US2939546A - Lubrication of rails - Google Patents

Description

June 7, 1960 A. HARDIE 2,939,546

' LUBRICATION OF RAILS Filed March 17, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 By I W A ttorne ys June 7, 1960 A. HARDIE LUBRICATION 0F RAILS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 17, 1959 In venlor June 7, 1960 Filed March 17, 1959 A. HARDIE 2,939,546

LUBRICATION OF RAILS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 y a m A Home June 7, 1960 A. HARDIE LUBRICATION OF RAILS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 17, 1959 Inventor By M r 2,939,546 LUBRICATION F RAILS 2,939,546 I Patented June 7, 1960 surface of a rail, means for mounting said vessel on a crane with its axis of rotation generally vertical or inclined from the vertical and with said lubricant conveying roller capable of engaging the rail on which the crane is .7 5 Alexander I-Iardie,Stockton-on-Tees, England, asslgnor to ,The Power-Gas Corporation Limited, Stockton-on- Tees, England Filed Mar. 17, 1959, Ser. No. 199,sss Claims priority, application Great Britain Mar. 18, 1958 a 6 Claims. c1. 184-3) This invention relates to the lubrication of rails which maybe subjectedLtoheavy loads, such as crane rails. 7

Rails and wheels of largetravelling'cranes are, during long travel movement, always subjected'to lateral pressures which lead to considerable wear of rail and wheel flanges, resulting in lengthy and costly out-of-s'ervice periods of the crane necessitated by the carrying out of repairs. i .1 By-lubricatirig therails with a lubricating oil dry friction'betweenthe rail and wheel flanges can be eliminated anfcl'wcar, and tear of ,the rail and' wheel flanges consequently greatly reduced so that out-of-service periods of the crane" are considerably curtailed or avoided.- I

- In a known method of crane rail lubrication, a lubricat ing oil pump is drivenfautomatically by the long travel of the crane, that is to say the pump operates only when thecra'ne is travelling along the rails, which pump is connectedby flexible piping to two crane rail applicators, one per rail. Duringtravel of the crane the applicator applies the lubricant to the rail; The base plate of the applicator is mounted on an end of the crane end-carriage structure, below the buffer, on the centre-line of the rail. Attached to each base plate are two adjustable penduli each carrying a feltroller'. Pressed against the rail flanges by their own weight and assisted by a tension spring, these felt -rollers roll along the rail flanges, leaving a very thinoil film thereon which isconstantly renewed. The lubricantis delivered to each applicator by the oil pump. v

According to the present invention, a method of lubricating'a desired portion of a rail for a travelling crane comprises rotationally sensing linear movement of the oarriedand of imparting rotation to the vessel in response tomotion of the crane along the rail, a flow passage between the base of the vessel and said roller for the flow of lubricant from within the vessel to said roller, and means responsive to rotation of the vessel about its axis of rotation for causing opening of said flow passage when the vessel is rotated;

Said means for causing opening of said flow passage may comprise avalve closure member, which normally rests on a seat't'o close the entrance to said flow passage, said seat having its axis eccentric to the axis of rotation of the vessel such that centrifugal action on rotation of the vessel causes the valve closure member to move off its seat'to open said flow passage.

The base of said vessel containing the lubricant is preferably shaped as an inverted cone or a surface generated by the revolution of a curve about an axis, ap-

proximating to an inverted cone, with the axis of the inverted cone or said surface eccentric to the axis of rotation of the vessel. An opening in the base of the vessel for, said flow passage is concentric with the axis of the inverted cone or said surface and said means responsive crane along the rail by frictional contact therewith and controlling the flow of a lubricant, such" as lubricating oil,' under gravity from'a supply in response to said'rotationally fsensed movement 'by causing said rotationally sensed movement to ,open by centrifugal action a flow th from said supplytofa desired portion .of a wearsustaining surface'ofltherail. v "According to ,oneaspect of 'thisinvention, a method 'of lubr-icating-arailffor' a travelling crane-comprises establishing" on the crane :asu'pply' of a lubricant, such as permit lubricant to flow from the supply in thepresence for receiving lubricant, fa lubricant conveying roller contothe base ofthe vesselfor engagement with and applying lubricant to a desired portion of a side *onflange Jubric'ating o'il, in close proximity to the path of a rail relatively thereto, -establishing a flow path between said supply 'and an upper portion of a wear-sustaining surface of the rail, rotationally 'sensing movement of the-crane along the rail byfrictional contact therewith and controlling the flow of lubricant under gravity from the supply in response to said rotationally sensed movement to to rotation of the vessel about its axis of rotation may consist of a ball-shaped member which is automatically seated by its own weight'on said opening when the crane is stationary. When the crane is in long travel motion, the lubricant-containing vessel is caused to rotate about its axis of rotation and resultant centrifugal force causes the ball-shaped member to ride up the inverted cone or said surface, thus uncovering said opening.-

The lubricant-containing vesselforms part of an ap- .plicator which may be in the form of a pendulum of which one end is pivoted to the end carriage of the crane and the other end carriesssaid lubricant conveying roller which presses against the rail, and the longitudinal axis of which is also the axis of rotation of said lubricant containing vessel. The applicator may, however, be

mounted on the crane structure by some other means such as, for :example, an inclined slideway. 7 In a preferred apparatus the vessel, containing the lubricant, may consist of a cylindrical shell'co-axial with the longitudinal axis of the pendulum, closed at its top by adet'achably fastened cover plate and at its base by a detachably fastened piece which detachably carries said roller, The topcover plate of the said vessel may be integral with or rigidly fastened to a spindle rotatable inside a bearing box rigidly attached to a coupling member pivoted to, the endcar'riage of a crane. The base piece of the said vessel is shaped to form the base of the vessel and is provided with an opening through which lubricant can pass to the said roller.

