Improvements in and relating to Roller Bearings for Shafts or Axles.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Apr., 1889
Specification Accepted, 4th May, 1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Roller Bearings for Shafts or
Axles.
We, JOHN GIBBONS of No. 447 Third Avenue in the Village of West Troy,
Albany County, State of New York United States of North America, manufacturer,
and CHARLES DICKINSON MENEELY of No. 30 Elk Street in the City of Albany,
County, State and Country before named, manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature
of our invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO ROLLER BEARINGS FOR
SHAFTS OR AXLES" and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Our invention relates to improvements upon that class of axle bearings which are
made with friction rollers, having journalled ends, and intermediately placed separa-
ting rollers that are arranged to engage with the friction roller journals and run upon
an interior track; with a guide-ring encompassing said separating rollers or
"equalizers" and the friction rollers; and our improvement thereon has for its object
a new construction and arrangement of the friction rollers and separating rollers
encompassing ring, and inner track; to better adapt this class of devices to be run
upon the axles of rail-way passenger cars, without lubricant; and to combine with
these parts so improved and arranged, a means to take up and sustain the end-thrust
of the axle, without frictional engagement, and the necessity of lubricant.
To take up the end-thrust as heretofore made this class of roller bearings have
been constructed to contain two guide-rings that project inwardly from the inner
surface of the bearing-box so as to enter and engage with grooves made to encircle
the friction rollers at each end wherein the rings make a frictional engagement with
the sides of the roller grooves; but the production of which grooves and their
engagement with the rings necessitated the use of lubricant, and reduced the bearing
surface of the friction rollers to such an extent that it weakened their capacity to
resist a crushing strain and unfitted them for use in connection with the axles of
rail-way passenger cars. In this older class of roller bearings there was also used
upon and secured to the outer end of the axle a flat circular disc or plate that turned
with the axle in a flat circular chamber, against the outer surface of which interior

page_text: chamber the disc or plate abutted to take up the end-thrust of the axle, and this
construction to be operated successfully required lubricant: To improve upon this
means to take up the end-thrust of the axle is one of the objects of our invention;
and this we accomplish by projecting the axle beyond the friction rollers, and make
an encircling groove therein, with a coinciding groove in the axle cap so as to form
in the combined axle and cap a circular tube-form passage-way in which is placed a
single ball that turns therein to take up the end-thrust, and as thus made and arranged
the said ball performs its function without lubricant.
To improve and make better adapted to stand the heavy crushing strain of rail-way
passenger car axles we construct the separating rollers or equalizers" of this class
of devices so that they shall run upon the inside tracks on both sides of the groove
formed in said rollers instead of at one side of said groove and so that where said
separating rollers are arranged at each end of the bearing between each two of the
friction roller journals so that they shall be operated by the latter to run independently
and without any connection with each other. When these separating rollers or
equalizers are connected by an intermediate bar, or when the separating rollers
extend from end to end of the bearing they take up room and from necessity reduce
and limit the number of friction rollers so as to unfit the bearing for use in connection
with the axles of rail-way passenger cars, in which more supporting capacity is
required to resist and sustain the heavy crushing strain upon the rollers.
"
23
Accompaning this statement to form a part of it there are five plates of drawings
containing eight figures illustrating our invention, with the same designation of parts
by letter reference used in all of them. Of these illustrations Figure 1 shows a
longitudinal central vertical section of the journal box, and its end-cap parts, the
inside tracks for the separating rollers, and the ring which encompasses the friction
roller journals and the separating rollers'; with two of the friction rollers and a
separating roller shown at back of the journals of the friction rollers, and with the
axle shown also in side elevation.
Figure 2 shows a side elevation of our improved bearing with a vertically divided
half of the journal box removed the cap shown in vertical section, and the end-thrust
ball within the tube-form passage shown in elevation. Figure 3 is a vertical section
taken on the line a, a, of figure 1.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of one of the friction rollers illustrated as removed
from the bearing-box. Figure 5 is a side elevation of one of the separating rollers
shown as removed from the bearing box. Figure 6 is a section of the axle-cap
showing the circular groove made therein which in connection with a like groove made
in the axle produces the circular tube-form passage-way for the end-thrust ball.
Figure 7 shows a plan view of one of the inside tracks on which the separating
'rollers run. Figure 8 shows a section taken on the line 2, 2, of figure 7.
The several parts of the mechanism thus illustrated are designated by letter reference
and the function of the parts is described as follows: The letter A designates the
axle B the bearing-box; C the outer end-cap of the axle-box, made in two
parts c, c, that are connected by bolts 61, and lugs L. The letters R' designates the
friction rollers which at each of their ends are made with journals J, having a less
diameter than the rollers proper. Each of these journals Jis made with an encir-
cling groove g'. The letters 12 desiguate the separating rollers or "equalizers" which
are made to have a length that is a little less than the journals of the friction rollers,
and each of these separating rollers is constructed with an encircling groove g².
The letter T designates a track formed within the bearing-box at each end of the
latter so as to encompass the axle but not to come in contact with it. Each of these
track-parts are projected inwardly from the end of the bearing-box so as to be a
little shorter than the journal of the friction rollers. The track-part at the outer end
of the axle is formed on the inside of the cap-part c, and the track-part on the inner
end of the bearing-box is held in position by the sleeve S. The letter O designates a
guide-ring of which there is 'one at each end of the bearing. These rings are made
to be passed on over the separating rollers and to run in the grooves made in the
latter. The parts thus described operate connectedly as follows: The friction rollers R¹

