GB2155417A

GB2155417A - Equipment lubrication system

Info

Publication number: GB2155417A
Application number: GB08505190A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter David Moate
Original assignee: Interlube Systems Ltd
Current assignee: Groeneveld UK Ltd
Priority date: 1984-03-07
Filing date: 1985-02-28
Publication date: 1985-09-25
Also published as: GB8505190D0

Abstract

A lubrication system for static or mobile equipment, including vehicles, has an electrical control system (Fig.5) which is arranged to accept pulses representing usage of the equipment and, when the accumulated usage reaches a predetermined level, initiates the delivery of lubricant to the equipment. The accumulated usage value is then reduced to zero and the cycle is repeated. In the case of a vehicle, the pulses applied to the electrical control system may represent the distance travelled by the vehicle, enabling lubrication of members of the vehicle chassis at regular intervals of distance to be achieved. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Equipment lubricantion system The invention relates to lubrication systems for both static and mobile equipment and has particular but not exclusive reference to vehicle chassis lubrication systems.

Relatively movable parts of such equipment require lubrication in order to ensure that the equipment functions properly but the withdrawal of the equipment from service for lubrication usually represents a loss of revenue from the equipment while it is out of service. Further, it is not always possible to withdraw the equipment from service when it requires lubrication and consequently breakdown in service may result from inadequate lubrication.

It is an objection of the present invention to enable adequate lubrication to be effected on a regular basis, without withdrawing the equipment from service.

According to the present invention, an equipment lubrication system includes an electrical control system arranged to accumulate a value corresponding to usage of the equipment and to provide an output signal when the accumulated value reaches a preset value, and means operable in response to the output signal to deliver lubricant to the equipment, the control system being operable to reduce the accumulated value to zero following the provision of an output signal, and to execute the accumulation and reduction operations cyclically.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the electrical control system includes input means arranged to respond to input signals representing usage of the equipment, accumulator means connected to the input means to accumulate a value corresponding to that usage of the equipment and arranged to indicate when the accumulated value reaches a preset value, output means arranged to provide an output signal when the accumulator means provides its indication, and means arranged to reset the accumulator means on the provision of an output signal.

The equipment may be a vehicle or it may be static machinery.

In the case of a vehicle, usage thereof may be represented by a value indicating distance covered by the vehicle when in use. The electrical control system may then also include means responsive to the speed of the vehicle whereby operation of the lubricant delivery means is dependent also on vehicle speed.

In the case of static machinery, usage may be represented by a value indicating the duration of periods of use of the machinery.

The input signals representing usage may be periodically- occurring pulses, the intervals between immediately adjacent ones of which represent a predetermined usage of the equipment (for example, a predetermined distance in the case of a vehicle or a predetermined time in the case of static machinery). Such periodically-occurring pulses may be derived from sensor means so arranged that, during use of the vehicle or machinery, a pulse is generated each time a selected part of a rotating member of the vehicle or machine passes a pick-off device belonging to the sensor means.

Alternatively, in the case of a vehicle, periodicallyoccurring pulses relating to distance covered may be obtained from a tachograph system if the vehicle is so equipped.

In the case of static machinery, the periodically occurring pulses may be produced by a pulse generator brought into operation only when the machinery is in use.

The electrical control system may include a plurality of accumulator means each arranged to accumulate a value corresponding to usage of the equipment and to provide an output signal when the respective accumulated value reaches a respective preset value, and means for reducing the respective accumulated value to zero following the provision of the output signal. Such an electrical control system would be particularly suited to the lubrication of equipment, different parts of which require lubrication at different intervals which may be time or distance intervals.

The lubricant delivery means may be operable to distribute lubricant to a plurality of points on the equipment from a source, the system including an arrangement for controlling the distribution of lubricant in accordance with the output signals. The lubricant delivery means may, for example, comprise a lubricant pump having pump control means responsive to the output signals and arranged to energise the lubricant pump to effect distribution of lubrican. In the case of a vehicle, the pump control means may be electrically-operable and connected to the electrical power supply of the vehicle.

Furthermore, in the case of a vehicle, the electrical control system may be connected to the electrical power supply of the vehicle and the system may then include means operable to retain the accumulated value in the event of interruption of the electrical power supply of the vehicle.

