Improvements in Automatic Lubricators for Steam Engines and other Machinery.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Aug., 1889-Accepted, 28th Sent., 1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Automatic Lubricators for Steam Engines and
other Machinery.
J, JOHN HOWARD SIEGRIST, Jr., of 417 Olive Street, in the city of St. Louis, and
State of Missouri, United States of America, gentleman, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to improved apparatus for automatically lubricating the
various parts of locomotives, or stationary engines, and other machinery, whilst in
motion, and has for its object to obviate the necessity of stopping the machinery for
the purpose
of oiling, and the danger of oiling whilst the machinery is in motion,
as well as to ensure a regular and uniform lubrication according to the speed of the
engine, which is unattainable with the present systems.
It consists in a combination of apparatus, comprising an ordinary steam cylinder
and piston, the rod of which is attached to a cross-head operating one or more
pumps for forcing oil from a tank or vessel, through a passage which is formed in a
circular plate, and caused to communicate consecutively with corresponding passages
formed through a lower concentric plate, by means of a ratchet lever fulcrumed at
the centre of the upper plate and adjustably connected by a rod with the piston rod
cross-head, the pawl of the ratchet lever engaging in ratchets radially arranged on
the upper circular plate.
The cylinder is supplied with steain through an ordinary slide valve controlled
by an eccentric, on the shaft of which is fixed a ratchet wheel engaged by a ratchet
lever, which is connected with any convenient reciprocating part of the engine or
machinery to be lubricated, the whole operating so that on the consequent successive
vibrations of the ratchet lever fixed to the eccentric shaft the ratchet wheel of the
latter is rotated and shifts the eccentric into the proper positions for reciprocating
the piston with its rod and cross-head, whereby the ratchet lever of the upper
circular plate is vibrated, and partially rotates the latter so that its passage is
brought successively into communication with a corresponding passage in the lower
plate and thereby allows the oil which is simultaneously delivered by the pump or
pumps, from the tank or vessel, to pass through the said passages and through a
pipe leading therefrom to any required part of the engine or machinery to be
lubricated.
On the accompanying drawings Figure 1 represents a plan of my improved
automatic lubricator, Figure 2 a side elevation thereof, Figure 3 a sectional elevation
through line 1, 1 in figure 1 broken away, Figure 4 a detached plan of the lower
circular plate seen in figure 3, and Figure 5 an inverted plan, detached, of the upper
circular plate, seen in Figure 3, like letters of reference denoting like parts in all
the figures.
it represents a steam cylinder, provided with a piston and slide valve, which being
of the ordinary construction need no illustration. To the outer end of the piston
rod is attached a cross-head c mounted in, and projecting at each end beyond,
horizontal guides d, which with the cylinder a are carried by the framing
on bed plate el, the latter being secured to any suitable foundation or support adjacent,
to the engine or machinery to be lubricated.
e fixed
To the cross-head cat each side of the piston rod b is adjustably attached the outer
end of the ram or plunger of a pump g which is horizontally arranged and secured
to the framing e in any suitable manner. Or more than one pump 9 may be used at
each or either side of the piston rod b as found convenient according to the extent of
lubrication required.

page_text: The suction branches g' of the pumps g communicate with a tank or vessel h
(shown in figure 2 broken away, and by dotted lines in figure 1) which is divided
into separate compartments for holding different grades of oil, and surrounded by
an outer casing h¹ between which and the tank h is left a space h² into which the
exhaust steam from the cylinder a or other source may be turned by the pipe h³ for
heating the oil contained in the tank h.
The delivery pipe i from one (or more) of the pumps g is provided with a check-
valve and communicates with a pipe 12 which descends vertically and communicates
with a central opening ; (see particularly figures 3 and 5) in the upper surface of a
circular plate or disc k, the junction of the pipe 2 with this central opening; being
effected by a gland and stuffing box l, which is secured to the centre of the plate k
and surrounds the pipe, whereby the plate is enabled to rotate when so
constrained without interfering with the free flow of oil through the pipe 2, as
hereafter described.
From the central opening ; a passage j¹ is formed radially within the plate k to a
suitable distance, and terminates in an outlet passage 72 on the underside of the
plate k, for communicating, as the latter is rotated, with each of a series of
passages m, arranged at equal distances apart along a circle radial to the centre of a
lower fixed circular plate n which is concentric with, and forms a bed for, the
upper plate k, the passages m passing through the plate n and communicating on the
underside of the latter with pipes m which are conducted in any desired direction
to the various parts of the engine or other machinery to be lubricated.
On the upper surface of the plate k are arranged, radially to the centre thereof,
and at suitable distances apart, notches or ratchets o which are engaged by the
pawl p of a ratchet lever g, the latter being fulcrumed at the centre of the plate /
and connected with the piston rod cross-head c by a rod r, one end of which is
adjustable in a slots formed along the outer portion of the ratchet lever y whereby
the vibration imparted to the latter by the rod r can be lengthened or shortened as
hereafter more particularly explained.
The slide valve stem v of the steam cylinder a is connected with an eccentric w
which is fixed on a shaft x, mounted in bearings y carried by the cross-head guides d
or other convenient part of the framing e. On the eccentric shaft is fixed a ratchet
wheel which is engaged by the pawl of a ratchet lever 21.
In general operation the ratchet lever being connected to any convenient
reciprocating part of the steam engine or other machinery to be lubricated, is thereby
vibrated and rotates the ratchet wheel z, shaft x, and eccentric w so as to gradually
move the slide valve of the steam cylinder a alternately to and fro, into the proper
positions for admitting steam to the cylinder on each side alternately of the piston,
which causes the cross-bead c to be reciprocated in its guides . As the cross-
head c travels forwards in the direction indicated by arrow 1 in figures 1 and 2 the
ratchet lever on the circular plate is vibrated in the same direction and moves
its pawl p over the ratchets o on the plate without affecting the position of the
latter, and at the same time the oil contained in the chamber of the force-pump gis
delivered by the ram or plunger f through the pipes i, opening, passages j³ j
and through one of the passages m in the lower fixed plate n, and thence by pipe m'
to the corresponding part of the engine or other machinery to be lubricated
On the return stroke of the cross-head c and ratchet lever q, the pawl p engages
with one of the notches or ratchets ọ of the plate and partially rotates the latter
in the direction of arrow 2 in figure 1, so as to bring the passage j2 immediately
over and in communication with the succeeding passage m of the plate n., the
pump at the same time drawing oil from one of the compartments of the
tank h ready for forcing it through this succeeding passage m and its pipe m¹ for
lubricating another part of the engine or machinery on the next forward stroke of the
cross-head c and so on until the oil has been forced successively through the entire
series of passagesm and pipesm¹ of the lower fixed plate n when the operation is repeated.
If desired the number of passages m and pipes m¹ may be increased or diminished

