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).
Letter to Joseph Lucas Co. Ltd. regarding patent numbers for a Bijur starter motor drive and a preference for this quieter system for a Bentley sports car.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 51\5\ Scan203 | |
| Date | 7th June 1932 | |
| X4342 C. to E. {Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} Hs {Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} /Wat.9/MA. June 7th, 1932. Messrs. Joseph Lucas Co. Ltd., Great King St. {Capt. P. R. Strong} , Birmingham. For the attention of Dr. E. {Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} O. {Mr Oldham} Turner. Dear Sirs, Some time ago on the occasion of the writer's visit to your works we had a conversation regarding starter motors. During that conversation you enquired for the patent numbers of the Bijur type friction clutch engagement drive use on our 20/25 HP. chassis starter motor. Upon enquiry at our patent office we can find no trace of any such numbers and our design dept state that at the time we designed our drive the Bijur people offered no objection at all to our using their idea which apparently they have not developed extensively themselves. We do not anticipate therefore that you will experience any difficulty in this direction should you wish to exploit the idea also. What we are particularly interested in is that as we find this type of drive so much quieter than the average type of inertia pinion engagement, we should prefer this scheme to the Lucas drive on the Lucas starter motor your Company has proposed for the Bentley sports car. We have had a sample standard Lucas motor sent to us by your Mr. W.E. Robinson but we are not however, particularly impressed with the drive. Would you kindly let us know, if in the event of our deciding to use the Lucas starter motor on the Bentley you would consider a proposal to equip this motor with a friction clutch type of inertia | ||