Bed rail for trucks

Freight accommodation on freight carrier – Load lashing retainer or load lashing adjunct – Anchor

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C410S106000, C410S110000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06312202

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to accessories for trucks, and, more particularly, to an improved attachment system for mounting bed rails to the top edge of the side wall of the bed of a truck.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A growing market has developed for aftermarket accessories designed for trucks, and particularly pickup trucks, of all sizes. A wide variety of accessories are currently available, including such items as tool boxes, tailgate covers, tailgate caps, front end bed covers, step plates, antenna mounts, running boards, grille guards, step rails, muffler tips and others.
One popular accessory is known as a “bed rail, ” which is a tubular-shaped section of pipe mounted to the top edge of each side wall of the bed of a truck. The bed rail extends horizontally, parallel to the top edge of the truck bed side wall, except at its ends which are bent at a 90° angle to engage the side wall of the truck bed.
In the past, a flat plate or rail foot was welded directly to each end of the bed rail and secured to the side wall of the truck with fasteners such as screws or bolts. This design presented at least two problems. First, it has been found that the weld connection between the rail foot and an end of the bed rail is relatively weak and failures often occur at that location. Additionally, such attachment design does not allow for any adaptability to trucks made by different manufacturers. Although trucks are currently advertised and promoted as having a “full-size ” bed or beds of other size, in practice the actual length dimension of the side wall of truck beds differ to some extent depending on the manufacturer of the vehicle. Since a rail foot is welded to the bed rail at each end in current designs, it is necessary to fabricate separate bed rails for each make of truck to ensure it properly fits the length of the truck bed side wall. Otherwise, one bed rail of fixed length intended for all “full-size” trucks, for example, would be too short for some makes and too long for others. It is costly for manufacturers to stock bed rails of many sizes, and to repair bed rails which are returned with a failure at the weld between the bed rail and rail foot.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore among the objectives of this invention to provide a bed rail structure for attaching the bed rail, and to the bed of a truck, which is rugged in construction and which can be used with trucks having a different bed length.
These objectives are accomplished in an attachment structure for the bed rail of a truck which includes a mounting plate welded to each end of the bed rail, and a rail foot adapted to mount to the side wall of the truck bed, wherein the mounting plate and rail foot are releasably attached to one another by fastners and adjustable with respect to one another in a front-to-back direction along the length of the truck bed.
In the presently preferred embodiment, the attachment structure for the bed rail of this invention comprises a pair of mounting plates, each having side-by-side threaded bores, which are internally welded within the opposed ends of the bed rail. Each end of the bed rail also includes a rail foot formed with a throughbore and an elongated slot having a countersunk recess, a foot gasket, and, a locking bar having a threaded bore. Each rail foot rests on the foot gasket atop the outer surface of the top edge of the side wall of the truck bed, and is secured in position by the locking bar located within the interior of the side wall against the inner surface of top edge thereof.
The bed rail is mounted to the truck bed by first aligning each end of the bed rail with a respective rail foot so that the elongated slot in the rail foot aligns with the threaded bores in the mounting plates. Screws are extended through the elongated slot of the rail foot and threaded into the threaded bores of the mounting plate to secure the bed rail to the rail foot. Preferably, the head of the screws seat within the countersunk recess formed by the elongated slot in the rail foot. Each rail foot is then secured to the bed side wall by a bolt which extends through the throughbore in the rail foot and into threaded engagement with the bore in the locking bar.
One advantage of the attachment structure of this invention is that a stronger connection is provided between the bed rail and rail foot than if the two components were welded directly together as in the prior art. A mounting plate is securely welded within the interior of the bed rail at each of its ends, and then the mounting plate is connected by screws to the rail foot instead of a weld. Additionally, the elongated slot in the rail foot allows for adjustment of the position of the bed rail along the length of the truck bed, in a front-to-back direction, since the screws can be inserted into the mounting plate at any position along the length of the elongated slot. Since there is a rail foot on each end of the bed rail, the total extent of adjustment of the front-to-back position of the bed rail along the truck bed is equal to approximately the total length of the elongated slots of the two rail feet combined. This provides a great deal of flexibility compared to known bed rail mounting designs, and permits one size of bed rail to fit the bed of trucks made by a number of manufacturers, each of which typically designs a truck bed of somewhat different length.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5393114 (1995-02-01), Christensen
patent: 5618140 (1997-04-01), Okland
patent: 5904458 (1999-05-01), Bundy
patent: 5997227 (1999-12-01), Bundy
patent: 6247881 (2001-06-01), Shuen

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