Letter detailing the operating principles of a clock's contact and winding mechanism, referencing the 'PUL-SYN-ETIC' system.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 164\1\ img007 | |
| Date | 20th January 1931 | |
| Messrs. Rolls Royce Ltd., DERBY. -2- 20th January 1931. device used has not been fully appreciated, as the contact is made by the greatest power available within the Clock, that is to say, the driving force. Any other arrangement robs the Clock of power, and must perforce be of much less power than the driving force. The spring driving the Clock, after driving its allotted amount, applies its full force to the contacts. The armature is then energised and applies its power in overcoming the spring, thus even increasing the pressure between the contact points. In other words, all the energy necessary to drive the Clock is transmitted through the contact surfaces, and no form of contact can do more. We have used this principle for the past 26 years for operating circuits of Impulse Clocks on our "PUL-SYN-ETIC" System both on sea and land with every success and the principle has been adopted by other makers on our Patent running out. When you receive the Clock back, we shall be glad if you will again study the contact, when you will understand what we have endeavoured to describe. We think that the slow movement of the contact on the winding lever has deceived you into thinking that the pressure is small. We would, however, point out that the contact does not entirely depend on inertia, although inertia only, invariably breaks the circuit provided the current is of course, strong enough. In the Clock Contact a little Bracket is provided to press the contacts asunder during the last movement of the Armature as shown in the accompanying Sketch. With this arrangement the Circuit would be always broken provided the current is sufficient to operate the winding, and, of course, if insufficient, the contact will remain "on". The gauge of Wire should be sufficiently large to prevent over-heating at the minimum voltage, and this is the state at which we are now aiming. | ||
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).