IMPROVEMENTS IN LUBRICATING REVOLVING SHAFTS OF ALL DESCRIPTIONS, AND ALSO THE AXLES OF RAILWAY AND OTHER WHEELS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Louis Alexandre Avisse, of Paris, in the Empire of
France, Pianoforte Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN LUBRICATING REVOLVING SHAFTS OF ALL DESCRIPTIONS, AND ALSO THE AXLES
OF RAILWAY AND OTHER WHEELS."
Sealed the 14th August 1855, and dated the 25th April 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Louis Alexandre Avisse at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th April 1855.
I, LOUIS ALEXANDRE AVISSE, of Paris, in the Empire of France, Pianoforte
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN LUBRICATING REVOLVING SHAPTS OF ALL DESCRIPTIONS, AND ALSO
THE AXLES OF RAILWAY AND OTHER WHEELS," to be as follows:-
My improved system of lubricating may be applied to all descriptions of
horizontal revolving shafts; but in order to apply to those actually in use, an
alteration in the journals and the bearings or supports would be required; and
by an alteration in the disposition of such parts, my system of lubricating may
be applied to the shafts and spindles of small lathes, circular saws,and blowing
fans, running on points with great velocity; and to vertical shafts, by adapting
thereto the contrivance used for those shafts which are made to run oupoints.
[Price 8d.]

page_text: By my process, the revolving surfaces being constantly suffused with or
immersed in oil, the wearing of the said surfaces is considerably diminished.
The annexed Drawings show several applications of my improvements. The
same letters represent the same things in all the Figures,exceptitbeotherwise
indicated.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a horizontal shaft, the chair and bearing being
represented in vertical section; (Fig. 3 is a cross section of the same through
the lime, y). A, shaft; B, chair, resting upon a plate P; C, bearing; D.
recess for oil; ", a, a, perforations for the passage of the oil. Fig. 2, plan of a
similar shaft, the iournal of which is modified, as may be seen; the cap of
the chair is removed.
Fig. 4, spindle of a circular saw or lathe running on points. A, spindle; B,
stand; C, bearing or socket, maintained in the stand by two screw nuts N, N,
to regulate its pressure on the point d; D, recess for oil; H stuffing box ; I,
tow squeezer; F, oiling tube, provided with a funnel f, into which the oil is
poured. This tube F may be of glass, and graduated, so as to indicate the
level and the consumption of the oil.
Fig. 5, stand of a lathe stock, in which the spindle runs in rings, and is
likewise lubricated in a permanent manner. A, spindle; B, stand of the head
stock J, journal; C. steel or cast-iron ring; F, oiling tube; D, recess for the
oil; N, N, screw nuts closing the recess. and holding or pressing the ring C
on the conical part of the journal.
Fig. 6, vertical shaft of a turbine. A, shaft; d, point of the shaft, resting on
a socket which is perforated at the centre or on one side, in order to admit
the oil which flows from a syphon tube F; the upper portion I of which is
made of glass,and graduated, in order to show the level of the lubricating fluid.
H. H,', H", stuffing boxes, placed the first over the bearing socket, the others
over and under the upper collar C of the shaft; F, F, oiling tubes, the oil
being poured in f.
Fig. 7, vertical section, and Fig. 8 cross section, of an oil box and bearing
for railway axles. A, axletree; J, journal; C, upper bearing, commonly made
of brass or of white metal, but which in my process can be made of cast iron;
B,upper portion of the oil box,provided with a guard plate as usual; S, spring
over the oil box; K, under part of the oil box, fixed at the upper part by stays
M, Fig. 9; D, recess for the oil poured through the tube F, which regulates
and shows its level; M, N, indicate that level.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Louis Alexandre Avisse in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 23rd October 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LOUIS
ALEXANDRE AVISSE, of Paris, in the Empire of France, Pianoforte Manufac-
turer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Louis Alexandre Avisse, Her special licence that 1, the said Louis
Alexandre Avisse, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Louis Alexandre Avisse, 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 LUBRICATING REVOLVING SHAFTS OF ALL DESCRIPTIONS, AND
ALSO THE AXLES OF RAILWAY AND OTHER WHEELS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Louis Alexandre Avisse, by an instrumentin
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what nauner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar inonths next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
. NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Louis Alexandre Avisse, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
My improved system of lubricating may be applied to all descriptions of
horizontal revolving shafts; but in order to apply it to those in ordinary use,
that is to say, to those of the old system, an alteration in the chairs and bearings
is required. My system may be then applied to the vertical shafts of turbines,
to the spindles of lathes, of circular saws, of blowing fans, and of spinning
frames; also to the axles of railway and of other wheels, pulleys, gearings, and
other like pieces of revolving machinery.