Lubrication systems in accordance with the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of the main components of a vehicle greasing system in accordance with the invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view representation of greasing points and the grease distribution network on a vehicle which is suitable for being equipped with a greasing system as shown in Fig.

1, Figure 3 is a diagrammatic representation of the main components of a vehicle oiling system in accordance with the invention, Figure 4 is a perspective view representation of oiling points and the oil distribution network on a vehicle which is suitable for being equipped with an oiling system as shown in Fig. 3, and Figure 5 is a diagrammatic representation of an electrical control system for a lubrication system in acccordance with the present invention.

Referring now to Fig. 1, a vehicle greasing system includes a pump 1 which has a grease reservoir and a plurality of output ports 8 connectible with grease points of a vehicle by means of connecting tubing (not shown). The grease pump 1 is a pneumatically-operated pump and is provided with air from the vehicle auxiliary air supply by way of a safety valve 14, an electro- pneumatic controller 2, and supply lines 3 and 9. The elecfropneumatic controller 2 is electrically- connected to the vehicle battery 13 by way of the ignition switch.

A display unit 10, which is also electrically-connected to the vehicle battery 13 by way of the ignition switch, receives an input from the electropneumatic controller 2 and shows by means of lamps whether the electro-pneumatic controller is operating or not. The display unit 10 also receives an input from the pump 1 and shows by means of a further lamp when the grease level in the reservoir falls below a set level. The system includes a remote filling point 11 and line for recharging the pump reservoir as necessary.

Still referring to Fig. 1, an electrical control system 6 is provided for overall control of the frequency with which the vehicle lubrication system is made to operate. The control system 6 is illustrated in Fig. 5.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 5, an input port 7 of the electrical control system is connected to a sensor (not shown) which provides a pulse each time the vehicle travels a preset distance. Pulse conditioning circuitry 61 in the electrical control system conditions the received pulses to make them compatible with electrical logic circuitry and accumulates, in an electrical memory/counter 62, a total count corresponding to the number of pulses received. The capacity of the memory/counter 62 is chosen to correspond to a distance to be covered by the vehicle between greasing operations and the memory/counter 62 is arranged to reset itself to zero and to provide an output pulse on reaching its terminal (i.e. full-capacity) count. The output pulse of the memory/counter 62 appears on an output port 5 of the electrical control system 6, and is applied to the electro-pneumatic controller 2.

A back-up battery 63 is included in the electrical control system of Fig. 5 in order to ensure the retention of the accumulated count during periods of interruption of the electrical supply from the vehicle battery 13. The back-up battery 63 is arranged to produce back-up power for the memory/counter 62 only and is isolated from the pulse-conditioning circuit 61 by a diode 64. The battery 63 is non-rechargeable and is further isolated by a diode 65 from the normal electrical supply when the latter is available. The diode 65 would be dispensed with when a rechargeable battery is used.

Fig. 2 illustrates a connection network 12 for a lubrication system as described above when installed in a vehicle. The network 12 employs plastics tubing and is connected to the output ports 8 of the pump 1 of Fig. 1 to convey lubricant from the pump to grease points of the vehicle. Fig. 2 also indicates the location of the display unit 10 in the cab of the vehicle.

The lubrication system shown in Fig. 1 operates as follows. The electro-pneumatic controller 2 is arranged to be triggered into operation by a pulse on the connection 5, and, once triggered, to permit bursts of air from the supply line 3 to reach the line 9 to the pump 1. Each burst of air to the pump 1 drives lubricant out of an output port 8 of the pump 1 for application to a greasing point of the vehicle, and also advances the pump mechanism to the next outlet port 8 in sequence. The electropneumatic controller 2 is arranged to drive the pump 1 through a full pumping cycle and then to cease operation until triggered again by an output pulse from the electrical control system 6.As described above, an output pulse is produced by the control system 6 when the vehicle has travelled a preset distance and, in this way, automatic lubrication in accordance with the usage of the vehicle is provided.

The lubrication system illustrated in Fig. 1 may be used either as a greasing system (as described) or as an oiling system according to the lubricant provided by the pump 1, the grease or oil reservoir being integral with the pump.

