Apparatus for Lubricating the Worm and Worm Wheel Gear of Hoisting Tackle and other Gearing.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Jan., 1894-Accepted, 3rd Feb., 1894
COMPLETE DIECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by the Firm of HILLERSCHEIDT & KASBAUM, of
No. 44, Schönhauser Allee, Berlin, Germany.]
Apparatus for Lubricating the Worm and Worm Wheel Gear of
Hoisting Tackle and other Gearing.
I, CHARLES DENTON ABEL, of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane,
in the County of London, Consulting Engineer and Chartered Patent Agent, 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:-
In worm and worm wheel gear, hoisting tackle and similar gearing of ordinary
construction there exists an important disadvantage in that the worm operating
together with the worm wheel is not capable of being lubricated to a sufficient
extent to prevent comparatively rapid wear by friction.
The arrangements heretofore proposed for obviating this defect, by directly
lubricating partly the worm and partly the worm wheel, have not succeeded on
account of the difficulty of excluding dust, sand &c. from the oil vessel, so that
the lubrication was accompanied by an even more detrimental grinding action.
According to the present invention an effective lubrication of the worm and
worm wheel is effected by forming or fixing within the toothed rim of the wheel a
reservoir for oil or other lubricant, which revolves with the wheel and is thus
enabled to supply any desired quantity of lubricant through the toothed rim to
the outside thereof such lubricant being by preference made to pass directly on to
the worm whenever the worm wheel, at each complete revolution, arrives with the
orifice of the lubricator in a suitable position.
The invention can be carried out in a variety of ways; on the accompanying
drawing are shewn several constructions by way of example.
Figs. 1, 2 and 3, shew one construction, with the oil vessel in different positions
when rotating with the wheel. C is the worm wheel. B is the lubricating
apparatus, consisting mainly of the oil reservoir a, and the air chamber b, having
a discharge opening c. Through the partition e separating the chambers a and b
pass pipes and serving respectively for conveying the oil from a to 6 and for
admitting air from to a the tube f being made to follow the curvature of the
reservoir in order to use up the whole of the oil therein, while g passes straight
from the partition to near the side of the reservoir and also near the opening of
tube f
The casing B is fixed to the wheel in such a manner that it revolves in a circle
with the same and so that its centre of rotation is either eccentric to the centre
of the casing or concentric therewith.
The chamber a is preferably only filled to such an extent with oil as to allow
of the wheel being placed in a horizontal as well as a vertical position without
causing the oil to flow unintentionally from either of the tubes. If the casing B
be rotated in the direction of the arrows Figs. 1, 2 and 3, commencing, say at the
position Fig. 1, there will in the first instance be no discharge of lubricant, as
there is not sufficient oil in the vessel to flow out through the opening c. The oil
can also not escape through g, and consequently the surface of the oil will shift
until the inner orifice of the tube dips into it. By the continued rotation of B
the oil gradually advances in while at the same time the air is correspondingly
expelled through the other end off into b and passes thence through 9 into a as
at Fig. 2, and when B approaches the position at Fig. 3 the oil in tube f will flow

page_text: out into chamber, from which a corresponding volume of air will continue to flow
through into a.
When B arrives at the position 3, the lubricant in b will begin to flow through
opening c on to the part of worm which for the time being is engaged with the worm
wheel, thus effecting the lubrication of these parts.
On the continued rotation of B the contents of will be entirely discharged
through c, and the described action will be repeated as long as the wheel C
revolves.
The arrangement at Figs. 1 to 3 is only suited for the rotation of the wheel in
one direction.
If it is desired that it shall revolve in both directions, the modification shewn at
Fig. 4 may be employed, in which there are two tubes f, of which the one serves as
the oil supply pipe while the other serves as the air supply. The air chamber b can
in that case be very small, or even be entirely dispensed with, each tube f having a
separate discharge opening as indicated in dotted lines.
In the construction shewn at Fig. 5, the partition between chambers a and b is
replaced by a piston, which, according to the position of the lubricating vessel, is so
shifted by the action of a displacing body i that in the one position it allows the
passage of oil from a to fand in the other position it allows the oil to pass from f
to b and thence through e to the outside. This action will be readily understood
from the two positions shewn at Fig. 5 and the arrow indicating the direction of
rotation of the wheel C.
In place of the weight i there might also be used for actuating the piston e a
fixed stop against which would slide au inclined surface on the rod passing fluid
tight through B, in combination if necessary with a spring. Also, in place of a
piston may be used a valve e operated by a stop or weight. Fig. 6 shews an
arrangement of this kind in which a pin m fixed to the casing of the hoisting tackle,
which, on the rotation of the worm wheel C is made to actuate a spring lever i so
as to open the valve e. If the lever is to be actuated by a weight, this can, be
attached to its end, and the centres o and n would then have to be so arranged as to
effect the correct motion of the valve e, that is to say, the fixed piyot o of 7 would
have to be arranged on the side of opposite that shewn.
When using a solid lubricant the displacer Fig. 5 can be formed as piston, and by
means of a fixed stop such as m acting on a screw in connection with the piston, this
could be screwed forward to a slight extent at each revolution.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:
Lubricating apparatus for worm and worm wheel gear of hoisting tackle, and
other toothed gearing, consisting of a lubricating vessel such as B contained within
the toothed rim of the worm wheel and revolving therewith, which vessel is so
arranged that when the wheel has assumed a certain position relatively to the worm
or to another wheel, it discharges any desired quantity of lubricant on to the
engaged parts of the gearing.
Dated this 1st day of January 1894.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.