Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the lubrication of bearings, particularly, bearings for shafts
such as pump shafts. With reference to the radial envelope to pump shaft bearing
but it should be appreciated that the invention has applicability to other items of
equipment in which a rotatable member, such as a shaft, extends through a bearing
chamber, the bearing being lubricated by lubricant liquid contained within or fed to
the bearing chamber during rotation of the shaft.
Background to the Invention
Bearing chambers are well known typically in the form of a housing through which a
rotatable shaft extends, the shaft being mounted within the housing by bearings at
each longitudinal end thereof. In a typical bearing chamber a lubricant fluid, such as
oil, partially fills the lower region of the chamber below the shaft and the shaft may
be provided with means for disturbing the oil during rotation of the shaft so that the
oil is caused to come into contact with the bearings, thereby lubricating them. Such
a process is sometimes referred to as splash oil lubrication and the elements which
may be attached to the shaft include devices termed oil rings, splash rings or flinger
disks. All these devices extend outwardly from the shaft, particularly during the
rotation thereof. They engage the reservoir of fluid below the shaft and cause at
least some of the fluid flowing upwardly and outwardly within the bearing chamber.
The action of the shaft, together with any devices attached thereto, is such that the
lubricating fluid is caused to travel radially with respect to the shaft until it hits the
inner wall of the chamber when it either falls back onto the shaft or runs around the
inner wall until it returns to the reservoir of fluid below the shaft. Accordingly, most of
the fluid does not impinge upon the bearings but is simply returned to the fluid
reservoir without effecting any sort of lubricating action.
2.

Statements of the Invention
According to the present invention there is provided a bearing chamber comprising a
housing having a substantially cylindrical inner wall, bearings located at opposite
longitudinal ends of said chamber for accommodating a rotating shaft, the chamber
being, in use, partially filled with a liquid lubricant and said chamber having means
for diverting, in directions towards the bearings, a lubricant travelling outwardly
towards said inner wall from said shaft.
Preferably the shaft is provided with means for effecting said outward movement of
the lubricant
Preferably said movement effecting means comprise one or more oil rings, oil splash
rings or flinger disks.
Preferably the inner wall is shaped to effect said deflection. For instance, the inner
wall may be angled relative to the longitudinal axis. Preferably the inner wall is
provided with adjacent longitudinal regions of the inner wall which are opposite the
angle relative to the longitudinal axis.
Alternatively, the inner wall of the chamber may be shaped to provide lubricant
collectors which collect the lubricant and channel it in a direction towards the
bearings. These lubricant collectors may be in the form of upwardly facing channels
which extend longitudinally within the bearing chamber. The channel-like collectors
may be arcuate with the centre of each collector lying closer to the inner wall than
the ends thereof
The bearing chamber may, instead of being internally shaped to provide a lubricant
diverting region, be of conventional inner shape and be fitted with non-integral fluid
diverters. In this case, the one or more integral non-integral fluid diverters may be
generally arcuate shaped the ends of which extend into channels located above
bearings within the chamber so that fluid is fed from the chamber to that side of the
bearings, the dry side, remote from the chamber in order to provide effective
lubrication.
3

Diverters may be in the form or one or more open-ended channel shaped elements,
each of which preferably extends longitudinally in an arcuate manner with the centre
of the element lying closer to the inner wall than the ends thereof. For instance, the
diverting member is in the form of a series of spaced-apart, linked together channel-
shaped elements.
As an alternative, the diverting member may be a single channel-shaped element of
relatively large width. Whether use is made of one or more than one channel-
shaped elements, it is preferred that it or they are arcuate in longitudinal section, the
sidewalls of each channel extending longitudinally.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The accompanying drawings are as follows:-
• Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a conventional bearing chamber having a
shaft extending therethrough;
• Figure 2 is a perspective view, partially cut-away, of a first embodiment of a
bearing chamber of the present invention;
• Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of the bearing chamber of Figure 2;
• Figure 4 is a perspective view, partially cut-away, of a second embodiment of
a bearing chamber of the invention;
• Figure 5 is a longitudinal section of a bearing chamber of Figure 4;
• Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the principle of operation of the
present invention in one or more of its forms;
• Figure 7 is a perspective view, partially cut-away, of a third embodiment of a
bearing chamber in accordance with the present invention
• Figure 8 is a longitudinal section of the bearing chamber of Figure 7;
4