In this system, the lower part of the running surfaces being constantly.

page_text: immersed in oil, are thus kept permanently and completely lubrified, so that
their wear and tear is considerably reduced.
The annexed Drawings represent several applications of my lubrifying
process. The same piecesare represented by the same letters in all the Figures.
Fig. 1 is a vertical and longitudinal section of a chair with its lubrifying
bearing applied to a horizontal shaft. S,chair; C, bearing; A, shaft. The chair
is fastened on a cast-iron plate or ou a bench B. Fig. 2, plan of the same
chair. The shaft A and the cap 1) are taken away.
Fig. 3, cross section of the bearing with its cap, through the line X, Y.
The chair S has a recess H, which the bearing does not completely fill up, and
which serves as an oil reservoir. The bearing, a plan and a cross section of
which are represented respectively in Fig. 2 and 3, rests on the bottom of the
chair, as seen, Fig. 1 and 3, and its lower surface is provided with grooves
crossways and lengthways, and the space H is always filled with oil. The upper
surface of the bearing has a semicircular groove fitting the journal F of the
shaft A.
At the middle part of the journal there is a conical ring or collar 6,
fitting a corresponding recess R, cut into the bearing C. The conical ring or
collar b becomes very soon ground, so as accurately to fit the recess R, and thus
prevent any shifting motion of the shaft. Another groove 7, Fig. 2, cut length-
ways into the upper face of the bearing, and several vertical perforatious, are
oil.
seen, Fig. 1, 2, 3, for the purpose of leaving a free passage for the lubricating
Sinall notches in a slanting direction at the corners of the bearing form
reservoirs, within which the oil which has been carried by the motion of the
shaft remains. The edges ofthechair Sand of its cap D enter the oil-circulating
grooves a, cut into the shaft at either side of the journal, so as to prevent the
oil from running out. When the motive power is applied so as to drive
downwards, the cap need not touch the shaft; but if it is applied upwards, the
cap is then fitted as an upper bearing, and as the shaft is constantly dipping in
oil there is scarcely any wear and tear; and even when the bearing becomes at
last slightly worn out, the shaft and the conical ring 6 sinking also in pro-
portion into the recess R, always preventany wabbling from taking place. The
bearings may be made of brass, white alloy, cast iron, or other suitable material,
but I prefer cast iron for the purpose.
In the Fig. 1, 2, 3, already described, the shaft is purposely represented as
forged with an enlargement, and the journal as turned of the required shape
on the lathe. If it were desired to apply my lubrifying system to the cylin-
drical shafts now used for transmitting motion, it would only be necessary to
change the place of the chairs, to remove the rings by turning, so that the
shaft may be quite cylindrical; their ends may then be joined by meaus.of

page_text: coupling boxes in the usual way. The bearings may then be placed at any
suitable point, and two oil-circulating grooves a, a, Fig. 1, 4, and 5, being cut
in the shaft, the journal F between these two grooves should be placed on a
chir and bearing containing oil, according to my plan, so that the lower part
of the journal may dip as low as the grooves a. Each chair should be provided
with a glass tube I, which serves as a gaage, and is used also for supplying
the oil, as seen in Fig. 2, 3. Two other grooves g., Fig. 5, may besides be
cut round the journal for the purpose of carrying the oil along, and in order to
prevent all wabbling, cylindrical boxes with conical rings bat the middle, as in
Fig 1 and 5, may also be placed at the first and last journals of the shaft.
Fig. 6 is a side view of the stand for the shaft of a circular saw; the shaft A.
is running on points, which are likewise lubrified in a permanent manner;
Fig. 7 is an end view. S, stand or bearing stock, which is provided with a
hole at its widened top O; a cylindrical steel piece V, K, bored through is
placed within the hole at O; narrow edge h, reserved on the piece V, K,
enters a groove of the hole O to keep it steady. The piece V, K, or point
bearer, is represented separately in Fig. S. A screw is cut on the outsidenteach
of its ends, and it is made fast on each face of the whole O by screw nuts L, J.
