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HOW THE EQUIPMENT MAKER SERVES THE BODYBUILDER
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Brief Review of Some of the Innumerable Fittings which Go to Make Up Modern Goods and Passenger-vehicle Bodies
Equipment that Saves Time, Labour and Money in Operation and Maintenance, and Makes for Improved Conditions of Transport THE coachbuilder is particularly well served by the manufacturer of body fittings and accessories. The fittings have to withstand hard wear and tear, vibration and exposure to all weathers.. They must also conform with a high standard of appearance and require little or no maintenance.
Moreover, these qualities must be combined with lightness of weight. Good body fittings are well described as an " engineering job," made with the same care for the selection of the right material as the design of chassis components.
For many kinds of load the moving floor is a time and labour saver. Bags of flour or coal may be placed on the rear end of the lorry and the floor drawn forward until there is a clear space for another row of bags, which is dealt with in a similar manner. With the same device a load of sand may be discharged by one man, or, when there is an exceptionally heavy burden, two men, operating a crank on each side of the vehicle.
Many refuse collectors have moving floors. The Principality moving floor, made by Bromilow and Edwards, Ltd., Foundry Street, Bolton, is built up on a strong underframe. The belt is actuated through driving rollers, which are operated by a gearbox at the front and rear. When the vehicle has to discharge on a tip, or into a destructor, the operator cannot always be at the "rear of the machine. A remote discharging gear is, therefore, provided, so that the floor may be operated from nearer the front.
The refuse collector often has a barrier attached to the moving floor. The partition, is brought towards the rear when loading begins and, after the space between the back end of the body and the barrier is filled, the belt is moved forward, taking the load and partition with it; thus, compact loading is attained. The tailboard may be of a self-actuated, spring-operated type, hinged at the top, or the load is released by Opening,a pair of back doors.
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The Transport moving floor, made by Transport Engineering, Ltd., 561. Old Kent Road, London, S.E.1, is claimed, to have special advantages for refuse collection. Load compression is obtainable to a considerable degree by moving the floor towards the closed tailboard.
A refuse van of the type in mind has a streamlined cab, which accommodates four loaders, the driver and clothing. Capacious lockers are provided for saleable refuse, such as waste paper.
The tailboard slides to the top of the 'body and hinges at right angles t6 ensure unobstructed discharging of the load. It Is cable-operated and auto
matically locks in its open and closed positions.
The " commercial " model of the Transport moving floor has been improved in detail and special attention has been given to the design of poweroperated floors for maximum loads. The Transport floor is also available for hand operation.
The sliding door has proved its efficiency as a safety device for the coach and bus. It is used with equal advantage as a side-loading or partition door for the van. A later application of this device is for the driver's cab of the lorry or van. The driver is able easily to enter or leave • the cab in confined spaces, whether in traffic or in the garage.
No danger arises if the door be opened while the vehicle is in motion. The open door may be used as a ventilator in hot weather and, to save time, need not be closed when frequent calls are made.
Beckett, Laycock and 'Watkinson, Ltd., Harlesden, London, N,W.10, manufactures the Beclawat sliding-door gear. This ensures smooth action, because the runners on which the door is hung have an upper and lower set of balls mounted in a cage, which provides for the correct spacing of the balls. The main channel and runner bar are made from weldless drawn-steel tubing, thus affording an exceptionally hard surface with a minimum of weight. The gear, with its various types of hanger, bottom roller and bracket, may be adapted to doors curved in either the vertical or horizontal plane, also to a pair of doors working together.
If the van be streamlined and the shapely hack has doors, these must be hung on hinges with a varying amount of projection, in order to establish a straight line which shall pass through all the hinge centres.
Hinge projection is avoided by fitting a roller shutter, a device which adapts itself to any curved outline. The wood or aluminium shutters made by G. Brady and Co., Ltd., Ancoats, Manchester, 4, have a window of inset glazed slots. The Shutters may roil up at the top Of the opening, or extend horizontally under the roof. The height of the drop-sided lorry varies according to the size of the vehicle, or the amount of protection. required. In the course of his business, the bodybuilder requires several different sizes of hinge iron for these lorries. He stocks the standard lengths available, or makes special forgings.
