IMPROVEMENTS IN LUBRICATING PARTS OF STEAM ENGINES, AND IN APPARATUS AND MACHINERY TO BE APPLIED FOR THAT PURPOSE
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Lees, of Stockport, in the County of Chester,
Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LUBRICATING PARTS OF
STEAM ENGINES, AND IN APPARATUS AND MACHINERY TO BE APPLIED FOR THAT
PURPOSE."
Sealed the 27th February 1857, and dated the 27th August 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Lees at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th August
1856,
I, THOMAS LEES, of Stockport, in the County of Chester, Machinist, do
hereby declare the rature of the said Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LUBRICATING PARTS OF STEAM ENGINES, AND IN APPARATUS AND MACHINERY
TO BE APPLIED FOR THAT PURPOSE," to be as follows:-
The said Invention is an improvement or improvements upon a former
Invention for which Letters Patent have been granted to me, bearing date the
Twenty-second day of August 1854, and consists in admitting lubricating
matter to the parts requiring it through a valve or stop-cock opened at in-
tervals by the action of the engine; also in making a passage of communication
between one of the steam chambers of the engine and the upper part of the
grease cup, which passage can be opened and closed at pleasure. When this
passage is open, steam is admitted into contact with the lubricating matter, as
well for the purpose of melting and rendering down the same, if necessary, as
of establishing an equilibrium of pressure above and below it. The same
passage being closed, the lubricating matter may be impelled by the expansion

page_text: or pressure of the superincumbent air into the chamber or cavity into which it
is desired to be introduced during the time when the same is exhausted; also
in applying a glass guage to the grease cup or vessel containing the lubricating
matter, or in making such vessel itself of glass, so as to enable a bystander to
observe the quantity of lubricating matter contained therein. The said Inven-
tion consists also in the arrangement and combination of parts of an apparatus
for effecting the above operations, which apparatus consists principally of a
vessel or grease cup of glass or other material to contain the suet, tallow, or
other lubricating matter, having a pipe for the passage of the grease from such
grease cup to the cylinder or other part of the engine to be lubricated, and also
another pipe to convey steam from the cylinder or other steam chamber into
the grease cup.
The grease pipe is furnished with a valve or cock, closed by
a spring or weight, but opened at intervals to allow the passage of the grease,
by mechanism receiving motion from some of the moving parts of the engine.
The steam pipe is provided with a stop-cock, by which steam may be admitted
to the lubricating matter in the grease cup or excluded therefrom at pleasure.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Lees in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 27th
February 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
LEES, of Stockport, in the County of Chester, Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Thomas Lees, Her special license that I, the said Thomas Lees, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Lees, my
executors, 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 PARTS OF STEAM ENGINES,
AND IN APPARATUS AND MACHINERY TO BE APPLIED FOR THAT PURPOSE," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Lees, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the S

page_text: nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 Thomas Lees, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
(that is to say):
My Invention has reference to the lubrication of the cylinders, valve chests,
and other like parts of steam engines. It consists partly in improvements upon
a previous Invention for which Her Majesty's Letters Patent, bearing date the
Twenty-second day of August One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, were
granted to me, and partly in other improvements applicable to the lubrication
of the same parts of engines, and to apparatus for that purpose. The Inven-
tion secured to me under the Letters Patent of the 22nd August 1854, before
mentioned consisted mainly in the construction and use of apparatus specially
adapted for extracting lubricating matter from raw suet, fatty offal, or other.
animal substance affording the same, by admitting steam to render down such
lubricating matter, and allowing the detached particles of such matter to be
carried by the reflux of the steam into the steam chamber in which lubrication
was required. The process was to be effected by placing the grease cup in
communication with the cylinder or other steam chamber by means of a pipe
with a regulating valve or cock, through which steam was to be admitted into
and evacuated from the former as the latter was filled and exhausted alternately.
Now, the objects of my present Invention are, firstly, to admit the grease to
the parts to be lubricated in small quantities, at short and regular intervals,
through an opening of which the extent can be enlarged or contracted at
discretion, so as to increase or diminish the supply of lubricating matter;
secondly, to employ the same grease cup alternatively, either for the purpose of
rendering down animal fat and transmitting the grease derived therefrom to
the parts where it is required, or for the simple application of tallow or other
previously prepared fat or oil; and, thirdly, to enable the attendant to observe
at a glance when the grease cup requires to be replenished.
The improvements whereby I attain these objects, and which constitute my
present Invention, are,-
Firstly, causing some part of the engine to act upon the spindle or plug of
the grease valve or cock so as to open the same intermittently, and so con-
structing the said grease valve or cock that the extent to which the same is
permitted to open may be contracted or enlarged at discretion, in order to

