Improvements in Lubricators and their Connections.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Feb., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 8th June, 1891-Accepted, 18th July, 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lubricators and their Connections.
FRANK TRIER Civil Engineer 19 Great George Street Westminster London do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My improvements refer 1) to the construction & mode of action of lubricators
for supplying semi-solid & in some instances liquid lubricant to stationary and
moving bearings of machinery & to the cylinders of steam & other engines-2) to
the improved construction of the shank of lubricators i.e. of that part which is
attached directly or indirectly to the bearings 3) to the construction of the
articulated joints of the tubes thro which the lubricant is forced or conducted to
moving bearings from stationary lubricators.
1) In the improved lubricators for semi-solid lubricant the latter is contained in
a receiver preferably made detachable from its base or shank so that it can be
removed & held in the hand whilst refilling.
By means of a piston either weighted or under spring pressure the lubricant is
forced into the orifice in the base or shank of the lubricator. Between the grease
receptacle & the shank I interpose a cock. The bore of the plug is larger than
the bore or channel leading to the bearing to be lubricated & of which channel the
hole in the plug is a continuation. The latter contains a small piston shorter than
the diameter of the plug so that above or below the piston according to its position
in the bore a space is left into which the lubricant is forced when the bore com-
municates with the receptacle of the lubricator. By rotating the cock 180° the
space in the bore is brought opposite the channel leading to the bearing & at the
same moment the piston is brought under the action of pressure that is always
present in the grease receptacle. This pressure of the grease from above forces
the piston down & delivers to the bearing an amount of grease equal to the
contents of the space in the plug at the same time again filling the space formed
above the descending piston. By again semi rotating the plug the action is
repeated the piston in the latter moving forward cach time & driving to the
bearings the lubricant which was received in the space in the bore whilst in
communication with the receptacle. The space in the same plug can be varied in
size by varying the length of the piston. It will be seen that the lubricant may
be subject to very great pressure and is prevented from being forced out of the
lubricator by the piston, which thus effects an intermittant supply, which is
automatic whilst the contents of the chamber in the bore are being ejected. The
piston may have a hole through its length filled with an easily fusible material such
as wax. The latter will inelt in the case of the bearing becoming hot & thus a
direct communication with the grease reservoir will be formed.
For the lubrication of steam cylinders or other heated parts of machinery with
semi-solid lubricant or for the supply of liquid oil, I dispense with the piston in
the bore of the cock & replace it by two or more chambers in the solid plug.
These fill from the reservoir above and deliver their contents (in the case of semi-
solid lubricant thro' melting of the latter) to the orifice in the shank of the
lubricator when the plug is rotated.
The semi-rotation of the cock may be effected from time to time as required
by hand or automatically in many ways or the rotation may be made continuous
& automatic worked from a moving part of the machinery or by clock work.
The continuous rotation is useful for the lubrication of steam cylinders & for
the supply of liquid oil, but the ease with which the semi rotation of the plug of
the cock can be effected even from a distance & on moving bearings renders the
continuous automatic rotation superfluous in most cases.

page_text: 2) My improvements refer further to the shanks of lubricators and consist in
the method of firmly fixing into the shank the nipple by which the lubricator is
attached to the machine. The object in making shank and nipple in two parts is
to enable a stronger material (preferably wrought iron) to be used for the nipple
than can be conveniently and economically used for the shank or base of the
lubricator & thus to avoid the frequent breakages which occur when shank & nipple
are made of the same material & especially when made of cast iron as for instance
in Stauffers lubricators.
I furnish the shank of the lubricator with a female end somewhat widened out
at the bottom of the hole & of larger bore than the hole communicating with the
receptacle containing the lubricant so that a shoulder is forined where the two
bores meet. I screw a nipple, in the end of which a conical ring is inserted, into
the female end of the shank.
In screwing home the nipple the ring comes in contact with the shoulder in
the bore and expands the nipple tightly into the recessed female end. This
method of fixing is especially serviceable where it is of importance to have a
small hole leading to the grease reservoir as in the well known Stauffer lubricators
mentioned above. If the size of this hole is not of much importance the nipple
may be first inserted into the female end of the shank and the conical ring driven.
in thro' the aforesaid hole. Where convenient I also form the conical ring in
the shank itself. A thin wedge may also be used instead of the conical ring.
3) My improvements consist further in the articulated joints of tubes thro'
which lubricant is forced or conveyed to a moving bearing such as the crosshead
or crank pin of an engine from a fixed lubricator.
I form the articulated joint of two tubular elbows, the shank of the one elbow
being inserted in and free to turn in the shank of the other.
I hold these two parts together by a bolt passing thro the centre and provided
with a spring so that the pressure of the lubricant shall not separate the elbows
at the same time that wear is taken up.
The spring & bolt head are encased in a cover.
The free shanks of the elbows
are connected respectively with the fixed lubricator and the moveable bearing.
The above construction enables me to obtain long bearing surfaces a very clear
passage for the lubricant & leaves only one joint thro' which the lubricant can
escape.
Dated this 20th day of February 1891.
FRANK TRIER.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lubricators and their Connections.
FRANK TRIER Civil Engineer of 19, Great George Street, Westminster London
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 :—
My improvements refer: 1) To the construction & mode of action of lubricators
for supplying semisolid & in some instances liquid lubricant to stationary & moving
bearings of machinery & to the cylinders of steam & other engines. 2) To the
improved construction of the shanks of lubricators i.e. of that part which is attached
directly or indirectly to the bearings. 3) To the construction of the articulated
joints of the tubes thro' which the lubricant is forced or conducted to moving
bearings from stationary lubricators.
1) In the improved lubricator for semi-solid lubricant, the latter is contained
in a receiver A of the accompanying sheet of drawings Figs. 1 & 2, Fig. 1 being
a sectional view of the lubricator.
This receiver is preferably made detachable from its base or shank B, so that
it can be removed & held in the hand whilst refilling.