With the unit system of Messrs. John Parks and Son, Lye, Stourbridge, any length of hinge may be built up. The units comprise cranked ends, engaging pegs and eyes for the tops of the hinges and hinge eyes for the bottoms.
Each unit is slotted to facilitate assembly and fits ordinary 11-in. by 5-10-in, iron, which is cut down to the
required length. Moreover, the terminal units give strength where the main stresses occur and allow a lighter section in the middle of the hinge, thus eliminating unnecessary weight.
During the past few years methods of transporting perishable food products have been revolutionized, owing to the improvements effected in refrigeration And insulation. The number of vehicles used for this class of work has increased considerably, an important factor being the development in the distribution of ice cream.
The self-contained fully automatic mobile refrigerating plant made by J. and E. Hall, Ltd., Dartford, Kent, ha,s a Hallmark compressor, using methyl chloride as the refrigerant, which is driven by a Stuart Turner twostroke petrol engine. Cooling is effected by direct-expansion plate-type evaporators protected by wire guards. Starting and stopping of the plant are automatically controlled by the chamber temperature.
An ice-cream van is usually loaded during the late afternoon for departure the next morning. During the interval, the correct temperature is maintainedby the automatic operation of the refrigerating plant, as it is during the day while deliveries are taking place. The body of the refrigerator van is divided by insulated partitions, or smaller compartments are separated by shelves, with an insulated door to each.
Efficient insulation is essential in order that a low temperature is maintained during the hottest weather. This is achieved by the use of Alfol, which consists of a polished aluminium foil weighing only 3 oz. per cubic ft. The' licences for its sale are held in this country by Alfol Insulation, Ltd,, Windsor House, Victoria Street, London, S.W.I.
This type of insulation is built up with successive layers of foil, spaced
approximately in. apart, until the desired thickness is obtained. The foil is crumpled to produce irregular ridges and valleys, thus allowing the layers automatically to space themselves with a minimum of contact.
Good Insulating Properties.
Alfol insulation operates by combining the low figure of conductivity of the enclosed air spaces with the high heat-reflecting power of the bright metal surfaces. It is particularly suitable for vans carrying perishable goods, because it is clean, odourless, and unaffected by vibration.
It is also used for vans which have Drikold or solid carbon dioxide as a
refrigerant. Moreover, as the function of an insulator is to maintain a given temperature, high or low, it is applied to tank wagons for carrying hot tar.
There is not much difference in the degree of comfort afforded by a coach seat, as compared with that of a bus. Much travel without fatigue is nowadays dependent on Dunlopillo cushioning, made by Dunlop Rubber Co., Ltd., Fort Dunlop, Birmingham, and a large number of public service vehicles is equipped with it. It is supplied in moulded units for seats, squabs and arm-rests, which require little trimming. Dunlopillo is self-ventilating, hygienic and retains its shape indefinitely.
With the Float-on-Air pneumatic upholstery made by David Moseley and Sons, Ltd., Ardwick, Manchester, the tubular construction gives support with low air pressure and absorbs shock without rebound. Rolling is minimized by the duplex arrangement of the tubes, also by the special folds in them, which act as baffles.
Cool riding is assured by the free passage of air between the tubes.
Adjustable Driving Seats.
A vehicle does not always have the same driver. If the men wary in height, some adjustment of the seat is desirable, so that the driver suffers no distracting discomforts and is able to concentrate his attention on the road.
Two types of adjustable driving seat are made by A. W. Chapman, Ltd., Ranelagh Gardens, London, S.W,6. The Leverex, which provides for both vertical and horizontal adjustment, is independent of the bulkhead fixing and is screwed to the pillar supplied.
The Busella is for bulkhead fixing. Mark 23 model has vertical adjustment, whilst Mark 23/HA adjusts also horizontally.
The Equipment and Engineering Co., Ltd., 2-3, Norfolk Street, London, W.C.2, supplies many items for the equipment of the public service vehicle, There are, for instance, various models of Nesta seat.. With the new Clamepruf seat, no wood screws are used to secure the back, nor is there any visible tack liable to tear passengers' clothing.