page_text: are placed at intervals between the inner surface of the bearing-box and the ex-
terior surface of the axle at such distance apart as to avoid contact; with one of the
separating rollers R² at each end of the bearing between each two of the friction
roller journals so as to engage with the latter and to run on the end track-parts at
each side of the encircling groove made in the bearing face of said separating rollers,
and to turn with the same direction of axial rotation as the axle.
The rings being passed on over the separating rollers at each end of the bearing
and placed within the grooves of the separating rollers at their outer surface, serve
to keep the separating rollers in position, and in engagement with the friction roller
journals, so that the latter and the separating rollers act connectedly. The groove
made in the journals of the friction rollers is merely for the passage of the rings
without contact therewith. The diameters of the friction roller journals are so
proportioned relatively to the diameters of the separating rollers, that the separating
rollers shall make one circuit of the inside track while the friction rollers are
making one complete circuit of the interior of the bearing-box.
The letter G designates a groove made in the outer end of the axle where
projecting beyond the journal-box proper, and G2 a circular groove correspondingly
made in the cap-parts c³, c, so that when the cap-parts are connected with each other
and to the journal-box there is formed in the combined cap and axle the circular
tube-form passage P, one sectional half of which is made in the cap-parts and the
other half in the axle. The letter B designates a ball having a diameter a little less
than the cross-area of the tube-form passage P, which ball is placed in the latter.
As thus arranged and constructed when the end-thrust of the axle occurs this ball
rotates in a direction that is vertically coincident with the direction of the thrust
impulse so as to take up the latter by partly turning in the passage P, while
the friction roller, separating rollers, and rings move together and connectedly with
the axle.
We are aware that a groove has been made in an axle and combined cap where
the axle projected beyond the bearing-box as in the U.S. Letters Patent to Halloway
of January 3rd, 1860, and in which a series of balls were used in such a circular
passage, and when the balls would be in contact with each other and require lubri-
cant that was arranged to be supplied by a passage-way through the cap. By
using but one ball instead of several the single ball is free to rest in the bottom of
the passage from the action of gravity and where it will take up the end-thrust as
before described and run without lubricant; which could not occur were several
balls used instead of one.
our said
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare what we
claim is:
First. The combination with a car-axle, and an axle-box, of anti-friction rollers
having end-journal bearings smaller than the body of the rollers, and formed with
annular grooves in said bearings; interior tube-form tracks surrounding the axle at
each end; separating rollers formed with annular grooves and arranged at each end
of the anti-friction rollers between the journal ends of the same and a guide-ring
arranged circumferentially about the journal ends of the anti-friction rollers and
the separating-rollers and within the grooves in the same, substantially as
described.
Second. The combination with a bearing-box that is made with an interior track
at each end, and constructed with a cap at its outer end containing interiorly an
encircling concave groove, substantially as described; of an axle made with an
encircling concave groove at its outer end, arranged to be in line with and corre
spond in reversed and opposite concavity with the groove made in the cap; an end-
thrust ball arranged within the coincidently made grooves of the cap and axle ;
friction-rollers, having grooved and journalled ends, arranged between the inner
surface of said bearing-box and axle; a separating roller having a grooved roller
face arranged at each end of the bearing between each two of the friction-roller

page_text: journals and the adjacent end track; and a ring made to encompass said separating
rollers and to be within the grooves thereof, substantially in the manner as and for the
purposes set forth.
Third. The combination with the axle A, made with the encircling grooves G¹; of
the bearing-box B, made with the cap C, having the interior encircling groove G2,
and the interior end tracks T, T; the end-thrust ball B, arranged within the
coincidently placed grooves of the axle and bearing-box cap; the friction rollers R¹
made with end journals J arranged between said axle and bearing-box; and the
separating rollers R each made with the grooves g², with one of said separating
rollers arranged between each two of the friction roller journals; and the adjacent
inside track at each end of the bearing; and the rings O at each end of the bearing
within the grooves of the separating rollers, substantially in the manner as and for
the purposes set forth.