page_text: adjust the quantity of grease transmitted through it to the actual requirements
of the engine.
Secondly, establishing between the steam cylinder or chest and the upper
part of the grease cup a passage or communication distinct from and in addition
to that whereby the lubricating matter is to be injected, the pipe or tube
forming such communication reaching nearly to the top of the grease cup and
having in it a cock or valve, whereby the communication through such pipe
between the grease cup and the steam chamber may be opened or closed
according to the purpose contemplated; the neck or mouth of the grease cup
being also provided with a valve or stop-cock, so that the atmosphere can be
admitted or excluded as required. When the passage through the additional
or extra pipe is closed and the stop-cock in the neck opened, the grease cup is
suitable for the use of tallow or any other ordinary lubricating matter, which
will be impelled into the steam chamber by the pressure of the atmosphere in
the usual manner. When the passage of the extra pipe is opened and the
stop-cock in the neck closed, the same grease cup is adapted for the use of
suet or unrendered animal fat, steam being now admitted for the purpose of
melting and rendering down the same, and the detached particles diffused
through the steam, or descending by their gravity, reaching their destination
through the grease pipe.
Thirdly, applying to the grease cup a glass guage tube, to shew upon in-
spection the height of the grease in the cup; or making the body of the grease
cup itself wholly or partly of glass, so as to enable a bystander to observe the
quantity of grease present therein; and,
Fourthly, the arrangement, conformation, and combination of the parts of
apparatus adapted for carrying into effect the aforesaid improvements.
a
The following description of the last-mentioned apparatus will explain the
manner of carrying into effect the aforesaid improvements. For the better
understanding of such description, I have appended to these Presents a Drawing
representing in vertical section an improved grease cup made after the manner
of my Invention; I shall refer to the parts thereof by means of the numerical
characters marked thereon. 1 is the body of the grease cup, represented as of
globular form, and supposed to be of metal; it is surmounted by a small
cup or funnel 2 to facilitate the pouring in of liquid, grease, or tallow, the said
funnel being removable from its screwed socket at 3 to permit the entrance of
suet or grease in a solid form; there is a stop-cock 4 in the neck of the
funnel, by which the interior of the grease cup can be left open to or closed
against the entrance of the atmosphere or rendered steam-tight. 5 is a ferrule
to be screwed into an aperture in the cover of the steam chamber, to which

page_text: the lubricator is applied, which we may suppose, for the purpose of the present
description, to be the cylinder of an engine. 6 is a double elbow pipe, con-
necting the ferrule 5 with the cup 1. The elbow pipe 6 and ferrule 5 form
the passage by which the grease passes from the cup to the cylinder. The
upper part of the ferrule 5 is formed into a seat for a conical valve 7, the
spindle of which rises upward through a gland 8 in the angle 9 of the elbow
pipe 6, and terminates in that direction in a cross piece or T-head 10, reaching
downwards on the other hand until it is joined by screwing to a square leg 11.
12 is a plug in the lower orifice of the ferrule 5, having small apertures near
its margin for the passage of steam and grease, and a square hole in the middle
for the square leg 11 to pass through without liberty to turn round. The
valve 7 is pressed into its seat by a spiral spring 13 abutting against the lower
end of the gland 8, so that the valve can only be opened by force applied
against the action of the spring 13. This force may be applied to any part of
the valve spindle by any of the reciprocating parts of the engine. In the
present case it is supposed to be applied by the piston, just before it arrives at
the extreme limit of its upward stroke, striking the lower end of the square
leg 11. In order to adjust the length of the leg 11 with nicety to the reach
of the piston, a small rod 14 is screwed into it, the projection of which rod
below the leg can be increased or diminished by turning the screw. The
diagonal dimension of the leg 11 is greater than the inner diameter of the
ferrule 5 immediately below the seat of the valve 7, so that when the leg 11 is
pressed upwards it cannot enter this part of the passage, its corners encounter-
ing the projecting shoulder formed by the contraction of the passage at 15.
The valve 7 can, therefore, only rise until the upper end of the leg 11 comes in
contact with the shoulder 15; and as the distance between the valve 7 and the
upper end of the leg 11 can be increased or diminished by turning the screw
whereby the valve spindle is attached to the leg 11, the lift of the valve can be
easily limited by turning the T-head or handle 10.
From an aperture in the ferrule 5 at 16, proceeds an elbow pipe 17, the
vertical branch of which meets the angle 18 of the double elbow pipe 6.
Through an opening at this angle of the elbow pipe a pipe 19 passes and is
screwed into the upper orifice of the elbow pipe 17, so that the two pipes form
a continuous channel from the ferrule 5 to the upper part of the globe 1, where
the pipe 19 terminates. This canal can be opened or closed by a cock 20
placed in the vertical part of the elbow pipe 17. The pipe 19 is smaller in
diameter than the bore of the double elbow pipe 6, so that sufficient space is
left for the free passage of the grease through the latter.
21 and 22 are horizontal pipes branching from the necks of the grease cup.

