US1633763A - Lubricator - Google Patents

Description

June 28 1927. 1,633,763

C. A. CAMPBELL LUBRIGATOR Filed June 6, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I 3141mm M d.

June 28 1927 c. A. CAMPBELL LUBRICATOR Filed June 6, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 attozmql Patented June 28, 1927.

UNITED.

CHARLES A. CAMPBELL; or WATERTOWN, YAIRILBRYAKE COMPANY, ac

B IcAroR.

A Application filed June 6,

particularly to lubricators intended foruse on the cylinders of cross compound airv pumps such as are used to charge the main,

reservoirs of railway air brake systems.

One feature of the invention is a mode of.

connecting a single lubricator so that it will feed oil to both the high and low pressure air cylinders. A further feature of theKin-:

vention is the connection of the lubricator in such manner that a definitely greater quantity of oil is fed to the high pressure cylinder than to the low pressurecylinder, the rate of feed to both cylinders beingun-- der the control of the loW pressure cylinder The lubricator proper is of the general type described and claimed in the patent to; Bickel and Minnier, No. 1,446,412, February 20, 1923, but includes certain: improvementswhich lead to" a'slightly changed cycle of operation and reduce the danger of clogging of the oil port. This feature of theinv ention is generally applicable to lubricatorsfor compressors of the reciprocating type.

tion is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in wh1ch:-

Fig. 1 is a'fragmen'tary elevation showing 7 tightly closed by a dome-shaped cap 21, this the lubricator attached to a "cross compound air pump. 7 i

Fig. 2 is a plan view of thelubricator and the supporting bracket formed integrally therewith. w 1

Fig. 3 is a vertical axial section through. the lubricator on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 5, showing on an enlarged scale the arrangement of theoil and air ports for atomizing the oil... 3 9 Fig. 5 is a section on the line :5-5 of Fig. 4.

Referring first to Fig. .1. the high pressure steam cylinder is indicated at 6 and the low pressure air cylinder at 7. The pistons in these two cylinders are connected as-usual by a piston rod 8. Similarly, the low pressure steam cylinder-.9 is connected to the piston of the high pressure air cylinder 10 by means of piston rod'11. Y

The body of the lubricator is indicated in this view at 12 and is supported by two lugs or arms 13, shown in Fig. 2, which are bolted tothe lower head of the steam cylinders. The shell 12 has a low pressure cylinder con- This invention, relates to lubricators and- The preferred embodiment of the inventhe piston of by *a horizontal;' port '27. with an upwar 1923. Serial'NoL 643,691.

nee-tion. 14 which is connected by a pipe 15 with agworkmg space ,of' the low pressure 2111 cylinder 7 and a highpressure conneccylinder'lQJPipe connections to the working spaces of-air cylinders are familiar in this art.-;(see, fotexarhple, the Bickel et a1. patent abovereferredio) and. need not he further, explainedherein. I

,-Turning'now to Figs.-3, 4.and 5, the internal construction ofv the 'lubricator "will be explained. 1 The body-=12 of the lubricator includes; a central oil well 'or reservoir 18 and aqsurrounding jacket 'space 19. jacket space 19. isin direct communication tion 16 which, is connected by a pipe 17 with agworkmgspacerof the high pressure air through. a-.p,ort-;20 with the high pressure cylinder connection 116. The purpose-of this 'istoiheatjthe oil in the reservoir 18 by heatconveyed from the high pressure cylinder byairfiowing to -the jacket 19 on the compression strokein-this cylinder. Thus,-some of the heat developed in the compressor. is usefully applied tomai-ntain the oil at aconstant temperature regardless of atmospheric conditions; 5 r

The tOp ofthe reservoir 18 is provided wiithfa threadedopening, which is normally construction 1 being-adopted .to insure the presence of an air space above the oil in the reservoir 18, evenif the reserv0ir-18 be filled to the very} top. While it isnot contemplated that the reservoir-18 willbe filled above the -shoulderr22, the port 23 is formed through thethreaded portionpf the dome 21 adjacent the' sealing shoulder "24 so that, ifthe reservoir 18 is over-filled, the excess oil will escape through the port-23, thuspermitting v to place.-

Tho-1 base horizontal port 25 g which fromthe low pressure connection 14 and merges into a downwardly-extending port The construction cessivecuantitiesto the compressor cylinders by the act of screwing the dome cap '21.

bl the shell n is am-.1 with a leads inwardly 26. The port 26 is connected at a lower level extending port 28. This leads past an upwardly-opening check valve 29 to the port which, as heretofore described, is in direct communication with the high pressure cylinder connection 16. A screw plug 30 and a downwardly-extending stop pin 31 serve to limit the opening movement of the check valve 29 and, when removed, to permit the inspection and removal of the valve ball 29. The screw plug 30 is staked, as shown, to prevent unauthorized removal.

