Improvements in Lubricators.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Dec., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 19th Sept., 1889-Accepted, 23rd Nov., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lubricators.
1, WILLARD OLIVER FELT of 63 Farringdon Road, in the City of London,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in lubricators for supplying semi-solidified
oils or greases directly to steam cylinders and to the bearings of machinery.
In this class of lubricator the lubricating material is contained in a cylinder and is
forced by the pressure of a piston working in the cylinder to the part to be lubricated.
The pressure of the piston should be maintained as uniform as possible and this may
be done either by periodical adjustment of the piston or by actuating the piston from
the engine itself so as to maintain a uniform pressure so long as the engine is
running.
In such lubricators particularly those which are periodically adjusted by hand it is
desirable that the amount of lubricant and the position of the piston in the cylinder
should be visible, and to this end I construct the sides of the cylinder of a glass tube
but owing to the invariable internal diameter and other inequalities of the glass tube,
the ordinary packed piston is not available for use therein, and I therefore employ in
combination with the glass tube a special form of piston which will readily adapt
itself to all such inequalities and maintain at all times a tight joint against the sides of
the tube.
The bottom of the cylinder or vessel containing the lubricant is made of metal and
provided with means of attachment and an outlet for conveying the lubricant to the
part to be lubricated. The ends of the glass tube are properly ground or faced and
are clamped between this metal bottom and a top ring, the tube being enclosed in and
protected from injury by a metal cage connecting the ring and bottom. The vessel
is closed at top by a cover through which the piston stem passes.
The piston is a deeply and conically cupped disc of leather or other material, the
cupped sides of which are of diminishing thickness towards the edge of which alone
bears against the glass sides of the cylinder, the cupped disc being clamped to a
central boss so that its cupped sides are left perfectly free to adapt themselves to the
inequalities of the glass sides.
In lubricators which are to be adjusted by hand a spring is applied to press directly
or indirectly upon the piston and a screw adjustment is provided for maintaining the
pressure of the spring as the piston descends, the central boss of the piston either
sliding upon or being threaded to receive a screwed stem by which the adjustment
is effected.
In lubricators which are mechanically operated the latter arrangement is adopted
and the screwed rod turns in bearings in the lubricator cover and is actuated through
worm, bevil, and ratchet and pawl or other gear from a rotating, reciprocating or other
part of the machine as the case may be, whereby the screw stem is rotated, and the
piston being prevented from turning by frictional contact with the sides of the cylinder
it is slowly torced down in the cylinder in a perfectly regular manner the length of
the screwed stem being such that the piston will be disengaged therefrom just before
it reaches the bottom of the cylinder so as to prevent injury occurring from
inattention.
The invention further relates to a special arrangement of lubricator such as above
described for lubricating a crank and it consists in such a construction and arrange-
ment that the relaxation of the spring shall be compensated by the increased centrifugal
force of the piston or of a part in connection therewith. For this purpose the
lubricator cylinder is connected to the end of the crank pin which has a passage for

page_text: the lubricant leading to the circumferance of the crank pin, and the lubricator is
arranged in line with the crank arm that is to say radially to the shaft. The piston
constructed as before described has a heavy boss which is brought near to the centre
of revolution when the spring is at its greatest, pressure and which as the piston
recedes from the centre of revolution acquires an increasing centrifugal pressure that
compensates for the decreasing strength of the spring, a duly proportioned combination
of these two forces producing a uniform pressure throughout the course of the
piston.
In order to enable the lubricator to be refilled with lubricant whilst the engine is in
motion a pipe leading into the cylinder in front of the piston is carried back to a
point coincident with the axis of revolution of the pipe and there provided with a
nozzle adapted to connect with the nozzle of a pump or other means of forcing
lubricant into the lubricator against the pressure of the lubricator piston.
Dated this 22nd day of December 1888
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lubricators.
1, WILLARD OLIVER FELT, of 63, Farringdon Road, in the City of London,
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 improvements in lubricators for supplying semi-solidified
oil or grease directly to steam cylinders and to the bearings of machinery.
In this class of lubricator, the lubricating material is contained in a cylinder and is
forced out by a piston whose pressure should be maintained. as uniform as possible.
This may be done either by periodical adjustment or by actuating the piston from the
engine itself.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this
specification wherein figure 1 represents a central vertical section of a lubricator, for
cylinders and bearings, the adjustment being effected by hand. Figure 2 is a central
section of the lubricator provided with an automatic adjustment. Figure 3 is a central
section of the lubricator for crank pins. The same letters of reference indicate the
same parts in all the figures.
In a lubricator which is periodically adjusted it is desirable that the amount of
lubricant and the position of the piston in the cylinder should be visible, and to this
end I make the sides of the cylinder of glass A but owing to the variable internal
diameter and other inequalities inherent to the glass cylinder the ordinary packed
piston is not available for use therein and I therefore employ in combination with the
glass cylinder a special form of piston which will readily adapt itself to all such
inequalities and maintain at all times a tight joint against the sides of the cylinder.
The bottom B of the cylinder is made of metal and provided with means of attach-
ment to the steam cylinder or bearing and an outlet for the lubricant. The ends of
the glass cylinder A are ground true and are clamped between this metal bottom B
and a top ring b, the tube A being enclosed in and protected from injury by a metal
cage connecting the ring band bottom B. The vessel A is closed at top by a
cover through which the piston stem or spindle E passes. The piston D is a deeply
cupped disc of leather, rubber, or "Woodite" the sides d of which are of truncated
conical form and their edges alone bear against the sides of the glass cylinder A the
central flat part of the disc being clamped to a central boss and the sides being
perfectly free to adapt themselves to the inequalities of the glass cylinder A. The
piston stem is guided in a trunk c on the cover C and a spring e is applied to press
directly upon a shoulder e¹ on the piston stem or spindle and a screw-adjustment is

