US2898161A - Lubricators - Google Patents

Description

T. A. EDDY ET AL 2,898,161

LUBRICATORS Aug. 4, 1959 Filed Oct. 31, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 mun-42M Inventors Thomas A Edd Llewellyn. E, flog e r 2/ JH'tornegs.

Aug. 4, 1959 T. A. EDDY ETAL LUBRICATORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 51, 1956 I Inven'tors 19' Thomas A. Eckl r Llewellgn .E. 310 2:

dH-l-ornegs the new

Patented Aug. 4, 1959 LUBRICATORS Thomas A. Eddy, Ramsey, and Llewellyn E. Hoyer,

Wyckoif, N.J., assignors to American Brake Shoe Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Application October 31, 1956, Serial No. 619,512

3 Claims. (Cl. 308-88) This invention-relates to a lubricator for the journal of a railway car.

The journal of a railway car is conventionally disposed in a journal box in engagement with a so-called partial bearing mounted in the upper section of the journal box. The bearing is retained in place in part by lugs thereon that are adapted to abut faces of so-called stop columns projecting inwardly of the journal box from the opposite side walls thereof. The long practiced method of lubricating the journal has been byvmeans of oil soaked waste packed in the box between the bottom of the box and the lower periphery of the journal, and in order to at least partially prevent waste grabs so-called retainer ledges are afforded on opposite sides of the journal box beneath the stop columns, and in certain types of lubricators that have replaced waste packing these retainer ledges which are present as standard or accepted journal box construction are utilized or not.

In application Serial No. 582,030 filed May 1, 1956 there is disclosed a novel kind of journal bearing lubricator for a railway car comprising a pad of porous oil resistant material encased in a cover of high rate wicking material, and retainers are provided at opposite ends of the cover so as to cooperate either with the stop columns of the journal box or the waste ledges to prevent lateral as well as longitudinal shifting of the lubricator within the journal box, and this is important in order that the lubricator will at all times be centered in the journal box. Inasmuch as journal boxes of standard construction sometimes embody both stop columns and waste retainer ledges, one of the primary objects of the present invention is to enable lubricators of the kind disclosed in the aforesaid application to be used in such journal boxes embodying both stop columns and Waste retainer ledges. Another important object of the present invention is to assure that the ends of the retainers of the lubricators of the aforesaid application are each disposed in substantially a vertical plane in the space that exists between the related lug of the bearing and the side wall of the journal box spaced outwardly therefrom. A further object of the present invention is to take advantage of the rigid surfaces presented by both the stop column and the related waste retainer ledge in a journal box of the foregoing kind to prevent movement of lubricators of the aforesaid application when mounted in such a journal box.

Specifically, the object of the present invention is to equip a lubricator for the journal of a railway car with retainers at either end of the lubricator in the form of rigid means affording spaced apart ears adapted to embrace a related stop column of the journal box with the ears disposed in a substantially vertical plane between a lug of the bearing and the opposed side wall of the journal box, the ears thus afforded being connected at inner edges by a base member having a lower edge adapted to abut the bottom of the stop column, the rigid means further having extensions beyond the base member which are substantially L-shaped or angled to clear the packing to the bottom of the journal box.

retainer ledge and thereby atiord an additional retainer member beneath the retainer ledge, the aforesaid ex tensions being joined by a terminal member adapted to be aflixed to an end of the lubricator. In this way, full advantage is taken of standard journal box construction to afford at least two surfaces at either end of the lubricator that cooperate with fixed parts within the journal box to prevent lateral shifting of the lubricator, that is, movement of the lubricator in a direction transverse to the axis of the journal. Moreover, the ears at the ends of the rigid means aifording the retainers are disposed in safe, out-of-the-way positions.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show preferred embodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof and what we now consider to be the best mode in which we have contemplated applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one form of lubricator embodying one form of retainer in accordance with the present invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are, respectively, plan and elevation views of another form of retainer contemplated by the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a partial end view on an enlarged scale of the lubricator shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a standard journal box showing the lubricator of Fig. 1 mounted thereon;

Fig. 5A is a partial sectional view similar to Fig. 5

showing the disposition of the retainer of Fig. 2 or of I Fig. 6 in the journal box; and

Fig. 6 is a partial end plan view of a lubricator showing a further modified form of the present invention.

