US2560461A

US2560461A - Lubricating system

Info

Publication number: US2560461A
Application number: US119940A
Authority: US
Inventors: Erwin G Mangels
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1949-10-06
Filing date: 1949-10-06
Publication date: 1951-07-10
Anticipated expiration: 1968-07-10

Description

July 10, 1951 E, MANGELS 7 2,560,461

LUBRICATING SYSTEM Filed Oct. 6, 1949 Patented July 10, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

The invention relates to lubricating systems, and more particularly to that type in which oil under pressure is delivered to a divider and dis-'- tributed to a plurality of elements to be lubricated.

One object of the invention is to provide a lubricating system which comprises a casing containing a divider for the oil with means for heating the oil to control its viscosity and controlling its distribution to the elements to be lubricated.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved lubricating apparatus which comprises a casing containing a divider-pad for the oil to which oil is delivered under pressure by a single duct and ,by which the oil is uniformly distributed to the elements to be lubricated and in which the divider-pad has the dimensional capacity to supply the oil to the group of elements to be lubricated.

Another object of the invention is to provide lubricating apparatus which comprises a casing containing a divider-pad to which the oil is fed under pressure, for uniformly distributing the oil to the several elements to be lubricated and is simple in construction and efiicient in operation.

Other objects of the invention will the detailed description.

The invention consists in the several novel features hereinafter set forth and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

Fig. l is a plan of the oil divider and distributor.

Fig. 2 is a section-taken on line 2--2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an inverted plan of the cover section of. the casing.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the cover.

Fig. '7 is a section on an enlarged scale showing the deflection of the fibers in the upper and lower corners of the pad.

The invention is exemplified in a lubricating system for distributing oil from a source under pressure, such as a pump, to pedestal ways for the journal boxes for the axle of a pair of driving wheels of a locomotive (not shown), or other machinery.

The system comprises, generally, a casing to which oil is forced under pressure, a fibrous pad in the casing for dividing the, oil, and a series of pipe connections torwhich the oil is separately delivered by capillary division, for delivery to the elements to be lubricated.

A casing comprises a body l5 which is provided with integral. laterally projecting lugs l6 which appear from are adapted to be secured by bolts l! to any suitggle part of a support, and a detachable cover a cylindrical wall l9 and an integral cross-wall 2| which define a chamber with an open upper end, a cylindrical side and a fiat bottom. The open upper end of chamber 20" is closed by cover 22. Studs 24 are secured in the body l5 and extend through holes in cover 22. Nuts 25 on the upper end of studs 24 are adapted to secure the cover on the casing body 15. The cover 22 is provided with an annular face 26 which fits on a corresponding annular face 23 on the upper end of body l5. These faces are tightly sealed together when cover 22 is secured on body l5 by studs 24 and nuts 25. An integral extension 28 on the cover fits in the upper end of chamber 20 and extends below the face 23 on body l5.

A transverse duct 39 is formed in an integral portion of the casing-body 2| for conducting oil under pressure from a pipe 3| to which oil may be delivered under pressure from any suitable source, such as the usual pump (not shown). The duct 30 terminates in an axially extending branch 32 which communicates with and terminates at the top face of the wall 2|, so as to deliver oil to the central portion of the bottom of chamber 20. A series of restricted ducts 34 in the cover 22 communicate with and lead from the inner face 35 of the extension 38 and are communicatively connected to the pipes 36, respectively, for delivering oil to the elements to be lubricated. Ducts 34 are symmetrically disposed around the axis of chamber 20. The pipes 36 are usually flexible and each is connected by a union coupling 3! to the cover section 22 of the casing.

