US 3813047

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Summary: US Patent 3,813,047 (US3813047A)

CAFC 2026 Docket Search

No results found. Searches of CAFC 2026 dockets for "3813047" / "US3813047" returned no entries. This expired patent does not appear in any 2026 Federal Circuit appeal docket based on current search results. (Note: CAFC dockets are indexed by appeal numbers, not patent numbers, so absence of a hit is expected for a patent that expired in 1991.)

Bibliographic Data (confirmed via USPTO-sourced PDF at patentimages.storage.googleapis.com and Google Patents)

• Title: Spider bearing assembly for gyratory crushers
• Patent Number: US3813047A (Application No. 312,841)
• Inventors: James D. Torrence (spelled "Torrence" on the front page; the issued certificate of correction refers to "James D. Torrance") and Fred L. Graves, both of Appleton, Wisconsin
• Assignee (original): Allis-Chalmers Corporation, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (listed as "Allis Chalmers Corp" in USPTO assignment records)
• Filing Date: December 7, 1972
• Issue Date: May 28, 1974
• Status: Expired – Lifetime (anticipated expiration May 28, 1991, 17 years from issue under pre-GATT law)
• US Classification: 241/211, 241/213, 241/215; Int. Cl. B02C 2/04
• References cited: US 1,005,358 (Symons); US 1,528,741 (Weston); US RE24,754 (Becker); US 2,977,057 (Beyhl); US 3,190,569 (Polzin); US 3,456,889 (Burkhardt et al., a prior Allis-Chalmers spider bearing patent by one of the same inventors)
• Certificate of Correction (Sept. 24, 1974): Claim 1, "nd" corrected to "and"; Claim 5, "roller" corrected to "collar"
• Note on assignee: A 1983 security-interest assignment from Allis-Chalmers to The Connecticut National Bank (Kathleen D. Woods, Trustee) appears in the USPTO assignment record; this was a security interest, not a change of ownership.

Abstract (verbatim)

"A spider bearing assembly for a gyratory crusher is disclosed in which a flanged bushing has a bearing sleeve projecting downwardly between the top of a gyrating shaft and a spider hub, and the sleeve has a lower edge below a fulcrum point within the hub about which the shaft gyrates. A lubricant seal is arranged between the shaft and the hub, which cooperates with the sleeve edge to define an annular lubricant collecting groove around the shaft. The bushing defines one or more lubricant pressure relief passages from the annular groove to the top of the bushing. A source of lubricant is connected to a reservoir defined by the upper end of the shaft, the top of the bushing, and an inner periphery of the hub to supply lubricant to a level above the bushing. A generally vertical vent tube is connected to each pressure relief passage and projects upwardly above the reservoir lubricant level to vent lubricant pressure in the annular groove to atmosphere above the reservoir lubricant level, to relieve lubricant pressure on the seal that builds up as a result of pumping action of the crusher shaft gyrating in the bushing. The distance that the lower edge of the bushing sleeve is below the fulcrum point, is preferably substantially less than the distance between the top of the shaft and the fulcrum point, to minimize lubricant pressure acting downwardly on the seal and a pair of relatively small diameter relief passages will usually be sufficient to vent pressure from the annular lubricant collecting groove."

Claims Overview

There are 7 claims; only Claim 1 is independent (Claims 2–7 all depend on Claim 1).

Independent Claim 1 — A gyratory crusher with a frame, an outer concave crushing member, a spider with a central hub mounted atop the frame above the concave, a shaft whose lower end is journaled in an eccentric sleeve (driven to gyrate the shaft about a fulcrum point on the vertical central axis inside the hub) and whose upper end projects into the hub, and an inner crushing member on the shaft. The claimed bearing assembly between the upper shaft portion and the hub comprises:

• (a) a bushing with a radial flange seated on an upper horizontal surface of the hub and a bearing sleeve (cylindrical outer periphery) projecting downward between the shaft and the hub, with the sleeve's lower edge adjacent the shaft positioned below the fulcrum point;
• (b) lubricant sealing means between the shaft and the hub that, together with the sleeve's lower edge, defines an annular lubricant collecting groove around the shaft;
• (c) a lubricant pressure relief passage in the bushing running from the annular groove up to the top surface of the bushing;
• (d) lubricant supply means connected to the hub that fills a reservoir (bounded by the shaft top, the bushing-flange top, and the hub's inner periphery) to a level above the bushing flange; and
• (e) a generally vertical vent tube supported in the hub, connected to the pressure relief passage, projecting above the reservoir lubricant level to vent groove pressure to atmosphere above that level.

In plain language: the gyrating shaft acts like a pump, pressurizing oil against the lower seals; the claim captures a venting architecture (collecting groove → relief passage → vent tube rising above the oil level) that bleeds that pressure off to atmosphere so the seals don't leak oil into the crushing chamber, enabling oil (rather than grease) lubrication.

Dependent Claims 2–7 (plain language):

• Claim 2: The sleeve's lower edge is positioned below the fulcrum point by a distance less than the distance from the shaft top to the fulcrum point, minimizing the pumping/pressurizing action of the shaft portion below the fulcrum.
• Claim 3: The annular groove is formed by an annular, downwardly open slot in the sleeve facing the sealing means.
• Claim 4: The groove is vented by a pair of pressure relief passages on opposite sides of the shaft's upper portion, each with its own vent tube.
• Claim 5: The sleeve has a downwardly projecting collar (corrected from "roller") below the annular groove and below the relief passage, the collar's inner periphery engaging the sealing means and outer periphery engaging the hub.
• Claim 6: A spider cap forms a roof over the lubricant reservoir and has a vent opening communicating with the space above the reservoir, at a level above the vent tube (venting cap atmosphere to the machine exterior).
• Claim 7: The pressure relief passage is structurally defined as a vertical hole through the bushing's radial flange, aligned with a vertical slot on the bearing sleeve's outer periphery, plus a radial, generally horizontal hole through the sleeve connecting the slot to the annular groove.

Uncertainty Notes

• The inventor's surname appears as "Torrence" in Google Patents metadata and the printed front page, but the issued certificate of correction uses "Torrance"; I cannot resolve which spelling is the legally controlling one without the original file wrapper.
• The Greyb aggregator lists a Dec. 6, 1972 priority date and a May 27, 1974 grant date; the authoritative USPTO/Google Patents record shows Dec. 7, 1972 filing and May 28, 1974 issue, which I treat as correct.
• No authoritative source was found tying this patent to any 2026 CAFC docket; the negative result is based on current web searches.