A threaded recess at the bottom of the reservoir 13 receives a shouldered and threaded plug 32 which has an axial port 33 which is directly above the vertical port 26 at its-junction with the horizontal port 25. Fixedly mounted in, and making a tight joint with, the plug 32 is a vertical tube 34 whose bore communicates with the port 33.

Near its upper end, the tube is formed with a peripheral groove or channel 35 and a small air port 36 which leads from the bore of thetube to this peripheral channel.

A cap member 37, fitting over and tightly closing the upper end of the tube 34, carries a depending tube 38 whose internal bore is slightly greater than the outside diameter of the tube 34. The tube 38 surrounds the tube "34 and thus provides a narrow annular port or passage 39 which leads from a point slightly above the bottom of the oil reservoir 18 to the annular groove or channel 35.

The cap member 37 is provided with a port 40 larger than and alined with the port the port 40 ofiering a direct communication from the annular channel 35 to the air space within the dome cap 21.

In the operation of the device, the check valve 29- prevents the high pressures which exist during the compression stroke in the "high pressure air cylinder from entering the port 28. Consequently, these pressure surges merely serve to bring heat to the jacket 19.

On the compression stroke in the low pressure cylinder, however, the air under pressure arriving by the connection 14 passes th'rough'the ports 25 and 33 and the bore of the tube 3 1 to the port 36. The air discharging from the port 36 into the air space within the cap 21 draws oil up from the reservoir 18 through the annular ports 35 and 39 and discharges thisoil in the form of a mist or spray through the port 40. Thus, at each compression stroke of the low pres sure cylinder, the air space beneath the dome 2 11 is fed with a. mixture of air and atomized O1 The effect of this is to keep the air above the oil in the-reservoir constantlv saturated with oil vapor. When too much atomized oil is led to this air, i. e., more than the air can support in the form of a finely distributed mist, the excess oil will condense on the walls of the dome 21 and drain back into the reservoir so that, in such case, there is no tendency to feed oil in excessive quantit-i-es to the working spaces.

At the beginning of each suction stroke, there is a sharp drop of pressure in the low pressure cylinder, resulting in a sudden back-flow through the ports 40 and 36, tube 34- and ports 33 and 25 to the connection 14. This back-flow ot' the air from the space within the dome 21 results in the discharge of a substantial quantity of oil suspended in the air as a mist. Part of this oil follows the air current to the connection 1 but a larger partpasses downwardinto the vertical port 26because of the momentum of the oil and the sudden change of direction at the ports 33, 25 and 26.

At the end of each working stroke in the high pressure cylinder, i. e., just before the admission of air from the low pressure cylinder takes place, there is a sharp drop et pressure which results in a momentary flow through the ports 26, 27 and 28 past the check valve 29 to the high pressure cylinder connection 16 due to the compression of the air in the low pressure cylinder. This momentary flow carries the oil received by the port 26 the high pressure cylinder The arrangement of the port 26 in a. downward direction and in line'with the port 33 serves as eitective means for insuring the feed of more oil, and in fact approximately twice as much oil, to the high pressure cylinder than to the low pressure cylinder. It is well known that, because of the high tem peratures existing in the high pressure cylinder, and tor other reasons, the high pres sure air cylinder should receive'ioil in approximately tliisproportion relatively to the low pressure cylinderf It will be obvious to those skilled in air brake pump operatiom'and in the operation of other devices where the pump feeds a reservoir whose pressure is subject to wide fluctuations, that, while the terminal pressures of the low pressure cylinder are subto the number of strokes per minute. Conse quently, this invention offers a peculiarly desirable means for regulating the oil how to both cylinders, and a simple and effective mode of proportioning the teed to the two cylindersrso that the high pressurccylindei receives the larger proportion of the oil.-

Ill)

Asstated, the "lubricator is generally applicable-to compressors of the reciprocating type. i l A single cylinder compressor may be fed with oil by connecting a .working space ot the cylinder in' any desirable manner with the pipe connection lat and by plugging pipe connection 16, so that the pressure surges in port 33 will cause thelubricator to feed oil in .the manner described.

While the lubricator is of the general type described and'claimed in the patent to Bickel and Minnier above mentioned, it has certain definite advantages thereover. The annular port 39 is less likely to become clogged than is any small drilled port used to obtain the same calibration. This feature, consequently, is one of practical importance in the operation of devices of this character, it beingremembered that, in air brake service particularly,- infallible operation is highly import-ant. v

The arrangement of the airport 36 also is different. Instead of forming the oil feeding port and the air port on opposite sides of the upstanding tube, so that atomizing action occurs on back-flow to the work ing space, these ports are so arranged that,

on the compression stroke, the air port delivers an aspirating jet which draws up oil and sprays it into the closed air space of the lubricator. The oil atomized on the compression stroke is thereafter withdrawn from the lubricator and fed to the compressor on the ensuing suction stroke.

