Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
Background of the Invention
This invention relates to a molded protective liner for a truck bedO
Molded plastic truck bed liners are known in the art as evidenced
by the Lorenzen United States patent No. 3,814,473, issued June 4, 1974, and
the Nix United States patent No. 3,881,768, issued May 6, 1975.
Where the truck bed liner is molded to completely conform to the
corresponding interior surfaces of the walls of the truck bed, any condensa-
tion between the liner walls and the walls of the truck bed is trapped, causing
condensation, rusting and corrosionO
L0 Swtlmary of the Invention
It is an object of this invention to provicle a truck bed liner
having longitudinal riclge members ormed in the bottom wall of the liner of
slightly greater width thcm any longitudinal rib member which might be formed
on tilC bottom ~Yall oE the truck bed, so that the ridge membQrs form open
ventilation channels or spaces longitudinally of the truck bed between the
bottom wall of the liner and the bottom wall of the truck bed.
According to the present invention, there is disclosed a protective
]iner for a truck bed, said bed having a bottom wall, a front wall, and
opposed side walls, said bottom wall comprising a plurality of tr~sversely
spaced longitudinal rib members extending front-to-rear of the truck bed, said
liner comprising:
~a) a bottom liner wall adapted to rest upon and to cover the bottom
wnll of said bed~
~b) said bo~tom liner wall comprising transversely spaced front-~o-
rear extending, ralsed, ridge members opening clownward,
~c) there being one ridge member for each rib member, each ridge member
; being in substantinl longitudinal alignment with each corresponding rib member,
Ccl) the ~Yidth of each ridge member being greater than the width of the
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corresponding longitudinally aligned rib member to provide longitudinal
ventilating spaces between said ridge member and the bottom wall of said
truck bed.
In a pre~erred embodiment of the inventionJ the height of each
ridge member is slightly greater than the height of its corresponding covered
rib member to provide an elongated upper ventilating space between the top of
said rib member and its corresponding ridge member.
In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, all of th0
ventilating spaces between the corresponding ridge members and rib members
extend substantially the full length o said truck bed liner.
Brief Description of the Drawings
In drawings, which illustrate an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 1 is a rear perspective view of a conventional pick-up truck
and a truck bed liner mounted in operative position within th0 bed of the
pick-up truck "~ith the tailgatc in open position;
Figure 2 is a fragmentary, top plan view of the right-hand portion
of the truck bed liner disclosed in Figure 1, with the truck bed disclosed in
phantom;
Figure 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary section taken along the line
3-3 of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a fragmentary section, similar to Figure 3, of the bo~tom
rear end portion of the truck bed liner, with the tailgate liner and tailgate
d.isclosed in closed position;
Figure 5 is a substantially enlarged, fragmentary section taken
along the line 5-5 of Figure 2;
Figure 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary, exploded, perspective view
oE the upper left rear corner of the truck bed liner and the truck bed, and
the astener member therefor; and
Figure 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary section taken along the line
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7-7 of Figure 6, disclosing the liner fastened to the truck bed~
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
Referring now to the drawings in more detail, Figure 1 discloses
a conventional pick-up truck 10, including a cab 11 and a truck bed or cargo
compartment 12 supported upon wheels 13. The bed 12 includes a bottom wall
15 having elongated ribs 16, a front wall 17 and opposed side ~alls lS and l9o
A tailga~e 20 having an interior surface and an exterior surface is mounted
upon a hinge pin 21 for swinging movement about a horizontal a~is between the
open position disclosed in Figure 3 and the closed position disclosed in
Figure ~O The tailgate 20 may be further supported by the toggle link bar
assemblies 23, disclosed in Figure 1.
The truck bed liner 25 made in accordance with this invention
includes a unitary molded body liner 26 and a unitary molded tailgate liner
27, each separately ormed and unconnected, except through the hinge pin 21
b~tweon the tr~lck bed 12 ancl the ta:ilgate 20.
The truck body liner 26 includes a bottom wall 30, a front wall
31, and opposed side walls 32 and 33O All the walls 30, 31, 32 and 33 are `:
integrally formed, such as by molding from plastic materialO The plastic
material used to mold both the body portion :26 and the tailgate liner 27 is
preferably a durable, high-impact styrene sheet material, such as ABS
~Acrylonitrile B~ltadiene Styrene - Trademark) and more particularly made of
ABS-LS ~Trademark~ plastic "~hich is a more durable acrylonitrile butadiene
styrene sheet material including an additive or filler known in the trade as
"LS". The plastic material is preerably 300 mils thick, and also preferably
laminated or covered with a "KORAD" ~Trademark) film to function as an ultra-
violet ray inhibitor to prolong the life of the plastic material against the
ultra-violet rays from the sun~
Th~ walls 3~, 31, 32 and 33 substantially conform to the interior
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surfaces of the corresponding bottom wall 15, front wall 17, and side walls 18
and 19 of the truck bed 120
Each of the side walls 32 and 33 and the front wall 31 are pro-
vided with top flanges 35 projecting substantially horizontally outward in
order to protect the upper surfaces of the corresponding side walls 18 and 19
and front wall 17 of the truck bed 12D
Although various types of fastening means may be employed to
secure the truck bed body liner 26 to the truck bed 12, nevertheless one pre-
ferred form of toggle bolt fastener is disclosed in ~igures 6 and 7 in the
form o a threaded bolt 37 adapted to cooperate with an internally threaded
collar 38 having expanding locking arms 390 As illustratecl in Figures 6 and
7, the bolt 37 is inserted through a corresponding hole in the top flange 35
o either of the side ~Yalls 32 or 33 and is threadedly secured to the nut 3SO
~s the body liner 26 is lowered into the truck bed 12, the expQnded arms 39
arQ collapsecl by engagement with the edges of the hole 40 in the corresponding
ledge 41 of the side walls 18 or 19~ After the collapsed arms 39, nut 38 and
bolt 37 have extended below and cleared the hole 40, the arms 39 are auto-
matically expanded by springs, not shown, to their position disclosed in
~igure 7. The bolt 37 is then tightened wit:hin the nut 3S to securely hold
the top flange 35 to the corresponding ledge ~1 of the respective side walls
18 and 19 of the truck bed 12, as disclosed in ~igure 70
In a preerred form of the invention, the bottom ~Yall 30 of the
bocly liner 26 is provided with uniformly and transversely spaced elongated
ridge members 43 extending the entire length of the bottom wall 30, opening
downward, and preferably opening forward to merge with the like ridge members
44 ~ormed in the front ~Yall 31 of the body liner 26~
MoreoYer, if the bottom liner wall 30 rests upon a bottom wall
15 is n trllck bed 12 whlch has longitudinal rib members 16, each ridge member
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129
43 is designed to have a slightly greater height and slightly greater width
than acorresponding rib member 16 received by the ridge member 43, to provide
ventilation space 45 between the ridge member 43 and the corresponding rib
member 16, as best disclosed in Figures 2 and 3. If the bottom bed wall 15 is
flat> then the ventilation space 45 is substantially greater.