Referring to Fig. 5 of the drawing there is illustrated a journal box IE of standard or approved AAR construction having opposed side walls 10 and 11 and a rounded bottom wall 12. Mounted in the upper section of the journal box is a partial bearing 15 of standard con struction having outwardly projecting side lugs 16 and 17. The bearing 15 is provided with a bearing face BF that engages the upper periphery of the journal I of the railway car, and disposed between the lower periphery of the journal and the bottom wall 12 of the journal box is a lubricator 21) that will be described in more detail herein below adapted to relay lubricant L, Fig. 5, in the bottom of the journal box onto the journal.

Journal boxes of standard construction of the kind illustrated in Fig. 5 embody stop columns as 21 and 22 and waste retainer ledges 25 and 26. Thus, a stop column and a retainer ledge are eftorded on each side of the journal box and project inwardly from the related side wall 10 or 11. The stop columns 21 and 22, as shown in Fig. 5, cooperate with the bearing lugs 16 and 17 of the bearing to prevent axial shifting of the bearing 15, and as was mentioned above the retainer ledges 25 and 26 are aflorded to at least in part restrict waste As will be described herein below, full advantage is taken of the stop columns and the waste ledges in accordance with the present invention to prevent lateral shifting of a lubricator as 20.

One form'of lubricator in which the present invention may be embodied is illustrated at 20 in Fig. 1 as comprising-two identical sections 20A and 20B, and this lubricator except for differences to be described herein below, is fully disclosed in the aforesaid application. The lubricator is merely shown herein as one form in which the present invention may be embodied, and the present invention may be embodied as well in other forms of lubricators for railway journals as will be apparent from the description to follow.

In connection with the lubricator 20', this lubricator includes in each section 20A and 208 a porous pad (not shown) of oil resistant material such as Neoprene rubber or the like, and these pads are encased in a onepiece cover of high rate wicking material. Preferably, the pads encased in the cover 30 embody enlarged passages as described in the aforesaid application which account for a pumping action under certain conditions. The cover 30 is divided by a stitch 31 or the like so that the lubricator 20 can be conveniently folded and inserted in the journal box IE as shown in Fig. 5, and this particular construction it will be observed accounts for a relatively enlarged area of contact between the lubricator and the journal. Preferably, brass grommets or similar hook receiving elements 32 are embodied in the lubricator at opposite ends of the transverse stitch 31, and these elements enable the lubricator to be engaged by a packing hook for adjustment of the lubricator within the journal box or easy removal of the lubricator from the journal box.

As shown particularly in Fig. 4, free ends of the cover 30 are spliced together by staples or the like to afford end flaps 35, and these end flaps 35 constitute portions of the lubricator to which retainers are effixed as'will be described herein below. It will be appreciated of course that end flaps as 35 on the lubricator 20 are merely illustrative of end portions of the lubricator to which the retainers are to be aflixed, and that resort may be had as well to different end extensions of a lubricator for this purpose, especially in those instances where the present invention is embodied in lubricators of entirely different construction than that used herein for purposes of disclosure.

Under the present invention, rigid retainers are provided at each end of the railway journal lubricator that cooperate with the stop columns and the waste ledges in a particular manner. Such retainer may either be in the form of a solid plate or a wire having substantially the same peripheral construction as the solid plate, and the solid plate form of the present invention will first be described in connection with Figs. 1 and 5.

As shown in Fig. 1, retainers generally indicated at 40 and 40 are alforded at opposite ends of the lubricator 20, and inasmuch as these retainers are identical both will be described simultaneously. Thus, each retainer includes rigid plate means of fiberboard or the like aifording at the outer ends thereof spaced apart ear members 41 and 42 having rounded outer ends 41 and 42E. These ears include inner edges 43 and 44 connected at their base or inner ends by a base member having a straight lateral edge 51. As best shown in Fig. 4, the ears 41 and 42 are arcuate, and the curvature is such that the ears 41 and 42 are bowed or bent in the direction of the upper face of the cover 30, that is, the face of the cover of the lubricator that engages the journal as will be readily recognized from Fig. 5. The arrangement is such that the ears 41 and 42 are spaced apart sufliciently so that the inneredges 43 and 44 thereof will embrace the opposite front and rear end sides of the stop columns 21 and 22, that is, the ears 41 and 42 will embrace the ends of the stop columns that are aligned in the direction of the journal axis, noting that front faces only of the stop columns 21 and 22 are shown in Fig. 5. Under this circumstance, the edge 51 of the base member 50 of each retainer 40 and 40' will be closely adjacent the curved bottom side of the stop columns 21 and 22 as will be seen in Fig. 5, and this arrangement of course fixes and locks the lubricator 4 20 accurately in the journal box so that the journal is engaged symmetrically by the lubricator 20 and the lubricator 20 at the same time is positioned to obtain the maximum benefit of the depth of lubricant L in the journal box.

