IMPROVEMENTS IN BEARINGS, PACKING FOR SHAFTS, SPINDLES, RODS, AND OTHER LIKE PIECES OF MACHINERY, AND IN MATERIALS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SUCH BEARINGS AND PACKINGS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BEARINGS, PACKING FOR SHAFTS, SPINDLES, RODS,
AND OTHER LIKE PIECES OF MACHINERY, AND IN MATERIALS EMPLOYED IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF SUCH BEARINGS AND PACKINGS."-A communication
from abroad by Eliza Dexter Murfey, of the City, County, and
State of New York, United States of America.
Sealed the 17th January 1871, and dated the 7th October 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 7th October 1870.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
Ď of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BEARINGS, PACKING FOR SHAFTS, SPINDLES,
RODS, AND OTHER LIKE PIECES OF MACHINERY, AND IN MATERIALS EMPLOYED IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF SUCH BEARINGS AND PACKINGS," a communication to me

page_text: from abroad by Eliza Dexter Murfey, of the City, County, and State of
New York, United States of America, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates,―
First. To certain new materials for bearings and packings, and to
bearings and packings made from such materials.
Second. To certain improvements in the manufacture of bearing and
packing materials composed of fibrous substances combined with
insoluble materials in a comminuted state.
Third. To certain improvements in journal boxes, bearings, and steps.
The improved packing and bearing material consists of a loose open
felt cloth thoroughly impregnated with plumbago, soapstone, asbestos,
or equivalent substances, or with a suitable composition. The said
material in consequence of the fibres being firmly united with each
other will not become disintegrated under the influence of heat,
moisture, or pressure, as with packings consisting of similar materials
combined with loose fibres in the usual manner. To form a substitute
for metallic bearings the said material (or a sliver or rope impregnated
in like manner) is condensed under extremely heavy pressure into hard
solid blocks, which may be formed into any desired shape by turning or
otherwise, or the material may be compressed in moulds which impart the
desired shape to the bearing.
A cheap and durable bearing for spindles or light shafts may be made.
by moulding such material (or any material similar thereto) to a tubular
form or by bending a sheet of the material so as to form a hollow
cylinder which may be secured within a journal box in the same manner
as an ordinary metal bearing or may have at one end a flange by
clamping which the bearing is secured. When the bearing is made
from the material in sheets the latter may be cut into sections each
with its opposite edges so serrated that the projections at one edge
will fit the recesses in the other. By this means the seam formed by
joining the edges of a strip is irregular and a more continuous bearing
surface is presented than if the seam were straight.
The second part of my Invention which relates to the manufacture of
packings and bearings consists in thoroughly impregnating the strands
of the rope packing or the fibres of the sheet packing with plumbago,
asbestos, or other equivalent substance, by the use of melted paraffine
or equivalent substance, as a vehicle for carrying the insoluble com-
minuted material among the fibres of the rope or fabric. The insoluble
material, such for instance as plumbago and soapstone, after being

page_text: properly comminuted is mixed with melted paraffine, tallow, or other
substance which can be dissolved and will hold the comminuted material
in suspension, the mixture being constantly agitated and maintained in
a heated state to preserve it in a fluid condition and of an uniform
consistency. When a rope packing is to be formed a loosely twisted
rope or sliver is passed slowly through the mixture with which the sliver
thus becomes thoroughly saturated, it is then conducted between pressure
rollers or clamps so arranged that the excess of material pressed from
the sliver will return to the vessel. From the rollers or clamps the
sliver is conducted through a heated tube or vessel to rollers or devices
by which it is twisted into a comparatively tight rope, the heat of the
tube maintaining the paraffine or other vehicle in such a fluid state that
it will flow from the rope as the latter is twisted, leaving among the
fibres or strands the insoluble material.
When a packing is required for closing joints or for other purposes in
which a hard compact rope would be insoluble, the sliver instead of being.
twisted is merely pressed between clamps or rollers to remove the surplus
material. To make the packing in the form of sheets fibrous material,
such as wool, hemp, or cotton, or a mixture of such material is placed
in a mass and slightly compressed upon a perforated partition arranged
a short distance above the bottom of a suitable vessel, the chamber
beneath the said partition communicating with a suction pump or other
exhausting apparatus.
The mixture of paraffine and insoluble substances before referred to
is then poured into the vessel upon the mass of fibres, and the air is
exhausted from beneath the partition so as to force the mixture through
the fibres. After the mass of fibres has become thoroughly impregnated
with the insoluble substances, it is withdrawn from the vessel and sub-
jected to pressure between heated plates, which remove the greater
portion of the remaining paraffine or equivalent material, and reduce.
the mass to the form of a sheet in which fibrous and insoluble powdered.
substances are thoroughly and uniformly combined.
Instead of passing the composition through a mass of fibres as
described, the whole may be mixed together and then strained or com-
pressed so as to remove the excess of paraffine or other material used
as a vehicle, the comparatively dry mass being then compressed into
sheets between heated plates, by which the greater portion of the vehicle
remaining in the mass is forced from the same.