page_text: and the vibration of the ratchet lever q varied accordingly by adjusting the end of the
connecting rod along the slot 8 of the lever q.
As shown in figure 1 the delivery pipe g₁ of the further pump g, which may be
supplied with a finer quality of oil from another compartment of the tank h, is not
connected with the distributing apparatus previously described for directing the
common oil through the pipes m', but leads directly to other parts of the engine or
machinery for lubricating the same at every stroke of the pump continuously.
By this invention the lubrication through the pipes m¹ is rendered regular and
uniform according to the speed of the engine or other machinery-that is to say the
greater the speed and the vibration of the ratchet lever e¹ the more frequently
will the oil be forced through each of the pipes m² to its corresponding part of
the machinery and rice versa.
By means of a pipe 61 communicating with the central pipe 2 of the distributing
apparatus and provided with a valve 2 steam may be passed from any convenient
source through the various passages and pipes of the apparatus for cleaning the
same when required.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. In a multiple lubricator for lubricating machinery, the combination with a bed
plate having a series of ports arranged in a circle or equal distances from the
centre, of a centrally pivoted disk having a receiving port centrally of the disk, and a
radial passage leading therefrom and of such length as to register with the successive
ports in the bed plate substantially as and for the purposes described.
2. In a multiple lubricator, the combination with a bed plate having a series of
ports arranged at equal distances from its centre a centrally pivoted rotary disk having
a receiving port and a radial passage leading therefrom and of such length as to
register successively with the ports in the bed plate, a pump for delivering oil to the
receiving port in the rotary disk, and mechanism for rotating the disk from the pump
piston, substantially as and for the purposes described.
3. In a multiple lubricator, the combination with a rotary oil delivery disk or
valve, of a pump for forcing oil to the delivery disk or valve, mechanism for
rotating the disk from the piston of said pump, a steam cylinder provided with a
valve actuated from a moving part of the machinery to be lubricated, substantially
as and for the purposes described.
4. In apparatus for automatically lubricating machinery, the combination of a
circular plate having a central supply pipe and passage therefrom, said passage
communicating successively with each of a series of passages formed through a
lower plate and provided with pipes communicating respectively with the various
parts of the machinery to be lubricated, a force pump drawing oil from a tank or
vessel and delivering the oil through the central supply pipe of the upper circular
plate, means for operating said pump, a ratchet lever engaging in notches or
ratchets on the upper circular plate, with means for vibrating said lever, substantially
as shown and for the purpose described.
5. In apparatus for automatically lubricating machinery, the combination of a
circular plate having a central supply pipe and passage therefrom, said passage
communicating successively with each of a series of passages formed through a lower
plate and provided with pipes communicating respectively with the various parts
of the machinery to be lubricated, a force pump drawing oil from a tank or vessel
and delivering the oil through the central supply pipe of the upper circular plate, a
cross-head attached to the ram of said pump and reciprocated by the piston of an
ordinary steam cylinder provided with a slide valve, said valve being controlled by an
eccentric fixed on a shaft, a ratchet lever engaging in notches or ratchets on the upper
circular plate, a rod connecting said lever to the cross-head, a ratchet wheel fixed on

page_text: the eccentric shaft, with a ratchet lever engaging in said wheel and adapted to be
connected to any convenient reciprocating part of the machinery to be lubricated,
substantially as shown and for the purpose described.
Dated the 27th day of August 1000
PHILIP M. JUSTICE,
Associate Agent.