US1052171A - Guide-rail lubricator for elevators. - Google Patents

Description

G. PRIGGEN.

GUIDE RAIL' LUBRIGATOR FOB. ELEVATORS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 29, 1912.

Patented Feb. 4, 1913.

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G. PRIGGEN.

GUIDE RAIL LUBRIGATOB FOR ELEVATORS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 29. 1912.

1,052,171. Patented Feb. 4, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET z.

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i Q y 042%0 rney GEORGE PRIGGEN, OF ARLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

GUIDE-RAIL LUBRICATOR FOR ELEVATORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 4, 1913.

Application filed April 29, 1912. Serial No. 693,891.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE PRIGGEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Arlington, in the county of Middlesex,

State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Guide Rail Lubricators for Elevators, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The invention relates mainly to elevator guide-rail lubricators.

In part it relates more generally to lubri cators employing solid lubricant.

A lubricator on the order of that in connection with which the various improvements are shown embodied herein is designed more particularly for application to the moving car of an elevator, as, for instance, to a crossbar at the top of the said car, and is employed for the purpose of applying solid lubricant in connection with a guide-rail. It is also designed for application to the counterweightof an elevator to apply lubricant to a guide-rail therefor,

and may readily be adapted for use in con nection with the plunger of an elevator. The place and manner of application of the device are not material, and the invention is not necessarily restricted to employment in connection with elevators.

The invention consists in an automatic guide-rail lubricator comprising a case or shell having a recess or slot adapted to receive and substantially fit the guide-rail to be lubricated, and provided with a holder or container for a stick or candle of grease or other solid lubricant, said holder or container being inclined downwardly and forwardly so that the said stick or candle gravitates toward the edge of the guide-rail.

One feature of the invention is a guide or holder for the stick or candle of lubricant having the bottom thereof formed with converging sides, their apex downward, so that said bottom is like a V-shaped trough. I usually make the holder, for convenience, as a tube of rectangular cross-section.

Another feature of the invention consists in cutting away at the sides the front end of the tube within which the stick or candle of lubricant is contained, so as to provide ample clearance between such sides and the surface of the guiderail, to prevent the sides from scraping the lubricant from the guiderail, and accumulating the same so as to clog the lower end of the guide-tube. Also so as to afford opportunity for the escape laterally of fragments which may crumble or break away from the front end of the said stick or candle, so as by permitting such escape to prevent the clogging of the front end of the said tube and obvi ate any tendency of the stick or candle to catch and fail to advance or feed.

Another feature of the invention consists in providing a support for the outer end of the stick or candle of lubricant by which to hold such end, and the greater portion of the length of the stick or candle, out of contact with the interior surface of the guidetube, so as thereby to reduce the extent of contact of the stick or candle with'tl-e said surface and lessen the friction and the tendency of the candleto' adhere to the said the stick or candle of Figs. 1 and 2 and the.

supporting and indicating stem at the outer end thereof, the parts being separated. Fig. i is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing a different means of connecting the stem with the stick or candle. Figs. 5 and 6 show other means of effecting the connec tion between the stick or candle and the stem. Fig. 7 is a view of the stick or candle and the tubular holder therefor in section in the plane of line 7, 7, of Fig. 2.

Having reference to the drawings, at 1 is the shell or case of the lubricator. 2 is the bottom thereof, 3 being a movable cover which in this instance is hinged to the shell or case by its outer end. To fit the guiderail in connection with which the device is used, the bottom and the front of the shell or case are slotted as shown, and the cover is slotted similarly to the bottom, the slotsand fitting a hole through the said boss or.

nipple. The stick or candle 8 of lubricant is placed within the said tube 7. While the shape of the tubular holder and guide in cross-section may vary in different cases in go ide-rail.

