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).
Description of gear lock mechanisms and an automatic gear selection feature for quick getaways.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 136\4\ scan0135 | |
| Date | 9th February 1937 guessed | |
| -4- Gear Locks. Although the cam and peg form a strong gear lock, in the manner described, a further simple lock is provided that allows only one shift fork to be moved and keeps the other (or others) immovable. This is not shown as it is a well known form of lock. Automatic Gear Selection. During a getaway after stopping the selector shaft in any preselector control is simply asking to be turned automatically. Why, at this time, should a driver have to bother using any kind of gear lever when it can be done much better more easily and far quicker by the mechanism itself. In this preselector control automatic or self-selection of the gears - from neutral to top - is obtained in a simple manner. The normal hand control by means of the preselector lever is through the toothed quadrant to a pinion on the selector shaft. By mounting a light pawl on the self-change shaft and providing a ratchet on the toothed quadrant the latter can be turned from the self-change shaft when the clutch pedal is depressed for a gear change, the light selector pawl being arranged to effect this movement. As this arrangement would not allow the selector shaft to be turned in the reverse direction, for downward changes, a simple form of cam is provided to put the selector pawl out of action. This cam is made operative or inoperative by means of the preselector lever which, in its normal position on the fixed quadrant, prevents the selector cam functioning and control remains normal. But if the preselector lever is raised slightly above the fixed quadrant the cam is moved to allow the selector pawl to become operative for automatic gear selection. The preselector lever is quite easily flicked from one to the other of its two positions - just a finger touch. Quick Easy and Safe Getaway. With the car stationary and gear in neutral the driver just flicks up the preselector lever to put the selector pawl in its operative position. The clutch pedal is now depressed to engage 1st gear | ||