A cylindrical pad 21 composed of fibrous material, such as felt, is confined and compressed in the chamber 20 for dividing the flow of oil delivered into the bottom of said chamber through branch 32 of delivery duct 30. The pad is preformed of uniform density to fit in chamber 29, with fiat top and bottom faces, and extends between and conforms to the top face of bottom wall 2| and the bottom face of extension 28 of the cover, and is cylindrical to conform to the inner face of cylindrical wall IS. The divider pad 21 is composed of fibers which extend substantially transversely of cylindrical chamber 20 or approximately parallel to the upper face of wall 2| and the bottom face 35 of the member 28 on the cover. Normally the pad is approximately equal in height to chamber 20. The normal height of the pad may be 1 inches, When cover 22 is secured on the body l5, the extension mem- The body i5 of the casing is provided withher 28 will be forced into the upper end of chamber and compress the pad substantially 12 or reduce its height to 1-inch. This compression of the pad densifies it to a predetermined degree and uniformly throughout substantially the entire area of the chamber 20. The transverse direction of the fibers causes the interstices between them to extend approximately transversely of chamber 20. Due to the compression of the pad and the transverse direction of the fibers, pressure on the oil is necessary to force the oil through the interstices between the fibers to the top surface of the pad. The oil enters chamber 20 under pressure at branch 32 of the delivery duct, and seeps into substantially all portions of the pad. The cylindrical surfaces of chamber 20 and the bottom face of cover 22 are machined to form smooth surfaces for uniform compression of the pad. The outlets 34 which are connected to the pipes 36 are of equal cross-sectional and restricted area. The pressure in the portions of the pads exposed to the outlets 34 results in the delivery of the same volume at each outlet 34, against resistance of different values in the pipes 36.

Since the fibers extend transversely of chamber 20 their ends which contact the cylindrical surface on the side wall l9 of chamber 20 will not form a seal which prevents oil from seeping upwardly between the periphery of the pad and said cylindrical surface. The extension 28 of the cover has formed therein an annular groove 45 leaving a sharp annular edge 43 around the lower face 35 on the cover, making a part of surface 45 conical. An annular groove 48 with a sharp corner 49 is formed in the bottom wall 2| of chamber 20 at the corner between said wall and the cylindrical wall i9, similarly as shown at 45. When the pad is compressed in chamber by cover 22 the ends of the fibers in the top of the pad are deflected sharply into the groove 43 and the ends of the fibers at the bottom of the pad are bent sharply into the groove 45. This construction results in sealing the pad at its upper and lower corners against the flow of oil directly between the contiguous surfaces of the pad and the chamber 20, from the inlet 32 to the ducts 34 in the cover, and uniform distribution of oil in the pad and in connection with the uniform density of the direction of the fibers in the pad results in equal distribution of oil from the central inlet 32 to the outlet ducts 34 in the cover.

In practice, it has been found that temperature changes produce variations in the viscosity of the lubricating oil in the casing which interferes with the flow of oil from the divider to the elements to be lubricated. The invention provides for heating the casing which contains the divider-pad, to control the viscosity of the oil in the pad and controlling its flow to the pipes 35 for feeding the oil at the desired rate to the elements to be lubricated. The body I5 is provided with a steam jacketaround the side-wall l9 and bottom wall 2| of the chamber containing the compressed divider-pad, for heating the oil in the pad to control its iscosity so that a pre-- determined pressure will result in uniformly distributing the oil to the outlets 34 and pipes 35. The steam chamber of the jacket is formed by an outer wall 39 integral with the casing body and extending around and under the wall l9 and bottom 2| of'the chamber 20 which contains the pad 21. The steam chamber comprises a circumferentially extending portion 40 around the annular wall around the chamber 20 and a connecting angular portion 4| under the wall 2| which forms one end of the chamber 20. A radial wall 44 is integrally formed with the body l5 and extends between the bottom wall 2| and the bottom wall of the steam jacket. This wall 44 forms a bafile for directing the steam circumferentially around the steam chamber between

pipes

42 and 43, and which conducts heat to the oil in the duct 30. The steam is delivered to and from the jacket by one of the

pipes

42 and 43 and exhausted through the other. The supply pipe may be connected to any suitable source. These pipes communicate with said heating chamber at opposite sides of the radial wall 44 in the casing body through which the supply duct 3|] extends, so that the wall acts as a bafile and steam flows into the jacket at one side of radial wall 44, circulates around said jacket, and exhausts at the opposite side of said wall for heat transfer to the pad 21 and the oil therein. The inlet duct 30 extends through bafiie-wall 44 so that the oil flowing to the chamber 21 will be heated in flowing to said chamber.