page_text: The third part of the Invention which relates to improvements in
journal boxes, bearings, and steps, consists in making a journal box of
the form of a hollow cylinder having in the upper edge recesses for the
reception of the bent ends of curved springs which extend downward
within, and nearly to the lower end of the box bearing against the
latter only at their ends. Against the upper bent ends of the springs
bears the flange of a cap, which screws on to the upper end of the box
and confines the springs in their places. A detachable cylindrical frame
or carrier consisting in the present instance of a slotted tube with a
flange at the lower end fits within the box, and is of such a diameter
that when introduced from below it will tend to compress or flatten
the springs, and will be retained by the said springs in a central position.
The packing which may be of the material referred to in the description
of the first part of the Invention is introduced into the frame or carrier,
and the latter is then secured in the box. The springs will prevent
any excessive vibration of the shaft, yet when any strain is brought
upon the latter tending to deflect it it will yield sufficiently to prevent
the straining or bending of the shaft and the unequal wear of the
bearing. The carrier is especially serviceable where it is necessary
to replace the bearings without disturbing the shaft or the box. This
is accomplished by sliding the carrier down upon the spindle, removing
the defective bearing, wrapping another around the spindle, passing the
holder up over it, and then sliding both up into the box. Corrugated
elastic rings or a tube of rubber or other elastic material may be sub-
stituted for the springs, and in some instances the holder may be
dispensed with and the bearing may rest directly against the springs or
elastic material.
It is also proposed to construct a journal box of wood with a lining or
bearing substantially like that mentioned in reference to the first part
of the Invention. The box may be of any suitable shape externally
adapted to the situation which it is to occupy, preferably it is a cylinder
bored to freely admit. the detachable bearing through which passes the
spindle and provided at its upper and lower ends with annular ribs or
projections. A flange at the lower end of the bearing is confined to
the rib by a ring, and being folded over the lower edge of the rib forms
a bearing for the shoulder of the spindle.
In constructing a step for vertical spindles and shafts a hollow

page_text: threads adapted to external threads on a screw cylinder, the latter having
a flange at the lower end recessed to receive a rod or lever by which the
cylinder can be turned. Between the upper end of the cylinder and
the bearing intervenes a washer of leather or rubber, which prevents
the vibration of the spindle from being imparted to the bearing, and the
constant disagreeable tremor which is apt to occur in the frames of
machines carrying rapidly revolving spindles being thus overcome.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patént,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 6th April 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
66
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-fourth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special
license that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson,
my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BEARINGS, PACKING FOR SHAFTS, SPINDLES, RODS, AND OTHER LIKE
PIECES OF MACHINERY, AND IN MATERIALS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
SUCH BEARINGS AND PACKINGS," a communication to me from abroad by Eliza
Dexter Murfey, of the City, County, and State of New York, United
States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
John Henry Johnson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Scal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say):
:-
Secondly. To certain improvements in the manufacture of bearing
and packing materials composed of fibrous substances combined with
insoluble materials in a comminuted state.
Thirdly. To certain improvements in journal boxes, bearings, and
steps.
The improved packing and bearing material consists of a loose open
felt cloth thoroughly impregnated with plumbago, soapstone, asbestos,
or equivalent substances, or with a suitable composition. The said
material in consequence of the fibres being firmly united with each
other will not become disintegrated under the influence of heat, moisture,
or pressure, as with packings consisting of similar materials combined
with loose fibres in the usual manner. To form a substitute for metallic
bearings the said material (or a sliver or rope impregnated in like
manner) is condensed under extremely heavy pressure into hard solid
blocks which may be formed into any desired shape by turning or other-
wise, or the material may be compressed in moulds which impart the
desired shape to the bearing.
A cheap and durable bearing for spindles or light shafts may be made
by moulding such material (or any material similar thereto) to a tubular
form, or by bending a sheet of the material so as to form a hollow
cylinder, which may be secured within a journal box in the same manner
as an ordinary metal bearing, or may have at one end a flange by
clamping which the bearing is secured. Such a bearing is represented
in Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying Drawing, Figs. 3 and 4 illustrating
different modes of securing the bearing in the journal box. When
the bearing is made from the material in sheets the latter may be cut
into sections i (Figure 5) each with its opposite edges so serrated
that the projections at one edge will fit the recesses in the other. By