• Figure 9 is a perspective view of diverting means forming part of a fourth
embodiment of a bearing chamber in accordance with the present invention;
and
• Figure 10 is a perspective view, partially cut away, of the fourth embodiment
of a bearing chamber.
Detailed Description of the Invention
The present invention will now be described by way of examples only and with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated a bearing
chamber (1) in the form of a housing having a central cylindrical chamber with a
cylindrical inner wall (5), with chamber (3) having inwardly stepped ends (6, 7), each
of which is provided with a bearing arrangement (9). Extending through the bearing
chamber (1) is a shaft which forms the power end of a pump (not shown).
Shaft (11) is provided with an attached flinger disk (13) located substantially centrally
within chamber (1) The centre of chamber (1) is partially filled with oil to a level
below the lower part of shaft (11). Flinger disk (13) extends radially into contact with
the oil and, during rotation of the shaft, the flinger disk will agitate the oil and cause it
to be flung outwardly and upwardly within the chamber (1). The oil will impinge upon
the inner wall (5) of chamber (1) and then drop back down onto the drive shaft or
run peripherally around the chamber (5) until it reaches the oil reservoir below the
shaft. Accordingly, only a relatively small amount of oil will find its way into contact
with the bearings (9).
Referring to Figures (2) and (3) of the accompanying drawings, a first embodiment of
a bearing chamber (21) in accordance with the present invention is as described
above, with reference to Figure (1), and includes a flinger disk (not shown). An
upper portion of the inner wall of the chamber provides angled regions (33) as
5

illustrated which are longitudinally adjacent and any two adjacent regions are
oppositely inclined with reference to the longitudinal axis. The peripheral extent of
these angled regions may be such as to subtend an angle from about 15° to 45°.
Referring to Figures (4) and (5) of the accompanying drawings, the second
embodiment in accordance with the present invention is again substantially as
illustrated and described with reference to Figure (1) above (although with the flinger
disk not shown). In this case the means for diverting the movement of the oil flung
up from the reservoir below the shaft is in the form of a series of ribs (31) which are
integral with the wall of the bearing chamber and formed during the casting of the
chamber. Each rib (31) extends longitudinally within the chamber and is shaped to
provide a channel extending longitudinally and with its open end facing radially
outwardly. Each rib is also slightly arcuate in its extension from one step in the end
of the chamber to the other. Furthermore, each rib terminates at each end just short
of a respective stepped end of the chamber. Some of the liquid thrown up as a
result of the rotation of the shaft will find its way into the channelled rib and will run
along the rib to one or other of its ends and there run downwardly into the region of a
respective bearing.
Referring now to Figure (6) of the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated the
principle of operation of the present invention in the case where the fluid diverter (35)
is some form of arcuate collector such as a tray or a series of parallel channel-
shaped members. The diverter (35) extends, at each side of the bearing chamber
into a part annular recess (36) in the wall (7) of the bearing chamber. Extending
from recess (36) across the chamber wall and above the bearing (9) is a channel
(38) which provides a path for the fluid from recess (36) to a further recess (39)
which opens downwardly into a short channel (42) which runs down the upper part of
the outer side of bearing (9).
The above described arrangement provides an overall flow path for fluid, as
indicated by the arrows in Figure (6). This flow path extends from diverter (35) into
recess (36) along channel (38) and down channel (42) where the fluid may run into
the moving parts of bearing (9). In this way, lubricant is conveyed to the dry side of
the bearing.
6

Referring to Figures (7) and (8) of the accompanying drawings, a third embodiment
in accordance with the present invention achieves substantially the same mode of
action as that of Figures (4) and (5) by the use of a separate oil diverter (41) rather
than one integrally formed with the chamber itself. The mode of action of such an
arrangement is as illustrated in Figure (6) and as described above. In this case the
diverter (41) is in the form of a plurality of elongate channel shaped members (43)
which are linked together by means of peripherally extending rods (45). Each
channel shaped element (43) terminates short of the stepped ends of the chamber
and is arcuate with its central portion running closer to the inner wall of the chamber
than its ends. Accordingly, oil splashed up as a result of the rotation of the shaft will
finds its way into the channels of elements (43) and will then run longitudinally to the
ends of the channels and thence drop into the vicinity of the bearings.
Referring to Figures (9) and (10) of the accompanying drawings, a fourth
embodiment of a bearing chamber in accordance with the present invention makes
use of a relatively wide single channel-shaped member (51) which either based at
(3) and opposed sidewalls (55) and (57). Channel-shaped member (51) is open at
its longitudinal end and in longitudinal section is arcuate. Figure (10) shows the
channel-shaped number (51) in position within bearing chamber (59). In this
example, the channel-shaped member (51) is about 50mm wide and the sidewalls
(55) and (57) extend upwardly from base (53) by about 5mm. The length of channel-
shaped member (51) is somewhat greater than the distance between the bearings
(61) and (63) and in position within the bearing chamber (59), channel-shaped
member (51) provides an arched deflector which slopes down from its centre to each
bearing (61) and (63).
Channel-shaped member (51) can be shaped and dimensioned to be locatable into
cast slots above each bearing, these slots being provided with the bearing chambers
of many pumps.
Oil, which is splashed up in the centre of chamber, is caught on the upper surface of
the channel-shaped member (51) and directed into the slot centres, in this way the
oil passes over each bearing falling at the dry side (lab side) of the bearing, thus
lubricating the hottest side of the bearing.
7

