Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Wear strips
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-25
2001-09-11
Gordon, Stephen T. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Wear strips
C296S039200, C280S770000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06286884
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to protective cover devices and more particularly to a system for covering the tops of the sides of a pickup truck in such a manner as to be self adjusting.
2. Description of Related Art
The following art defines the present state of this field: Chaney et al, U.S. Pat. No. D423,117 describes a deck railing cap extrusion.
Zettle, U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,559 describes an apparatus for protecting the upper portions of the side walls of a vehicle cargo bed. The apparatus includes an elongate body having a medial section, a first end, and a second end, both ends extending downwardly from the medial section. The first end includes a magnet system, which enables its attachment to a vehicle bed wall without mechanical fasteners. The second end includes a hook member adapted to engage the ledge portion normally found in most vehicle cargo beds. The entire apparatus is preferably of one-piece construction, and manufactured of rubber. It also includes a flexible joint between the first end and medial section to facilitate use of the apparatus with walls of different thickness. Finally, the top of the medial section includes a plurality of longitudinally extending ribs designed as shock absorbers for any cargo or objects positioned thereon.
St. Marie et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,326,187 describes a cover to cover the upper rail of a railing. The upper rail has a top, bottom and side. The cover has a curved top with a concave inner surface to be positioned adjacent the top of the rail. The longitudinal ribs on the inner surface. The side walls to be positioned adjacent the sides of the upper rail. There are flanges on the bottom of the side walls to contact the bottom of the rail to locate the cover on the rail.
Elwell et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,678 describes a protective cap for covering the side walls of a pickup truck bed. The caps have a contour matching the contour of the side walls so as to provide a close fit, without the use of spacers or shims. The cap includes an elongated body with opposite forward and rearward ends and opposite inside and outside edges. Inside and outside lips are formed by bending portions of the respective inside and outside edges of the body downwardly. A notch is provided adjacent the rearward end of the body, to permit a rearward lip to be formed by bending a portion of the rearward end downwardly. The formation of the outside and rear lips closes the gap. The outside lip and rear lip are joined by a weld which fills the closed notch so as provide a continuous curved surface at the rearward corner of the body. The weld is polished to be visually indistinguishable from the outside and rear lips. When the cap is mounted upon a side wall of the truck, the outside and rear lips overlapingly mate with the curved rearward end of the side wall.
Oliveri et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,390 describes a structural covering that is attachable to a rail of a railing that has a top, a pair of sides, ends, and a bottom, and that is attachable to a floor board of a deck that has a top, a pair of sides, ends, and a bottom, while covering most of the rail of the railing and any exposed ends thereof and covering most of the floor board of the deck and any exposed ends thereof so as to prevent splinters, hide knots, splintered wood, discolored wood, and cracks in the wood, and give a uniform look that will not rot. The structural covering includes a general covering component, a connecting component, an end cap component, and a corner component. The general covering component covers most of the floor board of the deck and covers most of the rail of the railing. The connecting component joins facing ends of the general covering components that are adjacent and collinearlly-aligned. The end cap component covers any exposed end of the rail of the railing and any exposed end of the floor board of the deck and any free ends of the general covering component. And, the corner component joins facing ends of the general covering components that are adjacent and not collinearlly-aligned.
Stanesic et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,601 describes a bed rail cover for mounting to and protecting a vehicle bed rail. The bed rail cover is comprised of an integrally formed elongated rail cover having a top wall and two opposing side walls that are shaped to substantially conform to the exterior of the bed rail, and a fastening means for securing the rail cover to the bed rail about a stake hole pocket in the bed rail. In a preferred embodiment, a fastening clip having opposing wings is inserted through the rail cover and into a stake hole pocket, the wings being yieldably biased against the stake hole pocket to secure the rail cover in place. The fastening clip allows the rail cover to expand and contract in a longitudinal direction to prevent cracking and bulging of the rail cover.
The prior art teaches the use of protective rail-type covers for a vehicle cargo bed and for a fence, but does not teach a segmented multi-part cover with interengaging features capable of overcoming thermal expansion and contraction problems. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below.
The invention is a combination apparatus comprising a truck bed sidewall with a horizontally oriented top bed wall portion and integral downwardly extending inner, outer and end portions, and a sidewall cover providing a horizontally oriented top cover portion and integral therewith, and extending downwardly therefrom, an inner, outer and end cover portions, dimensionally sized to fit over the truck sidewall with the corresponding top, side and end portions in surface to surface contact. The sidewall cover comprises plural sections arranged in linear mutually abutting sequence defining at least one section interface between sections. The interface comprises a pair of complementary mutually interengagable U-shaped edges wherein a first one of the U-shaped edges provides an extending lip and a second one of the U-shaped edges provides a recessed lip, the recessed lip receiving the extending lip in overlapping abutment. The lips are designed with a length enabling the expansion of the parts, or the parts mounted upon without showing a gap between segments.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method of use of such apparatus that provides advantages not taught by the prior art.
Another objective is to provide such an invention capable of protecting the sidewall of a truck bed.
A further objective is to provide such an invention capable of linear thermal expansion and contraction without buckling or gapping.
A still further objective is to provide such an invention capable of covering a sidewall while still enabling the use of tie-down devices built into the truck sidewall.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: D. 423117 (2000-04-01), Chaney et al.
patent: 4253785 (1981-03-01), Bronstein
patent: 4909559 (1990-03-01), Zettle
patent: 5326187 (1994-07-01), St. Marie et al.
patent: 5470642 (1995-11-01), Egigian
patent: 5704678 (1998-01-01), Elwell et al.
patent: 5794390 (1998-08-01), Oliveri et al.
patent: 5823601 (1998-10-01), Stanesic et al.
Bull Associated Products, LLC
Gene Scott-Patent Law & Venture Group
Gordon Stephen T.
Morrow Jason
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