US279592A - Lubricator - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WASHINGION L. PARKER, OF CHIOAGO, ILLINO IS.

LUBRICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 279,592, dated June 19, 1883,

Application file(l J anuary 29, 1883. (No 'model.)

ing at Ohicago, in the county of Cookand State of I11inois, have invented certain new and nseful Improvemcnts in Lubricators for Steam-Oy1indcrs, which are fully xplained in the annxedspecification and drawings.

The purpose of my invention is to provide a lubricatorof the class known as oil-drop sight-feed lubricatcrs, in which the feed of oil shall be effected solely by virtue of the difference in the specificgravity of oil and watepthat is, without'the aid of hydrostatic or steam pressure. A furthcr purpose is to pro vide a compact form of lubricator of the class named, and one inwhich the passage of oil from its rescrvoir to the steam pipe or cylinder shall be as short and direct as possible, thereby avoiding, or at least diminishing, the danger of clogging the passage with impuri ties frOm the oil. A further purpose is to furnish a lubricator with a visible feed, in which, without special additionalparts or devices for that purpose, the oil may be kept so hot that it may be used in the most exposed positionsas on locomotives or other outdoor enginesin the most severe weathcr without permitting the oil to become too 001d to fiow free1y in drops. A further purpose is to pre Vent the vibration and consequent breztking of the oil-drop, which is due to thevarying pressure of steam upon the contents of the c up at the different stages of the pistonstroke. A furthr pnrpose is to provide means for cleaning out the-oil-nozzle by blowing stean1 through it without emptyingpr disturbing the contents of the oi1:fiesrvdir. Theseprposes are accomplished by the form of structure described herein, as follows: I place the condenser surrounding the upper end of a vertical branch of steanrpipe which forms the stem of the lubricator, such pipepenetrating the. bottom of the condenser, and having its steamdischarge openings (one or more) at any point or points within the condenser, the lowest of them, if more than one, orthe sole opening, if but one, serving a1so as the oi1-edct and also as the water-overfiow opening. The oil-reservoir I place surrounding the steam-induct pipe or stem belowthe condenser, into which it communicates by two openings, throug}1 one 'of which the watcr of condensation passes down to the oil-reservoir, a suitable trap preventing the upward passage of the oil through this passage-way, and thereby compelling the oi1 to pass up throngh the other passage-way,

which-is provided With a suitable nozzle protruding upward into the water which 'fi11s the lower portion of the condensing-chamber, and de1ivcrs the oil in drops into the water, through which it then rises and fioats off from the surface through the overfiow-cpening in the steam-induct pipe constituting the stem, and passes to the cylinder. The 1ower portion of the condensingchztmber is made whofly ,or partIy transparent, being transparent at least at that part opposite the nozz le, so that the oiLdrop may be observable thr0ugh it and the feed regulated accordingly. This lower part of the condensing-chambcr may be diminished so as to consist only of two tubes or branches, constituting passage-ways from the upper part of the condensing-chamber to the oilrescrvoir below, one of the branches being the path of the water of condensation down from the steam-filled portion of the condensingchamber to the oilreservoir, and the other branch being the path of the oil-drop upward from the oilreservoir to the water-surface in the condensing-chamber, from whence it fioWs off to the steam pipes and cylindcr. Only the Iatter-named passage need be transparent. Both modifications of structure are shown in the drawings.

Figure 1 is a view showing avertica1 section of a form of my lubricator, in which the lower part of the condensing-chamber is made continuons of full size, as first ab0ve described. Fig. 2 is an elevation of a form in which the lower-part of the condensing-chamber is di- 1ninished, as 1ast above described, to two branches, constituting the passage-ways, performing the fonction stated. In ordcr to show features of construction, the front left-hand quarter of the lubricatOr in this figure is shown ont ont, 1eaVing a sectional view of the left hand portion of the lubricator as cut by the plane in the same position as that upon which the sectional view of Fig. 1 is made. Fig. 3 shows in sectional view details of Construction of a Valve attachment employed as hereinaftcr described.

