Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – End gates
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-24
2001-11-13
Gordon, Stephen T. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
End gates
C410S032000, C410S034000, C410S035000, C410S038000, C410S121000, C410S143000, C296S050000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06315346
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Recent models of pickup trucks have added shorter options of the standard truck bed lengths and are now offering eight-foot models and six-foot models thereby dictating that the longest totally enclosed load that can be carried must be restricted to within either of these standard lengths. In the shorter model, even with the tailgate lowered, the truck bed length only extends to seven feet, six inches. Problems arise while carrying loads with the tailgate lowered because the probabilities of cargo sliding out of the back are increased thereby requiring the transporter to devise some means of tying down the load. When loads approaching fifteen feet are carried, the center of gravity for these loads is shifted farther toward the back thereby making the load increasingly unstable and making it easier for the loads to shift towards the back and fly off of the truck. When loads exceed fifteen feet in length such as in long lengths of lumber, they are impossible to load without providing some sort of counterbalancing ballast, such as a couple of concrete blocks or a sack of sand, that is resting on the load and is positioned toward the front of the truck bed.
Additionally, there is a problem which has always existed with pickup trucks, that is, unstable cargo loads that are totally within the truck bed which are liable to roll or shift while being transported. The driver must devise some means of using ropes for tying these loads to prevent such movement. When carrying loads such as groceries that are apt to shift around in the truck bed, the driver is likely to see a cantaloupe or a bottle of juice rolling around the truck bed during acceleration or braking. Cargo that rolls, such as a lawnmower, must be tied down to prevent rolling either from front to back or from side to side.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the applicant has designed and proposed a device which will utilize the weight of the truck to provide counterbalancing for the long load and which will provide a vertical locking mechanism to prevent the moving, shifting, and torque movement of the long load while it is being transported. The same, above-mentioned device may be adjusted horizontally along the truck bed to secure the moveable load against the truck cab and prevent any other said additional movement.
While there have been several other attempts at addressing these particular problems with devices being manufactured for pickup trucks that provide for securing cargo to the truck bed (U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,023; U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,521; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,956 for examples) all simply provide for additional securing attachments for ropes to be used in tying down the loads. None address the issue of an installed device that will permit the driver to easily and handily secure loads with the flexibility and consistency of a built-in system. Most of the other devices are restricted to securing loads at predetermined attachment points while this present invention permits the flexibility of an infinite variety of rigid position holdings without having to always carry along counterbalance or securing devices.
An alternative design is disclosed in co-pending application Ser. No. 09/310,211 filed at the U.S. Patent Office on May 12, 1999, to a similar retrofit model which can be installed on the truck sidewalls and will not require that the truck be drilled welded or otherwise damaged. This current invention is more specific to a factory installed configuration, and this present invention permits the tailgate to function in the normal manner, thereby permitting cargo to be loaded in the conventional manner. Additionally, this invention provides the bonus of a partial energy saving flow-through feature similar to the “ProNet” or “Air Gate” flow through tailgates, both of which are listed as patent pending. However, this current invention is in no way similar to either of these inventions in that they are simply mesh installed in place of an existing tailgate, and in this present invention the flow through feature is dictated by the utilitarian function of the load locking requirement of the tailgate.
It is therefore the object of this invention to utilize the tailgate as an improved compartmentalized cargo restrainer.
It is the object of this invention to utilize the tailgate as a clamping and locking device for holding down long loads.
It is the object of this invention to provide for ease of utilization by being a motor-driven device.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems in the background statement and thus to provide a mechanical pressure system that can function as a locking device which will prevent the unwanted movement of cargo loads in a pickup truck during transport.
In order to accomplish the above-mentioned ends, the invention comprises:
A drive train that consists of an electrically driven motor, located at the cab side end panel of the truck, that is wired into the electrical system of the truck. The motor control consists of a waterproof push-button device which controls the forward-backward, up-down movements of the tailgate assembly. The motor control may be located within the truck cab, but more likely it will be better situated near the top of the sidewall at a position close to the truck cab. The entire drive train is a system of rods, friction cone or bevel gears, chains, sprockets, spur gears and rack gears. The upper side and rear rails of the truck bed serve as the concealing location for the components of the drive train. The materials are designed to be lightweight and thereby not add appreciably to the overall weight of the truck. Also, the fact that most of the solid bulk of the tailgate has been replaced by the flow through fingers compensates to offset any additional weight gain.
Two sets of mirror image rods (four rods), one side with left hand rotation and the other side with right hand rotation when considered from a position within the motor, lead from the electric motor with one rod connecting to a sprocket wheel and the other connecting to a bevel gear. (Essentially, this is simply two rods continuous through the motor with fixed spur gears at the center of each rod to receive the movement from the motor.) The sprocket wheels at each end of one said rod changes the direction of the power flow as it connects with a chain drive which is situated perpendicular to the sprocket rod. A keyseat shaft attached to a bevel gear forms a countershaft and likewise converts the direction of power from the other bevel gears on each end of the other said rod. The chain drive operates with another sprocket wheel designed into the rear post of the truck bed and the two loose ends of the chain are attached to the moveable carriage. The keyseat shaft passes through a hole drilled in the moveable carriage and is connected to the rear post by a ring bearing to permit the rotational movement of the keyseat shaft.
An H-shaped track runs parallel to the chain drive and the key seat shaft and a multiplicity of rollers attach to the said carriage and support said carriage permitting its horizontal movement along the said track as it is propelled by said chain drive. A semi-cored recess in the carriage housing accommodates the spur gear which is supported by the said keyseat shaft the same of which passes through a drilled hole in the carriage housing. Two vertical cylindrical slots are situated in the carriage housing on either side of the spur gear recess and are designed to provide a track recess for the vertical movement of the gear rack.
The said gear rack working in conjunction with the spur gear which is being turned by the keyseat shaft provides the vertical, up and down, movement of the tailgate assembly. The said gear rack has two tracks which slot into the said track recesses of the said carriage and this locks the two independent units together while still permitting the required movement. The gears of the rack do not extend the entire length of the unit thereby creating a governor to
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