practice, I preferably employ as one feature of the invention a guide-tube of rectangular cross-section, and arrange it in the shell or case with one of the angles below, so that a stick or candle within the tube and resting against the lower portion of the interior thereof shall contact with the said interior only along lines at opposite sides of the said angle, thereby reducing the extent of the superficial contact between the stick or can die and the interior of the guide-tube to the minimum extent. Thus, tendency to friction between the stick or candle and the interior of the guide-tube, and to adhesion of the stick or candle to the said interior, are minimized. The opening through the boss or nipple 6 is inclined downwardly toward the front of the device, so that the guidetube 7 occupies a correspondingly inclined position, the inclination being shared also by the stick or candle of lubricant contained within the guide-tube. Hence the said stick or candle tends to slide down within the guidetube and to press at its front end against the outer surface of the guide-rail. The guide-tube 7 is secured in place within the boss or nipple 6 by means of the clamp ing-screw 9, Fig. 2. By manipulation of the said screw, and shifting of the guide-tube back and forth in the direction of the length of the guide-tube, the front end of the latter may be adjusted into the required position with relation to the outer surface of the The said front end is caused to occupy a position close to the said surface, so as to support the corresponding end of the stick or candle at a point closely adjacent the guide-rail, to guard against the breakage of the candle which would be likely if the candle were not thus closely supported.

In the practical use of the device, as the car to which the latter is applied goes up and down, the front end of the stick or candle 8 of lubricant, hereinafter termed simply the candle, rubs against the outer surface of the guide-rail, distributing the lubricant along the guide-rail. By the action of the elevator-shoe the lubricant thus distributed is spread upon the sides of the guide rail.

To provide for the free escape and dropping of loose portions and fragments from the lower front end of the candle 8, the front end of the guide-tube 7 is, in accordance with one feature of my invention, cut away at. both sides of an intermediate nose-portion 7*, the latter located at the under side of the guide-tube. By cutting away the front end of the guide-tube in the manner referred to, any loose small pieces of lubri-v cant are permitted to escape laterally, while the nose 7 will support the front end of the candle in close proximity to the guide-rail, in case such end should be forced downward. The nose 7 also constitutes a gage in setting the guide-tube, enabling the required close ness of approach of the end of the guidetube to the guide-rail to be secured without closing the interval between such end and the surface of the guide-rail. In seeing the guide-tube the latter will be drawn back slightly so that the end of the noseshall not scrape.

To supportthe outer end of the candle 8 of lubricant I provide the said outer end with a stem 10 projecting therefrom in the direction of the length of the candle, and I furnish the outer end of the guide tube 7 with a removable cap 11 having a hole through which the said stem extends. The said hole is located at such height relative to the bottom of the guide-tube that when the stem 10 of a candle 8 occupies the hole the outer end of the candle, and the'main length of the candle itselfexcept close to the front end of the candle, are held out of contact with the surface of the guide-t ube. The engagement of the stem with the guide prevents lateral displacement of the candle.

To constitute a visible indicator showing the length of candle within the device, the portion of the stem 10 which extends beyond the guide 11 projects into full view. The extent to which the outer portion of the stem projects from the guide shows how much candle remains unconsumed within the guide-tube. As the candle is consumed and slides downward within the guide-tube the outer. portion of the stem moves inward through the guide 11, thereby shortening the length exposed and thus indicating the extent to which the candle has been consumed.

In applying a candle the guide-tube ordinarily will be released by turning out the screw 9, and then withdrawn from the boss or nipple 6. The stem 10, holder 12, and end-cap 11 may also be removed from the tube 7, and when the candle has been placed within the holder 12 and the candle, holder 12, and stem introduced into the guide-tube, and end-cap 11 has been replaced, the tube 7 will be returned to its working position and secured therein by turning up the said screw 9. For convenience in connecting the candle 8 with the stem 10, the said stem may be furnished at the inner end thereof with a simple socket as in Fig. 2, to receive and hold one end of the candle. Or, as

shown in Fig. 3. one end of the candle may be molded within a coupling-ferrule 13 having a central sleeve 13 which extend into the material of the candle, said sleeve being internally screr -threadetl, and the stem, 10, may have its inner end portion screw-threaded to enter and engage with the said sleeve, and he provided with a collar or flange 10 to make contact with the outer end of the said ferrule. The said col lar or flange it) constitutes a stop to limit the extent to which the stem can be screwed into the sleeve of ti e ferrule, and also gives metal end-piece 14 applied in connection I with the outer end of the candle. and a stem 10 provided with a sitnilar sheet-metal spirally threaded socket 1W to receive the said end-piece 14 of the candle.

