IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER BEARINGS OR BEARING SURFACES FOR AXLES, SHAFTS, SLIDES, AND OTHER ROTATING, OSCILLATING, OR RECIPROCATING PARTS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, &
Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER BEARINGS OR BEARING SURFACES FOR AXLES,
SHAFTS, SLIDES, AND OTHER ROTATING, OSCILLATING, OR RECIPROCATING
PARTS." A communication from abroad by John Gilbert Avery, of Spencer,
and William Tucker, of Brookfield, both of Massachusetts, United States of
America.
Sealed the 5th November 1878, and dated the 31st May 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 31st May 1878.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER BEARINGS OR
BEARING SURFACES FOR AXLES, SHAFTS, SLIDES, AND OTHER ROTATING, OSCIL-
LATING, OR RECIPROCATING PARTS." [A communication from abroad by John
Gilbert Avery, of Spencer, and William Tucker, of Brookfield, both of Massachusetts,
United States of America.]
+
This Invention relates to the application of "friction rollers" to shafts, axles, and
other mechanical objects which rotate or oscillate, or support rotary or oscillatory
wheels or the like, and to cross heads and other slides of every description as a
substitute for lubrication.
The said Invention comprises the employment or use of rollers of hardened steel
or equivalent material, in combination with coacting surfaces, having facings of like
material or hardness. I thus preclude any indentation or detrusion of either surface,
and so ensure the continuous efficiency of the rollers.
It also comprises the combination of a sleeve of hardened steel or equivalent
material having conical enlargements in its ends, a pair of split wedging rings
adapted to be forced into the said enlargements, and a pair of clamping nuts screwing

page_text: into the ends of the sleeve to so force and confine the said wedging rings. I can
thus provide machine shafting at any point with a concentric hard facing, to co-
operate with hard friction rollers in a very simple manner.
It also comprises the employment of short journalless rollers, in solid contact with
opposite coacting surfaces, in combination with a carrier having a socket or cell for
each roller, and supported out of contact with said coacting surfaces by said rollers.
I thus preserve the arrangement of the rollers with the least possible addition to
their work.
The said Invention also comprises the employment of several parallel series of
short journalless friction rollers, in combination with a carrier having a socket or
cell for each roller, the latter being so arranged that the axle of no two rollers are
in line with each other longitudinally. I thus distribute the support in a uniform
manner, and ensure the practically constant presence of the rollers in succession in
any given line of pressure or concussion.
It also comprises the combination of rings, each having separate sockets or cells
for a circumferential series of short journalless friction rollers, and forming together
a carrier sleeve of any required dimensions, containing parallel latitudinal series of
said rollers. I thus provide for making such carrier sleeves in a very rapid and
effective manner, with or without disarrangement of the rollers, as herein-after more
fully set forth.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I form or attach facings of hardened
steel or other suitable metal on the opposite surfaces of the two objects between
which friction is to be prevented, these facings being equidistant at all points, with
sufficient space between them to accommodate smooth cylindrical rollers of hardened
steel or other like metal, to correspond in hardness with the said facings. The said
rollers are thus adapted to preserve their shape indefinitely while the hardened
facings co-operate therewith to prevent obstruction by indentation or detrusion.
To make an axle hard externally to a minimum depth to resist the destructive
wearing action of the rollers upon it, and at the same time soft internally, so as to
possess the requisite strength, I wind a thin coil of steel upon an iron bar or upon a
bar of steel of a quality which will not harden in the usual manner, and weld and
draw the same in dies.
The hub box may be made with steel welded inside, or of steel or iron that will
surface harden, or of chilled cast iron and finished by grinding.
In some instances, in applying this Invention to rotary shafts, the hard facing in
the form of a sleeve of hardened steel or the like is bored out at its ends to form
conical enlargements, and these ends are screw threaded externally; split wedging
rings fit into the said enlargements, and nuts screwed on the said ends drive and
retain the wedges to make and keep the facings solid and concentric with the
shaft.
The facing of the bearing may be formed in the same manner as the box above
described, or a sleeve of hardened steel or the like or half sleeves may be employed
to expose the rollers when the bearing is opened.
In applying the said Invention to slides and their guides, the facings may be
formed on or attached to the iron in any convenient manner.
The rollers may be cut from bar steel, and suitably shaped, tempered, and finished,
or they may be made of cast iron hardened in chills.
Each set of rollers will consist of one or more series, and each series of several
follers, with axes at right angles to the line of motion and parallel to each other.
