IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-ACTING LUBRICATORS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Bernoulli Barlow, of the City of Manchester,
Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-ACTING
LUBRICATORS." A communication from David H. Ziegler, of Winterthur,
in the Republic of Switzerland.
Sealed the 31st December 1859, and dated the 24th August 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Bernoulli Barlow
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 24th August 1858.
I, HENRY BERNOULLI BARLOW, of the City of Manchester, Patent Agent, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-
ACTING LUBRICATORS," being a communication from David H. Ziegler, of
Winterthur, in the Republic of Switzerland, to be as follows:-
The nature of this Invention consists in certain improved combinations of
machinery and apparatus for lubricating, whereby a constant and uniform
supply of oil or other lubricating material is delivered to the axle or other
article to be lubricated. In performing this Invention, the vessel containing
the oil or other lubricating material is connected to a toothed wheel, the boss
of which has a recess or recesses into which the lubricating material is
deposited; these recesses have regulating screws in the usual manner. The
Price 8d.1

page_text: lower part of the lubricator is also furnished with a toothed wheel, and works
in a hollow cup fixed to the article to be lubricated. The lower part of the
lubricator has a plug with a diagonal division, and a hole to convey the
lubricating material to the recesses above mentioned, and both the upper and
lower parts of the lubricator are turned round by a worm or pinion gearing
into both the toothed wheels; these wheels have an unequal number of teeth,
consequently when the lubricator is at work, the lubricating material is
supplied every time the hole in the lower part corresponds with the recesses in
the upper part, and this depends upon the relative number of teeth in the two
wheels; the worm or pinion is driven by a band and pulley, or by friction, or
in any other manner. The parts of the lubricator may be worked by friction
instead of toothed wheels and worm or pinion.
This Invention also consists in making the vessel containing the lubricating
material with divisions, so that the consumption thereof may be easily com-
puted; also in lubricating axles by an endless strap, chain, or belt, which dips
into the lubricating material, and conveys a portion thereof to the axle. The
lubricating material that escapes at the ends of the bearing drops into a
channel surrounding the inner vessel; the impurities drop to the bottomof this
channel, and the lubricating material overflows the brim of the inner vessel,
by which arrangement it is used over and over again.
The last part of this Invention is particularly applicable for lubricating the
axles of railway carriages. A roller made of cork or any other suitable
material, and covered with a strip of felt or other elastic substance (wound on
like a thread), is made to float in a vessel containing the lubricating material.
When the axle revolves the lubricating material is conveyed by the roller to
the axle, and if any impurities are mixed with the lubricating materials, they
are guided by the strip of felt to a compartment at one end of the vessel; the
impurities are deposited at the bottom of this compartment, and the purer
portion returns into the vessel in which the roller floats, to be again used as
before.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Bernoulli Barlow in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 14th February 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
BERNOULLI BARLOW, of the City of Manchester, Patent Agent, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Henry Bernoulli Barlow, Her special licence that I, the
said Henry Bernoulli Barlow, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Henry Bernoulli Barlow, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and
Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-ACTING LUBRICATORS,'
being a communication from David H. Ziegler, of Winterthur, in the Republic
of Switzerland, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry
Bernoulli Barlow, my executors or administrators, by au instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said Letters Patent.
"
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Bernoulli Barlow, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (that is to say):-
The rature of this Invention consists,-
First, in certain improved combinations of machinery and apparatus for
lubricating, whereby a uniform supply of oil or other lubricating material is
delivered at intervals to the axle or other article to be lubricated, so long as it
remains in motion.
Secondly, in marking divisions on the glass oil cup or other vessel containing
the lubricating material, for the purpose of indicating the consumption of the
lubricating material.
Thirdly, in an improved inode of constructing lubricators with endless chains
or bands, by which the oil or other lubricating material is raised from the oil
cup and delivered to the axle to be lubricated.
And, lastly, in supplying lubricating material to the axle to be lubricated by
means of a roller (around which a strip of felt or other elastic substance is
wound in the form of a thread or spiral) floating in the lubricating material,