The operation will be as follows: Oil under pressure is fed from pipe 3| through

ducts

30, 32 to the bottom of the cylindrical chamber 20 and into contact with the contiguous face of pad 21, which is maintained under compression for dividing the oil for distribution to ducts 34. The oil in restricted volume passes transversely 'between the fibers of the pad 21 and then longitudinally to the outlet ducts 34, The pad is under uniform compression which causes uniform distribution of the oil by pressure to all of the ducts 35 from which the oil flows via pipes 36 to all of the elements to be lubricated. The deflection of the ends of the fibers of the pad at its corners prevents direct fiow of oil from the inlet 32 around the pad to the outlets 34. The ducts 34 are restricted to limit the flow of oil to the desired rate through pipes 36. The dimensional capacity of the chamber 20 and the compressed pad 21 is sufficient to maintain uniform flow from the duct 32 to all of the outlet ducts 34. The heat from the jacket is applied to the wall in which duct 33 is formed and through the walls of the casing body around chamber 20 to the pad 2'! and thereby the viscosity of the oil can be lowered and controlled to insure suflicient fluidity for its flow at the predetermined rate through the pad and through ducts 34 to pipes 35.

If desired, one or more of the outlet ducts 34 may be closed to provide for twoor three-way division of the oil. These changes may be made by removing the couplings 3'1 and substituting screw plugs without disturbing ,any of the steam or oil connections. The cover plate 22 is firmly secured on the casing body by studs 23 and nuts 25. The cover plate can be readily removed for inspection or replacement of the pad '21. The latter functions as a strainer as well as a divider.

The invention exemplifies a lubricating system or apparatus which comprises a divider for flow of the oil under pressure and means for heating the oil to control its viscosity and insure distribution to the elements to be lubricated. The invention also exemplifies a lubricating device which includes a divider by which the oil will be evenly distributed to the outlets, and is simple in construction and efficient in operation. The invention also exemplifies a construction which facilitates the inspection and replacement of the divider pad. p

This application is in part a continuation of an application filed by me July 10, 1944, Serial No; 544,213 and now abandoned.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details set forth, since these may be modified within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what -I claim as .new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A lubricating system comprising? a .casing including a body provided with an annular vertical wall and a flat bottom wall defining a chamber with an open top and a cover detachably secured on the body, forming a top closure and provided with a flat bottom face; a preformed pad of fibrous material having its fibers extending substantially transversely of and substantially filling said chamber and uniformly compressed between the fiat faces of the cover and the bottom wall; means including a duct in the body terminating in the central portion of the upper face of the bottom wall for delivering oil under pressure to the pad; the cover being provided with a series of symmetrically disposed individual flow restricting ports communicating with the top face of the pad, for separately delivery oil from the pad to difierent elements to be lubricated; and means forming an offset in the chamber for angularly deflecting the ends of fibers in the pad for preventing direct fiow of oil between the contiguous surfaces of the pad and walls of the chamber from the inlet duct to the outlet ports.

2. A lubricating system comprising: a casing including a body provided with a cylindrical wall and a flat bottom wall defining a chamber with an open top and a cover detachably secured on the body, forming a top closure and provided with a flat bottom face; a cylindrical pad of fibrous material having its fibers extending substantially transversely of and substantially filling said chamber and uniformly compressed between the flat faces of the cover and the bottom walY; means including a duct in the body terminating in the central portion of the upper face of the bottom wall for delivering oil under pressure to the pad; the cover being provided with a series of symmetrically disposed individual flow restricting ports communicating with the top face of the pad, for separately delivering oil from the pad to different elements to be lubricated; and means forming an offset in the chamber for angularly deflecting the ends of fibers in one of the corners of the pad-for preventing direct flow of oil between the contiguous surfaces of the pad and walls of the chamber from the inlet duct to the outlet ports.