A lubrication system for the distribution of lubricating oil, which employs a pump 16 with a separate reservoir 15 is shown in Fig. 3. In other respects, the system is similar to that of Fig. 1 (except that the display unit 10 is omitted) and corresponding components carry the same reference numerals.

Fig.4 illustrates the arrangement of a distribution network 17 suitable for the vehicle oiling arrangement of Fig. 3 the network 17 being connected to the output ports of the pump 16 to convey lubricating oil to selected points on the vehicle. The location of the pump 16 and of the separate reservoir 15 are indicated on Fig. 4.

The systems described above are adaptable to provide control for lubrication of a vehicle chassis at more than one distance interval and/or with more than one lubricant. For example, greasing may be needed at one distance interval and oiling required at another distance interval. This may be accommodated by the provision, in the circuit of Fig. 5, of a further memory/counter with a count modulus different from the first (62), the output from the first memory/counter being available for a greasing system, say, and the output from the further memory/counter being available for an oiling system, say.

The systems shown in Figs. 1 and 3 can be adapted, if required, to provide for adjustment of the lubrication intervals to take account of vehicle speed and thereby meet the requirement of slower moving vehicles for a greater amount of lubricant per unit of distance travelled. To this end, vehicle speed is monitored and the result is used to modify the distance-dependent intervals at which electrical pulses are applied to the controller 2. In particular, the length of the intervals is reduced when the vehicle is moving slowly so that, under these conditions, the vehicle will receive more lu bricant per unit of distance travelled than it receives when travelling at a higher speed.For example, a sensor may be provided in the system to monitor the frequency of the pulses applied to the input port 7 (i.e. the pulses representing the distance travelled by the vehicle) and to adjust the pre-set capacity of the memory/counter 62 if the rate of receipt of those pulses either falls below or exceeds a predetermined value for a certain length of time. More specifically, the terminal (full-capacity) count of the memory/counter 62 would be reduced if the rate of receipt of the pulses were to fall below the predetermined value (resulting in an increase in the amount of lubricant delivered), and would be increased if the rate of receipt of the pulses were to rise (resulting in a decrease in the amount of lubricant delivered).

Alternatively, instead of monitoring the frequency of the pulses applied to the input port 7, the time taken for the count to be accumulated in the memory/counter 62 could be monitored and the capacity of the counter adjusted accordingly.

As a further alternative, it may be possible in certain applications to adjust the amount of lubricant delivered by the pump 1, rather than the lubrication intervals, to take account of vehicle speed.

In general, through the provision of additional memory/counters and suitable modification of the pump and distribution arrangements, including the use of electrically controllable valves in the distribution network, wide range of lubrication systems is possible.

The electrical control system 6 of Fig. 5 may be triggered by connecting the input port 7 to a transducer positioned adjacent to a rotary member, the rotational speed of which bears a fixed relationship to the speed of the vehicle. Alternatively, the pulses for the electrical control system 6 may be obtained from a tachograph fitted to the vehicle.

Other pick-off device arrangements may be suitable.

Other arrangements may be used, instead of the battery 63 of Fig. 5 to ensure the retention of an accumulated count in the memory/counter 62 in the event of an interruption of the electrical supply from the vehicle battery 13. For example non-volatile memory devices could be provided to record the contents of the counter when the normal electrical supply is interrupted and to reload the counter when the supply is reconnected. Alternatively, the electrical control system could include a mechanical counter coupled to a sensor arranged to detect each time that the most significant digit of the counter reaches a particular angular position and to provide an output pulse to the electro-pneumatic controller which executes the lubrication cycle.A suitable sensing arrangement would be a magnetic pick-up system or an optical interruption system associated with the most significant digit of the mechanical counter.

Lubrication systems embodying the invention may also be incorporated in static equipment whose moving parts require periodic lubrication.

Such equipment may comprise a static prime mover, for example a diesel or petrol engine or equipment used in factories, for example machinery including lathes, boring and drilling machine, and conveyor systems.

Lubrication systems for such equipment would, in general, be similar to that described above with reference to Fig. 1 or Fig. 3 and Fig. 5 except that the vehicle battery and ignition switch would be replaced by an equivalent electric power supply.

