Improvements in Ball-bearings.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Oct., 1890-Accepted, 6th Dec., 1890
[Communicated from abroad by HENRY HOWARD, of Providence, Rhode Island,
States of America, Ex Governor.]
Improvements in Ball-bearings.
United
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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:-
This improvement refers to that class of inventions in which balls are used to
lessen the friction of bearing surfaces upon each other, by changing a rubbing to a
rolling friction.
When balls have heretofore been used for this purpose, they have been so arranged
and confined in their movements, that their effects upon the bearing surfaces have
been received in limited spaces thereon, with the disastrous result of wearing grooves
or channels in the surfaces that they were intended to relieve.
According to my invention this difficulty is avoided and the effects of the rolling
friction of the balls are distributed over the whole surface of the bearing.
One of the first difficulties found in using balls filled into a bearing promiscuously,
was their interference with each other's motion when the bearing was in use and to
remove this difficulty, collars or washers were introduced to separate the mass of balls
into circles around the bearing, the spaces between the collars being made a little more
than the diameter of one of the balls, to allow them free play. This method of
arranging the balls removed the trouble caused by their interfering with each other,
but produced another difficulty that of making grooves in the bearing surfaces by
causing all the balls in each circle to follow in one track, thereby concentrating their
grooving effects.
In my mode of arrangement, the balls are held in place by a loose spiral guide that
may extend from one end of the bearing nearly to the other, and which is free to
revolve independently of the journal and bearing, having a space between the turns of
the spiral guide to form a recess to receive the balls, the turns of this spiral being
made a little wider apart than the diameter of one of the balls, to insure their perfect
freedom of motion.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a section of a bearing one half of which has been removed to show the
guide, balls and journal in elevation.
Figure 2 shows the bearing and spiral guide in section, with the balls and journal
in elevation.
Figure 3 shows for the purpose of comparison, the mode herein referred to of
holding the balls in the bearing with parallel rings or washers.
Figure 4 is a part of a front elevation of a journal with a part of a spiral guide
and a circle of balls, with vertical lines showing the several paths of the balls on the
surface of the bearing.
Figure 5 shows a circle of balls around a journal when arranged as in Figure 3.
Figure 6 shows an elevation of a spiral guide containing the balls, separate from
the journal and bearing for convenience in handling and for transportation.
Figure 7 shows a vertical cross section of the same parts shown in Figure 6.
Figure 8 shows an end view of Figure 6.
Figure 9 is an elevation of a part of a journal and bearing having inclined
washers or collars placed between rows of the balls to form curved or inclined guides
for the balls.
Figure 10 is a perspective view of one of the collars of Figure 9.
In Figure 1, which is partly in section and partly in elevation, A, is the axle or
journal, D, the hub or bearing, b, the spiral guide, and e denotes the balls. The

page_text: width of the bar of the spiral guide b, between the balls, is supposed here to be about
the same as that allowed for the balls; that is, a little more than the diameter of a
ball, though less or more space may be allowed for the guide. The outer diameter of
the spiral guide is a little less than the diameter of the circle outside of the balls,
and the inside diameter of the turns of the guide, are a little larger than that of the
axle or journal A, that the balls e, may project beyond the guide b, both inside and
outside of the guide, to receive the impact of the surfaces of the journal and bearing.
The spiral guide b, may have straight sides radially, but for the purpose of holding
the balls in place when the hub or box d, is removed, I make the outer peripheral
surface broader than the body of the guide, by extending its edges a¹, Figure 7, over
the sides of the balls, and thus make the outer opening into the passage between the
turns of the guide, a little less than the diameter of the balls, so that the balls cannot
come out, though they will still project sufficiently to come in contact with the surface
of the box. I also make the inner surface of the guide b, at a, Figure 7, to extend
over the balls e, in the same way, so that the balls will not drop in through the
guide when the axle or journal is taken out of it. This construction, which is shown
in the section Figure 7, forms a hollow trough between the turns of the guide, to
hold the balls in the guide when it is taken off of the axle, and by partially closing
in one end at 2 and the other end at 6, the guide containing its proper com-
plement of balls can be handled as an article for transportation for use anywhere.
(See Figure 6.)
The end at 6, is bevelled off so that the balls can be pushed between the bars, by
springing the end out a little as they pass in, and closing sufficiently to prevent them
from coming out by the spring of the metal.
The advantage of this spiral arrangement of the balls in their effects, will be readily
understood by reference to Figures 3, 4 and 5, in which the old-and the new methods
are contrasted and explained.
Figure 5 shows a section of an axle with a circle of nineteen balls around it.