The difference in size between discharge ports 40, and 36, prevents the lift of the lubricating fluid during the discharge of the air from the space above the oil because air passes through port a much faster than it can escape through small port 86. This insures a pressure in annular groove suflicientto prevent any lift of lubricating fluid by way of annular groove 39.

hat is claimed is 1. The combination of a lubricator of the type in which oil is carried from the lubricator by pressure surges generated in a connected compressor working space; a plurality of compressor working spaces; tubular connections from said lubricator to said working spaces; and check valve means arranged to prevent pressure surges generated in any of said working spaces, except one. from reaching said lubricator through said tubular connections while permitting oil flow in the opposite direction in the intervals between surges.

The combination of a lubricator of the type which is caused to feed oil by fluid pressure surges conveyed to it from the working space of a compressor; two compressor working spaces; a. pressure-conducting connection between said ,lubricator and one of said working spaces, arranged to transmit pressure surges and to convey oil; apressure-conducting connection'between said lubricator and-irthe other of said working spacesyand' a'check valve inthe last named connection, arranged toclose against flow from the working space to the lubricator and to'open to permlt flow from the lubrlcatorto said-working space.

8.- Thecombination of a lubricator of the type inwhich oilis carried from the lubricator "by pressure surges generated in a connected compressor working space; a plu- -ralityof compressor working spaces; tubutubular connections while permitting oil flow in they opposite direction in the intervals between surges, one of said pressurecon'ducting connections beingjbranched oil from another with a sharp change of direction, Iwherehy unequal teed rates of oil th ough such two connections are had.

ablhe' combination of a compressor of the reciprocating type having a high pressure working space and a low pressure work ing space; a lubricator of the type in which fluid pressure surges atomize and convey oil from the lubricator; pressure-conducting connections between said lubricator and said two working spaces; and a check valve in one of said connections arranged to close against flow from the high pressure work.

ing space to the lubricator. I

. 5. The combination of a compressor of the reciprocating type having a high pressure working space and a low pressure working space; a lubricator of the type in which fluid pressure surges atomize and convey oil from the lubricator; a jacket space surrounding said lubricator; pressure-conducting connections between the lubricator and said Working spaces and between the jacket space and said high pressure working space; and a check valve arranged to prevent flow from the high pressure working space to the lubricat-or.

6. The combination of a compressor of the reciprocating type having a high pressure working space and a low pressure Working space; a lubricator of the type in which fluid pressure surges atomize and convey oil from the lubricat-or; a branched pressure-conducting connection between the lubricator and said working spaces, that to the low pressure working space being formed with a pronounced change of direction at the point of branching. whereby oil is fed through the two branches at unequal rates; and a check valve arranged to prevent flow of pressure fluid from the high pressure working space to the lubricator.

7. The combination of a compressor of th reciprocating type having a high pressure working space and a low pressure Working space; a .lubricator of the type in which fluid pressure surges atomize and convey oil from the lubric'ator; a pressure-conducting connection leading downward from the lubricator and thence to the high pressure Working space; a second pressure-conducting connection leading in a generally horizontal direction from a point above the lower'end ot the downward extending portion of said first named connection to the low pressure Working space; and a check valve arranged to prevent flow from the high pressure Work ing space to the lnbricator.

8. The combination of a closed shell adapted to contain oil and a confined body of air; a duct leading from a point below the level of oil to a point above the same, within said shell;a sec-0nd duct arranged to discharge, into the confined air Within said shell in aspirative jet relation with the upper end of said first duct; and means for connecting said second duct with the Working space of a reciprocative compressor.

9. The combination of a closed shell adapted to contain oil and a confined body of air; a tubular member having a discharge port Within said shell above the level oil I therein; a second tubular member surrounding the first and providing an intervening annular duct leading from a point near the bot-tom of said shell and terminating in a port alined with the port of the first tubular member; and means for connecting said first tubular member with the Working space spac and serving to spray oil into said con- 7 fined body of air.

In testimony whereof I have signed my ranie to this specification.

cans. A; CAMPBELL.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 1,633,763. Granted June 28, 1927, to

CHARLES A. CAMPBELL.

it is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 4, line 29 claim 9, after the word "of" insert the word "oil"; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 2nd day of August, A. D. 1927.

M. J. Moore, Seal. Acting Commissioner of Patents.

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