A New " Alwaysdry " Seat.
Page 23
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One of the principal objections to travelling on the upper-deck of a motorbus is the damp state of the seats after a shower of rain. A seat which is always dry, irrespective of the weather conditions, is a much-desired fitting, and one which should greatly add to the comfort of top-deck passengers.
Mr. F. R. Parsons, of 8, Maple Road, Exeter, claims to have invented a seat which meets the desired conditions. One of the tramcars of the Exeter Corpora-. Con was fitted with Mr. Parsons' patent seat, and, after a month's trial, in most indifferent weather, the Tramway Committee was so satisfied with the efficiency, that it decided to extend the use of these seats to other cars.
An examination of our illustrations will show the nature of the invention. The second figure shows the condition of the seat when not occupied, and from this it will be noticed that the seat is covered with a small tarpaulin. When the seat is required for use, the backrest is pushed into an oblique position, and the action of moving the back-rest causes the tarpaulin to travel underneath the seat, thus leaving the seat clean and dry for the reception of the passenger. The movement of the tarpaulin is effected by the meshing of a toothed-quadrant, which is fixed to one of the back-rest irons, with a small pillion. On the same shaft as this pinion, two chain sprockets are also mounted, and, engaging with these, are two short chains, the ends of which are attached to the edges of the tar
paulin. Immediately the passenger rises from the seat, the back-rest assumes a vertical position, and the.seats are again covered.
The idea appears to be a good one,
but it has certain objections which could, no doubt, soon be overcome by the inventor. One of these is the absence of protection for the passengers' clothing from the chains and gearing.