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 memo discussing an automatic progressive gear change system and comparing it to the Wilson gear.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 6\4\ 04-page256 | |
| Date | 26th May 1933 | |
| R1/M26.5.3 O.{Mr Oldham} contd. -2- Change speed relay control is on the steering column. This relay will probably be electrical, but it can be oil or vacuum with certain disadvantages. By using double way silent ratchets for the 1st. speed which are servo brake controlled, our heaviest loaded brake is once engine torque instead of twice and four times, in the Wilson gear. Our separate reverse unit enables the gear to idle quietly - unique and valuable. It also avoids the 4 times engine torque brake. Can we use two narrow nearly completely circular bands starting from opposite anchor pins. We use relay change working a camshaft, there is always one gear in. One need not touch clutch, or accelerator, for change. The changes will automatically be progressive. The 3rd. gear will be the most silent, the others will be slightly less progressively. Even if the Wilson gear pleased us it would be too, heavy in weight and manipulation for so large an engine as our 45 HP. R.{Sir Henry Royce} | ||