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).
Mr. Lanchester's patent for a crankshaft damper and potential prior art.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 25\3\ Scan259 | |
| Date | 11th May 1927 | |
| BYO from R.{Sir Henry Royce} c. to BJ. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. to Mr. Claremont. X634 R3/M11.5.27. MR LANCHESTER'S CRANKSHAFT DAMPER. X.634 X.4221 Regarding Mr. Lanchester's patent of the combined halftime gear and damper flywheel, my reading of his patent suggests that to the ordinary mind he is covering the device in his claims as described and illustrated, and in his description he definitely states that fluid or solid friction can be used. Looking up the records I find that in 1911 or earlier we were using a halftime gear and fan pulley combined, and this was driven by a spring drive and damped with a friction device, and naturally would do some damping. These were sold in good numbers about this date. We found later that we had not embodied sufficient inertia and friction, and added a separate and additional friction damped flywheel. Nothing further was done in the way of novel combinations until the design of Goshawk 1., and in July 1919 we actually embodied the inertia in a definite flywheel and still more friction in a multiple plate damper, all connected in one unit with a halftime gear. Goshawk 1. was made, and running in our works and about England from that time until the present. As we are very likely to use this combination, and anticipate later being up against Mr. Lanchester's recent patent, I am inclined to think that this matter should be published now, unless, as I hope, my broadest reading is definitely wrong, but even then I see no harm in sending letters to the Press, or writing to Mr. Lanchester. We could do so by sending suitable letters to the technical journals, or in any way that Mr. Claremont would consider best. R.{Sir Henry Royce} | ||