IMPROVEMENTS IN LUBRICATORS
Year: 1870

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Charles Dudley Austin at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th February 1870.
I, CHARLES DUDLEY AUSTIN, of No. 40, Mosley Street, Newcastle-on-
Tync, Machinery and Commission Agent, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LUBRICATORS," to be as
follows:
My Invention relates to lubricators used for supplying oil to the
frictional surfaces of machinery, and consists in constructing such
lubricators as herein-after described.
According to one arrangement I fix in the tubular stem formed at the
lower part of the oil cup or reservoir a discharge tube, the upper end of
which projects into the said reservoir and is fitted with a tube closed at
its upper end, which latter tube is of such a size that it shall fit loosely.
on the discharge tube so as to leave a small annular or other shaped
passage between them, up which the oil passes into the discharge. tube,.
through which it descends to the surface to be lubricated..
The lubricator above described may be modified as follows in order to:
render it capable of adjustment, that is to say, the said lubricator.
may be furnished with a screwed rod or spindle working in a screw
formed in the cover of the lubricator. The upper end of this rod is

page_text: furnished with a milled head, and the lower end of the said rod bears
upon the closed end of the outer tube herein-before described, so that by
turning the said milled head the said closed end of the outer tube can
be depressed and moved nearer to the upper edge of the discharge tube in
order to regulate the flow of oil.
Another modification of the above described. lubricator is as follows:-
The upper end of the outer tube above referred to is closed by a
plug, the lower end of which projects into the said tube. On the said
end is cut a screw (part of which is cut away longitudinally to allow
of the passage of the oil), which screw engages in a female screw
formed-in-the-upper-end-of-the-discharge tube. The upper end-of-the-
said plug (which projects through the outer tube aforesaid) has a square
head, by means of which it can be turned so as to move the closed end
of the outer tube nearer to or further from the upper edge of the
discharge tube and thus regulate the flow of oil.
Another modification of the above described lubricator is as follows:-
A thread chased or screwed on the lower end of the outer tube takes
into a female screw formed in the bottom of the reservoir. A square
head is formed on or affixed to the closed upper end of the said tube, by
means of which head the said tube can be turned so as to effect the
adjustment of the outer and inner tubes relatively to each other, as
herein-before described with reference to the preceding modifications.
The oil enters the annular space between the tubes through lateral holes
in the lower end of the outer tube.
According to another arrangement I make the upper end of the
discharge tube flush with the bottom of the oil cup or reservoir, and
regulate the flow of oil by means of a flat valve or disc affixed to a
spindle. The lower end of this spindle slides loosely in the said discharge
tube, and the upper end of the said spindle slides in a bearing in the
cover of the reservoir. In the upper part of this bearing is formed a
female screw in which engages a screw, on the upper end of which is a
milled head, by turning which the lower end of the said screw can be
caused to press upon the upper end of the valve spindle and thereby
depress the valve to the required extent. Instead of the screw above
described being made to press upon the upper end of the valve spindle
the said screw may be cut on a rod or spindle of sufficient length to press
upon the valve itself, in which case the upper part of the valve spindle
is dispensed with.

page_text: The arrangement last described may be modified as follows:-The
valve is pressed downwards by a spring coiled around a tube affixed to
the upper side of the said valve, which said tube slides upon the screwed
rod or spindle last referred to. On the said spindle is a collar against
which the upper end of the aforesaid spring bears. By turning the
screwed spindle in one or other direction the said spring is caused to
press with greater or less force against the valve and thus to regulate
the flow of oil as required.
According to another modification I insert in the discharge tube
a smaller tube of such diameter as to leave space between the said
tubes for the passage of oil, the said smaller tube being fixed in position
by means of pins or rivets passing through both tubes. A female screw
is formed in the upper end of the smaller tube (which said end is lower
than the valve seat), in which said screw a screw on the lower end of the
valve spindle works, the said spindle being turned as required by means
of a square head on its upper end. On the valve being raised by the
turning of its spindle the oil flows under the said valve and descends
between the two tubes above described.
According to another modification the valve has an annular flange in
which is formed a female screw which engages with a screw formed
around the valve seat. Channels are cut in one or other of these screws
to allow of the passage of oil. The valve is furnished with a square
headed spindle by means of which the said valve is turned as required.
My Invention further consists in the mode herein-after described of
constructing the metallic tubular stem by means of which the lubricators
in which glass oil cups are employed are affixed to the machine to be
lubricated and of affixing the said stems to the said cups.. I form on the
upper end of the stem an annular flange or collar, in which I fix (by
screwing or otherwise) a wooden ring. I form on the neck of the oil
cup a screw, and I screw the stem and collar aforesaid on to the neck of
the said oil cup.
My improvements are applicable to the lubrication of the axles of the
wheels of railway carriages and to the lubrication of rubbing surfaces in
general, whether such surfaces have rotatory or reciprocating motion.