3. A lubricating system comprising: a casing including a body provided with an annular vertical wall and a flat bottom wall defining a chamber with an open top and a cover detachably secured on the body, forming a top closure and provided with a flat bottom face; a pad of fibrous material having its fibers extending substantially transversely of and substantially filling said chamber and uniformly compressed between the flat faces of the cover and the bottom wall; means including a duct in the body terminating in the central portion of the upper face of the bottom Wall for delivering oil under pressure to the pad; the cover being provided with a series of symmetrically disposed individual flow restricting ports communicating with the top face of the pad, for separately delivering oil from the pad '6 to the' different elements to be lubricated; and means on the cover for angularly deflecting the ends of the fibers in the upper corners of therpad for preventing direct flow of oil between the contiguous surfaces of the pad and walls of the chamber from the inlet duct to the outlet ports.

4. A lubricating system comprising: a casin including a body provided with an annular vertical wall and a fiat bottom wall defining a chamber with an open top and a cover detachably secured on the body, forming a top closure and provided with a-flat bottom face; a pad of fibrous material having itsfibers extending substantially transversely of and substantially filling said chamber and uniformly compressed between the flat faces of the cover and the bottom wall; means including a duct in the body terminating in the central portion of the upper face of the bottom wall for delivering oil under pressure to the pad; the cover being provided with a series of symmetrically disposed individual flow restricting ports communicating with the top face of the pad, for separately delivering oil from the pad to different elements to be lubricated; and means for angularly deflecting the ends of the fibers in the upper and lower corners of the pad for preventing direct flow of oil between the contiguous surfaces of the pad and walls of the chamber from the inlet duct to the outlet ports.

5. A lubricating system comprising: a casing including a body provided with a cylindrical wall and a fiat bottom wall defining a chamber with an open top and a cover detachably secured on the body, forming a top closure and provided with a flat bottom face; a pad of fibrous material having its fibers extending substantially transversely of and substantially filling said chamber and uniformly compressed between the flat faces of the cover and the bottom wall; means including a duct in the body terminating in the central portion of the upper face of the bottom wall for delivering oil under pressure to the pad; the cover being provided with a series of symmetrically disposed individual flow restricting ports communicating with the top face of the pad, for separately delivering oil from the pad to different elements to be lubricated; the cover having an annular groove with a sharp corner for angularly deflecting the ends of adjacent fibers in the pad, and the bottom wall having a groove with a sharp corner for deflecting the adjacent ends of the fibers in the pad, for preventing direct flow of oil between the contiguous surfaces of the pad and walls of the chamber from the inlet duct to the outlet ports.

6. Lubricating apparatus, comprising: a casing including a body-section provided with a cylindrical chamber and a removable cover, a compressed pad of fibrous material filling said chamber, means including a duct in the body-section for delivering oil under pressure and communicatively connected to the central portion of one end of the chamber, the opposite end of the casing being provided with symmetrically disposed individual flow-restricting ducts which are communicatively connected to the pad at the opposite end of the chamber, conduits individually connected to the flow-restricting ducts for separately delivering oil from the individual flow-restricting ducts to elements to be lubricated, and an integral heating jacket in the body-section extending circumferentially around and across one end of the cylindrical chamber, for heating the pad and controlling the viscosity of the oil to maintain capillary flow through the pad to the flow-restricted asemmr "7 ports, the body-section being provided in the heating jacket with a bathe-wall through which the delivery duct extends.

7. A lubricating system comprising: a casing including a body provided with a bottom wall and a side wall forming a vertically extending chamber open at its upper end and a cover detachably secured on the body and forming a top closure, a compressed pad of fibrous material completely filling said chamber and contacting throughout the inner faces of the cover, the bottom and side walls of the chamber, means including a duct extending transversely of the bottom wall in an integral portion of the body terminating at the lower face of the pad for constantly delivering oil under-pressure to the pad, the body having an integral heating jacket surrounding the side wall and bottom walland the portion or the body 8 through which the transverse duct extends, for heating the pad and controlling the viscosity of the oil passing through the pad.

ERWIN G. MANGELS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS