US792858A

US792858A - Grease-cup.

Info

Publication number: US792858A
Application number: US18888504A
Authority: US
Inventors: William E S Strong; Carl I Overton; Gustav C Schoenborn
Original assignee: WINKLEY Co
Current assignee: WINKLEY Co
Priority date: 1904-01-13
Filing date: 1904-01-13
Publication date: 1905-06-20
Anticipated expiration: 1922-06-20

Description

No. 792,858. PATENTED JUNE 20, 1905. W. E. S. STRONG, G. I. OVERTON & G. G. SGHOBNBORN.

GREASE CUP.

APPLICATION FILED 11111.13. 1904.

m 'zeasss.

UNTTED STATES l/VILLIAM E. S. STRONG, OF

AND GUSTAV C. SCHOENBORN. OF

ORS TO THE WVINKLEY COMPANY,

CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

Patented June 20, 1905.

PATENT Fries.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AND CARL I. OVERTON GREASE-CUP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 792,858, dated June 20, 1905.

Application filed January 13,

To roll. III/1.0177. it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM E. S. STRONG, a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, and CARL I. Ovnn'ron 5 and GUs'rAv C. SCIIOENBORN, residents of Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, all citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grease-Cups, of which the I following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

his invention relates to improvements in that class of grease and oil cups and similar devices having a contractible reservoir from which the lubricant is forced out from time to time, as required, by screwing down a cap or cover arranged to contract the interior space.

This improvement is specially suited for use on motor vehicles and for similar uses in which the movable cap or cover is liable to be unscrewed and lost by the shaking or jarring movements incident to its use.

The object of this invention is to provide means for avoiding this liability, while permitting the cover or reservoir to be easily screwed down and, although by a greater effort, to be unscrewed again to refill with grease.

Although this invention is applicable to many forms of devices, it is herein shown as applied to a common form of grease-cup.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a side view of theimproved grease-cup, shown partly in section, taken through its longitudinal center.

Fig. 2 is a plan View in section, taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, the reservoir or cover being omitted. Fig. 3 is a side view of the base portion of the cap, showing the screw-thread- 4 ed exterior. Fig. iis a plan view in section, taken in the plane of the top of the packingring, showing a modification of that packingring and the means for keeping it in place.

The reservoir 11, which contains the grease,

is threaded on the inside to receive the base 12, which thus confines the grease within the 31, and the washe tegral piece to fit t 1904. Serial No- 188,885

reservoir and permits its escape only through the hole 13, provided for that purpose. hexagon portion 16 and a threaded portion 17 provide for securing the cup in its desired 5 place. An occasional forward turn of the reservoir 11 screws it down and keepsthe grease crowded down into the hole 13, ready to be absorbed as fast as wanted. The threaded collar 14 of the base supports the packingring 31 and a shoulder above that supports the washer 21, the latter serving to keep the ring 31 down on its seat and being itself held in place by the riveting or spinning over of the base-top at 15. The collar 14, the ring r 21 are threaded as an inhe inside thread of the reservoir 11, and thus each forms a portion of the threaded joint.

The packing-ring 31, which may be of metal, vegetable fiber, or any other suitable material, is preferably of rectangular cross-section, filling the space between the collar 14 and the washer 21 and is cut through at 32, thus permitting it to expand and contract. It is loosely secured to the base 12 by the retaining-pins 33 and 3 1, appurtenant to the base. The holes in the ring through which the

pins

33 and 34 project are so placed and proportioned that the pin 33 prevents the cor- 7 5 nor 36 and the adjacent portion of the ring from springing outside of the circle of the nominal diameter, so that that corner fits the interior threaded wall of the reservoir or cover 11 without pressing outwardly against it with any degree of retarding friction, whereas the remaining portion of the ring terminating at the corner 35 is free to spring outwardly against the interior wall of the reservoir, the pin 34 serving to prevent an undue amount of expansion during the backward movement of the reservoir. The cut 32 is preferably inclined in a tangential relation to the ring to facilitate being closed by the contracting movement, the arrangement and relation of the parts shown in the figures being suited for a right-handed thread.

The tendency of the ring to expand is preferably imparted by making it of slightly larger diameter, so that the screwing on of the cap or reservoir will contract it, this contraction serving also to practically close the cut 32, and thus prevent the leaking of the grease, the width of the cut 32 being adapted to the movement of contraction. In Figs. 2 and 4 the ring is shown in its expanded condition, whereas in Figs. 1 and 3 the ring is shown in its contracted condition, conforming to the size of the threaded collar 14 and washer 21. The threading of the ring is preferably done while in position on the base, as shown in Fig. 3, since this method better insures a good-fitting joint and insures more perfect coincidence with the spiral of the adjacent threads of the collar 14 and the washer 21.

The tendency of the contracted ring to expand against and around the interior wall of the reservoir 11 causes friction between the ring and that wall, so that the movement of rotating the reservoir in either direction upon the thread tends to carry the ring with it. The

pins

34 and 33 prevent the ring from rotating, at least beyond a limited extent, while permitting the expansion of all portions of the ring, excepting that adjacent to the pin 33. When the reservoir is turned in the direction of the arrow 38, its frictional contact with the ring tends to contract the ring, and hence the resistance is only that due to the resiliency of the ring; but when the reservoir is turned in the direction of the arrow 39 to unscrew the cover the friction between the free end of the ring and the interior wall of the reservoir tends to expand the ring, thereby greatly increasing the frictional resistance to the turning movement over that offered by the mere resiliency of the ring. This resistance is not great enough to be of any inconvenience in unscrewing the reservoir, but is sufficient to prevent its jarring loose through the vibrations of the mechanism to which it may be attached. Thus the ring serves as a species of frictional ratchet, imposing only a moderate amount of resistance to the screwing down of the reservoir, but offering a greatly increased resistance to the backward turning of the reservoir, thus preventing it from beingunintentionally unscrewed by any jarring or shaking movements incident to its use. Moreover, the tendency to expand takes up the wear on the thread, thus keeping the parts in satisfactory working order even after hard and continued use.

As a means of further reducing the liability of the reservoir to become unscrewed by the jarring or shaking of the vehicle or the mechanism upon which it is used the reservoir 11 is fitted somewhat loosely upon the collar 14 and washer 21, and the ring 31 is also fitted to turn freely in its seat to a limited extent, permitted by making the

pins

33 and 34 slightly smaller than their respective holes in the ring. This limited extent of free movement enables the reservoir and its ring to absorb practically all the vibrations, which otherwise might tend to move the reservoir with relation to the ring, and thus screw down or unscrew the reservoir. Moreover, this limited amount of free rotative movement of the ring with the reservoir carries the threads of the ring slightly out of lead with the threads of the collar 14 and washer 21 when moved from the relative position in which they were threaded. When, as is preferably the case, the parts are threaded with a die, with the ring 31 in position, as shown in Fig. 3, the ring will be rotated to the forward limit of its position by the die while being cut, and hence will be in proper lead when in this position. Similarly the forward turning of the cover 11 will carry it to this forward-limit position, and, being in correct lead at this position, will offer the least resistance to the forward screwing movement of the cover; but the backward turning of the cover will carry the threads of the ring out of lead with the threads of the collar 14 and the washer 21, and thus increase the resistance to that backward movement in addition to the increased resistance caused by the expanding of the ring hereinbefore described.

The size and position of the pin 34 is such as to prevent such an amount of expansion of the free portion of the ring as would prevent the reservoir from being unscrewed when it is desired to open and refill the cup.

It is not an essential feature of this invention that the exterior of the packing-ring be threaded to form apart of the threaded joint, since it may be used in connection with a plain or unthreaded portion of the exterior wall of a cup. The tendency to contract the ring by turning the cover or reservoir in one direction and to expand the ring by turning it in the other direction would be present, although in a somewhat less degree in such a plain or unthreaded ring and cover. It is obvious also that the arrangement herein shown may be reversed or inverted, the inverted reservoir 11 being provided with the threaded stem for attachment to the bearing and the collar 14, with its packing-ring 31 and washer 21, being screwed down inside of the reservoir to force grease therefrom; but the arrangement herein shown and described is preferred, since it is more efi ective in operation and offers less opportunity for the lodgment of dirt.

In the modified construction shown in Figs. 3 and 4 the ring 41 is held in place on the base 12 by the notch 25, which receives two

pro jections

42 and 43, formed at the ends of the ring 41 on the opposite sides of the cut 44. When the ring is of this form, it is made or sprung so that it will assume the required shape with the corner 46 projecting outwardly beyond the corner 45 when the piece is at rest. It may then be dropped into place and the Lil washer 21 secured above it, after which the threading operation may take place, as before described.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 2 one or both of the apertures of the ring 31, through which the

pins

33 and 34 project, may be slotted or elongated in suitable directions for permitting or con'ipelling the required movements of the respective ends of the ring due to contraction and expansion, the slot for the pin 34 being in that case inclined to coincide with the outward movement of the ring as it expands. In some cases where the dimensions or proportions and the resiliency of the ring can be made to conform closely to the requirements the pin Set and its associated aperture or slot can be dispensed with; but it is pref erable to regulate and limit the contracting and expanding action of the ring substantially as shown herein, and for economy of manufacture it is preferable to make the apertures for the

pins

33 and 34 circular instead of elongated, since they can thus be made by a drill or reamer.

The terms outward, inward, expanding, contracting, and similar terms denoting position or movement are herein used in their relative and not necessarily in their absolute sense, inasmuch as the parts or arrangements may be reversed, inverted, or transposed in many ways to suit various conditions of service. For example, for some purposes the threaded packing-ring may be appurtenant to and carried by the reservoir or screw-down portion of the cup, with the threads upon its interior instead of its exterior, in which case the ring should be made self-contracting instead of self-expanding, as is herein shown and described. It should also be observed that this self-adjusting ring is made to serve the two functions of forming the packing in the screw-down joint to prevent the grease from being forced out from that joint and of constituting a friction detent device to retain the respective parts in the positions to which they may be moved, and particularly to prevent unscrewing or backward movement of the screw-down or movable part. For the performance of this latter function alone it is not essential that the ring should be threaded or form any part of the threaded joint, since it could with a fair degree of efficiency be employed in a plain or unthreaded portion of the joint; but for greatest efliciency, combined with simplicity and cheapness, it is in connection with the particular type of grease-cup herein shown and described preferably adapted to combine both of these functions.

