Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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COVER Dl~VICE FOR A PICKUP TRUCK BOX
The invention relates to a cover device for a box of a pickup truck. ;
Many designs have been proposed for cover devices which can extend over the
box of a pichlp truck so as to protect the material stored in the truck box from the elements and
from theft and in addition to provide an improved air flow over the truck box.
In some cases the cover device includes storage boxes or compartments into
which materials can be inserted separate from the underlying truck box.
Examples are shown in U.S. Patent 3,954,296 (Pat node) which includes a
front portion of increased height and a lower rear portion which is hinged about a line
transverse to the box.
Further examples are shown in U.S. design patents 263,947 (Hardin),
281,487 (Chapman) and 285,298 (Faly) in the designs of Hardin and Chapman are shown
raised front portions of the cover together with rear portions underneath the part of which
can be opened about a transverse hinge line. ~;
However these devices have a number of disadvantages and accordingly
there remains opportunity for the provision of a significantly improved device as set forth
in the present invention.
According to the first aspect of the invention there is provided a cover
device for a box of a pickup truck, the box having a front wall, a rear wall and two side
walls forming a rectangular open top box for receiving cargo, each of the walls having a
top surface, the cover device comprising a front cover part having a front edge and side
edges for engaging over the top surfaces of the front wall and part only of the side walls
respectively of the truck box, a rear cover part having a rear edge and side edges for
extending over the top surfaces of the rear wall and part only of the side walls respectively,
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hinge means connecting the rear cover part to the front cover part for hinged movement of
the rear cover part relative to the front cover part about a hinge line transverse to the truck
box, the rear cover part having a portion thereof overlapping a portion of the front cover
part, the portions being shaped and arranged such that a position of the hinge means can be
adjusted whereby a combined length of the front and rear portions can be adjusted to
accommodate different truck boxes having different lengths.
According to the second aspect of the invention there is provided a cover
device for a box of a pickup truck, the box having a front wall, a rear wall and two side
walls forming a rectangular open top box for receiving cargo, each of the walls having a
top surface, the cover device comprising a front cover part having a front edge and side
edges for engaging over the top surfaces of the front wall and part of the side walls
respectively of the truck box, a rear cover part having a rear edge and side edges for
extending over the top surfaces of the rear wall and part of the side walls respectively, and
hinge means connecting the rear cover part to the front cover part for hinge movement of
the rear cover part relative to the front cover part about a hinge line transverse to the truck
box, wherein the front cover part includes a portion thereof underlying the overlapping
portion of the rear cover part with the hinge means arranged forwardly of said portion of
the front cover part, said portion of the front cover part including an upstanding transverse
rib rearwardly of said hinge means and extending substantially continuously across the
width of the front cover part from one side edge to the opposed side edge, the rear cover
part including an undersurface thereon for engaging the rib substantially wholly across the
width of the front cover part to form a rain seal therewith.
According to the third aspect of the invention there is provided a cover
device for a box of a pickup truck, the box having a front wall, a rear wall and two side
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walls forming a rectangular open top box for receiving cargo, each of the walls having a :
top surface, the cover device comprising a front cover part having a front edge and side
edges for engaging over the top surfaces of the front wall and part of the side walls
respectively of the truck box, a rear cover part having a rear edge and side edges for
extending over the top surfaces of the rear wall and part of the side walls respectively,
hinge means connecting the rear cover part to the front cover part for hinge movement of
the rear cover part relative to the front cover part about a hinge line transverse to the tr~ck
box, the rear cover part being substantially planar, the front cover part including the
storage box mounted thereon having a bottom wall substantially co-planar with said front
and side edges of the front cover part so as to leave the truck box free for cargo under the
front cover part, the storage box including side walls defining an open top, the side walls
extending upwardly to an apex paMllel to the side edges with the open top extending
downwardly and outwardly therefrom, a pair of cover panels covering the open top each
attached to the storage box along a hinge line adjacent the central apex to allow lifting of
an edge of the cover panel adjacent one of the side edges, the height of the central apex
from the bottom wall being less than the height of the rear window of the pickup truck.
One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction with
the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure I is an isometric view of the cover device according to the
present invention showing a part only of the truck box to which it is attached.
