Bearing lubrication arrangement

Claim 1

IN COMBINATION WITH A BEARING CAVITY CONTAINING AN ANTIFRICTION TYPE BEARING ROTATABLY SUPPORTING A SHAFT, LUBRICANT METERING MEANS FOR SAID SBEARING COMPRISING: A MEMBER HAVING AN ANNULAR CHANNEL IN ONE BROAD SURFACE THEREOF AND A BORE THERETHROUGH CONCENTRIC WITH SAID CHANNEL, SAID MEMBER BEING DISPOSED ABUT SAID SHAFT ADJACENT SAID BEARING CAVITY SO THAT SAID BORE DEFINES A WALL ADJACENT TO AND SURROUNDING SAID SHAFT AND SAID ANNULAR CHANNEL DEFINES AN ANNULAR LUBRICANT RESERVOIR ISOLATED FROM SAID SHAFT AND ADJACENT ONE SIDE OF SAID BEARING; MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID MEMBER FOR INTRODUCING LUBRICANT INTO SAID ANNULAR CHANNEL; AN ANNULAR RESILIENT ELEMENT DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID ANNULAR LUBRICANT RESERVOIR AND SAID BEARING, SAID ELEMENT HAVING AN OUTER DIAMETER LARGER THAN THE DIAMETER OF SAID BEARING CAVITY AND AN INNER DIAMETER SMALLER THAN THE INNER DIAMETER OF SAID ANNULAR CHANNEL AND AT LEAST AS LARGE AS SAID BORE; AND MEANS FOR SECURING SAID RESILIENT ELEMENT AT ONE PERIPHERY TO SAID MEMBER TO ISOLATE SAID LUBRICANT RESERVOIR FROM SAID BEARING WITH THE OTHER PERIPHERY OF SAID ELEMENT DEFINING A NORMALLY OPEN METERING VALVE PROVIDING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SAID LUBRICANT RESERVOIR AND SAID BEARING, SAID RESILIENT ELEMENT PIVOTALLY FLEXING ABOUT ITS SECURED PERIPHERY IN RESPONSE TO LUBRICANT PRESSURE IN SAID RESERVOIR TO CLOSE SAID METERING VALVE AND PREVENT LUBRICANT PASSING FROM SAID RESERVOIR TO SAID BEARING.