A' is the stem, constituting the steam-im against upward passage through it.

duct, water-overflow, and oil-educt in one passage. It is controlled by the Valve c, and has the steam-discharge openings Y and Y, the lower of which serves also as water-overflow and oil-educt opening; or the oil-educt may be by a separate opening, either in the stem A, as shown by the dotted outline Y or elsewhere, and provided with a separate passage back to the steam-pipe, as shown by the dotted outline Y; but in either or any case it should be on the same leVel as the water-overfl0W opening. The number of the steam-openings may be several, and distributed along the stem A Within the condenser; but even one, the lower, Y, Will in most cases sffice.

B is the condenser, having the lower transparent part, B, Fig. 1, which in Fig. 2 is divided and diminished to the two branches I) and I), of which only I) need be transparent.

E and E are passages commnnicating between the condenser B and the oil-reservoir C. The former passage, E, is the oil-passage, and the latter, E, is the water-passage. One, and preferably both, of these passages are controlled by valves D and D, respectively. If only one is so controlled,I prefer-that it should be the oilpassage E.

H is a nozzle, covering above, and, except as to .its own aperture, closing the oil-passage E.

K is a trap,covering below, except as to its ownaperture, closing thewater-passage E. It is preferably made in the form shown; but it may be in any form such as to trap the oil Any mechanic familiar With this class of devices Will be 'able without further instructions to fiX upon a suitable form.

I provide a suitable plug in either of the positions F or F for filling the oilreservoir; also, a drain-000k, L, for emptying. I prefer to have also a plug, G, for filling the condenser with water at starting. This plug is preferably located, as shown, at a point directly above the nozzle H, so that it may also serve to admit a swab t0 clean the glass and the nozzle, so as to permit the unobstructed observation of the oil-drop in its upward passage from the nozzle to the water-surface.

M is a passage, termed a vent, leading the highest interior point of the oil-reservoir C into the condenser or steam-pipe, into which it opens at a point which must be higher than a column of oil would be sustained by the balancing-weight of the column of waterflin the condensing-chamber B. It may be as high as desired, and in praetiee I prefer to have it considerably higher than the overfiow-opening Y of the steam pipe or stem A. This vent is preferably controlled by a valve, m, located at any convenient point. The oil-reservoir 0 is preferably made interiorly concave above, so that there shall be a point, X, higher than any other point of its interior surface, at which the vent M may eommunicate. This vent I prefer to locate so that the greater part of its length shall be outside of both the oil-reservoir and the condensing-chamber, as in Fig. 2, where it is placed at a point ninety degrees from each of the branches I) and 1); but it may be elsewhere, provided it forms a communication from. the upperand preferably the very highestpart of the oil-reservoir to the upper steam-filled portion of the condenser or its connections, for the purpose hereinafter stated. In Fig. 1 it is shown as a separate passage in the stem A,'alongside of but not communicating dirctly With the steam-passage. sition is rather a.matter of convenience in construction than substantial importance as respects its function; but I have found that it is usually more effective for its purpose when it 'is so placed that it is not overheated by the .contiguity of the steam-pipe, and for this reason I prefer to place it as in Fig. 2.

The precise mechanical structure of this lubricator is not strictly material to its purposes, except so far as it secures compactness; but I prefer to make it substantiallyas shown, the parts being bound together about the stem A by means of the threaded nuts N above and 0 below the condenser and oil-reservoir, respectively, the stem A making steam-tight junctiens through both condenser and reservoir. The transparent part of the condensing-chamber-B in Fig. 1 and I) and b in Fig. 2make steam-tight junctions below With the top of the oil-reservoir, and above with the upper portion of the condenser, by means of stuffingboxes or other packed joints, in a manner familiar to' mechanics, and which needs no further explanation.

