FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
As amended by the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005
&
The Patents Rules, 2003
As amended by the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2006 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10 and rule 13)
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
An apparatus and method for greasing bearing assemblies.
APPLICANTS
Crompton Greaves Limited, CG House, Dr Annie Besant Road, Worli, Mumbai 400 030, Maharashtra, India; an Indian Company
INVENTOR
Nadkarni Rohan of Crompton Greaves Limited, Fans Division, Plot No. 1, Goa IDC Industrial Estate, Bethora, Ponda, Goa-403409, India; an Indian National.
PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION:
This invention relates to the field of mechanical engineering and mechanical assemblies.
Particularly, this invention relates to an apparatus and method for greasing bearing assemblies.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:
Assemblies such as ceiling fans use bearings. Ceiling fans are built using a motor that rotates the blades using ball bearings. The bearings provide very little friction and noise as the blades rotate, making the fan quiet and efficient for long periods of time.
For a relatively longer life of bearings, they are lubricated in order to sustain their frictionless and silent operation. Every bearing, regardless of size or location, needs to be lubricated properly. Improper lubrication will result in high, yet unnecessary costs for the operation.
Bearing failure is a major cause of equipment downtime in today's industrial environment, most often resulting from improper lubrication. Improper lubrication scenarios include the contamination of the lubricant by dust, dirt and moisture, inadequate amounts of lubricant applied to the bearing, and/or over-lubrication of the bearing.
According to the prior art, manual labour is involved in the lubrication or greasing process for lubricating or greasing the bearing. This manual

process takes ample amount of time plus there is a change of grease contamination and wastage. This old system was entirely person dependent and causes severe grease contamination due to human handling. Also, the time required for greasing was high as both sides of the bearings had to be greased manually.
Hence, an apparatus, which provides automated lubrication is more precise and eliminates the cycle of over-lubrication and under-lubrication that contributes to bearing failure, is needed. An automated apparatus of such a kind shall also aim to prevent excess lubricant from finding its way onto the finished product, the plant floor or other work surfaces. This would result in fewer rejections, cleanup and disposal problems, as well as less waste of lubricant. All of this would positively affect a company's bottom line.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION:
An object of the invention is to provide an automated apparatus and method for lubricating or greasing bearings.
Another object of the invention is to provide an automated apparatus and method for mass lubrication or mass greasing of bearings.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an automated apparatus and method for mass lubrication or mass greasing of bearings in a relatively short span of time.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an automated apparatus and method for mass lubrication or mass greasing of bearings by avoiding

contamination by prevention of manual handling, thereby avoiding wastage.
An additional object of the invention is to provide an automated apparatus and method for mass lubrication or mass greasing of bearings, irrespective of ball bearing dimensions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
According to this invention, there is provided an apparatus and method for
greasing bearing assemblies, said apparatus comprises:
at least one cylindrical housing adapted to support a stack of bearings, said
cylindrical housing including a top cover having a plurality of equi-
angularly distributed holes, said holed being conduits for grease flow so
that aid stack of bearings, above, can be greased and said cylindrical
housing having inlet means at its operative bottom side;
a rod co-axial with each of said cylindrical housings, said rod having its
diameter matching inner diameters of each of said bearings from said stack
of bearings;
a locking clamp adapted to be screwed on to the rod such that is keeps the
bearings in place; and
grease pump, pneumatically operated, connected to the inlet means of each
of the cylindrical housings in order to facilitate flow of grease through said
holes of said housing and to said stack of bearings, above.
Typically, said top cover plate is mounted on said housing and fixed by screw.

Typically, said housing is a hollow housing and is connected to a grease inlet means.
Preferably, said apparatus includes two cylindrical housings placed adjacent each other, and are mounted on a base plate.
Preferably, said rod is a retrofitting assembly and can be changed according to the number of bearings that need to be stacked.
Alternatively, said rod is a telescopic rod.
Typically, said locking clamp is a disc with radially located, orthogonally extending studs.
This apparatus can be used for entire range of ball bearing application in all industries.
Brief Description of the Accompanying Drawings:
The invention will now be described in relation to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 illustrates an isometric schematic view of the apparatus;
Figure 2 illustrates a close-up view of a fixture on the apparatus of figure 1 from where grease is pneumatically pumped on to the bearing assemblies;
Figure 3 illustrates a front schematic view of the apparatus;

