Improvements in Journal-boxes or Bearings.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Nov., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 8th July, 1898-Accepted, 20th Aug.,
1898
Improvements in Journal-boxes or Bearings.
I, JOHN JOSEPH BURKE, residing at East Main Street, Nanticoke, in the County
of Luzerne, and State of Pennsylvania, United States of America, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
-
This invention relates to journal-boxes or bearings, and the object thereof is
to provide an improved journal box or bearing for shafts or axles which are pro-
vided with an improved journal head which is keyed thereto, or held in position by
set screws or other meaus, and which is adapted to revolve with the shaft in the
box or bearing; a further object being to provide a journal box or bearing which
is adapted to be used in connection with revoluble shafts or axles wherever em-
ployed, and also as a journal box or bearing for the axles of railway cars; a
further object being to provide an improved journal box or bearing and improved
means for oiling the same, and also to provide a detachable journal head which may
be removed in case of injury to the same, and replaced easily and quickly by a
similar head.
In the practice of my invention I provide a journal box or bearing which com-
prises two parts one of which constitutes the base portion thereof, and the other
a cap or cover therefor.
The journal box or bearing is divided longitudinally through the centre thereof,
and the longitudinal opening is formed partly in the upper and partly in the
lower portions.
The shaft or axle passes through the longitudinal central opening which is
formed partly in the bottom and partly in the top, of the journal box or bearing,
and in the bottom portion of said box or bearing adjacent to each end thereof are
semi-circular grooves or chambers, and in the central portion thereof is formed
a main semi-circular chamber, and said chamber and the end chambers are sepa-
rated by semi-circular ribs, and in the bottom of the main semi-circular cham-
ber and the semi-circular end chambers is a longitudinal passage, and the said ribs
by which said chambers are separated, are provided with passages or openings
therethrough, which form part of said longitudinal passage, and the ends of said
passage are closed by screw threaded plugs and below each of said screw threaded
plugs is a curved projecting lip or plate by which the oil which escapes from said
passage is conducted outwardly and away from the box or casing,
Formed on each side of the main central chamber in the top of the bottom por-
tion of the box or bearing is a longitudinal groove and said grooves are in com-
munication with transverse supplemental grooves in the ends of the semi-spherical
ribs and said transverse grooves are in communication with outwardly directed
grooves formed in the outer curved surfaces of said ribs.
The upper portion or cap or cover of the box or bearing is provided with a seg-
mentally curved or semi-circular chamber which corresponds with the main cham-
ber in the bottom portion and which constitutes a part of a cylindrical chamber
when the upper and bottom portions of the box or casing are placed together, and
I also employ a journal head which is mounted on the shaft and keyed thereto,
and said journal head fits in said circular chamber and is provided with tubular
extensions, at the outer end of each of which is an annular flange or rib which is

page_text: triangular in cross section, and said flanges or ribs fit in similarly formed grooves
in the cap or cover of the box or casing, and in the segmental chambers or grooves
in the ends of the bottom portion of the box or casing.
The journal head which is connected with the shaft is provided with a plurality
of cup shaped cavities or recesses, any desired number of which may be employed,
and these cup shaped cavities or recesses are adapted to receive oil or other lubri-
cants, and formed in the top of the journal box or casing is a tubular passage
which is closed by a screw threaded plug, and the base portion of the journal box
or casing is provided with outwardly directed flanges, and said journal box or
casing is secured to any support by means of screws or bolts which are passed
therethrough, and in practice, the oil or other lubricant is poured through the
tubular passage in the cap or cover or the upper portion of said box or casing on
to the journal head and enters the cavities or recesses formed therein, and spreads
itself over the entire surface of said head, and said oil also enters the longitudinal
grooves formed in the top of each side of the bottom portion of the journal box
or casing as hereinbefore described, and is thoroughly distributed over the journal
head and over the tubular extensions thereof, and over the inner surface of said
flanges or ribs, and any surplus amount passes into the longitudinal chamber or
passage in the bottom of the base portion of the box or casing, and may be removed
therefrom as will be readily understood.