The operation of the above-described lubricator is as follows: The oil-reservoir being filled with oi1 through the filling-i)lug F, and the condensing-chamber being also filled With Water, preferably by pouring through the plug G, though it may be allowed to fi1l by condensation, the steam is admitted through the cock d, and the valvesD and D and m being opened, the water Will pass down through the passage E and the trap K into the oil-reservoir, dis.- placing the oil therein, which W111 pass up through the passage E and nozzle H into and through' to the surface of the .water in the lower part of the condenser or its branch I), and thence Will float off through the opening Y into the steam pipe and cylinder. The flow of oil may be observed through the glass. portion of the condenser, and may be regulated as desired by either valve D or D, the other bcing left open. 4 i

The purpose served by the'vent-passage M is to permit any steam or oil vapor which may form in the oil-reservoir 0 t0 escape. The necessity for this arises from the fact that if it remains in the oil-reservoir it forms an elastic cushion on the top of the oil therein, and the pulsation due to the stroke of the piston being communicated through the stem A to the condensing-chamber B, and thence to the oil-reservoir C, through the passage-ways E and E, and, acting in the oil-reservoir against Thepothe elastic oushion or vaportherein, causes the entire contents of the reservoir to throb witlr' the stroke of the:piston, thereby sooi1 churning the oil and water therein together into a foam; or, if the pulsation is not sufficiently violent to produce that effeot, it at least causes such agitation as to interfere with the steady and uniform formation of the oil-drop on the tip of the nozzle, and sometimes causing it to break and pass up in fine specks, the quantity of which it is impossible to estimate, S defeating the purpose of rcnderii1g the feed visi-- ble. When, however, the vent Mis employed, the oil-reservoir is kept substantially free from vpor or gas, and full of a continuous body of inelastic liquid, which, being incompressible,

- remains steady under the varying pressure at' tendant npon the piston-stroke; or, to state the effect differently, the steam-pressure being transmitted through the vent-passage M counterbalances the same ;pressure tranSmitted through the passages E and E, and howeve'r that pressure may vary and fluotuate it can produce no motion of the liquid body in the oil-reservoir, because, being applied .at the same instant and with the same force at the two extremes in the direction of which only motion could otherwise take place, it is expended in a tendency to compress a liquid substantially incompressible, and therefore produces no sensible result. A similar but not identical function of this vent may be thus stated:- When this lubricator is acting under high pressure of steam, especially if it is connected at or near the engine-cylinder, so that the' pressure in it varies s1'1bstantially as in the cylinder, from boiler-pressure to atmospheric pressure, or nearly so, at the different points of the piston-stroke, .even if no steam is actually formed in the oil-reservoir, yet, being at a temperature at which it would vaporize if the interval of minimum pressure were sufficiently prolonged, the liquid in the reservoir is constantly on the point of vaporizng, and is thereby rendered practically elastic; and in the absence of the vent M, or an equivalent device, the high tension of the liquid in the reservoir, reacting in the interval of low pressure in the condenser, Will drive the oil by main force either out through the nozzle in an irregular and uncomputable quantity, or back through the trap intothe condenser, in either case tending to defeat the purpose of the visible feed; but with the vent M there is afforded ample space for this expansion and contraction to take place without materially varying the pressure on the nozzle or the trap, and the1 eby a steady action of the forcesviz., the differonce in the specific gravity of the oil and'the water.is permitted, and a correspondingly steady and regular feed is the resul To blow through either of the passages E, E, or M, close both the others and open the drain-000k L. To drain the oil-reservoir only,

close the valves D and D and open the draincock L. To drain also the condensing-champlug or an equivalent device, P. This passage being opened, the entire condenser may be drained through it; It also serves the more important purpose of blowing the nozzle olear of any impurities which may have accumulated in it from the oil, or to allow any air or steam bubbles whichmay lodge under it and cause vibration of the oil-drop to escape.

When the form of the lubricator is that shown in Fig. 2, I consider it desirable to connect the two branches b and b by the passage Z, opening into the branch 1) at its base, outside the nozzle H, and into the branch 12 at its base, above the trap K. The purpose of this passage is to permit complete drainage of both branches through the passage P, and also to sult from difference of temperature at difierent points between the two branches and the main part of the condenser above, thereby rendering the two forms, Figs. 1 and 2, complote equivalents in all respects. Manifestly, if the branch b be closed above the opening of the passage Z, the entire interchange of water and oil Will take place through the branch I), the oil rising in drops through it, and the water of condensation passing down through it and through the passage Z and the trap K. This suggested form would manifestly be identical With the forni Fig. 1, the transparent portion B of the condenser bei-iig simply reduced in size, so taking the form of the branch b.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a visible feed-lubricator, the combina: tien of an oil-chamber, a condenser, and a tube which serves as the sole passage for the steam to theeondenser, and for the oil from the surfac of the water of condensationin the condenser to the parts to be-lubricated.