The output ports 8 of the grease pump 1 are connected to grease or oil-points on the equipment. The pump 1 may be pneumatically-operated by a protected air supply or it may be driven by an electric motor.

The display unit 10 providing indications as described above may also be powered from the power supply mentioned above.

The sensor output connected to input port 7 of the electrical control system 6 may be provided by a pulse generator providing a pulse train of predetermined pulse repetition rate and energised only when the equipment is in use. Alternatively, the output of a constantly excited generator may be gated to port 7 only when the equipment is in use.

Yet again, the sensor output may be derived from a moving part of the equipment preferably a part whose rate of movement is constant. The part may be a rotating part.

Where the equipment is powered from an A.C.

source, pulses may be derived from each source.

In any of the arrangements described above the memory/ counter 62 of the control system 6 may be so arranged as to permit alteration of the count modulus.

Claims

1. An equipment lubrication system including an electrical control system, arranged to accumulate a value corresponding to usage of the equipment and to provide an output signal when the accumulated value reaches a preset value, and means operable in response to the output signal to deliver lubricant to the equipment, the control system being operable to reduce the accumulated value to zero following the provision of an output signal, and to execute the accumulation and reduction operations cyclically.

2. A lubrication system as claimed in claim 1, in which the electrical control system includes input means arranged to respond to input signals representing usage of the equipment, accumulator means connected to the input means to accumulate a value corresponding to that usage of the equipment and arranged to indicate when the accumulated value reaches a preset value, output means arranged to provide an output signal when the accumulator means provides its indication, and means arranged to reset the accumulator means on the provision of an output signal.

3. A lubrication system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the input means is arranged to respond to periodically- occurring pulses, the intervals between immediately adjacent ones of which represent a predetermined usage of the equipment.

4. A lubrication system as claimed in claim 1, in which the electrical control system includes a plurality of accumulator means each arranged to accumulate a value corresponding to usage of the equipment and to provide an output signal when the respective accumulated value reaches a respective preset value, and means for reducing the respective accumulated value to zero following the provision of the output signal.

5. A lubrication system as claimed in claim 4, in which there is a respective lubricant delivery means associated with each accumulator means and operable in response to an output signal therefrom to deliver lubricant to the equipment.

6. A lubrication system as claimed in claim 5, in which each lubricant delivery means is arranged to deliver lubricant to a respective set of points on the equipment.

7. A lubrication system as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6, in which a first one of the delivery means is arranged to deliver lubricant from a first source and a second one of the delivery means is arranged to deliver lubricant from a second source.

8. A lubrication system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the lubricant delivery means is operable to distribute lubricant to a plurality of points on the equipment from a source, the system including an arrangement for controlling the distribution of lubricant in accordance with the output signals.

9. A lubrication system as claimed in claim 8 in which the lubricant delivery means comprises a lubricant pump having pump control means responsive to the output signals and arranged to energise the lubricant pump to effect distribution of lubricant.

10. A lubrication system as claimed in claim 9, in which the pump control means is operable to connect the pump sleectively to the said plurality of points on the equipment.

11. A lubricating system as claimed in claim 9 or claim 10, in which the pump is pneumaticallyoperated and the pump control means is arranged to connect the pump to a pneumatic power source.

12. A lubrication system as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 11, and futher comprising means for indicating the volume of lubricant in the source.

13. A vehicle including a lubrication system as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 12, in which the pump control means is electrically-operable and is connected to the electrical power supply of the vehicle.

14. A vehicle including a lubrication system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12, in which the electrical control system is arranged to accumulate a value corresponding to the distance travelled by the vehicle.

15. A vehicle including a lubrication system as claimed in claim 14, in which the electrical control system also includes means responsive to the speed of the vehicle whereby operation of the lubricant delivery means is dependent also on vehicle speed.

16. A vehicle including a lubricating system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12, in which the electrical control system is connected to the electrical power supply of the vehicle.

17. A vehicle including a lubrication system as claimed in claim 16, including means operable to retain the accumulated value in the event of interruption of the electrical power supply of the vehicle.

18. A lubrication system substantially as herein described with reference to Fig. 1 or Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings.

19. A lubrication system substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 1 and 5 of the accompanying drawings.

20. A vehicle including a lubrication system substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 or Figs. 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.