To preserve this arrangement of the rollers, and to provide for additional features
of distribution, each set of rollers is mounted in a carrier having a socket or cell.
The said cells are bored, so that the rollers will have just enough room to rotate
freely.
The carrier is made sufficiently thin to cause the rollers to project beyond their
cells into contact with the facings of the coacting surfaces, while the carrier is
supported out of contact with said surfaces by the rollers. The latter are journal-
less, and in contact with both of the said coacting surfaces while under pressure.
.

page_text: To reduce the slight friction between the rollers and the carrier, the latter may in
some cases be made of antifriction material.
In some instances I arrange the rollers as close as practicable in several parallel
circumferential series, with no two rollers exactly in line with each other longitu-
dinally. There are consequently as many axes as there are rollers, and one roller
must be brought directly into the line of pressure almost immediately when the axis
of another passes out of this line. Thus every sudden jar or blow will be resisted
by a roller directly interposed in the line of concussion, the other rollers assisting,
and no heavy pressure can force any two rollers apart, or cause them to bind in
their sockets.
The roller carriers for axles, shafts, and the like, are each constructed in the form
of a sleeve by the following process, that is to say, a narrow ring contains equi-
distant sockets or cells for one circumferential series of the rollers, the said cells
being drilled in one edge of said ring, with their axes parallel to its axis, and equi-
distant from its inner and outer surfaces, beyond which the enclosed rollers project,
as before explained. The said rollers are inserted longitudinally, and secured by
rivetting another ring to the first ring, the rivet holes being drilled at certain uniform
distances from the axes of the several roller cells.
A sufficient number of the rings, with their complements of rollers, must be
attached successively, and a flat cap ring, simply provided with rivet holes, completes
the sleeve.
The roller carriers for a slide and its guides are constructed as follows:-A bar of
the proper shape and dimensions is first made by casting or rolling, and its longitu-
dinal edges are planed and drilled to form roller cells, and provided with rivet studs
or equivalent devices. A sufficient number of solid cylindrical rollers is provided,
and these rollers are inserted in cells drilled to fit them, each roller projecting a,
slight distance beyond both main surfaces of its carrier. Thin cup bars are now
attached by the said rivet studs, and the carriers are completed.
This Invention, as above set forth, is applicable in one or more of its parts to
slides of every description, but it is particularly designed for crossheads and other
slides working between parallel guides. For this purpose I use a pair of guides,
adjustable within a strong frame by means of screws; some of the screws attach
the guides to the back of the frame, and are tapped into the guides and pass through
slots in the back of the frame, and other screws are tapped in the sides of the frame,
and operate to press the respective guides towards each other, to take up looseness,
prevent rattling, and at the same time adjust the slide. Guides may be thus
adjusted in any frame, or they may be cast on or otherwise rigidly attached for all
the purposes of the present Invention. They may also be horizontal, vertical, or
inclined, according to convenience, and in length, distance apart, and dimensions
generally, may be of any required size.
The longitudinal lines of the opposite surfaces of the guides and the opposite
edges of the slide must however be parallel, these being the surfaces which are
provided with the hard facings between which the rollers with their carriers are
located. There are two series of rollers at each edge of the slide located alternately
with each other. The edges of the slide and the matching faces of the guides with
their facings are preferably shaped in cross section, to cause the rollers to support
the slide against motion in every direction, except longitudinal motion, without
obstructing the face of the slide.
The aforesaid carriers are of corresponding shape, and the two series of rollers of
each carrier fit respective flat portions.
The roller carriers, in either form of this antifriction device, move with the
moving object and in the same direction therewith, but the motion of the former is
only half that of the latter, owing to the difference between the forward motion.
of the axes of the rollers and that of their peripheries..

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 30th
November 1878.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER BEARINGS OR
BEARING SURFACES FOR AXLES, SHAFTS, SLIDES, AND OTHER ROTATING, OSCIL-
LATING, OR RECIPROCATING PARTS." A communication from abroad by John
Gilbert Avery, of Spencer, and William Tucker, of Brookfield, both of Massachusetts,
United States of America.
"
This Invention relates to the application of "friction rollers" to horizontal or
nearly horizontal axles, shafts, and other mechanical objects which rotate or oscil-
late, or support rotary or oscillatory wheels or the like, and to cross heads and other
slides of every description, as a substitute for lubrication.
.. The said Invention comprises the employment or use of rollers of hardened steel.
or equivalent material, in combination with coacting surfaces, having facings of like
material or hardness. I thus preclude any indentation or detrusion of either surface,
and so ensure the continuous efficiency of the rollers.