By means of these nuts the piece V, K, may be shifted either way, so that the
point inay run freely in the countersunk hole of that piece. The point is per-
manently lubrified by the oil, which is poured into the bent tube T, which is
securely screwed into that portion of the point bearer V, K, which juts out, the
bent tube Tbeing terminated by a graduated glass tube I, provided with a small
funnel G, which is carefully covered so that no dust may fall in. The nut J
forins a stuffing box, and the packing placed in the recess E is properly
squeezed by a screw e, against the point P and the bearing K, so that no oil
can escape. When shafts running on points are situate under benches, or in
such places that bent tubes like 'T' cannot be applied, Iemploy another kind of
lubrifying tube, represented Fig. 11, and terminated by a hollow ring, stopped
up with a screw when filled with oil. Vertical shafts, such as those of turbines,
also be lubrified by an analogous contrivance, as will be shown further on
Fig. 9, side elevation, and Fig. 10, end view, of the lathe stock, thespindleof
which runs in rings, which are also permanently lubrified. A, spindle or shaft;
M, its pulley; P,P, uprights of the stock; N and N', hardened steel rings placed
in suitable recesses at the top of the uprights in order to prevent wabbling.
The running surface F, F, of the spindle, like the conical ring 6 of the shaft,
Fig. 1, are cone shaped. A screw is cut at each end of the ring N, N', and
the fixed nuts E and E' which are put on serve to regulate the degree of
looseness or of tightness or pressure against the conical parts of the spindle.
may

page_text: A side piece s, Fig. 10, is fixed at each stand, and is in communication with
the recess H; a graduated glass tube I is inserted into it for the purpose of
pouring the oil, and of ascertaining the quantity of it contained in H. This
tube is not longer than the level which the oil can attain in H without over-
flowing between the spindle and nut E, E¹. The guage tube I is carefully
covered to keep the dust out. Fig. 12 and 13 are loose pulleys or drums;
Fig. 12 is a loose pulley on its shaft; Fig 13 is a section made across the
diameter of two pulleys. A, shaft, on which two pulleys D and C are placed.
The first is keyed on the shaft at a; the second pulley C is loose, and is
maintained in its place by the ring B, fastened to the shaft by a setting screw s.
The oil used for lubrifying the loose pulley is poured in a hole b, placed at a
point of the circumference, corresponding to one of the radii, perforated to
the centre down to the shaft, where a slight groove g is reserved. The hole
at the circumference in which the oil is poured is stopped by a screw with a
conical flat head; and in order to prevent the oil from flowing out, two wide
circular grooves e, el, are cut either on each face of the nave of the loose
pulley, or one in the loose, the other on the driving pulley; these grooves are
then packed with tow, which is kept properly squeezed therein by the ring-like
projecting faces of the driving pulley D and by the ring B. The latter, which
may be screwed more or less tight at pleasure, is kept in its place by the setting
screw s. The quantity of lubricating oil contained in the pulley may be
ascertained by inserting a glass tube I in a hole bored in the nave down to the
shaft, and the oil rising of course in this little tube will rise to a certain level,
from which the quantity of oil may be inferred. The outer end of the glass
tube should of course be closed by a cap, or otherwise stopped up.
Fig. 14 is a view of a turbine for manufacturing sugar. T, turbine; A,
shaft; P, driving pulley; F, break. The lower extremity of the shaft ter-
minates in a point which runs on a steel or cast-iron bearing or socket e,
perforated at the centre, and fastened with screw bolt b to the bottom of the
chamber into which the syrup is flowing. The upper portion of the socket
has a recess to admit the packing, which may be suitably squeezed, so as to
act as a stuffing box by means of the screw E. A syphon tube m, n, screwed
fast at n, serves to bring the lubricating oil to the centre of the socket; the
outer branch, bearing a graduating glass tube I, will of course indicate the
level of the oil in the apparatus. The oil is poured through the funnel L.
The upper journal of the shaft is lubrified, as represented in Fig. 14; the oil
being poured at v is conveyed by two vertical tubes I, I, placed at right angles
on the horizontal ones t, t. A circular groove in the shaft corresponds to the
tubes t, and stuffing boxes E¹, E, are placed over and under the floor in

page_text: order to prevent the lubrifying oil from escaping. The tubes I may be made
of glass and graduated, or the upper journal may be lubrified, as represented in
Fig. 15, where the shaft is provided with a small cup M, which is filled up
with oil, and which revolves with the shaft, whilst, on the other hand, the
bearing S, projecting under the floor, dips in the oil of the cup M, as scen
in the Figure. There should be a small lid to keep the dust out. Another
modification in the mode of lubricating the lower extremity of shafts of that
kind is shown also in Fig. 15. This lower extremity, instead of terminating in
a point, is rounded up,and the socket C is provided at its centre with arounded
piece of hard steel. There is a recess at the upper part of the socket, into
which the oil is conveyed by the tube n, so that the lower extremity of the
shaft A is constantlydipping in the oil, which the stuffing box E prevents from
running out. The level of the oil can always be observed by an arrangement
as in Fig. 14.