The retainers 40 and 40' include identical extensions 53 and 54, Fig. 1, rearward of the base member 50, and these extensions in efIect are extensions of the outer edges of the ears 41 and 42. It will be observed in Fig. 4 that the extensions 53 and 54 are arcuate in a direction opposite that of the ears 41 and 42, and these extensions include substantially L- shaped portions 55 and 56 terminating in leg portions 58 and 59, Figs. 1 and 4, which are generally normal to the extensions 53 and 54, and when the lubricator is disposed in operative position the leg portions 58 and 59 are disposed beneath the lower faces of the waste ledges 25 and 26 as shown in Fig. 5. In other words, the extensions 53 and 54 rearward or inward of the base member 50 are first directed inwardly gradually toward the journal I of the car to clear the inner edges of the waste ledges 2 5 and 26, and then are reversely directed sharply in the opposite direction so as to afford surfaces that are disposed beneath the waste ledges 25 and 26. It will be seen from the foregoing that in accordance'with the present invention the lubricator 20 can be used in a journal box whether or not the journal box is provided with waste ledges 25 and 26. If the journal box has such waste ledges, the angled, L-shaped portions of the retainers will clear the waste ledges so that the ear members 41 and 42 will prevent axial shifting of the lubricator, and at the same time the surfaces 51, and 58 and 59 cooperate to provide a double safeguard against lateral shifting of the lubricator. It may be of further advantage in some instances to form ears projecting forwardly from the surfaces 58 and 59 so as to embrace ends of the waste ledges 25 and 26.

In order that the retainers 40 and 40' can be affixed to ends of the lubricator, which in this instance are represented by the end flaps as 35, Fig. 4, of the cover 30, the extensions of the retainers affording the L- shaped portions 55 and 56 are joined by a flat terminal member 62 which in this instance is a solid extension as will be seen particularly in Fig. 1. The terminal member 62 has substantially the rectangular dimension of the related end flap as 35 and can be conveniently secured to the end flap as 35 by suitable fasteners such as staples 63, Fig. 1. It is further advantageous to enlarge the surface of the retainer as 58-59 affording the surface cooperating with the bottom of the waste ledge. This is conveniently accomplished by a separate plate 65, Figs. 1 and 4, at each end of the lubricator secured to the face of the end flap 35 opposite the affixing member 62. Thus, the plate 65 includes a flat, rectangular portion 66 having a surface 67 afforded by the outer edge thereof disposed'normal to the rectangular portion 66, and the arrangement is such that the surface 67 is substantially co-planar with the surfaces 58 and 59 to represent an extension thereof.

A modified form of the invention is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 as embodied in a continuous wire loop 7 0, and in this form of the invention the wire loop 70 is adapted to surround any selected lubricator with longitudinal tie members 71 and 72 adapted to extend along the longitudinal sides of such selected lubricator. The wire is preferably of ferrous metal, but the term wire is used generically herein as applying to any material capable of being bent or formed to desired shape to afford a relatively rigid part having the peripheral shape of the retainer described above.

At what will constitute ends of the particular lubricator.

selected to be associated with the wire loop 70, the tie elements 71 and 72 are bent inwardly at 73 and then are straightened at 74 to afford anchor elements that are parallel to the ties 71 and 72. The anchor elements 74 are utilized to anchor ends of an afiixing member such as a metal strap 62' or the like which it will be recognized can be stapled or otherwise aflixed to the free outer ends of a lubricator that is to embody the wire loop 70. Thus, the straps 62' serve the purpose of the affixing members 62 described above.

The wire loop 70 in its initial form will of course be nothing more than a straight wire having free ends, and in the course of fabrication the configuration to be described more completely herein below is imparted to such straight form of wire, and the free ends of the wire can be spot welded or otherwise spliced to afford the rigid member shown in Fig. 2. Thus, the end sections of the wire loop 70 embody the peripheral characteristics of the solid plate retainers described above, and these end sections will be described herein below using reference characters similar to the foregoing embodiment.

Thus, each end section in the wire loop retainer 70 is strengthened and rigidified by a strap 62' which defines the portion thereof that is to be secured to the related end of the lubricator. If circumstances permit elimination of a connection element such as a strap 62' the terminal anchor members 74 can be fastened in a suitable manner to the end of the lubricator.