page_text: and in the peculiar arrangement and construction of the vessels containing the
lubricating material.
And in order that this Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the improved lubricator suitable for a horizontal
shaft; Fig. 2 is a side view, and Fig. 3 a ground plan of the same; Fig. 4
and Fig. 5 are detached parts of the lubricator.
The round base frame a has underneath a small tube b, with a thread on it,
by means of which and the nut c it can be fastened to the cover of the bearing
to be lubricated. On the side of the base frame a, and cast to it is a small
cup d for the reception of a small worm e, fastened t: the axle f, moving in
the boss g, cast with or fixed to the base frame a. The axle fis furnished at
its outer end with a wooden pulley or roller h, over which and the bearing
shaft passes a small strip of leather, cord, or string, thereby imparting motion
to the axle f, as shewn best in Fig. 13. The worm d gears in two worm
wheels i and k, one of which has one tooth more than the other; the former is
fitted with a broad rim 1, which is inserted into the round base plate a, and
moves freely therein. In the centre of the lower surface of the wheel i is a small
projecting tube m through which the oil passes to the bearing; the top surface
has a slightly conical boss n, with an opening at the top communicating with
the glass cylinder o, serving as oil cup, the oblique partition p cutting off the
communication with the tube m. Two holes r and q, exactly opposite to each
other, are drilled in the boss n, the first underneath the oblique partition p
communicates with m, and the second above the partition p is in communica-
tion with the oil cup o. Around the boss n fits tightly the boss s of the worm
wheel k,turning free thereon; to the top of the broad rimt cast to the wheel
is cemented the glass cylinder o; the inner side of the rim t is provided with
two eyes u, seen in section in Fig. 5, exactly opposite to each other, and
reaching to the boss s. Two holes drilled through the eyes are in direct
communication with the holes r and q, and threads are cut in the eyes u, into
which are fitted two mall screw pieces v, leaving room between them and the
boss n for the lubricating material in the usual manner. For ensuring a tight
fit between the two bosses of the worm wheels, a conical groove is turned in
the upper end of the boss n, into which fits the spring ring w, see Fig. 4,
exerting a slight pressure on the boss s. The outer surface of the oil cup o is
provided with a graduated scale, showing the cousumption of oil in halfounces
or by measure, if desired; these graduations serve to regulate the consumption

page_text: of oil in a set of lubricators, each requiring an equal supply; to the top edge
is cemented a small ring of sheet brass with a hinge for the cover *.
υ
Let it now be supposed that the small worm wheel i has one tooth more
than the wheel and that the former has sixty and the latter fifty-nine teeth;
therefore after the wheel i has made one revolution, the wheel k will have
made one revolution and one tooth more, which will be the case after each
following revolution of i, thereby turning the boss 8 of the worm wheel k very
slowly around the boss n of the worm wheel i, and cutting off by degrees the
communication with the holes r and q, but after 60x50 =1770 revolutions of
the worm d, the holes will coincide in the opposite direction. In this position
the
space between the screw pieces and the hole r becomes filled with oil,
and after 1770 more revolutions the parts return to their former positions, as
shewn in Fig. 1, and the oil flows through the hole q and the tubes m and b
on to the bearing. As already mentioned, there are two screw pieces v
opposite each other, but if one of them is screwed inwards till it touches the
boss n, then no space is left at this place for the reception of oil, and in this
case it would take 60 x 59 = 3540 revolutions of the worm between each
supply of oil delivered to the bearing. The quantity of feed can be regulated
to any extent by the screw pieces v, which are screwed towards or from the
centre in the usual manner. It is evident that by adopting 1, 2, 3, or 4 eyes
with screw pieces, the time and quantity of feed can be varied at convenience,
but in general two eyes are found sufficient; the number of teeth in the worm
wheels i and k may also be varied, but the simplest way to vary the speed of
the worm wheels is to change the wooden roller or pulley h. The lubrication of
the small axle bearing g is performed as follows:-The small cup din which
the worm e revolves is filled with oil, which by the rotation of the worm is
taken up, partially stripped off in the teeth of the worm wheels, and partially
flows in the oil groove y, see Fig. 3, in the upper part of the bearing g, thereby
greasing the axle, and returning by a similar groove in the lower part of the
bearing again to the cup d. The oil which is stripped off in the teeth of the
worm wheel flows in the circular groove of the upper part of the round base
frame a back to the deeper part of the cup d, thereby greasing the rim / which
turns in a. The projecting cup z in Fig. 1 is to prevent the oil from the
bearing g, which after some time gets black, finding its way around the bottom
part of the rim to the tube b and to the bearing. It is sufficient to fill the
donce, the oil placed therein being enough for greasing the lubricator till
the oil in the glass cup o has been consumed by the bearing.
cup
In order to examine if the lubricator is acting regularly, it is sufficient to