Fig. 16, 17, 18, are views of a railway carriage axle box fitted with my
lubricating apparatus; Fig. 16 is a longitudinal vertical section; Fig. 17,plan
of the same, the upper part of the box being taken away; Fig. 18 is a cross
section of the middle part. A, axletree F, axle or journal, with circular
grooves g, g; b, conical ring to prevent wahbling; B, lower part of the box,
with a recess El for the oil; E, recess in the upper part S, containing water
for cooling the pieces heated by friction, which recess, however, has no
communication with H. The water is poured at e in the shell covered with a
small lid; there is at the bottom a hole, for the purpose of emptying the
recess, which hole is closed by a screw. The oil is poured into a tube I as high
as the level which the oil can reach in the chamber H without overflowing.
The tube I is of glass, and is inserted into a small brass piece,fixed with screws
to the lower part of the axle box; the aperture of the tube corresponds with
a perforation of the oil chamber H, so that on removing this small brass piece
all the oil contained in H inay be removed. D,D, Fig. 18 and 19,are two stays,
hanging on gudgeons fixed on the upper box S, and support the under box by
means of a cross bar T, which is screwed up by the uuts L,L. C is the brass
bearing used in the ordinary boxes, but which may be dispensed with in my
plan, the bearing being cast with the axle box since the friction of steel or
iron upon cast-iron is actually less than upon brass. P, P, are guard plates;
R, hanging or bearing spring. The same lubricating process may be applied.
to ordinary axle journals by merely changing the axle box and making two
grooves gg, Fig. 17 and 18; the bearing being between the projecting ring
of the journal and shoulder of the axletree, all shifting or wabbling motion
is prevented, and the conical ring is no longer wanted.

page_text: Fig. 10 DIS 1, is, are similar views of an axle box, with sundry
improvements, for securing a still more perfect lubrication. Fig. 18 bis is a
cross vertical section through the line X, Y. The upper part of the axle
box has a recess E, divided by a thick partition N, supporting the waggon
resting on the spring R; the oil which has been poured into one side of the
recess flows into the other through the perforations i, i. The bearing C, which
rests upon the journal F of the axletree A, is not a separate piece, but is cast
in one piece with the axle box. There are no grooves in the axle, as in Fig. 16
and 17, but it retains the conical ring b, which prevents all wabbling. The
upper part which forms the bearing must be accurately bored to fit the
journal, and have a circular conical groove in the middle for the passage of
the ring b. At the bottom of the bearing there is a longitudinal groove n
in which the lubricating oil remains. The groove n is not cut through the
whole length of the bearing; it stops at each end before reaching the circula-
tion groove a, and before reaching the end of the journal, and also on each
side of the conical ring b, in order that the oil which it receives from the
recesses E through the holes e, as seen, Fig. 16 bis and 18 bis, may be
retained. The oil contained in the groove n can flow only very slowly, and as
it is carried out by the rotatory motion of the axle, which runs tight in the
crcular part d, d, of the bearing; the oil being, however, carried away little
by little, falls in the chamber H,whence it is drawn up by the conical ring bas
soon as its level is high enough. There is a circular groove in the summit of
the conical ring b, as seen Fig. 16 bis, 17 bis. When the oil which oozes out
into the chamber H has accumulated therein, so as to flow out through the
circulation groove a, or a little before, at the level a, it may escape into the
chambers V,V,on each side by means of the two perforations u,v, on each side,
which chambers V, V, as well as H, should be of sufficient capacity to contain
as much oil as the upper chambers E, so that when the lower chambers are
full, the upper chamber E in which the oil has been poured is empty; the oil
is then defecated from the chambers V through the stop-cock t,and it is poured
back again into the upper reservoir through the glass tube I, which may be
graduated, if required. This tube is in communication through a perforation /
with either of the chambers E. It is inserted in a brass piece with support L
screwed to the axle box. The tube I serves as a guage to show at any time
how much oil there is in the chambers E. When they are empty they may
be filled up again with the oil contained in V, yet should any delay occur in
pouring oil into the upper chamber, the lubrication of the axle would not on
that account be interrupted, since the said axle dips in the oil contained in H,
which oil rises as high as x. The reservoirs should be of such dimensions that

page_text: the two upper chambers E may contain as much as the two lower ones V, V,so
that the whole oil from E may never become of a higher level than at a. This
disposition is intended to prevent the waste which would invariably take place
were the oil permitted to rise above the level a, for it would then flow out
through the circulating groove, and through the opening of the axle box in
which that groove is engaged.
