IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David McColley Weston, of Boston, Massachusetts,
United States of America, now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings,
London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
TEL
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said David McColley Weston
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition
and Declaration, on the 13th October 1870, pursuant to the 9th
Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DAVID
McCOLLEY WESTON, of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America,
now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS, I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION. OF SELF-LUBRICATING HUBS OR BOSSES FOR PULLEYS AND
WHEELS," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my
executors, adminstrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the
same, and have made solemn Declaration that I am the true and first
Inventor thereof.

page_text: NEW BROW 1, that 1, the sand David M Coney weston, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing forming a
part of this Specification:-
My Invention relates more particularly to the lubrication of what are
known in factories and workshops as loose or idle pulleys, which are
used in connection with the fast or fixed pulleys of any shaft or machine
merely to hold and carry the driving belt or band which communicates
motion to the same during the intervals when such motion is suspended.
The said Invention is however applicable to other pulleys, wheels, or
drums which turn loosely upon a shaft or axle, and affords the means
for keeping them well lubricated without the cost and inconvenience
of constant supervision and without waste or loss of the lubricating
fluid.
It is well known that loose pulleys or pulleys which are fitted to turn
loosely or independently on the shaft or axle on which they are supported
require very frequent lubrication, and therefore occasion a large con-
sumption of oil chiefly because all the oil applied to them is wasted
through being thrown outward by the centrifugal action of the pulley
through the oil holes, thereby soiling the walls, floor, and ceiling,
causing great annoyance to the operatives, and in many instances
injuring or impairing the value of the work. Where many machines
are used the number of pulleys requiring lubrication is very great, and
therefore the time occupied in keeping them properly lubricated and
the quantity of oil used form serious items in the expenditure.
total waste of the greater portion of the oil applied to the boss or hub
of these pulleys as they are commonly constructed is unavoidable, for, as
will be obvious even to persons but slightly familiar with the subject
to which this Invention relates, the centrifugal force of the pulley in
motion tends to throw all of the oil away from the centre, so that
although the boss of the pulley may be capacious enough to receive a
large quantity of oil, and may be freely supplied therewith, yet very
little, if any, remains in contact with the shaft after a few revolutions
of the pulley, the greater portion being thrown out as if by a centrifugal
pump through the aforesaid oil holes.
The

page_text: In practising my Invention I construct the hub or boss of the pulley
or wheel in a peculiar manner, whereby the rotation of the pulley
or wheel and the centrifugal force thereof instead of preventing the
lubrication of the shaft or axle are made the agencies for effecting such
lubrication in a perfectly efficient and simple manner without the super-
vision of any attendant and without any waste of oil, and I will now
proceed to describe this peculiar construction and show how the self-
lubrication of the pulleys or wheels is thereby satisfactorily accomplished.

page_text: the sides of the cup or scoop being formed by the angle pieces b². I
make these angle pieces on both sides of the ledge 6¹, so that the cup
will act when the pulley is running in either direction. Instead of pro-
viding the hub or boss with the cup or scoop, I sometimes make it with
a simple ledge or rib d, as shewn in Figure 3, which extends nearly
from end to end of the hub. A portion of the oil deposited upon the
shaft by the revolution of the pulley will naturally flow out at the ends
of the hub, and where as in an ordinary pulley provision is not made
to prevent its loss, the oil as fast as it flows out between the shaft and
the hub or boss flows over the end surfaces of the latter, and is thrown
therefrom by the centrifugal action of the pulley and scattered about
the surrounding portions of the walls, floor, and ceiling. To prevent
this loss and scattering of the oil I form at the ends of the hub or boss
the circular recess or channels e and the holes f, which lead from these
channels into the reservoir or oil space in the hub. The oil which
escapes between the surfaces of the shaft and hub is caught in the
channels e, and as the pulley revolves the centrifugal action thereof
instead of throwing off or scattering the oil returns it to the reservoir
through the holes f.
From the above description it will be seen that when the reservoir
has been properly supplied with oil, the lubrication of the shaft and
pulley will be effected automatically, until from evaporation or other
cause the oil has become thick or otherwise unfit for lubrication. There-
fore the pulley will require no attention until it has to be again supplied
with fresh oil, so that the trouble and cost of supervision are saved, and
as none of the oil is wasted or lost there will be a great economy of
oil.
The aperture closed by the screw plug g allows the oil to be con-
veniently poured into the hub, and it also forms a convenient means of
withdrawing the stale or thick oil therefrom. In cases where the end
of the pulley is conveniently accessible the hub may be filled by pouring
the oil into the channel e.
In Figure 4 I have shewn the pulley fitted with a bush h of brass or
other suitable metal. The said bush has the channels e and holes f
formed in it, and is formed with a hole i to allow the oil taken up by
the cup or scoop to have access to the shaft; or if preferred, the bush
may be reduced in length so that the channels e may be formed in the
hub or boss, the bush occupying the space between the said channels.

page_text: The hub or boss may be of the form shewn or may be of greater diameter
at the central portion than at the ends, and the oil chamber or reservoir
may be of any desired or convenient capacity.
The cost of the pulley constructed according to my Invention is not
necessarily greater than that of an ordinary pulley of the same size and
weight.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, I wish it understood
that I claim,
First. Providing the interior of the hub or boss of a pulley or wheel
which runs loose on its shaft or axle with a cup or scoop, for the purpose
set forth.
Second. A pulley or wheel with its hub or boss constructed with an
oil chamber or reservoir and with a cup scoop partition or shelf in the
said chamber or reservoir, substantially as set forth for the purpose
specified.
Third. The combination in the hub or boss of a pulley or wheel of the
oil chamber or reservoir, the cup scoop or partition, and the circular or
annular channels or recesses at the ends with the holes leading there-
from into the oil chamber, substantially as herein set forth for the
purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said David McColley Weston, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of October,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy.
5
Witness,
W. ROB. LAKE.
DAVID MCCOLLEY WESTON. (L.S.)