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).
Redesign of the 'Seagull' steering box to a worm and worm-wheel system.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\J\January1923\ Scan72 | |
| Date | 16th January 1923 | |
| R.R. 235A (100 T) (S.H. 159. 11-8-20) G.{Mr Griffiths - Chief Accountant / Mr Gnapp} 2800 ORIGINAL TO HS.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} FROM R.{Sir Henry Royce} c. to CJ. WOR.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} c. to DA.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} DY.{F R Danby} c. to Mr. Claremont. RE. STEERING. X9430 Many thanks for memo. I was pleased to hear that most of the points are as we anticipated, therefore our conclusions seem sound. We have been working on "Seagull" steering box, and cannot find a really good scheme of any pattern of worm and nut. I have changed to worm and worm-wheel, which promises to more easily give exactly the degree of reversibility we are striving to get, and by using case-hardened worm and complete wheel we can always use the tightest place for straight steering; this is greatly facilitated by our tapered V serrations. We have also a few other features of novelty which help this form. The wheel also will be of case-hardened steel forged on the shaft. The scheme as we are arranging it makes an assembling job instead of a fitting job. The change comes from (1) a desire for greater irreversibility, (2) it's objection of quickly wearing slack can I think be overcome by the use of case-hardened wheel or sector, (3) various other disadvantages are overcome by the use of a complete wheel with serrated fixing of pendulum lever, (4) we have schemed a system of synchronised adjustment of eccentric bearings, etc. R.{Sir Henry Royce} [STAMP: RECEIVED JAN 16 1923] | ||