Improvements in and relating to Bearings for the Shafts of Worm Gearing and other Shafts.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Jan., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 16th Oct., 1896-Accepted, 21st Nov., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Bearings for the Shafts of Worm
Gearing and other Shafts.
We, P. R. JACKSON & CO. LIMITED, Steel Manufacturers, and JOSEPH SLATER
LEWIS, Engineer, both of Salford Rolling Mills, Hampson Street, Salford, in the
County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Our invention relates to bearings for shafts and has for its objects firstly to
provide improved means for supporting the shaft of the worm-wheel in worm
gearing and secondly to provide an improved bearing for withstanding the end
thrust of the worm shaft in such gearing or of other shafts liable to be subjected
to end thrust.
According to our invention we support the bearings of the worm wheel shaft in
frames or standards which are mounted on the bearings or pedestals of the worm
shaft in such a manner that the said frames or standards with the shaft supported
therein can be rotated if necessary co-axially with the worm shaft and in a plane
perpendicular thereto. By this means the inclination of the worm wheel shaft
with the horizontal can be varied to any desired extent without the worm wheel
being put out of gear with its worm.
W e sometimes arrange that the aforesaid frames or standards shall be incorporated
with a casing for the worm and worm wheel if desired.
Our improved bearing for withstanding end-thrust is constructed somewhat as
follows that is to say we make the end of the shaft spherical and provide a cap of
hard steel with a hemispherical hollow adapted to take the end of the shaft. The
bearing is closed at its end by a cover screwed or otherwise adjustably secured
thereto and the interior face of said cover is made convex so as to form a seating
for a hard steel plate grooved on its opposite face and forming with the afore-
mentioned hard steel cap at the end of the shaft a ball race or races for a suitable
number of hard steel balls. By this construction the wearing surfaces are
constituted by hard steel surfaces and balls which wear very slowly, moreover the
end closing plate is capable of adjustment as hereinabove mentioned to take up
wear either of the bearing surfaces or of the teeth of the worm and wheel in the
case of worm gearing.
We wish it understood that we do not restrict ourselves to the use of our improved
end-thrust bearing with worm gearing as it is very suitable for use with other shafts
in which end thrust may occur.
Dated this 16th day of January 1896.
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
31, High Holborn, London, W.C., Patent Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: Improvements in and relating to Bearings for the Shafts of Worm.
Gearing and other Shafts.
We, P. R. JACKSON & CO. LIMITED, Steel Manufacturers, and JOSEPH SLATER
LEWIS, Engineer, both of Salford Rolling Mills, Hampson Street, Salford, in the
County of Lancaster, 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 :-
Our invention relates to bearings for shafts and has for its object firstly to provide
improved means for supporting the shaft of the worm-wheel in worm-gearing and
secondly to provide an improved bearing for withstanding the end thrust of the
worm-shaft in such gearing or of other shafts liable to be subjected to end
thrust.
According to our invention we support the bearings of the worm-wheel shaft in
frames or standards which are mounted on the bearings or pedestals of the worm
shaft in such a manner that the said frames or standards with the shaft supported
therein can be rotated if necessary co-axially with the worm shaft.
i
Our improved bearing for withstanding end thrust is constructed with a hard
steel cap having a hemispherical hollow adapted to take the spherical end of the
shaft. The bearing is closed at its end by a cover adjustably secured thereto the
interior face of which forms a seating for a plate which forms with the cap
before mentioned a ball race or races for a suitable number of antifriction
balls.
In order that our invention may be clearly understood we will now proceed to
describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a side elevation partly sectional of a worm and worm-wheel provided
with bearings constructed according to our invention.
Figure 2 is a section on the line - Figure 1.
A is the worm secured on the shaft A¹ in any suitable manner B is the worm-
wheel keyed to its shaft B. CC are the pedestals supporting the worm-shaft
and D the bearings for the wheel shaft.
In the drawing the standards supporting the bearings D form a casing E for the
worm and worm-wheel which casing is made in sections secured together by bolts
passing through the lugs E. The pedestals CC are provided with cylindrical
portions Cat their ends nearest to the worm and the casing E is formed to embrace
said cylindrical portions and to rotate thereou as shewn. By this means the casing
with the bearings D can be rotated on the pedestals round the worm shaft so that
the inclination of the worm-wheel shaft with the horizontal can be varied to
any desired extent without the worm-wheel being put out of gear with its
worm.
The construction of our improved bearing for withstanding end thrust is clearly
shewn in section in Figure 1 applied to the worm-shaft. The said shaft is provided
with a spherical end A³ which takes a bearing in a hemispherical hollow in the
hard steel cap F. The end of the bearing is closed by a cover G screwed to the
pedestal the interior face of which is made convex as shewn at G¹ so as to form a
seating for a hard steel plate H. Said plate H is provided with a groove H
which forms with the plane or similarly grooved face of the cap F a ball race
containing a suitable number of hard steel balls J. It will be readily understood
that the cap F and plate H will take a fair bearing on the surface A and G
respectively so that the pressure due to the end thrust of the worm wheel acting on
the worm will be evenly distributed amongst the anti-friction balls J which with
the race form the wearing surfaces. Furthermore the cover G is capable of

page_text: adjustment to take up wear either of the bearing surfaces or of the teeth of the
worm and wheel.
Although we have described a convenient construction for carrying out our-
invention we wish it understood that we do not restrict ourselves to the precise.
details herein shewn. For example the casing E may be substituted by standards
of an inverted V-shape or may be supported on the worm shaft instead of on the
pedestals, also the cover G may be adjustably secured to the pedestal in any
suitable manner and more than one ball race may be provided between the plate H
and cap F.
Furthermore our improved bearing for withstanding end thrust is applicable for
use with other shafts in which end thrust occurs and in particular may be employed
with great advantage as a footstep bearing for vertical shafts.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what.
we claim is :-
1. In worm gearing, pivoting the standards which carry the bearings of the
worm wheel shaft so that they can rotate co-axially with the worm shaft, for the
purpose specified.
2. For worm-gearing, a removable casing which is pivoted on the worm shaft
or pedestals and supports the bearings of the worm wheel shaft, substantially as
described.
3. For resisting the end thrust in a shaft, a bearing constructed substantially as-
described.
cribed.
Dated this 16th day of October
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
322, High Holborn, London, W.C., Patent Agents for the Applicants.
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
322, High Holborn, London, W.C., Patent Agents for the Applicants.