page_text: this means the seam formed by joining the edges of a strip is irregular,
and a more continuous bearing surface is presented than if the seam were
straight.
The second part of this Invention relates to the manufacture of
packings and bearings, and consists in thoroughly impregnating or in-
corporating the strands of the rope packing or the fibres of the sheet
packing with plumbago, asbestos, or other equivalent substance by the
use of melted paraffine or equivalent substance as a vehicle for carrying
the insoluble comminuted material among the fibres of the rope or fabric.
The insoluble material, such for instance as plumbago and soapstone,
after being properly comminuted is mixed with melted paraffine, tallow,
or other substance which can be dissolved, and will hold the comminuted
material in suspension, the mixture being constantly agitated and main-
tained in a heated state to preserve it in a fluid condition, and of an
uniform consistency. When a rope packing is to be formed a loosely
twisted rope or sliver is passed slowly through the mixture with which
the sliver thus becomes thoroughly saturated, it is then conducted
between pressure rollers or clamps so arranged that the excess of
material pressed from the sliver will return to the vessel. From the
rollers or clamps the sliver is conducted through a heated tube or vessel
to rollers or devices, by which it is twisted into a comparatively tight
rope, the heat of the tube maintaining the paraffine or other vehicle in
such a fluid state that it will flow from the rope as the latter is twisted,
leaving among the fibres or strands the insoluble material.
When a packing is required for closing joints or for other purposes in
which a hard compact rope would be unsuitable the sliver instead of
being twisted is merely pressed between clamps or rollers to remove the
surplus material. To make the packing in the form of sheets fibrous
material, such as wool, hemp, or cotton, or a mixture of such material,
is placed in a mass and slightly compressed upon a perforated partition
arranged a short distance above the bottom of a suitable vessel, the
chamber beneath the said partition communicating with a suction pump
or other exhausting apparatus.
The mixture of paraffine and insoluble substances before referred to is
then poured into the vessel upon the mass of fibres and the air is exhausted
from beneath the partition, so as to force the mixture through the fibres.
As the mixture passes through the mass of fibres it is filtered by the
latter so that most of the paraffine or other vehicle for conveying the

