The Rawlings Window Lift in its Latest Form.
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TTIST over a year ago we were pro
vided with an opportunity for examining a specimen of the simple and efficient type of window lift manufactured by the Rawlings Manufacturing Co., Ltd., 1-11, Larch Road, London, S.W.12, and now that Ahey have introduced a new method of control the company have again given us facilities for carrying out a personal test of the window in its new form.
Before proceeding to a brief description of the 'latest -feature we-Would refresh our readers'. memories ivith the outstanding details of the window lift, which, 'in its essential form,remains unaltered... _It consists of cylindrical roller the: axle of which is carriedin two brackets screwed to the garnish rail. Suitable springs are housed in the roller, and the tension -of these is Controlled by a pawl And ratchet device. The pawl is fixed to the garnish rail and the ratchet with which it engages to the end of the roller.. The degree of tension, of course, has a definite bearing on the ease with which the glass is raised or lowered.
The ends of the lifting cable are firmly wured to the roller, and it is taken round two strong hooks affixed to the underside of the channel in which the bottom of the glass is carried. The length of the cable is such that three or more coils remain on the roller at each end when the light is right down, thus relieving the points of attachment of all stress.
Now we come to the new form of control, which is certainly most Qimple and effective. The roller carries about its centre a rubber-covered cam, which is a sliding fit thereon. This tam has screwed to it a lever working in a slot in a neat bracket fixed to the front fillet. When the lever is raised the pressure on the glass is released, and it automatically rises until it has reached the limit of its travel. It can, of course, be adjusted in any position by the simple expedient of depressing the lever, which, through the medium of the cam, forces the glass against the rubber fence plate, to fix which a brass strip insert is employed.
So long as the lever is in the depressed position the glass remains at the height at which it is regulated, but inadvertent operation of the lever or meddlesome interference with it is prevented by a neat locking device. In our accompanying drawing this is shown separately and consists of a small knob to the right of the slot in the front bracket, which, when slid sideways, moves a notched portion on its underside across the path of the lever and thus prevents its upward movement. The company have foreseen the possibility of the device being tampered with, and for public-service vehicles they provide, in place of the knob, a detachable key, which the driver or conductor• can keep in 'his. PossessiOn.
The glass runs in velvet-covered rubber channels, at the lower ends of which small rubber buffers are fitted, the glees resting upon these when it is fully lowered. Rubber channelling is also fixed in a groove on the underside of the top member of the frame, this being broken in the centre to accommodate the finger bracket attached to the top of the glass.
The general construction of the Rawlings window lift can be seen from the accompanying illustration, which clearly demonstrates the simplicity of the device. This factor, coupled with that of reliability, has materially contributed to the success of the Rawlings lift, which has achieved much popularity amongst those responsible for the bodywork on passenger-carrying vehicles of all types.