The separate portions of the box or casing may be connected in any desired
manner, and when said parts are secured together, and the shaft in position, the
tubular extensions of the journal head rest upon the semi-circular ribs in the
bottom portion of the box or casing which forms a firm support for the journal
head and for the shaft, and the inner surfaces of these ribs are always kept pro-
perly oiled or provided with a suitable lubricant.
Dated this 8th day of November 1807
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40, Chancery Lane, London, W.C, Agents.
I, JOHN JOSEPH BURKE, residing at East Main Street, Nanticoke, in the County
of Luzerne, and State of Pennsylvania, United States of America, Engineer, 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 invention relates to journal-boxes, and has for its object to provide a device
of this nature in which a head is fixed upon the shaft to cooperate with the box
and revolve therein.
In the drawings forming a portion of this specification, and in which like letters
of reference indicate similar parts in the several views, Figure 1 is a longitudinal
section of a box constructed in accordance with my invention, a shaft carrying
a head being shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the lower portion of a
box. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the box with the shaft in place. Fig. 4 is a
perspective view of the modified form of the head made in two pieces. Fig. 5 is
a plan view of the upper half of the head shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a transverse
section of line 6 6 of Fig. 1.
In operating in accordance with my invention I form a box comprising a base
portion A and an upper cap or cover B, the result being a box divided centrally
and horizontally.
In the base A and longitudinally thereof I form a depression d, semicircular

page_text: in cross-section, which depression is bounded at its ends by walls A', which walls
form the ends of the box-base. In the end walls A' are cut semicircular open-
ings C, as shown in Fig. 2, forming in connection with similar openings in the
cap B, a circular passage at each end of the box in which the shaft works. Trans-
versely of the depression d and adjacent each end thereof is a semicircular rib d²,
those portions of the depression d lying between the ribs and the walls A¹ being
somewhat broader than the portion lying intermediate the ribs and forming com-
partments D. A groove E at the base of the depression d is formed semicircular
in cross-section and terminates in openings through the walls A¹, said openings
being normally closed by means of plugs F. The depression E is continuous,
passing through the lower portions of the ribs d2 with the formation of arches ³.
Upon reference to Fig. 1 of the drawings it will be seen that the upper por-
tion B of the box is formed to co-operate with the lower portion, ribs *, corres-
ponding to ribs d², being arranged above the latter. The ribs d' are separated by
a semicircular interspace b, similar to the depression d, while intermediate the
ribs d' and the ends of the cap are angular depressions h. The inner faces of the
ribs are unbroken.
Referring again to the ribs d, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, it will be
noted that grooves g are formed laterally of the upper faces thereof, which grooves
open rearwardly in pairs at opposite sides of the depression d into connecting
grooves G, said grooves g terminating inwardly at the annular faces of the ribs
with flaring mouths g
In operating I may form the head employed by me integral or in a plurality of
pieces. If formed integral, I proceed by making a casing H, comprising a central
cylindrical body having diminished ends h², terminating in angular flanges h³.
The central portion is provided with a series of hemispherical depressions K, and
the entire device is slipped upon the bearing portion of a shaft C and held against
rotation thereon by means of a key h or other suitable device. The operation of
this form of my invention will be readily understood, and it will be seen that upon
placing the shaft C with its head within the box the diminished portions h² will
lie upon the ribs , the central portion will lie intermediate the ribs d³, and the
flanges h³ will lie in the angular grooves h', the entire head turning with the shaft
and having bearing upon the ribs da and the face of the depression d.
In oiling, the oil is poured upon the central portion of the head through an
opening in the cap B, which opening is normally closed by means of a plug M
or other device and lodges in the depressions K, through the medium of which it
is distributed through the bearing-surfaces. A portion of the oil also leaves the
depression and passes into the grooves G, from which it runs through g and upon
the annular faces of the ribs 2 the excess of oil of course runs to the bottom of the
depression d, from which it passes into the groove E and may be drawn off when
either of the plugs F is removed, spouts F2 being provided to facilitate the opera-
tion. The cap B is attached to the base A by screws P.
