Hand held device for packing grease into wheel bearings

Claim 1

In a hand-held device for packing grease into a wheel bearing including a housing, a grease inlet for introducing grease under pressure into the interior of said housing, a spring-biased piston mounted in the interior of said housing, and means for positioning a wheel bearing with relation to said housing for greasing of the same, the improvement which comprises: said housing including a main body portion having said piston therein coupled to said grease inlet with fluid communication from said inlet, through said piston, and out of said piston, said fluid communication between the grease inlet and the exterior of said piston including a conduit interconnecting said grease inlet with an upper passageway through said piston, a lower passageway through said piston of a diameter greater than that of the upper passageway and in fluid communication therewith, and a plurality of spaced ports communicating with said lower passageway and opening on the exterior of said piston, and a releasable cap enclosing said piston, said cap and said main body portion including wheel bearing positioning means thereon comprising said piston having a surface configured similarily to the inner surface of said cap for positioning a wheel bearing between said piston surface and the inner surface of said cap whereby grease from said inlet is adapted to exit under pressure out of the ports of said piston and engage said wheel bearing for greasing the same, said configured surfaces of said piston and said cap being generally conically-shaped and the conical shape of said piston having an apex adapted to enter a central aperture in a wheel bearing positioned between said piston and said cap, said conical surface of said cap being adapted to retain a wheel bearing thereon in a manner forming a chamber in said device between said piston and the conical surface of said cap, said cap further including a chamber above said conical portion of said cap, said last-mentioned chamber having a peripheral wall of a diameter substantially the same as the outer diameter of a wheel bearing to be greased in said device whereby said bearing is retained between the peripheral wall and on the upper outer surfaces of said conical portion.