From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
The features of a machine's distributor, magneto, and earthing brush components.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\E\November1920\ Scan44 | |
| Date | 10th November 1920 | |
| Contd. -2- EFC2/T10.11.20. The cams are very short. The large gear wheel which drives the distributor is not of metal but of some sort of fibre or papier maché and should, we think, add greatly to the silence of the machine. The high tension armature slip ring is at the contact breaker end and the high tension current is fed directly to the central brush of the distributor by means of a carbon brush running on the slip ring. The distributor gear drive is at the driving end, the distributor drive spindle running the length of the magneto. The safety gap merely consists of a small screw in the casing with its point at a distance of about 9 mm. from the revolving slip ring. The driving end plate carrying the fixed ball race is a one piece casting and is claimed to eliminate all danger of loosened screws due to vibration. A further claim is that the reduction in the number of joints results in the vital elements of the magneto, such as the windings of the condenser, being protected against water, oil and dust. In addition to the earthing brush on the back of the contact breaker, there is also provided a second carbon earthing brush making connection between the metal of the armature end the framework of the machine. This machine has not yet been tested, but the necessary tests will be carried out in due course and a report issued on the performance given. EFC. | ||