US1680269A - Lubricant container for grease guns - Google Patents

Description

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S. K. WELLMAN ET M.

LUBRICANT'CONTAINER FOR GREASE GUNS 'Filed DBG. 18. 1925 LII/l lNvNToRS raeaaa aeg. 'a taaie.

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VSAMUEL K. WELIJMAN, F CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, AND ALLEN A. GIOlULlD, 01E? @LEW- LAND, GEIQ.

LUBBICANT CONTAINER FOR. GREASE GUN@ Application mea December 1a, 1925. serial no. raise.

rlhe invention relates to an improved form of lubricant container preferably adapted to be inserted like a cartridge in a grease gun ed for use in connection and has to doA particularly with the type of lubricant container or cartridge disclosed in some of its aspects is applicable to containers other than those of the cartridge type.

rIhe chief objects of our invention are cornprehended in the provision of a cartridge like container of the character referred to which is adapted to serve satisfactorily as a container in which the grease can be packed and marketed, which readily can be inserted in a suitable grease gun of the character disclosed in our pending application above referred to, which is adapted to cooperate effectively with the nozzle mechanism of such gun to discharge the grease therefrom, and which linally, is susceptible of being manuactured at very low cost.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a tubular lubricant container havingl an improved piston-like end Wall structure adapted to move Within the tubular side wall of the container under atmospheric pressure as the grease is drawn from the container.

Other objects incidental or ancillary to the foregoing will appear from the following description in which we set :forth in connection with the accompanying drawing the preferred forms or embodiments of our invention.

lin the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a sidev elevation of a cartridge constituting one embodiment of our invention, some of 'the cartridge being broken away to show parts of the structure in longitudinal section.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal axial section through a cartridge presenting a modiiied forni of end wall or piston.

Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 show in axial section, four other forms of piston construction, the

piston in each instance being adapted for use in cartridges such as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 in lieu of the pistons thereof.

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a grease gun with the cartridge shown in Fig. 1 operatively mountedtherein.

A grease gun of the general type with which our improved containers are designed to be used will first be brieiy described in order that the characteristic features of the container may be clearly understood. 1 designates the chambered body or barrel of the grease gun. 'llhe body is ordinarily tapered at 1a toward its discharge end and is iitted with a nozzle or head 2.' rlhe nozzle 2 is fitted with a pump mechanism adapted to suck lubricant from the chambered body 4 of the gun and-force it from the end of the. nozzle in a well-known manner. lin so far as the present invention is concerned Ithis pump mechanism may be of any suitable construction. 'lhe specific form .of pump mechanism shown 1s that of a commercially known grease gun and it will sul-lice to point out that it comprises a plunger 3 having a passage therethrough controlled by a spring pressed ball valve 4. 5 is a spring pressed check valve which controls the passage through a fixed abutment plate 6. A coil spring 7 is interposed between the abutment plate 6 and the plunger 3. |The outer end of the nozzle 2 is designed toengage a fitting of the bearing to be lubricated, such as shown in a. This fitting a is Jformed with diametrically opposite lugs or pins a', a', andthe nozzle 2 is formed with op osite spiral slots 2*, 21 to engage the pins a ln the use of the gun the nozzle 2 is engaged with the fitting a with the pins a in the slots 2a. rlhen the gun is twisted about its longitudinal axis and this causes the end of the fitting a to press the plunger 3 toward the check valve 5 thus forcing lubricant past the ball valve i into the nozzle of the gun. @n reversing the twisting movement of the gun, the spring? returns the plunger 3 to its normal position thereby exerting a suction on the lubricant tending to draw it from the body of the gun ast the check valve 5. rl`he outer open end o the gun barrel is normally closed by a cap 8 which is detachably secured to the barrel of the gun by bayonet lemploying our improved grease cartridges we do away entirely with thefollower engaging the inner walls of the barrel of the grease gun, and'instead of introducing the lubricant into direct engagement with the body of the grease gun we introduce the lubricant-filled cartridge bodily into the barrel of the grease gun.