page_text: They terminate in glands 23 and 24, which serve to retain the glass tube 25,
into which the horizontal pipes 21 and 22 open. Communications are thus
established between the higher and lower parts of the grease cup and the cor-
responding ends of the glass tube.
When this apparatus is to be used for tallow or other like substance, the
cock 20 is to be closed and the stop-cock 4 opened; the apparatus then forms
a common grease cup, with the difference that instead of the grease being
admitted to the cylinder in large charges through a cock opened by the
attendant, it is introduced in minute doses by the momentary lifting of the
valve 7 at the termination of each upward stroke of the piston, which strikes
the foot of the leg 11 and thereby raises the valve. When the same apparatus
is used for extracting lubricating matter from unrendered suet or fat, the
cock 4 is to be closed and the cock 20 opened. Steam is then admitted to the
interior of the cup, dissolves the suet, and causes the extracted grease to be
injected into the cylinder through the valve 7, which is opened intermittently
by the piston as before. In both cases the glass tube 25 being in communica-
tion with the cup 1 both above and below, will contain a column of melted
grease standing at the same height as the melted grease in the cup, and thus
reveal to the observer the state of the supply within.
Instead of using the glass guage tube, a glass globe may constitute the body
of the grease cup, through the transparent shell of which the contents will be
visible.
The part of the engine chosen to actuate the valve 7, and the mode of
transmitting the motion, may be varied according to convenience and the
nature of the part to which the apparatus is to be applied. In the example
given, the piston was assumed as that part, the lubricator being supposed to be
applied on the lid of the cylinder. A plug frame suspended from one of the
rods of the parallel motion might be applied to lift the valve spindle in the
case of a beam engine, and many other modifications may be imagined. In
the case of a vertical slide valve a projection from the slide may be made to
strike the foot of the leg 11 in the same manner as the piston in the case of
the supposed cylinder. If the slide valve be horizontal, the leg 11 may be
armed with a small friction roller, to be raised by an inclined plane affixed to
the back of the slide, or the required impulse may be derived from the valve
rod in the case of a slide or of any other form of valve.
The parts of the apparatus and modes of operation herein-before described
which I claim as new and of my Invention are as follows:-
Firstly, admitting the lubricating matter to the steam chamber or parts to
be lubricated through a valve opened intermittently by the movements of the

page_text: engine, and regulated as to its lift in the manner described, and the arrange-
ment and combination of the parts of such valve, as described.
Secondly, the use of two distinct communications between the grease cup
and steam chamber or parts to be lubricated, for the purpose of making the
said grease cup applicable, alternatively, either for lubricating with grease ex-
tracted by steam from unrendered suet or other fatty matter, or for the use of
tallow or other prepared fat or oil.
Thirdly, the application of a glass guage tube to indicate the height of the
grease in the cup.
Fourthly, the use of glass as a material for grease cups or for parts thereof,
with a view to rendering the contents of such grease cups visible from the
outside.
And, fifthly, the arrangement, conformation, and combination of the parts
of the apparatus herein-before described or any modification thereof.
But I do not intend by anything herein contained to claim as any part of
my present Invention the use of unrendered suet or fat as a lubricating
material; nor the application of steam for rendering down the same; nor the
use of two distinct pipes or passages between the grease cup and the steam
chamber simply and of itself, but only when employed in order to enable the
grease cup to be used alternatively for lubrication by the two several and
distinct processes before stated; neither do I claim any of the ordinary parts
of the apparatus described separately and by themselves, save and except the
glass guage and the self-acting adjustable valve for the injection of the grease
as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Lees, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Signed and sealed by the said Thomas Lees,
in the presence of
J. TAYLER, Patent Agent,
Manchester.
THOMAS LEES. (L.S.)