A Spring and Sponge-rubber Seal
Page 49
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New Product of the Sorbo Concern Comprises Steel-tube Frame with Detach able Upholstery
A T the Olympia Show last month .tiSorbo Rubber Sponge Products, Ltd., of Woking, exhibited a seat for public service vehicles in which coil springs were replaced by rows of rubber cups, the top surface being of moulded sponge-rubber.
• The company has now introduced a new seat in which an ordinary spring case is employed. This is slightly lighter in weight and less expensive. The frame is made of polished drawn-steel tubing with tubular liners inserted at the electrically welded joints. The grab handle is embodied in the main frame, the upper rail of which protects the top edge of the upholstery.
The seat cushion is butt up on a base board of thin plywood which has a Fin. wood frame. Forty coil springs are used for the spring case and this is covered with a layer of waterproofed hessian, over which is laid the 11-in. sponge-rubber topping. Around the front edge of the topping is round-section sponge-rubber beading. The complete seat cushion weighs about 14 lb. 12 oz.
The seat back, weighing just under 6 lb., has a plywood base reinforced by wood framing in such a way that the frame helps in obtaining the semi-bucket formation. This frame can be removed from the steel-tube frame by detaching six screws. Only sponge rubber is used for upholstering the seat backs, this being built up with the ribs of about 1-in., which produce an excellent semibucket shape. A narrow edging of thin proofed canvas holds the sponge rubber to the backboard.
As the steel frame weighs 11 lb. 6 oz., the weight of the complete seat without leather or moquette covering comes to 36 lb.
The cost of a double seat is reckoned to work out at about £5, but it may be understood by coachbuilders that the sponge-rubber topping is obtainable at 2s. per sq. ft., and the round-section beading for , a double seat would cost approximately 2s. It may be stated that the rubber-cup sprung seat, in which wire mesh is employed beneath the sponge-rubber topping, is still available.
When at the Sorbo works we were interested in Sorbolin—a new material Produced for the floors of public service vehicles. It is lighter than, but has many of the characteristics of,
ordinary rubber, and is available in thicknesses of 1-16 in., * in., 3-16 in. and * in. The thickness recommended for ordinary passenger vehicles is * in., the cost of this to coachbuilders and big operating companies being 7s. 6d. per sq. yd.
The colours available are shades of red, blue green and mottled designs, the colours being constant all through the thickness. An advantage is that the material is not slippery ; it may be laid just as linoleum is laid and when polished gives a rather richer hue. It is claimed that it will not stretch, is almost, fireproof and does not crack if sharply folded. It is about one-third lighter than solid rubber.
The Sorbo reinforced de-luxe flooring which has a layer of sponge rubber
nearly thick separated from a 1-16-in, rubber surfacing by a thin fabric is, of course, well known. This is available in overall thicknesses of * in. and A in., the former costing 15s. per sq. yd. It is resilient, non-slippery and comfortable to walk upon, and is claimed to have a long life. It is available in several shades and designs.