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).
Technical discussion on the design and performance of the Remy ignition system's contact breaker.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 39\3\ Scan005 | |
| Date | 17th April 1918 | |
| R.R. 285A (100 T) (S.G. 648, 19-5-20) G.{Mr Griffiths - Chief Accountant / Mr Gnapp} 2618 Contd. -5- Oy6/FMF17.4.18. used in the Remy ignition. Pressed sheet rockers are used, made from brass about .032" thick, fitted with hard gray fibre running contacts and electrical contacts of pure Tungsten, not platinum, the Tungsten being used because of its hardness which prevents its beating out in use. The rocker is pressed in contact by a plate spring bent in the form of a Vc and pressing on the back of the rocker through the medium of a block of soft rubber, as shown in the marginal sketch. Asking them whether they had ever tried the type of contact breaker similar to a coil trembler, in which the platinum is carried on a light spring, and the rocker, which is in contact with the cam, moves comparatively evenly and strikes the light spring carrying the platinum in the middle of its stroke, they said they had tried this type of ignition but had abandoned it for high speeds, because of the tremor between the contacts produced by the light spring. The block of rubber is used to introduce a damping in to the spring, this obviating the jumping of the contacts at high speed. I do not think this jumping is entirely over-come, since when the contact breaker is running at a high speed one can see small sparks at the contacts, but since the breaker itself does not revolve it is not possible to find out whether the sparks are one or many, as it is the case with the Bosch or Wtford rockers. Conta | ||