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DESIGNING COACH WORE FOR EASY MAINTENANCE
Page 80
Page 81
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Time and Money can be Saved by Making Seats, Panels and Floor-slat As,semblies Readily Removable, and by Taking Steps to Guard Against the Ill
Effects of Moisture
IN order to facilitate the maintenance of a bus or coach body, it should be designed and constructed so that wear and tear incidental to use and exposure to the weather are
reduced to a minimum, and repair, necessitated either by accident or otherwise, are quickly effected. Another desirable feature is that the vehicle should be easy to clean.
From the constructional point of view, claims are made that metal framework is more speedily repaired than that of wood, or wood reinforced with metal. On the other hand, metal pillars with wood fillers may facili tate the attachment and removal of metal panels. It would appear that, if improvements are to be effected, there should be no bias in favour either of wood or metal, but a readi ness to use one or both materials, according to the particular problem concerned.
Easy Removal of Side Panels. When a section of side panelling has to be removed for repair or re placement, the panels are unfastened from the framework, and the mould
ings which conceal the -edges of two
adjacent panels are released.
The removal of a panel might be simplified if no screws or nails were used. Such a panel has a rolled and wired edge, top and bottom. At the top it fits into a rubber-lined groove in the waist rail and at the bottom it is inserted into the turned edge of a plate, which is folded on to a metal angle skirt rail, or screwedto a wood one.
To attach the panels at a pillar c3t) position, the pillar has a light-gauge tee-plate attached to it, with a double projecting flange. These lips are separated and folded, left and right, to secure the edges of the panels. To remove any panel, the lips holding it are opened out. A similar means for attachment could be used at the bottom side, so that portions of the skirt panel could be removed without having to unfasten screws.
In view of the amount of attention which has been given by manufac
turers to the easy maintenance of windows, it is difficult to suggest any further improvement. Perhaps an idea may be taken from the windscreen, which has to be watertight when closed, although it is only hinged at the top and fastened at the bottom, A fixed window requiring glass replacement would be more quickly removed if there were a retaining fillet only at the top. The framed window is inserted in a rubber-lined groove in the waist rail and fits into
a rebate down each pillar. At the cant-rail rebate there is a rubber tube, which, when the window is secured, is compressed by screwing the retaining fillet in position. Rubber tubing or strips could be used, if necessary, for lining the pillar rebates. •
With coaches having f ull-drop windows, some delay may be experi eneed when a portion of the lining panel has to be removed for inspecting the lifting mechanism. Much depends on the method adopted of securing the seat to the body side. From this point of view, it is an advantage if there be a clearance between the body side and seat, which is supported only from the floor.
It should be possible to fix the lining panel so that it may be removed without disturbing the garnish rail and window-control handle. This type of panel could be retained by a moulding under the garnish rail and down the pillar, with the bottom edge held by the projecting and folded edge of the kicking panel, and the remaining edge inserted between the body side and the seat back.
Easy removal of the seat is an advantage when inspection of, or repair to, the floor is required. It also facilitates work inside the body generally. A seat designed for quick detachment is supported at one end by a metal bracket on the body side and by a pedestal at the other end.
The underside of the seat has a pair of studs engag ng with slots in the body-side bracket. At the other end there is a spring plunger which registers with a socket in the top of the pedestal. To release the seat the spring plunger is disengaged from the pedestal, when the scat may be lifted off its bracket.
As an alternative, there may be holes, instead of slots, in the body bracket. In any case, the pedestal remains on the floor and, if designed with smooth contours, does not form much obstruction. '
The wearing slats of the floor have already been designed as a unit assembly, so that a section may be quickly removed by releasing the few screws holding the underside metal cross-pieces, instead of having to unfasten the screws holding each separate slat. This method of making up the slats was designed to farilitate repairs, but by introducing a further modification it is suggested that these floor mats could be lifted to simplify floor sweeping.
The cross-pieces of the mat have metal pegs, which register with lined holes in the floor boards. To ensure that a mat was not lifted inad vertently, the floor sockets could be spring lined. To complete the scheme, the mats should be standardized, so far as possible, or should be numbered on the underside to correspond with figures painted on the floor, so as to save time in relaying sections other than those of standard shape.
Much expense is saved in body maintenance if no trouble arises owing to the retention of moisture in the window casings, or between the inner and outer panels. Moisture enters as rain, also as the result of condensation, owing to fluctuations in temperature.
Below the waist, grooves should be made in the framework, leading to holes through which the water may pass to a lower level and thus eventually escape to the ground. The upper surface of a framework member which is not required for support, and has a clearance between it and the inside panel, may be bevelled to prevent the accumulation of water.
Ventilating Inner Panels.
It is also an advantage if the inner panels be ventilated, or do not cover the whole area between the surrounding framework. A current of air is set up in the body casing which helps to eject any moisture present and to dry the surface affected.
Bumpers, especially at the rear, where the vehicle is most likely to meet with minor collisions, reduce maintenance casts by eliminating the need for hammering out dented metalwork. The shape of the back panel may be designed so that the projection of the bumpers is not beyond a vertical line touching the back of the body, or does not increase the overhang.