Figure 3 shows a side elevation of the axle, with those balls e held between straight
collars d, in the old way, and it is evident that each circle of nineteen balls will all
bear as they roll, on the bearing at e', and wear a groove at that point. Now, by
reference to Figure 4, in which the same number of balls are shown with the spiral
guide it will be seen that each one of the nineteen balls will have its separate track
of contact with the bearing indicated by a vertical line from the centre of each ball,
that cuts the line of the bearing at one of the marks e² so that the rolling friction of
the nineteen balls, is distributed over nineteen times as much of the surface of the
bearing as it was in the straight collars in Figure 3 and if the latter would run three
months in fair order, the balls in the spiral guide should run nineteen times as long,
or nearly five years.
In Figure 9 is shown an arrangement of washers b, placed on an axle in an
inclined position, by which a short spiral guide from the bottom to the top of the
axle and back on the other side to the same point is produced, which will have
some of the effects of my continuous spiral guide, but which 1 consider not so
satisfactory a mode of arrangement.
The guide may be made spiralling wholly, in one direction but it is preferred to
make one-half of it spiralling in one direction, and the other half spiralling in the
other direction that is, so as to have a right and a left hand twist to the guide, for
the reason that any tendency of the balls to move the guide towards one end of the
bearing, will be divided, and the tendency of the spiral of one-half to move in one
direction will be counteracted by the tendency of the spiral of the other half to move
in the opposite direction, and a perfect equilibrium will result.
To still further cover the space between the tracks of the balls, as shown in Figure 4
a little motion may be given to the guide b, endways of the bearing, so that the track
are made to run into each other, and the balls to roll evenly over the whole surface o
the journal and bearing, thereby polishing, the surfaces and hardening them by th
planishing action of the balls in rolling them over, rendering them capable of lastin
for a long term of service.

page_text: This small reciprocating motion of the guide b, is produced by making a groove f
Figure 1, around in the periphery of the guide, preferably in its middle lengthways.
This groove is not a true circle directly around the guide, but runs a little towards
one end of the guide as it goes up on one side from the bottom to the top and as it
goes down on the other side, it returns back towards the other end of the guide to the
point it started from. The depth of this groove f is a little more than a somi-circle,
or half of the diameter of the balls, that runs in it, and which is held in an opening
in the bearing by a screw-plug a' which is fitted with a screw-thread to screw into the
opening in bearing, and the lower end of the plug s', is made concave, to receive the
upper half of the balls the groove, and the concave in the plug, being made large
enough to allow the ball freedom of motion, and as the guide b, turns in the bearing
the ball s', running in the groove f, will give the guide a reciprocating motion
end ways to the extent of the incline of the groove f, on the guide's surface. The
guide, being perfectly free and also the balls free to turn on their centres in any
direction, but very slight impulse is necessary to give the guide all the reciprocating
motion required. A pin fixed in the bearing and entering the groove f, would serve
to accomplish the endways motion, though not so easily.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by iny
foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is :-
First. In a bearing in which balls are employed for antifrictional purposes, a curved
guide substantially as described to hold the balls in place.
Second. A spiral guide for separating the balls in a ball bearing having its edge
extended over the balls, substantially as shown and described.
Third. In a bali bearing, a spiral guide, formed of rings connected together to form
a spiral trough or passage for the balls, substantially as set forth.
Fourth. A spiral guide for the balls in a ball bearing made separate from the bearing
and journal and having the end of the spiral passage closed, so as to retain the balls
in place, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Fifth. In a ball bearing a spiral guide on the bearing separate therefrom, formed
by placing rings on the bearing, inclined at an angle to the radial plane of the bearing,
substantially as specified.
Sixth. In a bearing in which balls are employed to diminish friction, a loose spiral
frame, having the sides of its convolutions hollowed out, so as to hold the balls in
position independently, substantially as described.
Seventh. In a bearing in which balls are employed to diminish friction, a spiral
frame, surrounding the shaft or axle, and revolving freely thereon, with its convolutions
so constructed as to hold the balls in position without other accessories, substantially
as described.
Eighth. In a bearing in which balls are employed to diminish friction, a loose
frame having the sides of its coils hollowed out so as to hold the balls within, and
revolving freely around the shaft, substantially as described.
Ninth. In a bearing in which balls are employed to diminish friction, a loose
frame revolving freely around the shaft or journal, and provided with a guiding
groove with a ball or pin, substantially as described.
Tenth. In a bearing in which balls are employed to diminish the friction and a
loose guide to hold the balls having a guiding groove therein, the concave screw plug
to hold the guiding ball or pin, substantially as described.
Eleventh. An anti-frictional bearing having interposed between the two wearing
surfaces, rolling parts, the tracks of no two parts being in the same line or coincident.
Dated this 30th day of October 1890.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.