Lubrication of bearings of reciprocating engines or pumps

Claim 1

A reversible reciprocating-piston mechanism which comprises a cylinder mounted in a fixed structure, a linearly reciprocating piston assembly slidable in the cylinder, a rotary crank, an angularly oscillating connecting rod one end of which is pivotally connected to the piston asSembly by a small end bearing, and the other end of which is journalled on the crank by a big end bearing, a single-acting reciprocating-type lubricating pump carried by the piston assembly for bodily movement therewith and having a pump body and a displacement member movable relatively thereto, the pump having an inlet connected to a supply of lubricant and having an outlet communicating with the small end bearing to deliver pressurized lubricant thereto during the working of the pump, a linear cam mounted fixedly on the fixed structure and extending in the direction of movement of the piston assembly, and a movable cam follower carried by the piston assembly in a position in which it coacts with the fixed linear cam, the cam follower being mechanically coupled to the displacement member of the pump and being arranged to actuate the pump in response to displacement of the cam follower by the cam caused by the reciprocating movement of the piston assembly, whereby the pump is driven in a predetermined operating cycle synchronized with the rotation of the crank to deliver a timed feed pulse of pressurized lubricant to the small end bearing, the said operating cycle being the same during rotation of the crank in a forward direction as it is during rotation of the crank in a reverse direction, and said timed feed pulse starting at the same predetermined point in the same predetermined stroke of the working cycle of the reciprocating piston mechanism regardless of the direction of rotation of the crank.