The said roller may consist of a number of circular felt discs concentric with the longitudinal axis of the pendulum and held together and detachably fastened, for

example, by screwed studs or bolts, to saidbase piece,

the discs being each provided with a hole'cencentric with the openingin the base piece and radial grooves on their 'mating surfaces communicating with the said hole, said grooves forming passages or ducts through which the lubricant is forced, by'centrifugal force, from the said hole 'to the outer edge of the roller.

the pendulum member pivoted to the end carriage and the said passage connected :by'flexible pipe to a lubricant tank mounted on the long travel frame of the crane and an- \1 other passage provided inside the rotatable spindle and top cover plate of the said vessel, so that lubricant "can pass from the said lubricanttank to the said vessel, the vessel and bearing box being maintained filled'with the lubricant. v v g, n H

Two applicators are.preferably provided for achait opposite sides of the rail and being so, {oppositely inclined. Both applicators may be attachedt'o'th'e s i end of the carriage, or one "applicator may be attached to one end of the carriage ajud'the other to the opposite end.

Any lateral movement of theerane chassis relativeto the rails is compensated for by'the pendtiu Biy' this' means the rollers apply the lu-bricant'only-to theside's of the rails and never to the'head of the rails. p I

An advantage of the methb'd'and apparatus of 'crane rail lubricationaccording't'o thepresentinvention is that it does not need a-purnp'for dlivermg'lubricant to'e'ach applicator. I h I The invention'will be further deseribefd'wit'h reference to the accompanying drawings which'illustrate one embodiment of the invention, by way of example only, and in which: g j V ,7 I

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation ofa lubricant applicator with its roller shown pressed against acrane'rail, v

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic elevation showingthe'applicator attached to aj'crane end-'carriage,

Fig. 3 corresponds to the upper "part of"Fig'. 1 a nd shovvsau alternative arrangement for the supply oflubricant to the applicator, and p p p p I Figs. 4 and Sjar'e" detail views in'section' showing alternative forms of the base piece ofthe-applicator H V In the drawings similar parts are designated by the same reference numerals, l w

Referring first more panticularlyto 'Fig. 1, the applicator comprises a coupling member or lugjl having a bearing passage2 a base threaded to screw into a cylindrical bearing box 3 which has a spindle 4 joui-nalled therein by ball be'aringse fitted between the bearing box and the spindle. The upper end of the spindle 4 is threaded to receive locating nuts 5 whilst its lower end is integral ."with a cover plate 7 whichhas 'a'lowerreduced portion threaded to screw into thetop end 'ofa cylindrical vessel 8. A base piece 9 has anexte'rnal 'wall threaded to screw into' the bottom end 'of the cylindrical vessel 8 and is shaped to for'm the'base thereof. The upper surface of base ieces is in the-form of an inverted conehaving its axis B-B eccentiic'tothe longitudinal axis A-A of the spindle 4 and so of'the vessel 8, which vessel is adapted'to'rotate about axis AA"amd to swing about bearing passage 2'. Extending through the base piece is a circular passagelO which is concentric with the axis BB. A soft metal joint ring 11 is interposed between the bottom end of the vessel 8 and the base piece 9. A ball-shaped member 12 is providedto seat on and cover the top end of passage 10. A lubricant-applying roller 13 is secured between the underside of the base piece 9 and a back plate 14 by means of screwed'studs 15. The screwed studs 15'engage'in screw-tappedlholes spaced around a bot'toin fla'nge 9a 'of base piece 9,the studs passing through respective distance sleeves 16 which extend through aligned holes in a number of'eireular discs 13a, 13b, 13c and 13d 'of felt 'o'r'other like or equivalent material which 7 constitute said lubricant-applying roller 13. It 'will be noted that the oppositeendsbf on which the crane travels, the applieatdrs res ingaga nn the distance sleeves 1 6 abut the base piee sand ck plate 14, thus preventing unwanted compression discs 1312-1311 when the'studs'ISaretightened, c'irof the spindle '4 and, with the exception of the eular discs i3al 3d' are concentric the A -A ttom one 13d,a;re eac'h providdwith ahole 17 eoneentrie with the passage in the base piece' 9. The roller discs "are alsoprovidediwithradial grooves (not shown) in their mating surfaces and communicating holes 17. The top cover plate 7 of the vessel 8 is pro- -vid'ed'with a filling connection or passage 18'closeableby of a rail 21 under the weight of the pendulum. A