page_text: and in the box slides a pin f which when pressed inward will force the
catch out of the recess, so that the box may be withdrawn. The packing
which may be of the material referred to in the description of the first
part of this Invention, and of the form shewn in Figure 1, is introduced
into the frame or carrier B, and the latter is sccured in the box A, as
shewn in Figure 6. The springs a will prevent any excessive vibration
of the shaft, yet when any strain is brought upon the latter tending to
deflect it, it will yield sufficiently to prevent the straining or bending of
the shaft and the unequal wear of the bearing.
The carrier is especially servicable where it is necessary to replace the
bearings without disturbing the shaft or the box. This is accomplished
by sliding the carrier down upon the spindle, removing the defective
bearing, wrapping another around the spindle, passing the holder up
over it, and then sliding both up into the box. Should it be necessary
to remove one or more of the springs a the cap d may be unscrewed and
the spring or springs withdrawn without disturbing the box or the
bearing.
Corrugated elastic rings a³, Figure 10, or a tube of rubber or other
clastic material may be substituted for the springs a and in some instances
the holder B may be dispensed with and the bearing may rest directly
against the springs or elastic material, as shown in Figure 10.
In Figure 11 is illustrated a journal box which may consist of wood
with a lining or bearing substantially like that shewn in reference to tho
first part of the Invention. The journal boxes of the spindles of spinning
machines and of other light shafts are generally of brass or other metal
bored out either to receive a detachable metal bearing or to fit the journal
of the shaft, the box or bearing being highly polished internally to
diminish the friction to as great an extent as possible, and a reservoir
being sometimes formed at the top of the box to contain oil or other
lubricant, with which the journal must be constantly supplied. Boxes
constructed in this manner are expensive to manufacture. The boxes
or detachable bearings must be replaced as soon as they become worn
to a slight extent; they consume a large quantity of oil, and sometimes
occasion excessive friction, causing the heating of both bearings and
journals. A box consisting of wood and containing a lining of non-
metallic absorbent material impregnated with lubricant will not become
heated or cause the heating of the journal; it is much cheaper than one
of metal, equally efficient, and more durable. The box may, be of any

page_text: suitable shape externally adapted to the situation which it is to occupy;
preferably it is a cylinder A, Figure 11, bored to freely admit the
detachable bearing x, through which passes the spindle X, and provided
at its upper and lower ends with annular projections e, e.
The flange
at the lower end of the bearing, which is of the form shown in Figure 1,
is confined to the projection e by a ring n, and being thus folded over
the lower edge of the projection forms a bearing for the shoulder y of
the spindle. To the top of the box is fitted a cap d, and both this cap
and the ring n fit accurately without bearing against the spindle, the
access of dust to the bearing being thus prevented.
Figures 12 and 13 illustrate a step for vertical spindles and shafts.
A is a hollow cylinder or box supported by arms a' and having internal
threads adapted to external threads on a screw cylinder B, the latter
having a flange at the lower end recessed to receive a rod or lever by
which the cylinder can be turned. At the upper end of the box is an
internal flange c which extends almost into contact with the spindle or
shaft x, the lower end of the latter being conical and turning in a step
or bearing a supported by the cylinder B. Between the upper end of
the cylinder and the bearing a intervenes a washer of leather or rubber
which prevents the vibration of the spindle from being imparted to the
bearing, the constant disagreeable tremor which is apt to occur in the
frames of machines carrying rapidly revolving spindles being thus
overcome. By turning the cylinder B the spindle may be adjusted with
the greatest nicety. The flange c serves to guide the spindle exactly to
its bearing and prevents the latter from being battered by carelessly
inserting the spindle in the box.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used
or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I
consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First. A bearing or packing consisting of felt impregnated with
plumbago, soapstone, or other suitable material or composition as
described.
Second. A bearing or packing of felt or rope impregnated with suitable
substances and condensed under pressure.
Third. A bearing consisting of said material or any equivalent thereto.
formed into a hollow cylinder as described.

page_text: Fourth. The said bearing made from strips serrated at their edges as
set forth.
ว
Fifth. A packing material consisting of plumbago, asbestos, or other
substance or composition combined with fibrous material or strands and
formed into sheets.
Sixth. The process of impregnating fibrous materials in the form of
sheets or slivers with comminuted insoluble substances by the use of
paraffine or its equivalent as a vehicle, as set forth.
Seventh. The process of removing the said vehicle from the packing
by simultaneously twisting or compressing and heating the latter.
Eighth. The process of impregnating the fibrous material by atmospheric
pressure, as specified.
Ninth. The combination with a journal box and with the bearing of
intervening springs or elastic material, as set forth.
Tenth. A carrier B (Figure 7) adapted to a journal box and holding a
bearing as described.
Eleventh. The combination of a journal box and a flexible lining or
bearing folded over one end of the box, as set forth.
Twelfth. A journal box of wood lined with material of the character
substantially as described.
Thirteenth. A step for spindles consisting of a box containing a bearing
adjustable by a screw cylinder as described.
Fourteenth. The combination of the step bearing and a washer of
rubber or its equivalent arranged beneath the bearing as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this
my Specification set my hand and seal, the Sixth day of April,
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
T HENDV JOHNSON
101