Figure 20 is a front view of a spinning frame; Figure 21 is a side view
thereof; Figure 22 is a plan of the lower board of the said frame. D, upper
board; F, lower board, in which the bearing sockets C, C, of the spindles are
fixed. The bobbins are placed at l' on the upper part of the spindles, as usual.
,small collar to support the bobbin; N, N, driving pulleys, set in motion by
endlessstrings. The spindles are maintained at d by small forked props L, which
are fixed by screws on the upper board D. The bearing sockets C are filled up
with oil, into which the pivots S of the spindles are dipping, as seen, Figure
20, and 21, 24, which shew the sockets in section. The oil is not separately
poured into each socket as usual, but it flows into them through a perforationt,
which is in communication with a tube G, extending the whole length of the
board F. All the sockets are fixed on the tube G by any convenient means.
This tube is represented in Figures 20,21,under the board, but it might be laid
over the said board and directly under the sockets, as in Figure 24, or by the
side of the said sockets, which are covered over with a little lid m for the pur-
pose of keeping the dust out; the spindles of course pass through this cover,
but they are provided with a shoulder at that pointin order to cover the central
hole of the lid. The tube G is closed at each end; the oil is poured into a
branch tube I, into which a glass tube is inserted, which glass tube serves as a
guage for ascertaining the level of the oil in the sockets. This tube is repre-
sented Figure 20; but in order to facilitate the inspection of this guage tube, the
board F may be suitably cut, as represented at M, Figure 22. Of course each
spinning frame may be provided with severalof these pouring and guage tubes,
so that the workman may be enabled at any moment to ascertain the level of
the oil at almost any place he may then stand. Under the bearing collar
of each spindle I place a little cup A, which is either screwed up or soldered
to the spindle above a small settle ring, as seen in Figure 21, where it is
represented in section. This little cup revolves with the spindle, and is
full of oil, so that the bearing collar d is constantly lubricated. In order to
prevent the oil contained in the lubricating cup A from being thrown away
by centrifugal force, I place a small lid a, represented alone, Figure 23. It
is not resting on the cup A, and it does not touch it, but it is fixed by screws
through two lugs v, v, on the board D, the bearing L of the collar d being

page_text: situated between the lugs v. The bearing sockets of spinning frames are
generally made of brass, but in my lubricating system they may be made of
cast iron, and will not wear out faster than those made of brass. The shape,
size, and disposition of the bearing sockets is indifferent; the constructor may
follow in this respect the suggestions of his practice. Figures 21 and 24
represent several dispositions of bearing sockets.
To resume. My improved lubricating system,as above described, and repre-
sented in the Drawings, may be applied to horizontal shafts of any description
running on journals or on points, to the vertical shafts of turbines and other
machinery, to the axle of railway and other wheels, to loose pulleys, and also to
the spindles of spinning frames. This system always secures the complete and
permanent lubrication of the revolving surfaces, which, being partly immersed
in the oil, are thus much less liable to wear out or to become heated, even
though running with the greatest velocity, and the state or quantity of the
lubricating oil can always be ascertained simply by looking at the graduated
glass guage, with which all my lubricating apparatus are provided.
Figure 2 bis and 3 bis are views of bearings, with an improvement which
prevents entirely the oil from being carried away by the rotary motion of the
axle and of leaking between the bearing and its cap. Figure 2 bis is the plan
of a lubricating bearing, the cap of which has been taken off. Figure 3 bis is
a vertical cross section, made in the middle through the line X, Y; and
Figure 25 is a side view of the bearing die, seen alone. This die has two small
edges, n, n, on each side, which, bearing against the internal sides of the oil
chamber, leave a narrow space a, a, through which the oil which has been
carried away by the rotation of the axle can freely fall back into the recess H.
In witness whereof, I, the said Louis Alexandre Avisse, have heretofore
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
L. D'AUBRÉVILLE.
L. A. AVISSE. (L.S.)