Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Tops – Load cover
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-11
2001-02-13
Dayoan, D. Glenn (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Tops
Load cover
C296S100060, C296S039200, C296S037600, C296S026090
Reexamination Certificate
active
06186575
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to cargo covers for vehicles and, more particularly, to a re-configurable cargo cover for a bed of a vehicle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is known to provide a bed for a vehicle such as a pick-up truck. Typically, the bed is rectangular in shape to define a cargo area and is closed at the end by a tailgate. The tailgate is hinged to the bed to have an upright position to close the end of the bed and a down position to open the end of the bed.
Many of the pick-up trucks sold today have a cargo cover to cover the bed. The cargo cover is made as a one-piece panel of a relatively “strong/rigid” hard material to withstand predetermined strength and performance specifications. The cargo cover will only fit the bed for which it was designed.
Some pick-up trucks may include shorter beds or include crew/club or extended cabs that encroach into the space which would otherwise be employed for the cargo area. Short beds do not allow for loads of standard eight (8) foot materials to be transported with the tailgate in the closed position. Therefore, there is a need in the art to increase the flexibility of a cargo cover and useable space of the cargo area of a bed for a vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a re-configurable cargo cover for a bed of a vehicle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a re-configurable cargo cover that offers the flexibility for different configurations for a bed of a vehicle.
It is yet another object of the present invention to extend the cargo area of a bed of a vehicle.
To achieve the foregoing objects, the present invention is a re-configurable cargo cover for a bed of a vehicle. The re-configurable cargo cover includes a plurality of individual panels operatively cooperating with each other and a bed of a vehicle. The re-configurable cargo cover also includes a pair of interior sides operatively connected to sides of the bed of the vehicle. The re-configurable cargo cover further includes the panels and the sides having features cooperating with each other to re-configure the panels into a plurality of different configurations for a cargo area of the bed of the vehicle.
One advantage of the present invention is that a re-configurable cargo cover is provided for a bed of a vehicle. Another advantage of the present invention is that the re-configurable cargo cover has a plurality of panels to form a plurality of different configurations for a bed of a vehicle. Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the re-configurable cargo cover provides complete flexibility. Still another advantage of the present invention is that the re-configurable cargo cover has potential flexibility for storage compartments along with foldaway areas without intruding into the usable space and interfering with cargo tie downs. A further advantage of the present invention is that the re-configurable cargo cover offers the ability to extend the cargo area walls for additional cargo capacity rearward or to protect interior components when located forward into the occupant area.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood after reading the subsequent description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2090815 (1937-08-01), Simmons, Jr.
patent: 3291520 (1966-12-01), Smith
patent: 4394100 (1983-07-01), Sperlich
patent: 5154478 (1992-10-01), Erickson et al.
patent: 5265993 (1993-11-01), Wayne
patent: 5415506 (1995-05-01), Payne
patent: 5597193 (1997-01-01), Conner
patent: 5931632 (1999-08-01), Dongilli et al.
patent: 5979963 (1999-11-01), Jordon
“UltraHatch” Product Literature, Syncorp, L.L.C., Date unknown, 2 pages.
Chesnick James R.
Cummings David W.
Fisher Kevin M.
Dayoan D. Glenn
General Motors Corporation
Murray Mickki D.
Sedlar Jeffrey A
LandOfFree
Re-configurable cargo cover does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Re-configurable cargo cover, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Re-configurable cargo cover will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2577056