628,481. Force-feed lubricators. ATVIDABERGS SPARVAXLAR & SIGNALFABRIKS AKTIEBOLAG. Oct. 8, 1946, No. 30070. Convention date, Oct. 9, 1945. [Class 12 (iii)] A lubricant distributer comprises at least two reciprocating pistons driven by incoming lubricant under pressure and controlling each other mutually for the distribution of lubricant between two or more outlets, and is built up from block units having cylinder bores, each piston being arranged in a separate block. The distributor of Figs. 1 and 12 comprises two active or intermediate units 1, 3 and two end units 5, 7 which all have plane bearing surfaces and are held together at their corners by four bolts 8. The units 1, 3 have cylinder bores 19, 21, which are parallel to the bearing surfaces and are closed by plugs 23. Opening into each bore are two transverse passages 25, 27 which widen into threaded connections for outgoing conduits, and a longitudinal passage 33 goes through both units 1, 3 and communicates via a transverse passage in the bearing surface of the end unit 7 with a connection 17 for incoming lubricant. Communicating with each cylinder bore there are further longitudinal passages, i.e. 37, 39, 41, 43 on one side and 45, 47, 49, 51 on the other, so placed that they do not coincide when the units are assembled with their dissimilar surfaces against each other. Transverse passages, viz., 53, 55, 57, 59 and 61, 63, 65, 67 in the bearing surfaces serve to connect these longitudinal passages, the bolt holes 13, 15 forming connections between the end units 5, 7. In the cylinder bore 21 there is a piston 69 which has two circumferential grooves 73, 75 and 77, 79 in each piston-half, and in the bore 19 there is a piston 71 which has one groove 81 and 83 in each half; the pistons, which reciprocate freely without the influence of springs or the like and are a tight fit in the bores, each have two central grooves 85, 87 for co-operation with a guiding pin 89, which is displaceable in a bore 91 perpendicular to the bearing surfaces of the units, is pointed at both ends, and is of such a length that when one end is in the groove 85 or 87 of one piston, the other piston is free to move. In this way the pin serves to control the pistons neutrally so that only one at a time can be displaced. Fig. 12 shows one phase of operation. Lubricant entering under pressure through the holes 33, 331 passes through the recess 53<SP>11</SP> (of the unit 5) and the passage 49<SP>1</SP>, the groove 75 of the piston 69, which is in its uppermost position, the passage 39<SP>1</SP>, recess 57<SP>1</SP>, passage 51 and finally fills the upper end of the cylinder bore 19, the piston 71 being pressed down forcing the pin 89 over to hold the piston 69, and the lubricant at the lower end of the bore 19 being forced out via the passage 45, recess 59<SP>1</SP>, passage 43<SP>1</SP> and groove 79 in the piston 69 to the outlet 27<SP>1</SP>. The grooves 81, 83 of the piston 71 now serve as connecting passages allowing lubricant to pass to the upper end of the cylinder bore 21, so that the piston 69 forces lubricant from the lower end of the bore into the outlet 27 and forces the pin 89 over to hold the piston 71. In the next phase the piston 71 is displaced upwards and lubricant is forced through the outlet 25<SP>1</SP>, and finally upward movement of the piston 69 forces lubricant through the outlet 25. During this cycle lubricant entering the distributer as an even current has been divided into four equal parts supplied successively to the four outlets which may each lead to a separate outgoing conduit, or may be connected together in pairs within the blocks; -in the latter case the threaded connections of the outlets 25, 271 have bushings 97, 99 for outgoing conduits, while the connections of the outlets 27, 25<SP>1</SP> are closed by plugs 93, 95. A larger or smaller distributer may be built up by arranging a different number of active units between the two end units, it being possible to vary considerably the proportions of lubricant carried by the outgoing conduits by uniting various outlets within the blocks as described above. When more than two action units are used only one piston need by of the type having four circumferential grooves, the connections between any two units being as before and such that when taken in cyclic order they correspond; alternatively all the pistons may be of the type having two circumferential grooves, in which case the conduit 15 leads to the lower end of a cylinder bore, and the conduit 13 to the upper end thereof, the corresponding piston being initially in its lower portion. To increase the possibilities of varying the proportions of lubricant quantities supplied to the outgoing conduits the diameters of the cylinder bores may differ from one another; alternatively the pistons may differ in length, but in this case only one piston, of a certain length, can be of the type having two circumferential grooves. In another construction, Fig. 23, pistons differing in length reciprocate in bores having the same diameter. Each piston has passages 113, 115 for passing to outlets 114 lubricant pressed out from an adjacent unit, and has an axially-extending groove 117 for passing to the cylinder ends of the same adjacent unit lubricant from inlets 112. A single passage 119 in each cylinder wall is connected alternately by the recess 117 with conduits 121, 123 which lead to the ends of the next cylinder bore in cyclic order. To prevent the pistons from turning, the looking pins (not shown) are made sufficiently long to protrude slightly into the cylinder bores even when retracted, each piston having a groove 129 with enlarged end recesses 125, 127, such that when the piston is locked the end of a pin engages one of said recesses, and when the piston is displaced it travels in the groove 129. Various lubricant distributer systems are described wherein one or more distributers according to the invention are supplied with lubricant under pressure from a single container, and each distributer delivers lubricant in equal or varying quantities to a number of consumption points and also the the next distributer in the system where necessary. In one such system one of the outgoing conduits of the last distribution in the system returns lubricant to the container, and has inserted in it a device for measuring or indicating the current in this conduit. Assuming that all the distributers used have only two active units and two outgoing conduits, and that there are five specified cylinder diameters to choose from, a table included in the Specification shows that, by varying the cylinders and by connecting the outlets in different ways, distributers having twenty-two different distribution proportions can be built up. Thus, when specified quantities of lubricant are to be delivered, it is possible, by choosing the most suitable distributers, as shown by said table, to build up the appropriate distributer system from a comparatively small number of different block units.