Figure 4 illustrates a top schematic view of the apparatus;
Figure 5 illustrates an isometric view of the top of the fixture on the apparatus of figure 1 from where grease is pneumatically pumped on to the bearing assemblies;
Figure 6 illustrates an isometric view of the tightening mechanism for the apparatus of Figure 1, after loading bearing assemblies;
Figure 7 illustrates an isometric schematic view of the apparatus, with s stacked pile of bearing assemblies on to the fixture;
Figure 8 illustrates a front view of Figure 7; and
Figure 9 illustrates a partial close-up view of Figure 8.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS:
According to this invention, there is provided an apparatus and method for greasing bearing assemblies.
Figure 1 illustrates an isometric schematic view of the apparatus.
Figure 2 illustrates a close-up view of a fixture on the apparatus of figure 1 from where grease is pneumatically pumped on to the bearing assemblies.
Figure 3 illustrates a front schematic view of the apparatus.

Figure 4 illustrates a top schematic view of the apparatus.
Figure 5 illustrates an isometric view of the top of the fixture on the apparatus of figure 1 from where grease is pneumatically pumped on to the bearing assemblies.
Figure 6 illustrates an isometric view of the tightening mechanism for the apparatus of Figure 1, after loading bearing assemblies.
Figure 7 illustrates an isometric schematic view of the apparatus, with a stacked pile of bearing assemblies on to the fixture.
Figure 8 illustrates a front view of Figure 7.
Figure 9 illustrates a partial close-up view of Figure 8.
In accordance with an embodiment of this invention, there is provided at least one cylindrical housing (12) adapted to support the stack of bearings (14) and to grease the bearings, thereof. The cylindrical housing includes a top cover (16). Three holes (18) can be seen in the top cover of the cylindrical housing. These holes are conduits for grease flow so that the stack of bearings, above, can be greased. This top cover plate is mounted on the housing and fixed by screw. The housing is hollow and is connected to a grease inlet means (22).
According to one aspect of this apparatus, there are two cylindrical housings placed adjacent each other, and are mounted on a base plate (20).

In accordance with another embodiment of this invention, there is provided a grease pump connected to the grease inlet means of the at least one cylindrical housing in order to facilitate flow of grease through the holes (18) of the housing (12) and to the bearings (14), above.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of this invention, there is provided a rod (24) co-axial with each cylindrical housing. The diameter of the rod matches with the inner diameter of the bearings (14) so that bearings are stacked through the rod, irrespective of their dimensions. The rod is a retrofitting assembly and can be changed according to the number of bearings that need to be stacked. Varying lengths of rods can be used. Or a telescopic rod may be used.
In accordance with still another embodiment of this invention, there is provided a locking clamp (26) adapted to be screwed on to the rod such that is keeps the bearings in place. Plurality of bearings are placed one above the other (stacked) with the help of this rod and is fastened on the top by the locking clamp and tightened over the stack of bearing. The locking clamp, typically, is a disc with radially located, orthogonally extending studs.
A commercial grease pump, pneumatically operated, is connected to the inlet means of each of the cylindrical housing. Once this pump is initialized, the grease is pumped into the housing through the inlets from the grease drum which also is provided with a pressure plate. From the housing, it flows with pressure into the top cover plate and then through the holes on the plate through the entire stack of bearings, above, thus greasing all the bearing by 100%. Also multiple type / sizes can be

connected to common grease pump thus avoiding the need for multiple systems.
While this detailed description has disclosed certain specific embodiments of the present invention for illustrative purposes, various modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims, and it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation.

We claim,
1. An apparatus for greasing bearing assemblies, said apparatus comprising:
at least one cylindrical housing adapted to support a stack of bearings, said cylindrical housing including a top cover having a plurality of equi-angularly distributed holes, said holed being conduits for grease flow so that aid stack of bearings, above, can be greased and said cylindrical housing having inlet means at its operative bottom side;
a rod co-axial with each of said cylindrical housings, said rod having its diameter matching inner diameters of each of said bearings from said stack of bearings;
a locking clamp adapted to be screwed on to the rod such that is keeps the bearings in place; and
grease pump, pneumatically operated, connected to the inlet means of each of the cylindrical housings in order to facilitate flow of grease through said holes of said housing and to said stack of bearings, above.
2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said top cover plate is mounted on said housing and fixed by screw.
3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said housing is a hollow housing and is connected to a grease inlet means.
4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said apparatus includes two cylindrical housings placed adjacent each other, and are mounted on a base plate.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said rod is a retrofitting assembly and can be changed according to the number of bearings that need to be stacked.
6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said rod is a telescopic rod.
7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said locking clamp is a disc with radially located, orthogonally extending studs.