page_text: By means of a piston C, weighted or as shown in the drawing,, under spring
pressure the lubricant is forced into the orifice in the case B of the lubricator.
B is provided with a cylindrical or conical plug or cock D which has a hole E of
larger bore than the bore or channel leading to the bearing to be lubricated & of
which channel the hole E forms a continuation. The hole E contains a small
piston F shorter than the diameter of the plug D so that above or below the piston
according to its position in the bore a space is left into which the lubricant is
forced when the bore E communicates with the receptacle of the lubricator. By
rotating the cock 180° the space in the bore filled with grease is brought opposite
the channel leading to the bearing & at the same time the piston is brought
under the action of 'the pressure that is always present in the grease receptacle.
This pressure of the grease from above forces the piston down & delivers to the
bearing an amount of grease equal to the contents of the space in the plug; at
the same time the space now forming above the descending piston is filled with
grease. By again semirotating the the cock the action is repeated, the piston in
the latter moving forward each time driving the lubricant to the bearing. The
space in the plug & therefore the periodical supply of grease to the bearing can
be varied by varying the the length of the piston F. It will be seen that the
lubricant may be subject to very great pressure & is prevented from being forced
out of the lubricator in a continuous stream, by the piston F, which thus effects
an intermittant supply which is automatic whilst the contents of the chamber in
the bore are being ejected.
The piston F may have a hole through its length filled with an easily fusible
material such as wax. The latter will melt in the case of the bearing becoming
hot & then a direct communication with the grease reservoir will be formed.
Fig. 2. shows the cock with the piston Frotated half way between its two
working positions. For the lubrication of steam cylinders or other heated parts
of machinery with semi solid lubricant or for the supply of liquid oil to bearings or
cylinders, dispense with the piston F in the bore of the cock & replace by one
or more than one chamber in the solid plug as shown in Fig. 3. These fill from
the reservoir above & deliver their contents (in the case of semisolid lubricant for
steam lubrication thro' melting of the lubricant) to the orifice in the shank of the
lubricator when, the plug is rotated.
The rotation of the cock may be effected from time to time as required by hand
or automatically in many ways & the rotation may also be made continuous in one
direction worked automatically from a moving part of the machinery or by clock
work. The continous rotation is useful for the lubrication of steam cylinders &
for the supply of liquid oil, but the ease with which the semirotation of the plug
of the cock can be effected even from a distance & on moving bearings renders
the continous automatic action superfluous in most cases. The cock in Fig. 1. has
a grooved pulley attached to its spindle which can be worked by a cord from a
distance. If the lubricator is attached to the crankpin of an engine the endless
cord can be brought back to the crosshead i.e. to a point which has a reciprocating
motion thus making it easy to work it.
2) My improvements refer further to the construction of the shanks of lubricators
& consist in the method of firmly fixing into the shank the nipple by which the
lubricator is attached to the machine.
The object in making shank & nipple in two parts is to enable a stronger
material, preferably wrought iron, to be used for the nipple, than can be con-
veniently & economically used for the shank or base of the lubricator & thus to
avoid the frequent breakages which occur when shank & nipple are made of the
same material & especially when made of cast iron as for instance in Stauffers
lubricators shown in Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawings.
I furnish the shank B with a female end somewhat widened out at the bottom of
the hole & of larger bore than the hole communicating with the receptacle C
containing the lubricant, so that a shoulder is formed where the two bores meet.
I screw a nipple in the end of which a conical ring R is inserted into the female

page_text: end of the shank. The conical ring, being with the exception of its small end
larger than the bore of the nipple, the end of the latter is expanded into the recess
in the shank by the act of screwing home, the nipple. The latter is preferably
made of a strong & tough metal like wrought iion. The expansion cone is
imprisoned for all practical purposes the nipple cannot be loosened. When
space permits the cone may be formed in the body of the shank.
•
Fig: 4 shows a modification of the mode of inserting the cone. The latteriforms
part of a screw & is screwed into the shanks from above. The cone can also be
made in a separate piece from the screw or a thin wedge may be used instead of
the cone.
.
3) My improvements consist further in the articulated joints of tubes through
which lubricant, semisolid or liquid, is forced or conveyed to a moving bearing
such as the crosshead or crankpin of an-engine, from a fixed lubricator.
Fig. 5. shows the construction of the joint.
The tubular T piece T forms the bearing of the elbow S, these two parts being
held together by a bolt U passing thro' the centre & provided with a spring V, so
that the pressure of the lubricant shall not separate the elbows, & at the same
time that wear is taken up. The spring & bolt-head are encased in the cap X.
The free shanks of the elbows are connected respectively with the fixed
lubricator and the moving bearing. The above construction enables me to obtain
long bearing surfaces, a very clear passage for the lubricant & leaves only one
joint thro which the latter can escape.
Having now particularly described & 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) In lubricators for semisolid or liquid lubricants, the interposition between
the receptacle for the lubricant & the outlet to the bearing of a cock by which an
intermittant supply of lubricant can be effected & constructed substantially as
shown in & described with reference to Figs. 1, 2 & 3. of the accompanying
drawings.
2) The construction of the shanks of lubricators with inserted nipples of
stronger material than the body of the shank & firmly fixed therein substantially
as shown in & described with reference to Figs. 4 & 4 of the accompanying
drawings.
3) The construction of articulated joints for the transmission of semisolid or
liquid lubricants-in which the two parts are held together by a central bolt
provided with a spring substantially as shown in & described with reference to
Fig. 5 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this Eighth dox of Luno 1901