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).
Proposal for a friction drive scheme using spring-loaded bevelled rings to achieve quieter engine gears.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\J\December1922\ Scan81 | |
| Date | 13th December 1922 | |
| To R.{Sir Henry Royce} from Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. to CJ. c. to E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} ORIGINAL. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}2/LG13.12.22. ENGINE GEARS. X4247 X4569 It has been realised for some time that the chief difficulty in obtaining quiet gears is to get the camshaft to turn round evenly in relation to the crankshaft. Our recent experiments on the 20 HP. engine gears have confirmed this point. We should like to submit the following scheme as a suggestion in order to ensure that the camshaft gear wheel will keep in contact with the crankshaft gear. We use the ordinary helical engine gears as at present - on the end of the camshaft gear wheel there is formed a plain bevelled ring. On the crankshaft pinion is also formed another bevelled ring which will engage with the one on the camshaft wheel. One of the bevelled rings are arranged to slide and to have a spring pressure always keeping the surfaces in contact. The effect of this is that the two bevelled rings with spring pressure form a friction drive. The diameters of these rings are arranged at a different ratio to the 2 to 1 gears and this ensures that there will be a load to keep the gear teeth in contact. There are a various number of methods of applying this scheme. From our experience of the troubles we believe this scheme might prove effective and, if so, valuable. It can also be applied to any other gears and chains in order to keep the drive all one way. We have, for instance, considerable trouble caused by slack side shaft gears. - contd: | ||