Figure 2 is a cross sectional view along the lines 2-2 of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a cross sectional view along the lines 3-3 of Figure 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A pickup truck is generally indicated at 10 in Figure I and includes a box
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having a front wall 12, a rear wall or tailgate 11 and a pair of side walls 13 and 14. Each
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of these walls has a top surface which is substantially horizontal onto which the cover
device of the present invention can be attached. The truck further includes a rear window
15 of the cab 16 which allows the driver to view the rear of the vehicle through the
conventional rear view mirror (not shown).
The cover device is generally indicated at 17 and includes a front portion 18
and a rear portion 19. The front portion 18 includes a box section 20 and a planar
coupling section 21 which extends rearwardly from the box. The front portion 18 includes
flanges 23 and 24 along the sides of the box part and of the coupling part and the front
flange 25 each of which sits on a respective one of the top edges of the front and side
walls. Each flange includes downturned side edge portion 27 which wraps lightly around
the outer surface of the top edge of the side walls of the box.
From those flanges extended across a bottom wall 22 of the box portion 20
which is thus co-planar with the flanges and does not in any way extend into the truck box
itself allowing this area to receive cargo in the normal way. The box further includes an
upstanding front wall 28 and upstanding rear wall 29 which are generally transverse to the
truck box and which define a central raised apex area 30 across the top of the box section.
From that apex area which is central of the truck box and parallel to the sides, the side
walls extend downwardly towards the sides of the truck box. This defines an open top for
the box section which itself tapers downwardly towards the sides so that its height
gradually decreases towards the sides. An open top 31 of the truck box is covered by a
pair of panels 32 and 33 which extend from the side of the cover device towards the central
apex area 30. At the apex area 30 each of the cover panels is connected by hinges 34
which allow the cover panels to be lifted from the side upwardly to allow access into the
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interior of the box portion. Suitable latching handles are provided as indicated at 35 of a
type which are well known to one skilled in the art.
The height of the box section is therefore arranged to be lower than the top
of the rear window 15 so that the user has visibility through the rear window with this
visibility being improved by the downward taper of the sides of the box section allowing
the driver to see effectively to either side of the vehicle.
Integral with the flanges and with the box section is provided the rearwardly
extending coupling portion 21 which extends across the side flanges 23 and 24 as a
substantially planar sheet in a common plane with the bottom 22 of the box section. The
coupling section 21 includes a main transverse raised rib 35 which extends across the full
width of the truck box at a substantially constant height across the full width as best shown
in Figure 2. The rib is provided at the rearmost edge of the coupling portion 21 and acts
as a water dam to prevent any water collçcting on the front cover part from travelling
rearwardly and dropping into the box. The dam thus acts to cause any such water flow
outwardly to the sides and to be discarded from the sides. The connecting portion 21 is
stiffened by ribs 36 and 37. The ribs 36 are arranged at spaced positions across the width
of the portion 21 and extend rearwardly from the rear wall of the box along a part of the
length of the portion 21 and also taper inwardly so they become narrower towards the rib
35. The ribs 37 extends from the transverse ribs 35 forwardly and arranged alternately
with the ribs 36 as best shown in Figure 1 so as to interleave therewith terminating at a
position rearwardly of the rear wall of the box portion. This provides an effective
stiffening action without the necessity for longitudinal continuous ribs.
The rear cover part 19 is substantially planar so as to extend across the top
surfaces of the sides and rear walls of the truck box. Thus the rear cover part includes side `: :
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flanges 40 and 41 which are similar to the side flanges 23 and 24 of the front part. In
addition the rear cover part includes a rear flange 42 extending across the top surface of the
tailgate or rear wall of the truck box. From these flanges the rear cover part includes a
slightly raised cover section 44 which stands upwardly from the flanges by a short distance
by interconnecting wall portions 45. The cover section itself is substantially planar
excepting for stiffening ribs. A forwardmost portion of the cover section 44 is
substantially completely free from stiffening ribs as indicated at rib free portion 45. This
portion provides an overlap section for overlapping a part of the coupling portion 21 of the
front cover part. An underside of the rib free portion 45 lies on top of the transverse ribs
35 in contact therewith. This therefore acts as a substantially continuous seal across the
width of the two parts to prevent water and air from entering the interconnection between
the front and rear parts. The fact that the rib free portion 45 is that on the underside and
free from ribs ensures a continuous seal.