It also comprises the combination of a sleeve of hardened steel or equivalent
material, having conical enlargements in its ends, a pair of split wedging rings
adapted to be forced into the said enlargements, and a pair of clamping nuts screwing
into the ends of the sleeve to so force and confine the said wedging rings. I can
thus provide machine shafting at any point with a concentric hard facing, to co-
operate with hard friction rollers in a very simple manner.
It also comprises the employment of short journalless rollers in solid contact with
opposite coacting surfaces, in combination with a carrier having a socket or cell for
each roller, and supported out of contact with said coacting surfaces by said rollers.
I thus preserve the arrangement of the rollers with the least possible addition to
their works.
The said Invention also comprises the employment of several parallel series of
short journalless friction rollers, in combination with a carrier having a socket or
cell for each roller, the latter being so arranged that the axles of no two rollers are
in line with each other longitudinally. I thus distribute the support in a uniforma
manner, and ensure the practically constant presence of the rollers in succession in
any given line of pressure or concussion.
It also comprises the combination of rings, each having separate sockets or cells
for a circumferential series of short journalless friction rollers, and forming together
a carrier sleeve of any required dimensions, containing parallel latitudinal series of
said rollers. I thus provide for making such carrier sleeves in a very rapid and
effective manner, with or without disarrangement of the rollers, these improvements
and various modifications thereof being as herein-after more fully set forth.
In the accompanying Drawing,—
Figure 1 is an elevation of one end of an axle and its hub box illustrating this
Invention; Figure 2 is an end view of the same; Figure 3 is a longitudinal section ;
and Figure 4 is a transverse section thereof.
Figure 5 is a side elevation of the interposed carrier sleeve and rollers; Figure 6;
a face view of one of the sections of said sleeve; and Figure 7, an edge view of
two of said sections, showing the mode of uniting them.
Figure 8. is a transverse section of a rotary shaft and an antifriction device
applied thereto, illustrating the simultaneous use of all of the several parts of the
said Invention.
Figure 9 is an elevation of the shaft and its immediate attachment, partly in axial
section.
Figure 10 is a face view of a slide and its guides, provided with antifriction

page_text: devices illustrating the said Invention in part; Figure 11 is a longitudinal section;
and Figure 12 is a transverse section of the same.
Figure 13 is a partial transverse section in another plane.
Figure 14 is an edge view of one of the roller carriers, illustrating its construc-
tion, and Figures 15 and 16 shew one of the rollers detached.
Figure 17 is a face view, Figure 18 an edge view, and Figure 19 a transverse
section of another part of my Invention, herein-after described.
The planes of the respective sections are indicated by dotted lines across other
Figures, the lines being numbered to correspond with the Figures in which the said
sections are shown.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the Drawing.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I form or attach facings z, y, of
hardened steel or other suitable metal on the opposite surfaces of the two ob-
jects A, B, between which friction is to be prevented, said facings being equidistant at
all points, with sufficient space between them, to accommodate smooth cylindrical
rollers of proper diameter and extent, said rollers being of hardened steel or its.
equivalent, to correspond in hardness with the said facings. Said rollers are thus
adapted to preserve their shape indefinitely, while the hardened facings co-operate
therewith to prevent obstruction by indentation or detrusion.
1
To make an axle or spindle A, Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, hard externally to a minimum.
depth, to resist the destructive wearing action of the rollers upon it, and at the
same time soft internally, so as to possess the requisite strength, I propose to wind.
a thin coil of steel upon an iron bar or upon a bar of steel, of a quality which will.
not harden in the usual manner, and weld and draw the same in dies.
The hub box B, Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, may be made with steel welded inside, or of:
steel or iron that will surface harden, or of chilled cast iron, and finished by grinding.
it out in any usual way.
In applying this Invention to rotary shafts or shafting A³, Figures 8, 9, the hard
facing, in the form of a sleeve of hardened steel or its equivalent, is bored out at
its ends to form conical enlargements, and said ends are screw-threaded externally,
as shown in section in Figure 9. Split, wedging rings u fit into said enlargements,
and nuts t, screwed on said ends, drive and retain the wedges, so as to make and
keep the facings solid and concentric with the shaft.
The facing of the bearing may be formed the same as that of the box above.
described, or a sleeve of hardened steel or its equivalent, or half sleeves y may be
employed, as shewn in Figure 8, so as to expose the rollers when the bearing is
opened.