\Ve claim as our invention 1. The combination in an oil or grease cup, of a threaded m ember for contracting the cupspace, and a self-expanding detent-ring eooperating with the said member to prevent backward movement while permitting continued forward movement thereof.

2. The combination in an oil or grease cup, of a screw-down member for contracting the cu p-space,and a self-expanding thread ed packing-ring interposed in the threaded joint of the screw-down member, to preventbackward 4. The combination in an oil or grease cup,

of two members threaded to screw together to contract the cup-space, and a self-expanding contractible detent-ring interposed in the joint between the two members, whereby the ring is expanded by the turning movement which diminishes the cup-space, and contracted by the turning movement which increases the cup-space.

I 5. The combination in an oil or grease cup, of two members threaded to screw together to contract the cup-space, a resilient self-expanding threaded packing and detent ring interposed in the threaded joint between the two members, whereby the ring is expanded by the turning movement which diminishes the cup-space and contracted by the turning movement which increases the cup-space.

6. The combination with an oil or grease cup, of an annular expansible packing-ring cut through one side, and means for holding the adjacent cut ends to enable them to expand outwardly to different radial distances.

7. The combination with an oil or grease cup, of an annular expansible packing-ring cut through at one side, and means appurtenant to the cup for supporting the ring on the cup with one of its out ends free to expand outwardly beyond the other cut end.

8. The combination in an oil or grease cup, of two members mounted to rotate, one within the other, an annular expansible packingring cut through at one side, and interposed in the joint between the two members, and means for sustaining the ring to permit one of its out ends to expand outwardly beyond the other end.

9. The combination in an oil or grease cup, of two members threaded to screw one within the other,an expansible packing-ring threaded upon its periphery and cut through at one side and mounted on one of the members in the threaded joint between the two members, and means for limiting the movement of the ring relative to the member on which it is mounted while permitting one of its cut ends to expand outwardly beyond the other end.

10. The combination in an oil or grease cup, of a reservoir member, a member adapted to screw within the reservoir and contract its space, an expansible packing-ring interposed in the threaded joint between the two members, having its periphery threaded, and being cut through at one side to permit the adjacent ends to expand separately, and means for limiting the expansion of one end to the approximate diameter of the threaded joint while permitting the further expansion of the other end.

11. The combination in an oil or grease cup, of a base member and a cover member fitted together with a screw-joint, an expansible packing-ring seated in the inner member and provided with a peripheral screw-thread form ing a part of the joint, means for securing the ring to limit its rotation in its seat while permitting the expansion of one end of the ring to a greater radius than the other.

12. The combination in an oil or grease cup, of a reservoir member and another member fitted thereto with a screw-joint, an expansible packing-ring cut through at one side, and interposed in the joint, and having a threaded portion forming part of said joint, means for limiting the rotation of the ring in its seat while leaving one of the cut ends of the ring free to expand outwardly against the threads of the other member, whereby the free portion of the ring is contracted when the members are screwed in one direction, and expanded by screwing in the opposite direction.

13. The combination in an oil or grease cup, of a reservoir member, and another member fitted thereto with a screw-joint for contracting the reservoir-space, an expausible ring cut through at one side and seated upon one of the members with its peripheral surface threaded to form a part of the threaded joint between the two members, and means for securing the ring in its seat to permit a limited amount of free rotative movement therein, whereby the vibrations which would tend to unscrew the joints are absorbed by the free movement.

1 1. The combination in a grease or oil cup, of two members screwed one within the other, an expansible packing-ring with its periphery threaded to form a part of the threaded joint between the two members, one side of the ring being cut through in a tangential relation, and means for seating the ring upon one of the members with the end of the ring outside of the tangential cut free to spring outwardly away from the other end.

15; The combination in an oil or grease cup, of a base member and a cover member fitted together with a threaded joint, a self-expansible packing-ring seated on the base member and having its periphery threaded to form a part of its threaded joint, and a Washer also threaded upon its periphery'to form a part of the said threaded joint, and serving to confine the packing-ring against longitudinal movement while permitting rotative movement.

16. The combination in an oil or grease cup, of two members fitted together with a screwjoint, an expansible packing-ring cut through at one side and interposed in the joint, and having a threaded portion formingpart of said joint, and pins appurtenant to the ring-seat engaging with apertures in the ring adjacent to and on opposite sides of the separating-cut, the ring being loose upon said pins to permit a limited amount of rotative and expanding movement of the ring.

Signed at Hartford, Connecticut, this 5th day of January, 1904:.

WILLIAM E. S. STRONG. CARL I. OVERTON. GUSTAV C. SCHOENBORN.

Witnesses:

WM. H. Homes, JAs. WV. GREEN.