Fig. 6 shows a cap 17 applied to the outer end of a candle and having a rounded swell or projection 15 pressed outward therefrom, and a stem 1O having a socket 10 tormed with a right-angled or bayonet-joint slot 10" to receive the said rounded swell or projection 15' the parts being connected and locked together by inserting the cap 15 into the socket 10 and moving the swell or projection 15 inward along the longitudinal portion of the slot 10 and then turning the parts relatively to each other so as to -arr v the said swell or projection into the transverse portion of the said slot.

The various devices which have just been described provide in convenient and simple manner for the connection of the candle with the stem, and the disconnection of the andle or the unused portion thereof from the said stem.

To reduce the tendency of the candle S to adhere to the interior of the guide-tube T, especially when the candle is softened by warmth, I make the candle with a hard surtace-layer or shell, as 8", of parattin or other To reduce the rate of consumption of the candle, and to regulate such rate, I form the candle with different longitudinal portions of ditterent hardnesses. Thus, herein 1 show a core b' of greater hardness than the portion ot the candle outside such core. For instance, the core may be composed of grease, wax, and graphite mixed together, and the intermediate portion or body of the candle between the said col". and the coating or shell of wax and grapl'iite may be coinposed of soft grease.

I claim as my invention:

1. A guide-rail lubricator comprising a case or shell having a vertical recess or slot to receive and tit a guide-rail to he lubricated, a forwardly and downwardly inlined holder, providing a support tor the under side of a stick or candle ot' lubricant adjacent said guide-rail, and means tor adjusting the said holder lengthwise, to vary the distance between said guide-rail and the inner end of the support beneath the corresponding end of the stick or candle.

Q. A guide-rail luhricator comprising a case or shell having a vertical recess or slot to receive and tit a guide-rail to be lubricated and a forwardly and downwardly inclined holder l'iaving sides converging at an angle to support a stick or candle of lubricant with its lower inner end in contact with the guide-rail. and alcng which inclined holder the said stick or candle l'eeds toward the guide-rail as it is consumed.

A guide-rail lubricator comprising a case or shell having a vertical recess or slot to receive and fit a guide-rail to be lubricated, and a forwardly and downwardly iiiclined holder consisting of a rectangular tube having one of the angles at its under side. to support a stick or candle of lubricant with its lower inner end in contact with the guide-rail. and along which inclined holder the said stick or holder feeds toward the guide-rail as it is consumed.

l. A guide-rail lubricator having a tor wardly and downwardly inclined holder tor a stick or candle ot lubri ant,to support said stick or candle with its lower inner end in contact with the guide-rail, and down which the stick or candle is fed as it is consumed. and a support. slidable in the direction ot' the length of the stick or candle, by which the outer end of the stick or candle is held away from the said holder so that the stick suitable wax, or its equivalent, and further,

in order to facilitate the slipping ot the candle along within the guide'tube I employ, in making the candle, either throughout the mass of the same, or in the said surface-shell, a dry lubricant such, for instance, as graphite. Instead of incorporating the said dry lubricant in thematerial ot' the shell or of the candle itself. it may be applied to the exterior surface.

or candle makes contact only at its inner end with the holder.

5. guide-rail lubricator comprising a case or shell having a vertical recess or slot to receive and tit a guide-rail. and a ton 1 wardly and downwardly inclined holder for a stick or candle ot lubricant, to support said stick or candle with its lower inner end in contact with the guide-rail. and down which the stick or candle is t ed as it is consumed. and a support, slidalole in the direction of the length of the stick or candle, by which the outer end of the stick or candle is held away from the said holder so that the stick or candle makes contact only at its inner end with the holder,

(3. guide-rail luhricator having a forwardly and downwardly inclined holder tor a stick or candle of lubricant, to support said stick or candle with its lower inner end in contact with the guide rail, and

down which the stick or 'andle ted as it is consumed. a stem adapted to he connected with the outer end of said stick or randle, and a c'uide {or said stem supj'iorting' the same and said end of the stick or candle so that the stick or candle makes contact only at its inner end with the holder.