In applying this Invention to slides and their guides A³, B³, Figures 10, 11, 12, 13,
the facings, y³, may be formed on or attached to the iron in any convenient
manner. I may attach them by rivets, or they may be formed by case hardening,
welding, and other processes.
The rollers, Figures 15, 16, may be in all cases substantially the same, differing
only in proportions, and they may be cut from bar steel and suitably shaped,
tempered, and finished, or they may be made of cast iron, hardened in chills.
Each set of rollers will consist of one or more series, and each series of several
rollers, whose axes are at right angles to the line of motion and parallel to each
other. To preserve this arrangement of the rollers, and to provide for additional
features of distribution, each set of rollers is mounted in a carrier C, having a socket
or cell for each roller, said cells being bored so that the rollers will have just enough
room to rotate freely.
This carrier is furthermore made sufficiently thin to cause the rollers to project
beyond their cells into contact with the facings of the coacting surfaces, while the.
carrier is supported out of contact with said surfaces by the rollers. The latter are
journalless and in solid contact with both of the coacting surfaces while under
pressure. The only function of the said carrier is consequently to preserve the order
or position of the rollers before the parts are put together, and while they are in.

page_text: use, and in the case of slides, when the latter pass out of contact therewith, as
shown in Figure 11.
To reduce the slight friction between the rollers and the carrier, the latter may in
Bome cases be made of antifriction material.
In Figures 3, 4, 5, I have shewn the rollers as close as practicable in several
parallel circumferential series, with no two rollers exactly in line with each other
longitudinally. There are consequently as many axes as there are rollers, and one
roller must be brought directly into the line of pressure almost immediately when
the axis of another passes out of this line. Thus every sudden jar or blow will be
resisted by the mass of some roller directly interposed in the line of concussion, the
other rollers assisting, and no heavy pressure can force any two rollers apart, or
cause them to bind in their sockets.
The roller carriers C, C³, Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, for axles A, shafts A², and the
like, are each constructed in the form of a sleeve by the following process:-A
narrow ring w (Figures 6 and 7) contains equidistant sockets or cells for one circum-
ferential series of the rollers a, said cells being drilled in one edge of said ring with
their axes parallel to its axis, and equidistant from its inner and outer surfaces
beyond which the enclosed rollers project, as before explained. The rollers are
inserted longitudinally, and secured by rivetting another ring w² to the first ring w,
as illustrated in Figure 7. At the same time the proper disallinement of the rollers
longitudinally is secured; the rivet holes (which alone distinguish the second and
succeeding rings wl from the first one w), being drilled at certain uniform distances
from the axes of the several roller cells.
A sufficient number of the said rings, wirh their complement of rollers, must be
attached successively, and a flat cap ring v, simply provided with rivet holes, completes
the sleeve.
The number and proportions of the rollers x, x2, and other mechanical details will
vary in the manufacture of roller carriers of different forms and sizes. For long
bearings of a given diameter any length or lengths, or fractional lengths of the
described carrier sleeve may be annexed, and in this case there may be two or more
rollers in line with each other longitudinally.
The roller carriers C³, C³, Figures 10, 11, 12, 13, for the slide A³ and its
guides Bs, Bs, are constructed as illustrated in Figure 14. A bar of the proper shape
and dimensions is first made by casting or rolling, and its longitudinal edges are
planed and drilled to form roller cells w³, and provided with rivet studs or their
equivalents, as represented. A sufficient number of solid cylindrical rollers a
(Figures 15 & 16) is provided, and these rollers are inserted in the cells w³, which
are drilled to fit them, each roller projecting a slight distance beyond both main sur-
faces of its carrier, as in the above-described examples. Thin cap bars are now
attached by the said rivet stud or equivalent devices, and the carriers are completed
and adapted to be manufactured and supplied with their rollers with great facility.
This Invention, as above set forth, is applicable in one or more of its parts to
slides of every description, but it is particularly designed for cross heads and other
slides working between parallel guides, B³, B³, as illustrated in Figures 10, 11, 12,
13. In these Figures a pair of guides are adjustable within a strong frame F by
means of screws E, D, said frame being an iron casting of trough shape, stiffened
by deep transverse flanges, and perforated to receive said screws. The screws E
attach the guides to the back of the frame, and are tapped into the guides and pass
through slots in the back of the frame, as shewn in Figure 13. The screws D are
tapped in the sides of the frame, and operate to press the respective guides towards
each other, so as to take up looseness and prevent rattling, and at the same time to
adjust the slide if necessary. Guides may be thus adjusted in any frame, or they
may be cast on or otherwise rigidly attached for all the purposes of the present
Invention. They may also be horizontal, vertical, or inclined, according to conve-
nience, and in length, distance apart, and dimensions generally, may be as
required.