page_text: see whether the oil cylinder turns round, or to lift the same with the worm
wheels out of the base frame, to see whether oil flows down the small tube b;
if necessary, this tube can be easily cleaned at the same time, and by replacing
the whole to its former place, the teeth of the wheels come again in gear with
the worm, and the lubricator acts as before. As the oil would not freely
flow down the tube bif air had no access to it, the bottom of the worm wheel
i is provided with a small air hole.
Fig. 6 is a section of a modification of these improved lubricators; in this
arrangement the plug and boss are inverted, that is to say, the boss 8 is cast
with the worm wheel i,and the plug n fitting in the boss 8 is cast with the wheel
K; in other respects the lubricator is similar to that above described.
Fig. 7 represents a section of a lubricator to which the requisite motion is
given by the click A, actuated by the cam B,fixed on the shaft to be lubricated;
this cam causes the lever C to vibrate on its fulcrum pin, and in so doing the
click A takes into the teeth of the ratchet wheel D, to which is cast the
boss s; the plug n is in this instance cast to the bottom plate. It is preferable
in this arrangement to employ only one recess u and screw pin v; the speed
of the lubricator can be varied by changing the position of the fulcrum pin of
the lever C.
Figs. 8 and 9 represent another modification of this Invention, in which
two spur wheels and one pinion are employed; this lubricator is arranged for
a vertical shaft bearing. The tube b is uot in the middle of the base frame a,
but placed as much as possible sideways, in order to get nearer to the shaft.
The fixing of the lubricator can be made in various ways; the simplest way is
by a double angle piece of wrought iron, one angle of which is screwed near
the metal bearing to the pedestal, and the other receives the lubricator with
the screw tube b and the nut c. The bottom of the base frame a has inside a
deep groove from the centre to the tube b, as oil channel, on the opposite side
a boss or bearing d is cast to the frame for the axle c, which bears on its
lower end a wooden roller e, driven from the shaft in the manner above
described. The upper end of the axle is fitted with a small spur pinion f
gearing into two spur wheels 9 and h with a different number of teeth. The
bosses of both spur wheels go downwards and are slightly taper, the tightening
is also effected on the under side instead above, as in Fig. 1. The other
arrangements and the action are similar to those before described, with the
exception of the mode of lubricating the small axle c. From the circular
groove in the top of the base frame is drilled a hole i towards the axle c;
the screw pieces K fit loosely in the respective eyes, and allow a small portion