T. A guide-rail luhriator comprising a case or shell having a vertical recess or slot to receive and lit a guide-ail, and a lorardly and downwardly inclined holder for a stick or candle ot luhri ant, to support said stick or candle with its lower inner end in contact with the guide-rail. and down which the stick or candle is fed as it is on sinned, a stem adapted to he connected with the outer end of said stick or candle, and a guide for said stem supporting the same and said end of the stick or analle so that the stick or candle makes contact only at its inner end with the holder.

8. A guide-rail luhricator having a tor wardl' and downwardly inclined holder tor a stick or candle ot' luhricant. to support said stick or candle with its lower inner end in ccntact with the guide-rail. and down which the stick or *andle is fed as it consumed. a stem adapted to he connected with the outer end of said stick or candle, and a guide for said stein supporting the same and said end of the stick or candle so that the stick or camlle makes contact only at its inner end with the holder. the said stem pro jet-ting into sight and constituting a \isual indicator tor indicating the length of stick or candle remaining in the device.

9. A guidea'ail luhricator comprising a case or shell having a vertical recess or slot to receive and lit a guide-rail and a tor wardly and downwardly inclined holder tor a stick or *andle of luhricant, to support said stick or candle with its lower inner end in contact with the guide-rail. and down which the stick or candle is fed as it is consumed. a stem adapted to he connected with j l l j l l l l l l l the outer end of said stick or :andle. and a 1 guide for said stem supporting the same and said end of the stick or candle so that the stick or candle makes contact only at its inl uer end with the holder, the said stem projectinp; into sight and constituting a visual indicator tor indi 'ating the length ot' stick or candle remaining in the device,

It). A guide-rail luhricator having a tor wardly and downwardly inclined holder for a stick or candle of luhricant. to support said stick or candle with its lower inner end in contact with a guide rail and down which the stick or candle ted as it. is consumed. said inclined holder haying at its lowe end a projecting toe to .npport the end ot the candle closely adjacent the surface to he luhricatcd. with the sides of the holder ahove said toe receding? to permit escape of tragmenls ot luhricant.

ll. guide-rail lnhricatcr war-:ll i' and downwardly i having a for holder for a stick or candle of la ilfzlllt, to support said stick or randle with i s lower inner end in contact with a gnide-rail and down which the stick c 'andle is led as it is consumed, said inclined holdcr having at its lower end a projecting tt't! to support the end of the candle closely adjacent the surface to he luhricated. with the ot' the holder ahorc said toe receding to permit escape ot t'ragmcn s ot' lubricant. and means to adjust the approach ct said toe to the said surface.

12. 1X euideaail luhricator having a tervardly and downwardly inclined holder with a Vshaped hottom to support a stick or candle ot' luhricant with its lower inner end in contact with a guide-rail. and down which the stick or cand e is ted as it is consumed. said inclined holder having; at its lower end a projecting toe to support the eml ot the candle closely adjacent the surface to he luhricatcal. with the sides ol' the holder above said toe receding to permit escape ot fragments of luhricant.

l3. )1 guide-rail luhricator haying a torwardly and downwardly inclined holder with a Vshapcd hottom to support a stick or candle of luhricant with its lower inner end in contact with a uidea'ail. and down which the stick or candle is ted as it is consumed, said inclined holder having at its lower end a 'n'ojecting' toe to support the end of the candle closely adjacent the sar tace to he lubricated, with the sides of the holder ahove said toe receding to permit escape of fragments of lubricant. and means to adjust th approach oi said toe to the said surtace.

in testimony whereof I allix my signature in presence of two witnes es.

GEORGE IRTGGEN'.

sides Vitnesses CHAS. l IiANDAIiL. ELLEN O. Srmxo,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

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