page_text: with their
The longitudinal lines of the opposite faces of the guides and the opposite edges
of the slide must however be perfectly parallel, these being the surfaces which are
provided with the hard facings ³, y, between which the rollers
carriers C are located. There being two series of rollers at each edge of the
slide As, they are so located as to alternate, as shown in Figure 11. The edges of
the slide and the matching faces of the guides, with their facings 23, y³, are prefer-
ably made V-shaped in cross section, as shown in Figures 12 and 13, so as to cause
the rollers to support the slide against motion in every direction, except longitudinal
motion, without obstructing the face of the slide.
The carriers C³ are made of corresponding shape, and the two series of rollers of
each carrier fit its respective flat portions.
The said V-shaped surfaces of the slide and guides are not considered essential to
this Invention, as applied to slides working between parallel guides. Vertical rollers
at the edges and horizontal rollers at bottom may in some cases be preferable for
horizontal slides, and any preferred arrangement may be employed. Neither is it
essential that when two or more series of rollers are united at one edge they shall
be at right angles to each other, as in the Drawing. With V-shaped surfaces a more
acute or a more obtuse angle may be adopted if preferred.
The roller carriers in either form of this antifriction device move with the moving
object, and in the same direction therewith, but within given limits the motion of
the former is only half that of the latter, owing to the difference between the forward
motion of the axes of the rollers and that of their peripheries.
This motion is illustrated by arrows a, b, and dotted lines c, d, in Figure 10. The
peripheries of the rollers moreover move in union with the coacting surface > or y
of the moving part A or B, and roll upon the stationary surface, so that there can
be no friction between these surfaces. Consequently no lubrication is required, and
great saving is thus effected.
In Figures 17, 18, and 19, I have shewn a modification of my Invention for
taking the end thrust of propeller, shafts, or shafts of vehicles when running on
curves. For this purpose I employ a ring or carrier C, running loosely on its shaft,
and provided with radial holes or apertures in its edge to receive the rollers a¹.
These holes are preferably drilled in the edge of the said disc, but if desired the
said disc may be formed in halves and fitted together, so that the said rollers project
on each side of the said ring or carrier, as shewn in Figures 18 and 19. These
rollers are kept from falling out when inserted by means of a ring or collar C* placed
on the aforesaid carrier C
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondents, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it under-
stood that I am aware of friction rollers being already well known; I am also
aware that hard rollers have been proposed, and also one or more hard surfaces in
connection with soft rollers, but I am not aware of the combination of hardened
rollers and hardened coacting surfaces herein specified, nor the other features of this
Invention having been used prior to this Invention, and I claim,―
First. The combination of an axle, or spindle, or equivalent part having a hardened
cylindrical surface, a box or equivalent part leaving a concentric hardened surface,
and a number of short cylindrical rollers of hardened metal, distributed uniformly
between the said surfaces in several parallel circumferential rows, with the axes of
no two rollers in line with each other longitudinally, the said rollers being kept in
order or position by means of a loose sleeve having a bearing or pocket for each
roller, as above set forth, and for the purposes specified.
Second. An antifriction sleeve, consisting of a series of parallel rings rivetted
together, each ring containing a series of short cylindrical rollers in separate parallel
bearings or pockets.
Third. An antifriction slcove consisting of a series of parallel rings rivetted
together, each ring containing a series of short cylindrical rollers in parallel bearings
or pockets, with the axes of no two rollers in line with each other longitudinally, as
above set forth and for the purposes specified.

page_text: Fourth. The combination of a slide and its guide or guides having parallel facings
of hardened metal, and interposed series of solid journalless friction rollers of like
hardened metal, and a carrier having a socket or cell for each roller, and supported
out of contact with the said facings by the rollers, as above described.
Fifth. The combination of a slide and its guide or guides having angular faces
presenting two series or sets of parallel flat surfaces at each edge of the slide, with
series of cylindrical rollers interposed between the said surfaces and a single carrier
for the adjacent series of rollers at each edge of the slide, as above specified.
Sixth. A roller carrier for angular slides, V-shaped in cross section, with roller
'sockets in each edge, the rollers being retained in said sockets by cap bars attached
to said edges, as above described, for the purpose specified.
r
Seventh. The arrangement of a series of rollers in radial holes around a disc or
carrier in such a manner that the said rollers project beyond the sides or faces of the
said carrier, as above specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of November, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.