Wheel flange and rail lubricator apparatus

Claim 1

Lubricating apparatus for automatically lubricating the frictional contact area between a locomotive wheel flange and rail during operation of the locomotive comprising: a source of lubricant; a lubrication nozzle mounted adjacent said wheel flange and coupled to the lubricant source for directing shots of lubricant in a thin, coherent stream to the frictional contact area between the wheel flange and rail; distance sensing means for sensing the distance traveled by the locomotive; a lubrication controller including means for selecting and presetting a distance interval, D, to be traveled by the locomotive between lubrication cycles, L, said controller connected to the lubrication nozzle for controlling the application of said shots of lubricant for said preset distance interval, D, traveled by the locomotive; said controller responding to the distance sending means and the preset distance, D, for actuating a corresponding lubricant cycle, L, during which said shots of lubricant are applied from the nozzle to said frictional contact area; said controller including preset lube amount means to preset the amount of lubricant applied during the lubrication cycle, L; said preset lube amount means includes lube duration preset means for selecting and presetting a lube time duration, Q, within the lubrication cycle, L, with the lube duration, Q, corresponding to a precise, predetermined amount of lubricant; wherein said preset lube amount means further includes lube viscosity adjustment means, VIS, for selecting and presetting an adjustment in the lube time duration, Q, to compensate for the viscosity of the lubricant in the lubrication source; and, temperature sensing means for sensing the ambient temperature and providing a corresponding output signal, wherein said preset lube amount means further includes temperature adjustment means with preset temperature levels, T, responsive to said sensed temperature output signal for selecting and presetting an adjustment in the lube time duration, Q, to compensate for the ambient air temperature acting on the lubricant.