page_text: of oil to escape into the groove, and from thence to the axle bearing d,through
the hole i.
Fig. 10 represents a lubricator to which the requisite motion is given by
bevel wheels, the movements can also be given by friction, as shewn by the
diagram Fig.11, where two concentric rings of different diameters are driven by
a cylinder with two grooves or by crown wheels as shewn at Fig. 12, driven
by a single piniou.
Fig. 13 is an elevation on a reduced scale of a hanger or bearing supporting
the shaft, to which a lubricator, similar to that shewn in Fig. 1, is applied.
It is easily understood that by all these arrangements the lubrication of the
bearings only takes place during the rotation of the shafts, to which the
lubricators are applied; during the rest of the day no oil can flow down the
lubricator tube.
Another mode for lubricating shaft bearings is shewn in Figs. 14, 15, and
16, in which the oil is brought to the bearing from below. Fig. 14 is a
vertical section at right angles to the shaft; Fig. 15, a section in the line of
the axis; and Fig. 16, a side view of the pedestal. The lower part of the
pedestal a is hollow, and has an opening below for the reception of the oil
case b. Towards the centre of the bearing is another hollow space c, which
partially extends round the inner side of the bearing d, and receives a metal
chain f, hanging free over the shaft e. A band of felt, leather, or thin flat
wire rope may be substituted for the chain f. Within the case b is a second
case g, kept in its proper place by two strips of sheet iron, soldered to the
bottom of the first case; the chain fdipping into the oil of the inner case, lifts
by the rotation of the shaft a portion of the oil with it, and distributes it over
the shaft bearing. At both ends of the bearing d are two deep circular
grooves for the reception of the oil, with holes in the under side to let the oil
pass into the troughs h, where the oil which might run over the bearing
accumulates, and from which it drops through holes upon the perforated bent
covers i into the oil case b; the impurities settle at the bottom,and the cleaner
portion of the oil flows into the inner case g, to be used again as already
described. The cover pieces are only soldered to the smaller side of the
case 6, and serve as catching springs when the case is pushed under the
pedestal to keep it in the proper position. In this manner the impure oil is
separated from the clean oil, and the former can, if necessary, easily be
removed by unscrewing the pedestal cover, lifting the chain, drawing the
case 6 out, and removing the inner oil case g.
Another modification of apparatus for lubricating axles from below is shewn

page_text: in Figs. 17 and 18, which represent an axle box of a railway carriage. Fig. 17
is a vertical section in the line of the axis, and Fig. 18 a vertical section
through the middle of the bearing, at right angles to the axis. The ball
journal a is on the inner side lined with autifriction metal 6, the axle c has
only one shoulder on each side, but the ends touch the fronts of the journal.
The lower part of the journal is provided with an oil case d, which is not
in contact with the axle. This oil case is divided into two parts by the
partition e; the larger portion of the oil case is filled with oil, on which floats
a roller of cork f, provided on the circumference with a strip of felt or cloth,
wound like a screw over its whole length. As the roller floats in the oil, it is
pressed against the axle, from which it receives a rotatory motion. In con-
sequence of the spiral shape of the elastic band on the circumference of the
roller, the oil is obliged to traverse laterally, and drops when it arrives at the
shoulder of the axle into the smaller partition of the oil case, where impurities
settle to the bottom, and the clean oil reaching the height of the partition e,
flows over again into the larger case for further use. If sand or any foreign
matter finds its way into the interior of the journal, it will immediately be
washed by the screw of the roller to the end of the journal without doing
damage to the axle. For greater security the axle box g is furnished with an
ordinary grease box to serve in cases where the oil might be thrown out of the
oil case. The cork roller is on both ends kept in its proper position by small
ribs projecting from the sides of the case. Instead of a cork roller, a hollow
sheet metal roller might be used, provided on its surface with a similar elastic
strip wound round it in a spiral line. The cil case is provided with a cover h,
hinged to the journal at i.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention communicated to me,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I would observe in
conclusion that I do not confine myself to the details set forth; but I
claim,―
First, the use of two wheels with a different number of teeth, or of two
rollers of different diameters driven by a single pinion, or by a friction roller
for the purpose of imparting motion to the working parts of lubricators, as
shewn and described.
Secondly, the mode of lubricating the working parts of the lubricator, as
described.
Thirdly, the graduating the oil cup, by means of which the consumption of
oil is indicated.
Fourthly, the improved mode of applying a chain or band to lift the oil

page_text: from an oil case placed underneath the axle, as shewn and described in
reference to Figs. 14, 15, and 16.
Fifthly, the use of a double oil case, one part of which serves for the clean
and the other for the impure oil, as shewn and described.
And, lastly, the use of an elastic strip wound in a spiral line over the
circumference of a floating roller or cylinder, as shewn and described in
reference to Figs. 17 and 18.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Bernoulli Barlow, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
H. B. BARLOW. (L S.)