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 and potential benefits of the 'Mallory' battery igniter.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 37\1\ scan 183 | |
| Date | 25th June 1930 | |
| Btn-6 To Mr Hives X3199 June 25, 1930. [STAMP: RECEIVED JUL 14 1930] To: Mr. Olley From: Mr. Burton BATTERY IGNITION Are you acquainted with the "Mallory" Igniter? I understand Packard are standardizing this for their 1931 models. The most interesting point is the contact breaker. They claim that at high speeds owing probably to "bounce" of the contact breaker arm on the extremely small time available for building up the magnetic field in the coil, the present type igniter will fail completely above 2500 revs, and they have developed a machine which indicates just this point although I did not see this working. They get over this claim in a rather ingenious manner - (a) Rocking lever is made 1:1 ratio and very light to keep down its M of I. (b) Two rocking levers are used apparently connected in parallel - one being used to make the circuit and is set 15° ahead of the other one which is used only to break the circuit and which is really the business one. [Handwritten note: Series?] By this means they claim - (a) The intensity of the spark is maintained in the higher speed ranges. (b) The points, which are only doing one half of the work - do not become pitted. These distributors are now being made to replace all standard makes, but are rather larger than our present one and could not be fitted "double". These are all being made "full automatic" without any manual range. Would England be interested in having more information or one of these instruments to test? [Handwritten notes:] M EFC Please reply to OY Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}: Would you be interested? OY July 14/30 Btn. BD{Mr Berend} | ||