz., 1st., the lower part A, A, in which
the bearings or brasses B, B, are fitted, and which contains a reservoir C
for water or other liquid. This reservoir extends by means of the channel E
to the compartment D; 2nd, of the upper semicircular part G, G, covering
the disc H and fitting into the lower part, as shewn; is a channel or gutter
fixed to the inner surfaces of the box immediately above the axle for the
purpose of leading into the reservoir the liquid which runs down the sides of
the box. The packing or block K plays in a vertical groove formed in the
box and rests on the disc H. For machinery in which, great speed is required
the block is replaced by a dam, or dish formed in the casting: 3rd, of the
upper part L covering the bearings and uniting the whole by means of bolts
at the two sides of the box.
The mechanical action or principle by reason of which the lubricating liquid
is conducted to the rubbing parts being the same as that described with
reference to Figures 1 to 4 need not be again explained. When the axle
traverses the box, as in Figure 5, the disc is formed of two pieces connected
by screws and is fixed to the axle by a key or screw. When the speed

page_text: of the axle is not greater than 150 revolutions a minute, they may be formed
cylindrical, as in Figure 5; but if the speed be greater, then I form a shoulder
or collar at the back of the journal, as shewn in Figure 9. I also fit above
the shoulder or collar an arch or horse-shoe similar to and for the same
purpose as that shewn at P, Figure 1. For speeds of from ten to sixty
revolutions a minute, I employ a disc with cups or pockets A, A, as represented
in Figures 7 and 8, each cup has two openings, one opening B is in the
felloe of the disc by which the water or liquid is introduced, and the other
opening C is in the face of the cup by which the cup is emptied or partly so
at each turn of the disc. The cups become filled with the liquid which flows
out by the openings C, C, as soon as the cups are raised above the liquid
level. The size of the openings should be proportioned to the speed of the
axle in order that the jet of liquid may continue to flow as long as the cups
have not passed the upper bearing.
To apply the Invention to the slide bars of horizontal engines and to the
spindles of spinning frames I form a channel or gutter all round the slide bars
or the spindles and fill it with water or liquid so as to feed all the rubbing
parts, these parts should however be previously coated with a fatty body.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I clann as the "Improve-
ments in Lubricating Axles and other Moving parts of Machinery,"-
First, the groove L, Figure 1, formed at the back of the journal substantially
as and for the purpose herein-before described.
Second, the arch or horse-shoe P, Figure 1, fixed to the back of the bearing
substantially as and for the purpose herein-before described.
Third, the arch or inverted gutter i, Figure 1, substantially as and for the
purpose herein-before described.
Fourth, the trough z, Figure 1, filled with water in which is placed a pad
almost entirely submerged in the water, the upper part of the pad being
coated with a fatty body, all substantially as and for the purpose herein-before
described.
Fifth, the rollers y, V, Figures 1, 3, and 4, substantially as and for the
purpose herein-before described.
Sixth, the method of securing the disc to the journal by means of a key or
catch either on the disc or on the journal, and of a caoutchouc or other suitable
washer on the central bolt of the disc for neutralizing the effects of vibrations,
all substantially as herein-before described.
Seventh, the particular arrangement of the plate M, Figure 1, and specially

page_text: the groove O, in which a packing of leather or other suitable material is
fitted, substantially as and for the purpose herein-before described.
Eighth, converting the old grease box into a reservoir for water or liquid,
substantially as and for the purpose herein-before- described.
Ninth, the lubricating composition or compositions, formed substantially as
herein-before described.
Tenth, the general arrangement of the parts of railway axle boxes herein-
before described and represented in Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying
Drawings.
Eleventh, the arrangement or combination of parts represented in Figures 5
to 9 and herein-before described for lubricating bearings and shafting
generally.
Twelfth, the application of the improvements herein-before described, or
some of them, to slide bars of horizontal engines and to the spindles of
spinning frames.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Second day of December, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-four.
R. A. BROOMAN. (L.S.)