` Our improved cartridge, in the form illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises a 'tubular side wall 10, said wall preferably consisting of an inner tube 10a and a somewhat shorter outerl tube 10b. The inner or discharge end of the container .is formed by a cap or closure l1 which fits the projecting end of the v inner tube lO'as shown. The cap 11 is preferably secured to the side wall by a pa er seal (not shown) over itsjoint with the side wall, lwhich seal can readily be broken or cut to permit removal of the cap before the cartridge is inserted .in the gun. The cap 11 thus constitutes an end wall for the cartridge which readily can be opened .to permit vdischargeof the lubricant. The cartridge is providedl at vits other end with an end-wall 12y which serves also as a piston or follower adapted to slide within the tubular ffeide wall ofthe cartridge. The piston 12 comprises a transverse wall member 12a which formed at its periphery with an out- V. wardly turned flexible flange 12b adapted to closely litfand conform to the inner sidewall of the cartridge. Vithin the flange ofthe member 12a and rigidly secured thereto is a tubular --member 12c which projects outwardly from the member 12a and has at its outer end an outwardly turned' flange 12d to lightly, slidably engage the inner wall of the cartridge. The flange 12d being substantially spa/ced longitudinally of the cartridge from the flange 12", there is provided for the piston-like end wall a relatively wide engagement with thel side wall of the cartridge so that the piston is maintained in suitable axial allgnment with said side wall and cramping or binding of the piston and admlsslon of air past it is prevented. In addition to the piston or follower 12,.,the cartridge has at its outer' end a closure or cap 13 which fits the projecting end of the side wall tube 10a. This cap serves chiefly as a means for lpreventing accidental displacement or escape of the piston 12 from the jacent tapering wall 1i cartridge. The cap 13 has a central aper- I ture lathrough which ones nger-or any suitable tool can be inserted when desired to press the piston toward the discharge end' of the cartridge, and also through which the atmosphere can reach the follower 12, both functions being hereinafter described.

While our invention, in certain of its aS- pects at least, is not limited to the use of any particular material for the walls of the car-v Vcartridge can 4be formed of sheet metal of suitable thickness but, as above indicated, lower cost is obtained by the yuse of the suitably treated ibrous material. The tubular side walls of such fibrous material are readily formed in the well-known manner as are also the caps or closures 11 and 13. The piston similarly is readily produced. That 1s to say the member 12a is readily formed by pressing a suitable disc of paper or fibrous material in suitable dies and the member 12 is formed from a section of paper tube or the like by simply pressing one end outward in suitable dies to form its flanges 12d. The member 12 is then readily secured to the member 12 as by` means of the silicate of sod-a or the like which is employed to oil proof the parts. d

container suchashas been described is readily charged with lubricantat the factory. It is then closed by applying and sealing the cap 11. The cartridge or package thus formed is readily and conveniently handled as an articleof commerce and when fthe lubricant is to be used it isonly necessary for the user to remove the cap 11 and such in relation to the barrel of the gun that when the cartridge is .inserted in the gun and the cap 8 is-applied Isaid cap forces the container inward andetlects a substantially air tight annular seal between the inner end of the side wall of thecartridge and the adof the body/of the gun. In fact it is preferable to make the dimensions of the cartridge such that when the cap 8 is secured by means of its bayonet connection the inner end 0f the cartridge has its edge forced slightly inward by the pressure as indicated in Fig. 7. This has vor follower 12 of t insure the removal of the follower with the 1,eso,aee

the advantage of insuring a tight seal and in addition the inturned edge of the cartridge side wall serves to engage the piston the emptied cartridge and side wall as the emptied cartridge is withdrawn from the gun.

With the grease gun tion of a cartridge in the manner described it is only necessary for the-operator to apply it to a bearing {ittlng such as that indicated at a' in Fig. 7 and actuate the ypump mechanism by a back and lforth twist-ing movement, in order VV'to create a suction which, by reason of the atmospheric pressure back of the piston or follower 12, results in the latter moving forward in the cartridge so that the lubricant is advanced to the pum mechanism.A As use of the gun is continued the piston or follower 12 continues to4 advance toward the discharge end of the gun and finally completely empties the cartridge, thc piston having a substantially fiat front face to insure such complet-e emptying.

In the operation of the gun-as described, the flange 12b of the piston or follower, by

loaded by the inserreason of its flexible nature, conforms closely to the inner wall of the cartridge and with the atmospheric pressure back of it effects a substantially air-tight 4fit .with the said side wall, the lubricant assisting to effect the seal.` While the piston flange 12b has the necessary flexibility as above described,

' tionary it serves in conjunction with the guide flange 12d to maintain he; piston in proper axial alignment as above described so that it cannot be turned in the barrel ofthe cartridge by the atmospheric pressure as suction is created on' the front side of the piston.