1. A bearing chamber comprising a housing having a substantially cylindrical
inner wall, bearings located at opposite longitudinal ends of said chamber for
accommodating a rotating shaft, the chamber being, in use, partially filled with
a liquid lubricant and said chamber having means for diverting, in directions
towards the bearings, a lubricant travelling outwardly towards said inner wall
from said shaft.
2. A bearing chamber according to Claim 1, wherein the shaft is provided with
means for effecting said outward movement of the lubricant.
3. A bearing chamber according to Claim 3, wherein said movement effecting
means comprise one or more oil rings, oil splash rings or flinger disks.
4. A bearing chamber according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the
inner wall is shaped to effect said deflection.
5. A bearing chamber according to Claim 4, wherein inner wall may be angled
relative to the longitudinal axis.
6. A bearing chamber according to Claim 5, wherein inner wall is provided with
adjacent longitudinal regions of the inner wall which are opposite the angle
relative to the longitudinal axis.
7. A bearing chamber according to Claim 4, wherein the inner wall of the
chamber is shaped to provide lubricant collectors which collect the lubricant
and channel it in a direction towards the bearings.
8. A bearing chamber according to Claim 7, wherein the lubricant collectors are
in the form of upwardly facing channels which extend longitudinally within the
bearing chamber.
8

9. A bearing chamber according to Claim 8, wherein the collectors are arcuate
with the centre of each collector lying closer to the inner wall than the ends
thereof.
10. A bearing chamber according to any of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the chamber is
fitted with one or more non-integral fluid diverters.
11. A bearing chamber according to Claim 10, where the one or more non-integral
fluid diverters are generally arcuate shaped the ends of which extend into
channels located above bearings within the chamber so that fluid is fed from
the chamber to that side of the bearings remote from the chamber in order to
provide effective lubrication.
12. A bearing chamber according to Claim 10 or Claim 11, wherein said diverters
are in the form or one or more open-ended channel shaped elements.
13. A bearing chamber according to Claim 12, wherein at least some of which
extend longitudinally in an arcuate manner with the centre of the element lying
closer to the inner wall than the ends thereof.
14. A bearing chamber according to Claim 13, wherein the diverting member is in
the form of a series of spaced-apart, linked together channel-shaped
elements.
15. A bearing chamber according to Claim 12, wherein the diverting means is a
single channel-shaped element which is arcuate in longitudinal section and
which has sidewalls which extend longitudinally.
16. A bearing chamber according to Claim 1, and substantially as herein
described.
17. A bearing chamber substantially as herein described with reference to Figures
(2) and (3), Figures (4) and (5), Figures (7) and (8), or Figures (9) and (10) of
the accompanying drawings.

A bearing chamber comprising a housing having a substantially cylindrical inner wall,
bearings located at opposite longitudinal ends of said chamber for accommodating a rotating
shaft. The chamber, in use, is partially filled with a liquid lubricant and said chamber having
means for diverting, in directions towards the bearings, a lubricant traveling outwardly
towards said inner wall from said shaft. The shaft is provided with means for effecting said
outward movement of the lubricant. The movement effecting means comprise one or more oil
rings, oil splash rings or flinger disks. The inner wall is provided with adjacent longitudinal
regions of the inner wall which are opposite the angle relative to the longitudinal axis. The
lubricant collectors are in the form of upwardly facing channels which extend longitudinally
within the bearing chamber. The chamber is fitted with one or more non-integral fluid
diverters which are generally arcuate shaped the ends of which extend into channels located
above bearings within the chamber so that fluid is fed from the chamber to that side of the
bearings remote from the chamber in order to provide effective lubrication.