Staggered Seat Improves Comfort
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ANEW bus seat with a 6-in. stagger having been approved for longdistance and local-service vehicles in Sweden, the manufacturer, Accles and Pollock, Ltd., Oldbury, Birmingham, has decided 'toproduce it for the home market. It was shown for the first time by the Bus Seat Frame Association in Cardiff, this week, and several inquiries have been received from home operators.
The seat is, in effect, two individual units. The amount of stagger between them is sufficient to allow the shoulders of the passengers to overlap, thus greatly adding to their comfort when the overall width of 17 ins, is normally inadequate. When intended for home use, curved panels will be fitted between the backrests and between the seat and the gangway.
The frame is made of chromemolybdenum tubing with butted sidebends, the walls of the tubes being thickened at points where the greatest stress occurs. With service upholstery, B2 the seat weighs 42 lb., the increase in weight above that of the standard seat being about 4 lb.
The seat is fitted with body brackets and two pedestals, and has been designed to be independent of bodyrail fixing. A waist-rail bracket is not normally used, but can be supplied. Each section of the prototype seal, designed for an 8-ft.-wide bus, is 17 ins. wide.
Another recent Accles and Pollock development is a seat which, as designed for an 8-ft.-wide bus, weighs only 25 lb. The version for a 7-ft. 6-in, bus weighs 22/ lb. The seat widths are 36 ins. and 34 ins. respectively.
Weight reduction is achieved by *aping the cushion so that its thickness is reduced at the sides. This decreases the amount of material required, but does not impair the effective resilience of the cushion. A plastic backboard obviates the use of plywood and covering.