Whena cartridge has been em tied of lubricant by use of thegun as a ove descr1bed,the gun s very easily re-loaded by simply detaching the cap v8, removing the empty cartridge and inserting a full one in the manner Apreviously described, this'operation being effected without the necessity of directlyA handling or touching the grease so that anoperation which is ordinarily a very mussy one is made very simple and cleanly. After the gun has been placed in use the forward neck portion of the gun between the discharge end of lthe cartridge and the' stabecomes filled with lubricant so that when al full cartridge of lubricant is inserted inthe gun the latter is in condition to at once discharge lubricant from theY nozzle' without any preliminary actuation of thev pump mechanism to effect priming. However, in putting the grease gun to use in the first instance it is desirable to lill the said forward neck portion ofthe gun with lubricant without relying upon the pump mechanism to effect the priming. This the user can readily do when the initial cartridge is in- .che'ck valve of the pump mechanism l to fill the said neck portion of the gun.

The modified form of cartridge illustrated in Fig. 2 differs from that 'shownin Figs. 1 and 7 only in the construction of the piston end wall or follower. lt will be suflicient therefore to describepthis latter part only of the constructio The piston or follower in this instance comprises a forward transverse wall member 14 formed with a iexible rearwardly turned flange 14a whichv closely engages and conforms to the inner wall of the cartridge so as to form a substantially air-tight sliding seal therewith,v said memberA thus being substantially the same as the member 12u of the piston illustrated inFigs. 1 and 7. Secured to the member 12 is a cupped member 15 which has its transverse wall 15a secured to the transverse wall of the member 14 while its rear or outward edge lightly engages the inner wall of the cartridge and serves to hold the pistonin axial alignment.

The piston illustrated in Fig. 2`is preferably made of suitably fibrous material. As in the case of the piston of the first described cartridge the guide member 15 should be made heavy enough to properly perform its function of guiding.

In Fig. 3 of the drawing is illustrated still another form of the piston or follower embodying our ideas. In this construction the piston comprises a plain front disc member -16, the outer edges of which are adapted to still another form of treated paper or other piston vwhich comprises a plain front disc 18 preferably of metal'and a cuppedi member 19 preferably of paper, fiber or the like, the member 19 being secured to the member 18 by disc 20 and rivet 21. In this construction the outer edge ofthe disc 18 lightly engages the inner wall of the cartridge in which itis used while the rear flexible edge of the member 19 closely engages and conforms to the inner wall of said cartridge to effect a substantially air-tight seal.

In Fig. 5 we show a piston or follower which consists of a metallic cupped member 22 the side wall. of which is formed near its front side with a channel to receive a flexible packing lring 23 of felt, leather or the like.I This flexible packing ring 23' closely engages and conforms to the inner wall of the cartridge in which the follower forms a substantially air-tight seal there-Ii` vyvith. At the same time `the rear edge 22a of the fianged member 22 is adapted to lightly engage the inner wall of the cartridge.

Finally, in Fig. 6 is shown a follower which consists simply of a deeply cupped member 24 the side or flange wall 24a of which flares slightly toward the outer right) side of the follower so that the free exible edge of said side wall is adapted to closely engage and conform to the surrounding side wall of the container while the transverse wall of the follower, at its periphery where it joins the side wall, lightly engages the side wall of the container. Thus the free edge of the follower forms a substantially air-tight sliding seal with the side wall of the container while the contact of l the front or inner edge of the follower' at the cartridge. While in points widely separated from the rear, seal edge, affords an adequate guiding action for the follower. This form of follower can be made either of oil-proofcd fibrous material or of metal of suitable character.

It will be understood that the pistons or followers illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6, as well as that illustrated in Fig. 2, are designed to perform the same function as the follower 12 of Fig. 1 and are interchangeable therewith. Also, it will be noted that in each form of piston or follower disclosed there is a flexible peripheral part which closely engages and conforms to the inner wall of the cartridge to effect a substantially air-tight seal, and a circumferentially eX- tending guide portion which isadapted to lightly engage the side wall of the cartridge at Ya number of points distributed around the circumference thereof and substantially spaced lengthwise of the cartridge from the annular seal portion, so that in each form of piston construction the piston is effectively eld in axial alignment in the side wall of each form of oonstruction illustrated the guide member of the piston forms a substantially continuous circumferential engagement with the s'ide wall of the cartridge, it is obvious that such engagement need not be continuous provided t 1ere are points of engagement suitably distributed around the circumference of the piston.

