Lubricant reservoir system

A lubricant reservoir system, comprising:

• a lubricant reservoir having an interior wall and an inlet for receiving lubricant from a supply,
• a follower in the reservoir in contact with the interior wall of the reservoir in a sliding and sealing manner, the follower being movable up and down in the reservoir and being shiftable from a first position to a second position in response to an increase in a lubricant level and from the second position to the first position in response to a decrease in the lubricant level,
• a valve in fluid communication with the inlet, the valve being shiftable from an open position to allow a flow of the lubricant through the inlet to a closed position to prevent the flow of lubricant through the inlet, and
• force transfer means for transferring a force produced by the movement of the follower to the valve to shift the valve to the closed position in response to the follower shifting to the second position such that the flow of the lubricant through the inlet is prevented when the follower is in the second position,
• wherein the valve includes a valve body having a first end and a second end, the valve body being slidable from a first position defining the open position of the valve to a second position defining the closed position of the valve,
• wherein the force transfer means comprises:
• a hydraulic ram in a first hydraulic space, the hydraulic ram being movable by the follower from a first position to a second position,
• a second hydraulic space at the second end of the valve, and
• a hydraulic line containing a hydraulic fluid connecting the first hydraulic space to the second hydraulic space, and
• wherein movement of the follower from the follower first position to the follower second position moves the hydraulic ram from the ram first position to the ram second position and transfers force from the follower to the second end of the valve body to shift the valve body from the valve body first position to the valve body second position.