2. In a visible feed-lubricator, the method offeeding oil to the parts to be lubricated, which consists in passing it, solely by reason of its inferior specific gravity, from the oilreservoir to the surface ofthe water in the condenser, and thence carrying it' by and with ioo the surplus water of condensation intoand through the steam-induct pipe to the parts to be lubricated.

3. In a visible oil-drop-feed lubrioator, a condensingchamber which affords water for displacement and feed of oil, of which the condensing-surface is higher than the steam-induct connection, and of which the lower part, in which Water of condensation is accumulated, is wholly or partly transparent, and through the water in which the oil passes from the oil-reservoir to the steam-pipe.

4:. In a visible oil-drop-feed lubricator, the visible feed tube or chamber, communicating below and downward with the top of the oilreservoir, and forming a part of or communL cating abovedirectly With the condensing-- chamber, which affords water for the displacement and feed of oil, and of which the condensing-suriace is'higher than the steam-induct connection.

5. A visible oil-drop-feed lubricator having a condenser whose condensing-surface is higher than the steam-induct connection and an oileduct which opens at the surface of the water of condensation in the condenser, whereloy the oil flows off with the surplus water or condensation into and through the steam-pipe.

6. In a visible oil-drop-feed lubricator for the purpose of keeping the oil at a high temperature, the combination, with an oilreservoir and a condenser communicating With it, of a steam-pipe passing vertically through but not opening into the oil-chamber, and serving also as the steam-induct into the condenser, substantially as set forth.

7. Avisible oil-drop-feed lubricator having a condensing-chamber superimposed upon an oil-reservoir and eommunicating therewith by A two passage-ways, one for the doxvnward passage of the water of condensation, guarded by a trap against the upward passage of the oil, and the other for the upward passage of the oil, either or both of said passage-ways being controlled by suitable valve or valves, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. In combination withthe transparent tube or chamber B or b and the nozzle II, the valve D, having the passage I, and suitable devices for closing and opening said passage at,will, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination of the filling-plug F, opening into vent-passage M, in combination with such passage and with the oil-reservoir C, Substantially as set forth.

10. A lubricator in which the oil-chamber and superimposed condensing-chamber are connected loy three passages, one for the downward passage of the water and eontrolled by suitable trap, another for the upward passage for the oil, and provided with a suitable nozzle, and the third for the direct communication of steam-pi*essure to the oil-chamber, and to relieve said chamber of pressure originating therein, and leading from said chamber, at or near its highest interior point, to the upper steam-filled portion of the condenser, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

11. In a lubricator in which oil is displaced from its reservoir by water derived from a condenser and is delivered upward in visible drops through water in a transparent chamber separate from but communicating with the oilreservoir for the purp ose of eftecting such delivery unifornfly, notwithstanding any agitation or varying pressure in the oilreservoir, the combination, with such oilreservoir, condenser, and communicating passages, of a vent-passage leading from the oilreservoir, at or near its highest interior point, to an opening exposed to the steam-pressure at a point higher than any liquid column Whi0h exerts pressure on the liquid in the oilreservoir, substantially as set forth.

12. An oil-drop-sight-feed lubricator having its condenser superimposed upon the oilreservoir, the two chambers being secured together by a tubular vertical stem which passes through them both, and which serves as the steam-induct to the condenser, substantially as set forth.

13. A visible-feed lubricator having a condensing-srface which is higher than the steaminduct connection, and whose openings for the emission of oil and the discharge of the surplus water of condensation are on the same level.

In testi'mony that I claim the foregoing as WASIIINGTON LEROY PARKER.

Witnesses:

CHAS. S. BURTON, LE GRAND BURTON.

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