page_text: provided for maintaining the pressure of the spring as the piston descends. For this
purpose the central boss of the piston is preferably threaded to receive the threaded
part of the stem E by turning which the spring is compressed, the piston being
prevented from turning by frictional contact with the sides of the cylinder.
In the mechanically adjusted lubricator shewn in figure 2, the same form of piston
is used and the screwed rod E turns in a bearing in the cover C and is actuated
through a bevel wheel and pinion G, g, worm wheel and worm H, ½, ratchet I and
pawl carried by a pivoted arm J actuated from a rotating, reciprocating, or other
part of the machine, as the case may be, whereby the piston is slowly forced down in
the cylinder in a perfectly regular manner. The lower end of the stem is plain so
that the piston will be disengaged from the screw thread just before it reaches the
bottom of the cylinder so as to prevent injury occurring from inattention. The piston
is however retained by a collar on the lower end of the stem to enable it to be drawn
out of the cylinder for refilling the latter.
The cylinder A in the case of lubricators for steam engine cylinders would be inade
of metal, but for bearings it would proferably be of glass.
The Invention further relates to a special arrangement of lubricator illustrated in
figure 3 for lubricating a crank pin, and it consists in a means of compensating for
the relaxation of the spring by the increased centrifugal force of the lubricator piston
or of a part in connection therewith. For this purpose the outlet end of the lubricator
cylinder A is connected to a central orifice in the end of the crank pin P the orifice
conveying the lubricant to the circumference of the crank pin and the lubricator is
arranged in line with the crank arm P¹, that is to say radially to the shaft. The piston D
is formed of a conically-cupped disc, as before described attached to a heavy boss
which is pressed outwards by a spring behind it. When the lubricator is full and
P
the spring is at its greatest pressure the piston is at or near the axis of revolution of
the crank and as the lubricant is consumed the piston recedes from the centre of
revolution and acquires a gradually increasing centrifugal tendency that compensates
for the decreasing power of the spring, a duly proportioned combination of these two
forces producing a uniform pressure throughout the course of the piston.
In order to enable the lubricator to be refilled with lubricant whilst the engine is in
motion, a pipe k leading into the cylinder in front of the piston is connected to a
tubular journal coincident with the axis of revolution of the crank and turning in a
suitable bearing m whereby the lubricator is supported in position. This journal
terminates in a nozzle n adapted to connect with the nozzle of a pump or other means
of forcing lubricant into the lubricator against the pressure of the lubricator piston,
the nozzle cnntaining a ball check valve.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what 1
claim is;
1. In a lubricator for supplying semi-solid lubricating material by the pressure of a
piston in a cylinder, the construction of the cylinder of glass as described and the
combination therewith of a piston formed of a conically-cupped disc of flexible and
semi-elastic material, the edges only of which bear against the sides of the cylinder,
substantially as specified.
2. In a lubricator of the kind described the construction of the cylinder of a length
of glass tube ground true at the ends and clamped upon a metal bottom and enclosed
in a metal cage, substantially as specified.
3. In a mechanically-adjusted lubricator of the kind described, the combination with
the conically-cupped flexible disc piston and its screwed stem of the ratchet worm and
bevil gear described, operated from a moving part of the engine.
4. The combination with a crank of a lubricator formed of a cylinder and spring pressed
and weighted piston, the lubricator being so arranged with regard to the crank that
the centrifugal tendency of the piston will increase as the spring pressure becomes
relaxed, substantially as specified.

page_text: 5. The combination with a crank lubricator arranged as last specified, of a filling
tube and supporting journal, nozzle and valve, substantially as specified.
Dated this 19th day of September 1889.
W. O. FELT.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agents.