AN IMPROVED LUBRICATING APPARATUS
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Harrison Carter at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th October 1868.
I, JAMES HARRISON CARTER, of Brighton, in the County of Sussex, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
LUBRICATING APPARATUS," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to an apparatus for supplying oil or other
lubricating material to the bearings or journals of steam engines and
other machinery, and the nature of the said Invention consists chiefly
in constructing and arranging the said apparatus in such a manner
that the oil or other liquid is by the action of pneumatic pressure kept
at a uniform level in a cup or trough connected with a reservoir, whence
it is supplied to the part to be lubricated by capillary attraction or
otherwise. By keeping the oil or other liquid always at the same height
so long as any remains in the reservoir, the flow of such liquid will not
be subject to the variations caused by changes in the level, and con-
sequently the flow or supply to the bearing or other part will be even

page_text: and regular. I construct the vessel or reservoir for containing the oil
or other lubricating matter of any suitable shape, size, and material.
The said vessel is closed and made air-tight except at the lower part
where it is provided with one or more external cups or troughs which
communicate with the interior of the vessel or reservoir by means of
small apertures at or near the bottom of the same. The oil or other
liquid with which the vessel is filled will flow from the reservoir into
the cup or trough at the side till the liquid in the latter is level with
the top of the aperture, but cannot rise higher in the said cup as the
pneumatic pressure upon its surface then prevents any further escape of
the liquid from the vessel till the liquid in the cup again falls below the
top of the aperture. The said cup may be provided with a vertical tube
or number of tubes which carry wicks, whereby the oil is conducted
from the cup to the part to be lubricated. Lubricating apparatus
wherein the oil is conducted through a wick as hitherto constructed have
not furnished a regular and uniform supply, the oil flowing too rapidly
when the lubricator was filled and the oil near the top of the wick,
and too slowly when the oil fell below a certain level. In my apparatus
this difficulty is entirely obviated as the cup is kept filled with oil to one
uniform level till the supply in the vessel is exhausted. When wicks
are employed in my apparatus I prefer to make the wick tubes adjustable
so that the same may be raised or lowered to increase or diminish the
supply of oil according as a greater or less quantity is required to be
supplied to the parts to be lubricated. I also prefer to construct the
apparatus in such a manner that the wick tubes are central with the
vessel or reservoir in order that the same may be more conveniently
supported when in use. For this purpose I form the bottom of the
vessel with a neck or tube which is extended downward from near, the
side of the vessel, and curved inward to the cup which is fixed or formed
on the end of the neck. The wick tube may then be screwed or other-
wise attached to the cap or cover of the shaft or other part to be
lubricated. I prefer to provide the wick tube or tubes with a valve,
and to fix the same on the end of a lever pivotted to the bottom of the
apparatus. The said lever has an arm which is provided with a projection
or stud; when the apparatus is used for lubricating a shaft or axle it
should be so arranged that a projection on the latter at each revolution
strikes the stud on the lever, thereby opening the valve and admitting
oil to the bearing.

page_text: Another method of conveying the oil from the cup or trough is to
employ a reciprocating pointed rod, which by means of an eccentric or
projection on the shaft through the medium of a ratchet wheel and pawl
or other device is caused to dip into the cup and take therefrom a
quantity of oil at each reciprocation of the rod.