This ventilation space 45 is essential for the elimination or
minimization of condensation and moisture which otherwise might become trapped
between closely-fitting~ complementary liner ridge members and truck bed rib
members.
For the same reason, a ventilation space 46 is provided between
the front liner wall 31 and the front bed wall 17, as best disclosed in
Figure 3.
The tailgate liner 27 includes a central panel portion 48 having
~.l front face, a renr face, an elongated top portion, and an elongated bottom
portion. Tlle elongated top portion merges into a top hook-shaped flange 49
hile the elongated bottom portion of the tailgate panel portion 48 merges
:into a bottom hook-shaped flange 50O Both of the hook-shaped flanges 49 and
!;0 project rearward from the central panel portion 48 and are adapted to
~xtend over or across and then slightly behind corresponding top and bottom
edge surfaces 51 and 52, respectively, oE the tailgate 28, as best disclosed
:in Figure 3O The hook-shaped flanges 49 and 50 are adapted to closely fit and
receive the corresponding top and bottom s~lrfaces 51 cmd 52 of the tailgate
20, so that when one of the hook-shaped flanges 49 or 50 has been fitted over
the corresponding surface 51 or 52, the remaining or other hook-shaped flange
50 or 49 is manually Eorced, with a moderate degree of pressure, over its
corresponding engaging surface 52 or 51, ~mtil the other flange is snap-
fastened over the corresponding surface, to firmly hold the tailgate liner 27
securely in plnce to complete:ly cover the interior surface of the rectangular-
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shaped ~ailgate 200
The bottom edge surface 52 of the tailgate 20 is substantially a
circular or cylindrical surface having its center of curvature substantially
coinciding with the pivotal a~is of the hinge 21, so that there will be a
substantially close fit between the bottom surface 52 and the end surface 54
of the bottom wall 15 of the truck bed 12, regardless of the pivotal position
of the tailgate 20. Thus, where the edge surface 52 is substantially circular,
the corresponding hook-shaped flange 50 is also circular and extends through
an arc of at least 90O The extent of the arc of circular hook-shaped flange
S0 greater than 90 is only enough to permit the flange 50 to be snapped over
the arcuate edge surface 52 with a moderate amount of manually applied pres- -
sure, and yet firmly hold the tailgate liner 27 snugly upon the tailgate 20~ :
The extent of the curvature of the bottom hook-shaped flange 50 will of course
tlOpOlld UpOIl the resilience of the central panel portion 48, which in turn
~cpends upon the elasticity of the plastic material, the wall thickness of
the panel portion 48 and the rigidity of the central panel portion 48, which
in turn depends upon its inherent reinforcing structureO
In a preferred form of the invention, the central panel portion 48
comprises a plurality of longitudinally spaced rib members 55 which extend
transversely of the tailgate 20, or in other words are disposed vertically
when the tailgate 20 is in an upright position, to improve the impact resis-
tance of the tailgate liner 27 and to improve the strength and rigidity of
the tailgate liner 270
The central panel portion 48 is also preferably provided with an
enlar~ed, lower rib member 56, preferably intersecting with the transverse
rib members 55, and preferably having coplanar interior surfacesO The lower
rib member 56 is preferably located to oppose, in close ju~taposition, the
renr edgQ of the bottom liner wall 30, to minimize the space between the
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tailgate liner 27 and the bed body liner 26, to prevent small articles from
leaking or falling from the truck bed 12, when the tailgate 20 is in closed
position, as disclosed in Figure 4.
Moreover, the lower rib member 56 provides an elongated stop or
buffer in the lower rear end of the body liner 26, where impact from objects
within the truck bed 12 are most likely to occurO
The body liner 26 may be provided with slight drafts in the side
walls 32 and 33 and the front wall 31, relative to the bottom wall 30, to
permit nesting or stacking of a plurality of the body liners 26, in order to `:
economize space in storage or shipment of the body liners 26.
Furthermore, the plastic material from which the body liner 26 and :`
tailgate liner 27 are made, may have appropriate pigments or coloring material
added in order to enhance the appearance of the liners 26 and 270
In the preferred form of the invention, the liners 26 and 27 are
~:rocrably vac~l~n--formed :~rom the ABS-LS ~Trademark) plastic sheet materialO
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