From they foregoing our improved cartridge not only constitutes a satisfactory container for the marketing of grease but is capable of highly convenient use fand effective functioning in grease guns of the character described and at the same.

it will be seen that vtime is adapted to be produced at a very low cost. l f

While we have illustrated several preferred 4or suitable forms of construction to embody our improvements it will be understood that there can be still other variations without departing from the'invention as de fined in the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. A container for lubricant adapted. to cooperate with a discharge nozzle having pump mechanism adapted to suck lubricant from the container and force it out of the nozzle, said container'comprising in combination a tubular side wall; a substantially fiat end wall adapted to be opened to permit discharge of lubricant; and a second end wall fitting within the side wall and adapted to be moved therethrough like a piston by air pressure to discharge lubricant from the container, said piston-like end wall having a substantially fiat front face, `a flexible rearwardly turned annular seal portion to engage the side wall and form a substantially air-tight sliding seal therewith and a guide portionto engage the side wall at oints distributed around the circumference t ereof and substantially spaced lengthwise of the -container from the annular seal portion.

2. A cartridge-like container for lubricant 4adapted to be inserted into the chambered body of a lubricant gun having a discharge nozzle with pump mechanism adapted to suck lubricant from the chamber of the gun and force it out of the nozzle, said container comprising in combination a tubular side wall; a substantially `flat end wall adapted to be opened to permit discharge of lubricant; and a second end wall fitting within the side wall and adapted to be moved therethrough like a piston by air pressure to discharge lubricant from the container, said piston-like end wall having a substantially fiat front lface, a flexible rearwardly turned annular seal portion to engage the side wall and form a substantially air-tight sliding seal therewith and a guide portion to engage the side wall at points distributed around the .circumference thereof land substantially spaced lengthwisev of the container from the annular seal portion.

3. A container for lubricant adapted to cooperate with a discharge nozzle having pump mechanism adapted to suck lubricant from the container and force it out ofthe nozzle, said containercomprising in combination a tubular side wall; an endJ wall adapted to be opened to permit discharge of lubricant; and a second end wall fitting within the side wall and adapted to be moved therethrough like a piston by air pressure to discharge lubricant from the container, said piston-like end wall having a transverse portion formed with a fiexible rearwardly turned annular fiange to engage the side wall and form a substantially air-tight sliding seal therewith and a guide portion to engage the side wall at points distributed around the circumference thereof and submenace for lubricant piston by air pressure todischarge lubricant from the container, said piston-like end wall having a transverse portion formed with a flexible rearwardly turned annular flange to engage; the side wall and-form a substantially air-tight'sliding seal therewith and' av guide portion to engage the side wall at Apoints distributed around the circumference thereof and substantially spaced lengthwise of the container from the an'iilar seal portion.

5. A container-for lubricantadapted to cooperate with a discharge nozzle having suck lubricant 'om the chamber of the l pump mechanism adapted to suck lubricant from the container and force it out of the nozzle, said container comprising 1n combination a tubular side wall; an end wall adapted to be, opened to permit' discharge of lubricant; and a second end wall hitting within the side wall and adapted to be moved therethrou h like a iston by air pressureto discharge ubricant rom .the container, said piston-like end wall having a transverse portion `formed with a exible rearwardly turned annular tiange to engage the side wall and form a substantially air-tight sliding seal therewith and an annular circumferentially continuous guide ortion to engage the side wall. at points su stantially spaced lengthwise of the container from. the annular seal portion.

6. A. cartridge-like container for lubricant adapted to be inserted into the chambered y of a lubricant gun having. a discharge nozzle with pump-mechanism adapted to and torce it out of the nozzle, sai'd'container comprising wall; anen'dwall adapted to loe-opened to permit 'discharge ond end walluitting within the side wall and ada-pted'to be moved therethrough like a piston by air pressure to discharge lubricant from the container, said piston-like end wall having a transverse portion formed with a flexible rearwardly turned annular flange to engage the side wall and form a substantially alr-tight sliding seal therewith and an annular circumferentiall continuous guide points substantially spaced lengthwise of the container from the annular seal portion.

7. A container for lubricant adapted to cooperate with a discharge nozzle having pump mechanism adapted to suck lubricant from the container and force it out of the nozzle, said container comprising inv combination a tubular side wall; an end wall adapted to be opened to permit discharge of lubricant; a second end wall fitting within the side wall and adaptedto be moved therethrough like a piston by air pressure to discharge lubricant from thecontainer, said piston-like end wall having a transverse portion formed with aiexible rearwardly turned annular flange to engage the side wall and form a substantially air-tight sliding seal therewith and a guide portion to 'engage the side wall at points distributed in combination a tubular side of lubricant; and a secportion to engage the side wall at i around the circumference thereof and substantially spaced lengthwise of the container from the annular seal portion; and a cap on the end of the container adjacent the iston-like end wall, said cap being adapte to prevent rearward movement of the pistonlike end wall from the bore of the side wall and having an aperture through which the said piston-like end wall can be engaged to force it toward the opposite end of the conI tainer.

lin testimony whereof, we hereunto an our signatures. V Y

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