The outer extremities of the retainers, 40M and 40M in this instance, are represented by spaced apart ears 41M and 42M having rounded outer ends 41EM and 4213M. The inner edges 43M and 44M of the ears 41M and 42M are spaced apart sufiiciently to embrace the stop columns as 21 and 22 of the journal box JB, and these cars are interconnected by a wire base member 50M affording an edge 51M adapted to be disposed beneath the lower edge of a stop column as 21 or 22. The retainers 40M and 40M include extensions 53M and 54M rearward of the base member 50M, and as shown in Fig. 3, the ears 41M and 42M are arcuate in the fashion of the ears 41 and 42 described above. Likewise, the extensions 53M and 54M are slightly arcuate in the fashion described above for the extensions 53 and 54 so as to be directed inwardly with respect to waste ledges of a journal box as described above to clear the waste ledges.

The extensions 53M and 54M include angled or L- shaped portions 55M and 56M each including a leg as 58M and 59M generally normal to the extensions 53M and 54M adapted to be disposed beneath a waste ledge of the journal box as will be apparent from Fig. A of the drawing. The inner ends of the legs 58M and 59M merge into the anchor elements 74 described above which represent the terminal members of the retainers 40M and 40M adapted to be afiixed to the corresponding ends of the selected lubricator, either directly as was mentioned or indirectly by a strap as 62'.

The retainers of wire form shown in Figs. 2 and 3 need not include elongated tie elements 71 and 72 except where it is of advantage to use such tie elements extended along the opposed longitudinal sides of the lubricator. Thus, referring to Fig. 6, a further modified form of the invention is illustrated as embodied in a wire form of retainer 40MF illustrated as afiixed to one end of the lubricator such as the lubricator 20 described above, and of course a like retainer would be affixed to the opposite end of the lubricator. The retainer 40MF is identical to either retainer 40M or 40M described above, and in Fig. 6 one method of attachment to the lubricator is illustrated as accomplished by staples 75 passed through the strap 62 and the free end portions of the lubricator 20 represented by the flap portion 35 of the cover 30. As shown in detail in this instance, the strap 62' may include eyes 62B at the opposite ends thereof through which the terminal members 74 of the wire retainer are passed, and this, it should be noted, is the way in which the straps, 62, Fig. 2, are coupled to the wire loop 70. It will be further observed that the free ends of the wire aflording the retainer 40MF may be conveniently joined by a spot weld SW, and a similar method can be used for joining the free ends of the wire loop 70 at a desired point. As shown in Fig. 5A, the retainer 40MF cooperates with the stop column and the associated waste ledge of the journal box in substantially the same manner as described above in connection with the retainers 40 and 40'. The solid plate retainers are preferred, however, since there is little likelihood of distortion by even the severest motion of the car.

Hence, while we have illustrated and described preferred embodiments of our invention it is to be understood that these are capable of variation and modification, and we therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail ourselves of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a railway journal box wherein a car axle is supported for rotation by a segmental journal bearing having end lugs spaced inward of the side walls of the journal box and wherein the journal box is provided with stop columns engageable with said lugs of the bearing: a railway journallubricator of the kind described disposed in the journal box in the space between the lower part of the journal and the bottom of the journal box, said lubricator including at least one absorbent pad having a wicking cover, and a lubricator retainer affixed to the cover at each end of the lubricator and each such lubricator retainer comprising: rigid means afiording an ear engageable with one of the front and rear faces of a related one of the stop columns, said ear having an upper end disposed in a generally vertical plane and located in the space between the related bearing lug and the related side wall of the journal box, said ear below the upper end thereof terminating at a horizontal base member having an elongated edge facing toward said upper end of said ear and disposed immediately below the related stop column to be engageable with the bottom of such related stop column, said rigid means having an extension below said base member extending downward beyond such a stop column and bending inward toward said journal and away from the related side wall of the journal box, said extension then being bent in the opposite direction away from the journal and toward said related side of the journal box to afford a leg portion spaced well below said stop column, and said extension below said leg portion including a terminal member afiixed to an end of said lubricator cover.

2. The arrangement according to claim 1 wherein the rigid means aifording each retainer is a solid one-piece non-metallic plate.

3. The arrangement according to claim 2 wherein a second one-piece plate is associated with each retainer, each of said second plates being secured to the related end of the lubricator cover in spaced parallel relation to the related one of the terminal members and having an edge aligned with theleg portion of said related terminal member.

Armstrong Jan. 16, 1951 Korn July 3, 1951

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