As shown in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings, if desired the head may be made
in two parts, in which case such parts may be held together by means of screws W,
the advantage of this construction being that in the event of one section of the
head becoming broken it may be removed and another substituted therefor; also,
the head may be put into position without removing the shaft, which is not prac-
tical at all times."
As will be readily understood, the box A may be held fixedly by means of
bolts (2, or in any other desired manner, and also that the box may be in the form
of a hanger instead of a pillow-block, or may have any other general form without
departing from the spirit of my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The combination of a journal-box having a central longitudinal bore or open-

page_text: ing, a shaft or axle, the bottom portion of the box being provided with a central
semicircular chamber, an inwardly directed semi-circular rib, at each end thereof,
between which and the ends of the box are semicircular grooves, and the upper
portion of the box being also provided with a central semicircular groove, a
journal head on the shaft, said journal-head being cylindrical and tubular in form
and being secured to said shaft, and being provided at each end with tubular ex-
tensions, at the outer end of each of which is an angular flange or rib, said parts
being constructed, combined, and arranged, substantially as shown and described.
2. The combination of a journal-box having a central longitudinal bore or open-
ing a shaft or axle, the bottom portion of the box being provided with a central
semicircular chamber, and inwardly directed semi-circular ribs, at each end thereof
between which and the ends of the box or casing are semicircular grooves, and
the upper portion being also provided with a central semicircular groove, a journal-
head on the shaft, said journal-head being cylindrical and tubular in form, and
being secured to said shaft, and being provided at each end with tubular exten-
sions, at the outer end of each of which is an annular flange or rib, and the upper
portion of said box or casing being provided with a bore or passage through which
a lubricant may be poured onto said journal-head, and said journal-head being
provided with a plurality of cup-shaped cavities or depressions in the surface
thereof, substantially as shown and described.
3. The combination of a journal-box having a central longitudinal bore or open-
ing, a shaft or axle, the bottom portion of the box being provided with a central
semi-circular chamber, an inwardly directed semi-circular rib at each end thereof,
between which and the ends of the box or casing, are semi-circular grooves, and
the upper portion being also provided with a central semi-circular groove, a
journal-head on the shaft, said journal-head being cylindrical and tubular in form
and being keyed to said shaft, and being provided at each end with tubular exten-
sions, at the outer end of each of which is an annular flange or rib, and the upper
portion of said box or casing being provided with a bore or passage through which
a lubricant may be poured onto said journal-head, and said journal-head being
provided with a plurality of cup-shaped cavities or depressions in the surface
thereof, and the bottom portion of said box or casing being provided with longi-
tudinal grooves adjacent to the central chamber formed therein, into which the
oil also passes, and which communicates with grooves formed in the ribs at the
end of said chamber, substantially as shown and described.
4. The combination of a base portion A, a cap or cover B, both of which are
provided with a longitudinal semi-circular groove or recess to receive a shaft, said
base having formed therein semicircular end grooves D, having longitudinal
grooves or openings, screw-plugs F to close said openings, projecting lips 12, below
said openings, semicircular ribs de forming a central chamber d, having longi-
tudinal grooves G, in communication with transverse grooves g, said ribs d², having
formed in the curved surface thereof grooves g², communicating with the groove g,
said cap or cover having a semicircular chamber, b, and a journal-head H, a shaft
carrying said head and provided with tubular extensions h², having annular
flanges h³, fitting groove h, in the cap or cover, said journal-head having cup-
shaped recesses and said cap or cover having an opening and a screw-plug, sub-
stantially as shown and described.
Dated this 8th day of July 1808
THOMAS R. SHILLITO,
15, Took's Court, London, E.C., Agent for the Applicant.