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).
Design and layout of a torsion bar suspension system, referencing Citroen and Chenard-Walker designs.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 87\4\ scan0094 | |
| Date | 18th November 1935 guessed | |
| - sheet 2 - linkage requires two pivoted levers. The triangulations of the suspension links are arranged square with the chassis, as on the Citroen and Chenard-Walker, to enable the torsion bars to lie alongside the frame. The anchorages for the torsion bars are situated behind the dashboard and find a very suitable location at the junction of the front arms of the cross with the frame side members. In our design we are arranging that the nearest arm of the link to the torsion bar is arranged at right angles to the frame, as it will naturally take most of the load and the other member of the triangulation slopes forward. This gives the present wishbone effect, while retaining the swinging movement square with the chassis, and enables the engine to be as far forward as possible. The frame layout with this scheme should be very simple indeed, and as we wish to reduce the height of the top edge of the frame to enable us to get the change speed gate as far out, and as low down as possible, this fits in quite well with the torsion bar anchorage. In our previous work some time ago on this particular scheme it had occurred to me that we could vary the rating of the springing towards the top of the bump by picking up the torsion bar part of the way along its length in a jaw coupling, and we might find this useful. With regard to the shock damper, we have not yet got far enough to say what we consider is the best arrangement, but the shock damper can be quite an independent unit with the arm placed transversely and coupled to the suspension by a link, if found desirable. Another advantage of the torsion bar principle,as pointed out by E/Tsn is that the torsion on the front portion of the frame, arising from road shocks etc. is no more than the conventional solid axle which we have used for so long, due to the torsion bar transferring the linkage torsion to a point behind the dashboard leaving only the linkage to | ||