Hard truck bed cover

Details Hard truck bed cover Hard truck bed cover

2000-05-15

2002-01-22

Pape, Joseph D. (Department: 3612)

Land vehicles: bodies and tops

Tops

Load cover

C296S100020, C296S100070, C296S100100, C296S191000, C296S100010

Reexamination Certificate

active

06340194

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention is generally directed toward a top for a land vehicle. More particularly, this invention is directed to a rigid cover for a pickup truck cargo bed. The present cover is composed of a first thermoformed sheet of plastic that provides a desirable application surface, and a second thermoformed sheet of plastic comprising molded-in details imparting strength, encapsulating hardware and other functional elements that advance the art of tops for land vehicles.
In the present embodiments, the first and second thermoformed sheets are permanently bonded together to produce a one-piece cover. Also included are one or more hinge elements operable to connect the cover to the truck bed about front wall; one or more props which support the cover in the opened position; and, a lock mechanism to secure the cover in the closed position.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Pickup truck vehicles are used for both work-related activities and personal transportation. The pickup truck bed provides carrying space for both work-related and personal cargo. In order to prevent cargo from being damaged by weather or stolen, it has become common to install a protective cover over the truck bed. There are four types of cover commonly available for this purpose. The most popular type of cover is referred to by industry as a “topper” or a “truck cap”. A topper is characterized as having two opposed vertical side walls, a front wall and a back wall, which walls extend upward from the truck bed rails to form a roof with an over-all height generally equal to the top of passenger cabin of the pickup truck vehicle. The opposed sidewalls generally include windows for visibility, and the back wall includes a rear window lift gate for access. The three other types of covers for a truck bed are generically referred to as tonneau covers. The three types of tonneau cover comprise one-piece rigid covers; multi-piece sectional and roll-up covers; and, soft covers composed of a flexible vinyl fabric supported by cross-bows and optionally, a perimeter fabricated metal frame. The present invention falls under the category of one-piece rigid covers.
There are several prior art devises that disclose one-piece rigid tonneau covers. These prior art devises in turn include fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) covers; composite thermoset plastic covers and fabricated metal and/or plastic panel covers. By a considerable margin, the most popular and widely sold one-piece rigid covers are the FRP cover variety.
FRP cover products are produced by conventional lay-up operations are uneconomical compared to the modern technology of thermoform manufacturing operations.
The lay-up operation is time-consuming and labor intensive. The lay-up process involves the application of parting agents, a gel coat surface and two or more lamination steps that often include inserts for reinforcement. Each step is labor intensive and requires cure times that are influenced by temperature, humidity and other technical and labor factors. A single FRP tonneau cover mold is capable of producing 3-5 parts in a 24-hour period. Current thermoforming art is capable of converting sheets of plastic into rigid one-piece twin-sheet covers at a rate of 12 plus parts per hour. Thermoforming is a significantly more productive processing technology.
The lay-up operation uses polyester resins and fiberglass. The application surface of the lay-up process comprises specialty gel-coat resins that normally cost double the price of the polyester resins. An FRP cover for a small size pickup truck bed weighs approximately 95 lbs. The weight of the center of an FRP cover is so heavy that it collapses in upon itself when unsupported. Therefore, contemporary FRP covers also included filled resins and/or load-bearing inserts comprising wooden or aluminum cross members, foam panels or paperboard honeycomb panels that become saturated with resin between two laminations of FRP. A twin-sheet thermoformed plastic cover, for the equivalent make and model of pickup truck bed weighs 60 lbs. The resin costs for thermoformable plastics range in price, with HDPE at the low end and ABS at the high end. The material cost factor between FRP and thermoformable resins is in the order of 2 to 1. Thermoforming is therefore a much more economical processing technology.
The lay-up operation produces styrene monomer vapors that produce worker safety and environmental problems. The lay-up operation also poses cleanup and storage problems. The lay-up operation is taxed by many states to dis-incentivise its use and to re-cover its impact costs upon society. The thermoforming process of converting HDPE or ABS plastic resins into finish products carries little, if any risk, to society. Unlike thermosetting FRP resins, HDPE and ABS are 100% recyclable. Thermoforming is therefore a safer and cleaner processing technology.
The FRP lay-up operation has retained its prevalent position within the market because the manufacturers of tonneau covers also manufacture FRP toppers. The larger topper market, in terms of manufacturers' sales revenue, has therefore precluded the move toward more promising thermoforming technologies. In summary, the existing manufacturers operate within a competitive market and are therefore reluctant to switch to more modern operations and technologies.
In addition to being uneconomical and having negative worker safety and environmental impacts, FRP covers are also not user friendly. The heavy weight construction of a FRP cover poses several problems. The FRP cover can not be easily removed from the truck bed because it of its heavy weight. A heavy weight FRP cover also increases fuel consumption and the cost of operating the vehicle. The heavy weight of an FRP cover can also damage the pickup truck box. For example, the unforgiving structure of a heavy weight burden upon the front and sidewall rails of a pickup truck can result in sheet metal deformation and warping. Furthermore, the heavy weight of the cover acts to compress and abrade the gasket materials that provide a water-resistant seal between the cover and the truck bed, which over time results in wear and tear to the paint finish of the pickup truck bed rails. These effects reduce the resale value of the pickup truck vehicle. The inside surface of the FRP cover is usually unfinished and exposes the hand-rolled FRP materials. Cover manufacturers add a secondary painted surface finish or apply a non-woven fabric to hide the rough inside FRP surfaces at extra cost in order to over-come this appearance problem. Finally, in order to adapt the crowned application surface of the FRP cover to the flat rail surfaces of the truck bed, the FRP cover manufacturers use added inserts. This arrangement is typically ineffective because the additional inserts do not adequately compensate for the front-to-back crown along the sidewalls or the side-to-side crowns about the rear and front walls of the FRP cover. Water penetration occurs when a proper seal is not achieved, and water can damage cargo stored in the truck bed.
An advanced thermoformed cover substantially overcomes these problems. A thermoformed cover is approximately 35% lighter than an equivalent sized FRP cover, and is easier to remove and re-install at the convenience of the vehicle operator. A lighter weight thermoformed cover decreases long-term fuel consumption and therefore the cost of operating the vehicle. Elements of the second inside sheet of a thermoformed cover can be adapted to conform to the horizontal plane defined by the truck bed rails upon which the cover rests. Therefore, while the first sheet can be crowned to present an attractive appearance and overcome the FRP cover problem of “dishing”, the second sheet can be adapted to provide a uniform compression seal about the truck bed rails which minimizes damage to the painted surfaces. A lighter weight thermoformed cover also produces less deflective forces about the prop mounting points and hinge mechanisms, which in turn reduces the incidence of sheet metal deformation and warp

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