Improvement in Roller Bearings.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Dec., 1899-Accepted, 24th Feb., 1900
Improvement in Roller Bearings.
I, FRANK WHITNEY, of Lakeside, in the County of Cook and State of Illinois,
United States of America, Artist and Sculptor, 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:-
My invention relates to roller bearings for shafting, and the object of my
improvement is to provide a slack take-up or tightener for roller bearings.
I attain this object by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawing,
in which:-
Figure 1 represents a shaft with roller bearings and cross section of tightener
coil, with end thrust ball bearing.
Figure 2 a cross-section at 2 of Fig. 1.
Figure 3 represents a shaft having ends broken away and a set of rollers
forming roller bearings for same.
Figure 4 is a detail of cage and roller.
Figures 5 and 6 are modifications of the roller bearing and take-up.
Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.
My tightener for roller bearings consists, as I use and prefer it, of a double
or two-fly coil of wire having flat surfaces next the outer casing or bearing and
also next the rollers, with bevelled edges overlapping each other as the coil is
wound or run together, as shown by A. B, Figure 1. A1 and A2 in Figures 5
and 6 represent modifications of my tightener. However, I use and prefer that
shown in Figure 1. B represents the inner coil of my bearing tightener, and
may be made of two or more sections having blank spaces B2; B¹ is the roller
and C the cage for holding or steadying the rollers. D is the main or outer
support at one end of which a groove and ball support is provided for steadying
the bearing longitudinally. E represents the shaft mounted in my improved
roller bearings. F is the tightener nut which is turned outward or inward for
loosening or tightening the shaft bearing.
In the operation of the roller bearing as it is used in the journal box for the
support of journals running at considerable speed, much power is saved over the
ordinary method of friction bearings. However, I have found by actual experi-
ence and tests that there is much gained by proper adjustment and by being
held in proper position. My tightener or take-up overcomes one of the principal
difficulties met with in the use of the roller bearings.
In construction and use the bearing or journal box is made of inside dimensions
large enough to contain the cage of rollers and the take-up coils closely fitte
around the rollers. This bearing is placed upon the journal in the usual manner
and slid against the stop F¹ in the journal box. In this position the tightener
cap F is screwed into the other end of the journal box and against the tightener
coils. These coils coming against the stationary stop F¹ at one end and the
movable screw stop F at the other end may be compressed by screwing in the
cap F, and this lengthwise compression of the coils produces, by the wedge
shape edges of the wire coils, sidewise expansion, and in this way any degree

page_text: of tightness may be obtained. When the pressure on the coils is released by
withdrawing the screw cap F, the coils are sidewise contracted by the elongation
of the coils through the coil spring redundancy when so released. Therefore,
roller bearings provided with my tightener may be kept at all times sufficiently
tight to prevent the troubles incident to the use of loose boxes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is;
-
1. In a roller bearing, a slack take-up consisting of a series of coils of bevelled
or wedge shaped wire adapted to be expanded and means for expanding the coils,
substantially as described.
2. In roller bearings, a take-up consisting of two coils of wire. a cross section
of which is pyramidal in form, the inner coil wound with the flat surface next
the rollers and the outer coil with the flat surface next the boxing with the two
bevelled sides matching and overlapping each other, and means for compressing
said coils longitudinally and thereby expanding said coils laterally, substantially
as specified.
3. A roller bearing tightener composed of coils of wire and means for expanding
said coils laterally. substantially as described.
4. A roller bearing composed of the following elements:-the usual cage and
rollers and wound thereon one or more coils of wire, a boxing having a permanent
stop at one end and an adjustable holder at the other, substantially as described.
5. In a roller bearing the combination of the rollers, an outer casing, series
of annular wedges having their wedging surfaces reversely arranged and inter-
posed between the rollers and casing.
6. In a roller bearing the combination of the rollers, an outer casing, two
series of wedges surrounding the rollers and having their wedging surfaces reversely
arranged.
7. In a roller bearing the combination of the rollers, an outer casing, two series
of wedges surrounding the rollers having their wedging surfaces reversely
arranged, and means to move the wedges relatively to each other.
8. In a roller bearing the combination of the rollers, an outer casing. two
series of spirally wound wedges surrounding the rollers and having their wedging
surfaces opposed to each other, and means to move the spirals relatively to each
other.
1000.
FRANK WHITNEY.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.