flanged-wheel 22 of the crane is shown located on the rail. p

The vessel 8 is filled with lubricating oil through the connection 18, the oil level'when the vessel is full being indicated by the line 23 in Fig. 1. When the crane is stationary the ball-shaped member 12 will be seated by its own weight on the tope'nd-of the passage 10, effectively covering this opening so that no oil can pass to the roller 13. When the craneis in longtravel motion, the roller 13 causes the vessel 8 to rotate about the axis AA and resultant centrifugal force causes the ball-shaped member 12 to travel up the surface of the inverted cone, thus uncovering the top opening ofpassa'ge 10 andallowin g-oilto pass, via the aligned holes 17 and radial grooves in the component discs, to the periphery of the '.roller 13 and so to the side of the rail 21. Thus, the fiow of oil from the vessel 8 is elfectedpartly by gravity andpartly by capillarity, and it will be obvious that the rate of flow will belargely determined, interalia, by the size'of the passages 10, 17 and the radial grooves in the roller discs 13a-132i, as well as by the nature of the material used forthese discs. v I

"When the oillevel 23in'the vessel .8 has dropped to nearthe commencement of the inverted conical base the vessel is refilled with oil through the connection 19 Referring now to the modified arrangement of Fig. 3, the coupling member 1 is drilled to, provide apassag'e 23 concentricwith the'axis AA of the'spindle 4 and communicat'ing with the inside of the bearing box 3, and a passage 24'at right angles to and'communicating with the said passage 23 and with a pipe union connection 25 detachably secured to the member 1. Thepipe union connection 25 is connected to a flexiblepipe 2-6 which is connected to the bottom of an oil supply tank'(not shown) mounted on the long travel frameof the crane. The spindle 4 and integral cover plate 7 are drilled to provide an axial passage 27 which'comm'unicates at the top with the interior of the bearing box 3 and at the bottom' with the interior of the'vessel 8. 'In this arrangement, lubricating oil passes from the said oil tank "mounted on the crane through the flexible pipe 26 and " communicatingpassages 24 and 23 to the interior of the bearing box 3 and from there through the spindle pas- .sage 27 to the vessel 8. It will be appreciated that since the bearingbox 3 and vessel "8 are maintained filled with oil, the ball bearings '6 are continuously lubricated.

7 An oil sealing ring'28, against which the spindle 4 rotates,

is provided in: the bottom of the bearing box3 and asoft metal joint ring 29 is provided at the joint between the coupling member'l and the top ofthe bearing box '3.

Refer-ring nowto the modifications of 'Fig s.4 and 5,

the base piece 9 is shaped tdform the base of the cylinirerablyeenstrfieted"of metal throughout.

"Two applicators may be suspended on 'a'era'naior tlie like, from a commonr'pivot so that theiespective rollers 13 press against-oppos ite sides Yof the rail l B othr a'pplieators maybeattached to the same endof the/carriag of the crane or one applicator may be attached to one end and the other to the opposite end.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for applying a lubricant to a desired portion of a crane-supporting rail which can be subjected to heavy loads, comprising a rotatable vessel for receiving a lubricant, a lubricant conveying roller connected to the base of the vessel for engagement with and applying lubricant to a desired portion of a side surface of a rail, means for mounting said vessel on a crane with its axis of rotation generally vertical and with said lubricant conveying roller capable of engaging the side surface of the rail on which the crane is carried and of imparting rotation to the vessel in response to motion of the crane along the rail, a flow passage between the base of the vessel and said roller for the flow of lubricant from within the vessel to said roller, said flow passage extending in a direction substantially parallel to the axis of rotation and terminating at its upper end in a valve seat having its axis eccentric to said axis of rotation, and a valve closure member co-operating with said valve seat and which normally rests upon said seat to close said flow passage and which is moved ofli said seat by centrifugal action upon rotation of said vessel about said axis of rotation.

2. Apparatus for applying a lubricant to a desired portion of a crane rail which can be subjected to heavy loads, comprising a rotatable vessel for receiving a lubricant, a lubricant conveying roller connected to the base of the vessel for engagement with and applying lubricant to a desired portion of a side or flange surface of a rail, means for mounting said vessel on a crane with its axis of rotation generally vertical or inclined from the vertical and with said lubricant conveying roller capable of engaging the rail on which the crane is carried and of imparting rotation to the vessel in response to motion of the crane along the rail, said vessel having a generally cylindrical internal surface and a base member presenting interiorly of said vessel a quasi-conical surface of whiclr generally vertical direction and terminating at its upper end substantially at the apex of said quasi-conical surface, and a ball shaped element co-operating with said base member and disposed within said vessel to rest substantially at the apex of said quasi-conical surface when said vessel is not rotating to close said flow passage and to be displaced under centrifugal action to open said flow passage when said vessel is rotating.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said quasiconical surface is convex.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said quasi-conical surface is concave.

5. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said quasiconical surface is generated by the revolution of a curve about an axis eccentric to the axis of rotation of the vessel.

6. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said flow passage has at its upper end a valve seat substantially I co-axial with the axis of the quasi-conical surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent

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