A front edge of the rib free portion 45 includes a downturned transverse
flange 46 of a height substantially equal to the height of the rib 35 so as to sit on the top
surface of the coupling portion 21. The front edge of the transverse flange 46 is connected
to the up,per surface of the coupling portion at three of the ribs 37 by hinges 47. Each
hinge comprises a loop element 48 attached to the coupling portion 21 and a hook element
49 attached to the front face of the flange 46. The hook element includes a flange portion
attached to the flange 46 and a forwardly and upwardly turned hook 50. The loop element
48 includes an upturned leg 51 which has an opening for receiving the hook 50. The hook
50 and the leg 51 thus cooperate to hold the hinge elements together as the rear cover part
is hinged about the transverse hinge line defmed by the hinges up to a predetermined angle
when the hook 50 is released from the opening through the leg 51 allowing the rear part to
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be fully removed and taken away from the truck box.
The rib free portion 45 has a length from the flange 46 rearwardly which is
significantly greater than the width of the rib 35 so that the position of the rib 35 can be
adjusted longitudinally of the rib free portion. Similarly the position of the hinge element
48 on the longitudinal stiffening ribs 37 can itself be adjusted. This allows the amount of
overlap between the front part and the rear part of the cover to be increased or decreased as
re~uired thus decreasing or increasing the total length of the cover to adjust for different
truck box length and thus different truck model.
The cover panel 44 is stiffened by longitudinal ribs. A main longitudinal
central rib 52 extends substantially along the full length of the rear cover part from the
front flange 46 to a position adjacent to but spaced just forwardly of the rear flange 42.
This rib is raised sufficiently to define a hollow area 53 underneath the rib, the thickness of
the material being constant throughout the molding of the part. In order to prevent the
entry of moisture and air through the space between the top of the transverse rib 35 and the
hollow interior of the longitudinal rib 52, the hollow interior is filled by a foam material
54 at least in the area of the rib free portion 45.
Rearwardly of the rib free portion 45 is also provided a plurality of
longitudinal ribs 56 and 57. The ribs 56 are arranged in spaced positions across the width
of the cover part extending rearwardly from the rib free portion and terminating at a
position just rearwardly of a forward end of the rib 57 which extend forwardly from the
rear edge of the cover panel 44.
The rear cover part is therefore attached to the truck box by the hinges 47
and by a locking handling 58 adjacent the tailgate. The details of the locking handle 48 are
not shown as these will be apparent to one skilled in the art, the locking handling including
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the mechanism cooperating with the upper wall of the tailgate to hold the rearmost edge of
the rear cover part down into contact with the upper surface of the truck box walls.
At the sides of the rib free portion 45, the upper wall defined in the rib free
portion extend outwardly to the outermost edge of the flange as indicated at S9 and 60 so
as to form a portion which is raised upwardly from the respective flange 40 and 41 to
overlie the underlying flange 23, 24 of the front cover part. This side portion 59, 60 is
best visible in Figures 1 and 2 and in Figure 2 it can be seen that the side portion extends
to the downwardly turned outer edge flange 61 and 62 which extends outwardly beyond the
edge of the flange 23, 24 and the downturned portion 27. The flanges 61 and 62 are
shaped to cooperate with tapered end edges 63 and 64 of the transverse rib 35 so as to form ~;
a seal also at these outermost ends of the ribs 35. At the rear edge of the rib free portion
45, the side portions S9 and 60 turn downwardly as indicated at 65 and 66 to connect to the
side flanges 40 and 41 of the rear cover part. A length of foam can be inserted behind the ;~
dam 35 and in front of the down-turned wall 65, 66 to prevent entry of moisture at that
point. The length will vary depending upon the location of the hinges.
The cover device as described above has the following advantages. .:
1. It provides a box section at the forward part of the cover which does
not extend into the interior of the box and hence does not interfere with storage of cargo -
within the box. At the same time the box is shaped so that it does not interfere with view
through therearview mirror.
2. The interconnection between the front part and rear part of the cover
allows the hinging action of the rear part and yet prevents the entry of moisture or wind
through the interconnection into the truck box. This is provided by the transverse rib 35
which acts as a rain dam.
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3. The total length of the cover can be adjusted by increasing or
decreasing the amount of overlap between the cover parts so that one model of the cover
device can be used with a number of different models of trucks.
The front and rear parts of the cover device are each molded from plastics
material at an integral element using conventional molding techniques.
Since various modifications can be made in my invention as hereinabove
described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the
spirit and scope of the claims without departing from such spirit and scope, it is intended
that all matter contained in the accompanying speci~lcation shall be interpreted as
illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.
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