Improvements in Lubricators.
Year: 1889

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lubricators.
I, PHILIP M. SHARPLES, Manufacturer of Machinery, residing at 315 East
Marshall Square, West Chester, in the County of Chester, State of Pennsylvania,
United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IM-
PROVEMENTS IN LUBRICATORS and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to means for lubricating shafts by passing the liquid lubricant
repeatedly through the bearing. I am aware that lubricants have heretofore been
pumped back to the point of supply but the object of my invention is to effect a con-
tinuous circulation in a novel yet simple and effective manner. The principle involved
is the utilization of the centrifugal force with which the lubricant tends to fly away
from the surface of the shaft to carry it back to the starting point. The essential
features of the construction are a collar on the shaft and a bearing recessed to recieve
it and provided with a passage into the recess for oil which has served to lubricate the
shaft, and an outlet passage from the same, farther from the centre of the shaft, which
serves to convey it back to the mouth of the inlet passage, to be used again.
The drawings show several applications of my invention.
Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a vertical shaft and bearing involving my invention
Fig. 2 is a section through X Y of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 shows a form of collar which may be conveniently used.
Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of a horizontal shaft and bearing of equivalent con-
struction and
Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the hearing through V W of Fig. 4.
Fig. 6 shows another modified form.
The vertical shaft a passes through the bearing c which is represented as simply a
bushing pressed into a frame or bracket A. The end thrust of the shaft is carried on
a step not shown. The collar 6 may be a separate piece as shown in Fig. 3, the bore
being slightly smaller than the diameter of the shaft and the split permitting it to be
forced snugly onto the latter. The bearing is recessed at the bottom as at to a size
somewhat larger than the collar and a gland which is a loose fit on the shaft is
screwed up into the lower end of the bushing until its face q is close to, but not in
contact with the lower face of the collar 6. An axial groove d in the bearing extends
from an oil receptacle at the top to the recess and a hole e, forming a second
passage from the recess to the oil receptacle, opens into the former at the farthest
possible point from the centre.
The oil being supplied at h passes downward through the grooved in contact with
the shaft, and falls upon the upper surface of the collar b. The latter rotating with the
sbaft, the oil caught upon it is thrown by the centrifugal force against the periphery
of the recess f. The closeness of the collar to this periphery and also to the top
surface q of the gland k prevents it from escaping below the collar as its contact with
the lower face of the latter throws it outward again and its only outlet is upward
hrough the passage e to the starting point h.
In the horizontal journal bearing shown in Figs. 4 and 5 the essential features are
ubstantially the same as above described. The cap piece m contains the oil
eceptacle p which communicates with the horizontal groove d by a hole "",
arallel hole s returns the oil from the recess f as indicated by the arrows.
and a
Fig. 6, shows a variation from the construction illustrated in Fig. 1. The collar b
s in this case shaped like the frustrum of a cone, with the larger diameter arranged to
ace the oil passages d and e. The recess which corresponds with the shape of the
ollar, is independent of the bearing being formed in a flange t which is secured
o the lower end of the bearing, or of the frame or bracket A.
The oil caught

page_text: upon the collar cannot escape downward without also moving towards the centre
in opposition to the centrifugal force and is therefore compelled to take the outlet e.
It is evidently not essential that a groove d shall be employed to effect lubrication as
a slight looseness of the shaft in the bearing will serve the purpose. I prefer to insert
a small tube g in the return passage e carrying the top of said tube above the level of
the oil supply for the purpose of preventing any escape of the lubricant through the
passage e when the shaft is at rest.
I do not limit myself to the construction described as other modifications may
be devised without departing from the spirit of my invention. It is evident also
that if the return passage e be omitted my device is still valuable as the lubricant
will be retained around the shaft and in the groove d by the difficulty of working
past the collar b, and great economy effected though a circulation be not maintained.
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 :
(1) The combination with a rotary shaft provided with a collar, of a bearing having
a recess for said collar, and an oil passage entering the same, said recess closely
surrounding the collar and extending inward toward the centre of the shaft, all sub-
stantially as set forth.
(2) The combination with a rotary shaft provided with a collar, of a bearing
having a recess for said collar, an inlet passage connecting said recess with an oil
receptacle and an outlet from said recess at a greater distance from the centre of the
shaft also communicating with said receptacle, substantially as set forth.
(3) In a centrifugal lubricating device for a collared shaft, a bearing having a
recess for said collar and oil ways entering said recess at different distances from the
centre of the shaft, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 2nd day of July 1889.
PHILIP M. SHARPLES.