The E. and E. concern has several patterns of destination and route-number indicators. These are designed for various sizes of screen, for quick interchangeability, also for hand or motor operation. In addition to the wellknown Numa air bell, there is the lowvoltage electric pattern. The company also supplies Wilmot-Breeden Silent Travel Duplex locks for sliding doors.
Rexine, made by I.C.I. (Rexine), Ltd., Hyde, Cheshire, is proof against scratches, water and stain, and can be supplied in various colours and effects, For these reasons it is much favoured for interior roof panels, lining panels and mouldings. It is also used for seat backs, fender panels, staircase enclosure, the underside of parcels racks and even for covering the used-ticket box.
The new finish, 68SR2, has no depth of design in which dust can collect and is offered for ceiling and moulding cloths in all widths.
Artoco veneers for facing plywood and other materials for inside panels are made by the loco Rubber and
Waterproofiing Co., Ltd., Anniesland, Glasgow, W.3. This synthetic product is made in a variety of colours, 'either plain or with wood grain, and attractive designs with either a bright polished or satin-effect surface.
loco rubber flooring is an excellent floor covering for the public service vehicle, because it withstands years of heavy wear. Other loco products include sponge-rubber cushions, armrests and backed flooring.
Flex° Plywood Industries, Ltd., South Chingford, London, E.4, is supplying considerable quantities of Flexometal and Flexoply for various types of passenger and goods bodywork. Flexometal consists of plywood with a sheet of metal on one or both sides.
Flexoply roofs moulded to the desired curve are being used for the bodywork of a number of buses and coaches, Among the many body fittings of William E. Cary, Ltd., Red Bank, Manchester, 4, are side and tailboard ironwork and fittings for fixed and drop-sided, as well as tipping, lorries, also pull pins, towing hooks and drawbars for trailers. The Cary Easilift ramp spring is a simple and effective device whereby the heavy ramp of a livestock carrier or horsebox may be easily controlled single-handed.
Sunsaloon Bodies, Ltd., Weston Lane, Greet, Birmingham, 11, makes both sliding and folding types of head. The outer cover of the sliding-panel pattern may be either of aluminium sheet, or headcloth mounted on a layer of felt. To ensure lightness, rigidity and freedom from corrosion, the cantrails are of extruded and heat-treated duralumin.
Sliding Heads.
The sliding panel may be hand or mechanically operated. The ordinary push-and-pull type of head has a friction lock, which secures it in any intermediate position, but with the electrically or chain-driven patterns, locking is by means of a sprocket in the gearbox. The folding heads have perforated cant-rails, along which the front stick is driven by sprockets splined on to a cross-shaft. Thus, the parallel opening of the head is ensured.
With the sliding-door gear, the door rolls on two Hoffmann journal tear ings. These fall into depressions in the top track at each end of the travel. The door is then supported on a length of Ferodo packing fitted on the underside of the angle connecting the two hearings. The bottom runner consists of two U-channels, connected by an angle and surrounded by substantial clips.
A new fitting of interest to the bodybuilder is the Duplex bus lock, made by Wilmot-Breeden, Ltd., Camden
Street, Birmingham, 1. This is designed for coaches with a central entrance and sliding door. It is easy to operate, because movement of the handle in the direction in which it is desired to slide the door immediately releases the lock. When the door is pulled open it is locked in that position by a duplicate bolt.
Any wear which may occur in the slides of the door, or in the striker, is taken up automatically, owing to the special tapered construction of the bolt, which embodies the patent Silent Travel mechanism.
Lightweight Seats.
Among the many types of seat made by G. D. Peters and Co., Ltd., Windsor Works, Slough, there is the lightweight model 1100 of tubular construction, which is particularly suitable for upper saloons. The only bend in the tubular frame is reinforced with a
pressed-steel gusset plate. A special feature of seat model 1445/S is that the aluminium-alloy pedestal is adjustable to clear trap doors.
The Peters bulkhead blind consists of a series of folding pleats reinforced with wood laths at the top and bottom. The blind requires no runners, guide channels or supporting brackets, and it may be fixed either horizontally or vertically.
Sunde.ala board, which is available in standard sizes up to 12 ft. by 6 ft, .is used for side, roof and ceiling panels.