Improvements in or appertaining to Thrust Bearings for Shafts.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Sept., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 1st June, 1897-Accepted 3rd July, 1897.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or appertaining to Thrust Bearings for Shafts.
[A communication by HEINRICH EGELSEHR of Schweinfurt in the District of Lower
Franconia, Bavaria, in the Empire of Germany, Engineer.]
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Manchester, both
in the County of Lancaster, 118 New Street, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
and 322, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object improvements in thrust bearings having an equal
distribution of pressure on the separate thrust rings.
The principle of this thrust bearing is based on the property of the equal distribu-
tion of pressure of liquids, and to this end the subsidiary thrust rings are in fact
formed as plunger pistons, the cylinders into which they plunge, communicating
with one another.
This thrust bearing consists of a frame or bed-plate to which cylinders are firmly
bolted so as to more or less embrace the shaft. Into these cylinders work subsidiary
thrust rings formed as semicircular plunger pistons. Communication of the
separate cylinders with one another is established by means of pipes. A pump is
connected to said pipes and serves for pumping in liquid, which may be shut off
from the pipe by means of a stop cock when required. Ordinary support bearings
are used at each side of the thrust bearings. The washering of the plunger pistons is
effected by means of leather washers, and that of the branch pipes at their connection
with the cylinders and with the connecting pipes, by means of indiarubber rings.
If the formation of the plunger cylinders should offer technical difficulties, they
may be so formed as to be connected with the subsidiary thrust rings by several
cylindrical-plunger pistons. In this case an entirely circular subsidiary thrust ring
may be employed in two parts.
The mode of working is as follows:-
If, by any circumstance, one of the subsidiary thrust rings be exposed to heavier
pressure than the others, the necessary consequence would be that pressure would
rise in all parts of the pipes and the cylinders, whereby also the various other sub-
sidiary thrust rings would be pressed more strongly on the corresponding thrust
rings of the shaft, until a complete equalisation of pressure had taken place. An
equal pressure must therefore always be re-established automatically between all the
thrust rings and their subsidiary rings or bearings. On account of this property it
is possible, in this form of construction, to go far higher with a specific thrust or
surface pressure than was hitherto the case, and with complete safety up to 2-3
times the amount, that is to say, up to 0.15 to 0-25 kilogrammes per square millimetre,
so that one half or even a third of the number of rings hitherto employed is quite
sufficient.
The water cooling usually employed with thrust bearings may also be omitted,
as when properly constructed, any heating whilst running is entirely impossible.
It is preferable to have a lubricating vessel on each bearing, and to allow the
rings of the shaft to dip with their lower parts into the oil. If it be desired to
employ a still higher superficial or surface pressure, this may be very easily done
as there is no difficulty in employing any of the most perfected means of lubrication.
If the lubricant (for instance, oil) be also employed as the pressure liquid, and small
lubricating holes be formed in the plungers of the subsidiary thrust rings, and so

page_text: placed that the whole thrust surface is lubricated by them, oil will be expelled by
the inner higher pressure (about 30 to 50 atmospheres as against 15 to 25 kilo-
grammes per square, centimetre outside) and will thus lubricate the whole pressure
surface. Of course the oil thus consumed must be replaced by means of a pump
driven by the shaft itself. The small unavoidable movements of the shaft in an
axial direction (at the highest up to 5 millimetres) do no harm, as they may be
compensated, for instance, in the case of propeller shafts of screw steamships, by
means of clutch or expansion couplings.
Dated this 1st day of September 1896
IFLET
SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or appertaining to Thrust Bearings for Shafts.
[A communication by HEINRICH EGELSEHR of Schweinfurt in the District of Lower
Franconia, Bavaria, in the Empire of Germany, Engineer.]
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 6 Lord Street, Liverpool & 6 Bank Street, Manchester, both in
the County of Lancaster, 118 New Street, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
& 322 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, 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 :-
This invention has for its object improvements in thrust bearings having an equal
distribution of pressure on the separate thrust rings.
The invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which,
Figure I is an elevation of the whole, the central thrust rings being in section;
Figure II is a section on the line a b of Figure 1;
Figures III and IV and Figures V and VI are each two views of a thrust ring.
All Figures are drawn about natural size.
The principle of this thrust bearing is based on the property of the equal distribu-
tion of pressure of liquids and to this end the subsidiary thrust rings are in fact
formed as plunger pistons, see Figures III IV V VI, the cylinders into which they
plunge communicating with one another.
This thrust bearing consists of a frame or bed-plate G to which cylinders C are
firmly bolted by means of screws S so as to more or less embrace the shaft. Into
these cylinders work subsidiary thrust rings L shown more particularly in Figures
III and IV formed as semicircular plunger pistons. Communication of the separate
cylinders with one another is established by means of pipes R r. A pump
connected to said pipes and serves for pumping in liquid, which may be shut off
from the pipe R by means of a stop cock V when required. Ordinary support
bearings are used at each side of the thrust bearings. The washering of the
plunger pistons is effected by means of leather washers, and that of the branch pipes r
at their connection with the cylinders and with the connecting pipes R by means
of indiarubber rings.
If the formation of the plunger cylinders, as shown in Figures III and IV, should
offer technical difficulties, they may be formed in the manner shown in Figures V
and VI so as to be connected with the subsidiary thrust rings by several cylindrical-
plunger pistons. In this case an entirely circular subsidiary thrust ring may be
employed in two parts.
The mode of working is as follows:-
If by any circumstance one of the subsidiary thrust rings be exposed to heavier
pressure than the others, the necessary consequence would be that pressure would
rise in all parts of the pipes and the cylinders, whereby also the various other
subsidiary thrust rings would be pressed more strongly on the corresponding thrust

page_text: rings of the shaft, until a complete equalisation of pressure had taken place. An
equal pressure must therefore always be re-established automatically between all
the thrust rings and their subsidiary rings or bearings. On account of this property
it is possible in this form of construction to go far higher with a specific thrust or
surface pressure than was hitherto the case, and with complete safety up to 2-3
times the amount, that is to say, up to 0.15 to 0-25 kilogrammes per square milli-
metre, so that one half or even a third of the number of rings hitherto employed
is quite sufficient.
The water cooling usually employed with thrust bearings may also be omitted, as,
when properly constructed, any heating whilst running is entirely impossible. The
means of lubrication are omitted from the drawings as non-essential.
It is preferable to have a lubricating vessel on each bearing, and to allow the
rings of the shaft to dip with their lower parts into the oil. If it be desired to
employ a still higher superficial or surface pressure, this may be very easily done as
there is no difficulty in employing any of the most perfected means of lubrication.
If the lubricant (for instance, oil) be also employed as the pressure liquid, and small
lubricating holes be formed in the plungers of the subsidiary thrust rings and so
placed that the whole thrust surface is lubricated by them, Figures V and VI, oil
will be expelled by the inner higher pressure (about 30 to 50 atmospheres as against
15 to 25 kilogrammes per square centimetre outside) and will thus lubricate the
whole pressure surface. Of course the oil thus consumed must be replaced by means
of a pump driven by the shaft itself. The small unavoidable movements of the
shaft in an axial direction (at the highest up to 5 millimetres) do no harm, as
they may be compensated, for instance, in the case of propeller shafts of screw
steamships, by means of clutch or expansion couplings.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
A thrust bearing with an even distribution of pressure on the separate thrust
rings, characterised by the separate thrust rings being formed as or connected
with plunger pistons which plunge into cylinders communicating with one another
by means of a liquid conveying pipe so that an equal pressure is constantly
and automatically maintained between the various thrust rings, substantially as
herein before set forth.
Dated this 31at day of May 1807