Improvements in Lubricators for Axles or Journals.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 20th July, 1899-Accepted, 23rd Sept., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lubricators for Axles or Journals.
I, OLIVER IMRAY, of Birkbeck Bank Chambers, Southampton Buildings, in the
County of London, Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention (as communicated to me from abroad by Egbert B. Brown, of 87,
Clark Street, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States of America) and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
-
This invention relates to improvements in lubricators for railway car axles or
other journals, of that class in which a lubricating mat or pad provided with
wicks for drawing up the lubricant from a subjacent reservoir, is supported in
contact with the journal by a trough-shaped basket elastically pressed against the
journal.
The improvements which form the subject of the present invention relate
chiefly to the supporting framework, to the pad or mat by which the oil is applied
to the journal, and to means of preventing the entrance of dust and dirt at the
inner end of the journal box through the opening throug which the axle passes as
will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a central longitudinal section of a journal bearing provided with a
lubricator according to this invention.
Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view, partly in section, of the lubricator frame and pad.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the supporting frame of the lubricator removed
from the journal box.
J is the car axle journal and J¹ the axle box. This box is of the usual rectan-
gular shape in cross section and contains in its upper part the bearing brass j
against which the journal rotates.
The box is shewn as recessed at 11 at its inner end to contain the usual dust
guard, of wood or other suitable material, and the outer end of the box is pro-
vided with a door through which access is had to the interior. These features,
however, form no part of this invention, being described and shewn merely for
the purpose of rendering the construction clear and they may be widely varied
without affecting the construction or operation of the lubricator itself.
The lubricator comprises a supporting framework A which elastically supports
a trough-shaped basket B under the journal J in such manner that when the
basket is lined with a suitable oil conducting mat or pad having wicks of fibrous
or capillary material that depend into the oil in the lower part of the box, the
journal will be continuously and perfectly lubricated thereby. The framework A
is of such shape that it can be inserted and removed through the door of the
box; it is made of wire bent to form longitudinal posts a extending on opposite
sides of the journal and supported at their ends by vertical posts a', which at
the inner end of the frame are connected at their ends by a cross wire a². At
the outer end of the frame, wire is bent to form posts a³ lying on the bottom of
the box, and connected by a cross part at
Thus the framework has a base long enough to nearly fit between the ends of
the box.

page_text: The basket B is supported from the upper corners of the framework A by
springs D. These springs yield sufficiently to permit the basket to pass under
the end of the journal when the lubricator is tipped to pass over the lower front
wall of the box.
In order to prevent the framework from being bent or distorted, when it is put
in or taken out of the axle box a thrust frame E is provided in the form of a
rectangular loop which is pivotted at its front ends e to the lower corners of the
front uprights a¹. This thrust frame is free to swing up, as shewn in dotted
lines in Fig. 1 and when in this position leaves the sides of the base of the
framework free so that the framework can pass over the lower front wall of the
axle box, when it is pushed in by pressure against E which transfers the pres-
sure to the front of the framework.
The pad or mat C which constitutes the lubricating lining of the basket B, may
be made of any suitable material.
The peculiar construction of mat herein described has, however, been found
particularly advantageous and constitutes a very important feature of the present
invention.
Its chief peculiarity is its wearing surface which consists of fibrous fluff about
three-quarters of an inch long, so that such particles of grit and dust as find their
way into the bearing and collect upon the mat, work down between the fibres of
the fluff and become innocuous instead of forming a glaze over the lubricating
surface, as commonly occurs with the felt and like lubricating pads or mats
usually employed.
The body or backing c of the mat is formed of a woven or knitted fabric to
which the depending wicks c¹ are secured.
The wearing surface or fluff is formed on the backing in any suitable manner
as by looping pieces of yarn through the meshes of the fabric and leaving their
ends projecting upward to form the lubricating surface which comes in contact
with the journal. Although any suitable material may be employed in con-
structing the mat without departing from the spirit of the invention, it is found
that animal fibre, such as wool, best resists the tendency to become carbonized,
brittle and inelastic, and so to lose the power of capillary attraction by which the
oil is transmitted to the bearing. On the other hand vegetable fibre such as
cotton has greater initial capillary capacity to absorb and distribute the lubricant.
The backing and wicks of the mat are therefore preferably made of vegetable
fibre such as cotton, and the wearing surface or fluff of animal fibre such as wool.
The distance through which the oil has to be transmitted by the wool fibre is so
short that the mat in its oil conducting and distributing property is substantially
equal to a mat entirely made of cotton, while the perfect wearing and non-car-
bonizing qualities of the wool surface are retained.
Another important feature of the present invention consists in the provision
of a layer of fibrous material at the extreme inner end of the lubricator frame
in such position as to aid in closing the opening around the underside of the
axle where it enters the box, the exclusion of dust at this point being imperfectly
accomplished by the dust guard usually employed. This fibrous dustguard
is formed by extending the longitudinal yarns of the cotton backing of the mat
past the inner end of the basket B so that they hang in a layer at the inner
end of the lubricator in close proximity to the inner end wall of the box adjacent
to the opening through which the axle passes, a cross bar a³ curved corre-
spondingly to the axle, being preferably provided to maintain a hanging layer
of yarn close to the aperture 4.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. An axle or journal lubricator comprising a framework removably inserted
in the axle box and having lateral members on opposite sides of the journal, a

page_text: trough-shaped basket suspended by springs from the lateral members of the
framework a fibrous lining in the basket, and oil conducting wicks depending
from the lining, substantially as described.
2. In combination with a bearing box and an axle journalled therein, a lubri-
cating mat of fibrous material supported in contact with the journal and having
at the inner end of the journal a fibrous layer hanging so as to form a dust guard
for the opening through which the axle passes substantially as described.
3. A lubricator mat comprising a backing of fabric provided with wicks hang-
ing longitudinally and with an end layer of wick forming a dust guard, and with
a wearing surface consisting of a long fibrous fluff united to the fabric backing,
substantially as described.
4. An axle or journal lubricator having a bent wire framework removably
inserted in the axle box and consisting of upper longitudinally extending parts,
uprights supporting their ends and transverse connections between their lower
ends, a thrust frame pivoted to the lower front end of the frame a trough-shaped
basket supported from the upper sides of the frame a fibrous lining in the basket,
and wicks hanging from the lining, substantially as described.
Dated this 20th day of July 1899
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.