The present invention relates to work accessories for vehicles, such as pickup trucks and, more particularly, to an outer truck bed side panel work bench. Small trucks, such as pickup trucks, are commonly used by various trades, such as plumbing, electrical, construction, repair, and the like, for transporting and/or storing tools. Frequently, though, for those plying these trades, when they arrive at a job site, there is no workbench for using their tools. The beds of these pickup trucks are already full with said tools, equipment, parts, and material making adding a workbench to the payload too much.
As can be seen, there is a need for an outer side work bench incorporated into the exterior side(s) of the truck bed, which is currently not a standard feature of pickup trucks.
In one aspect of the present invention, a workbench assembly for a vehicle includes the following: a vehicle having a side panel adjacent to a wheel of the vehicle; an integral workbench pivotably connected to the side panel so as to move between a latched position and an operable position transversely extending from the side panel; a panel cavity defined by the side panel set inward from an exterior surface of a vehicle sidewall, wherein the integral workbench nests in the panel cavity in the latched position; and a wheel gap void of the integral workbench for accommodating the wheel in the latched position.
In another aspect of the present invention, the workbench assembly for a vehicle further includes the following: a gap flange set off from the inner surface, toward an outward-facing surface of the integral workbench; the gap flange extends inward from a periphery of the wheel gap; and a wheel gap plate dimensioned to be substantially coextensive with the wheel gap so as to be supported by the gap flange in the operable position, wherein in certain embodiments, one or more lighting devices disposed in the panel cavity.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.
The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.
Broadly, an embodiment of the present invention provides a vehicle workbench assembly for the exterior side of a truck bed. The vehicle workbench assembly includes an integral workbench pivotably connected to the exterior side of the truck bed so as to move between a latched position nested in a sidewall cavity of the exterior side of the truck bed and an operable position perpendicularly extending therefrom. The integral workbench provides a wheel gap for accommodating the trucks wheel or wheel well in the latched position. A wheel gap plate is provided to fill the void of the wheel gap in the operable position.
Referring to
The side portion 12 may be a sidewall of a pickup truck, wherein a panel cavity 20 is provided for the integral workbench 14 to nest in the latched position, as illustrated in
The integral workbench 14 is dimensioned and adapted so that an exterior surface thereof, the exterior surface being outward-facing in the latched position, is generally flush and contiguous with the remaining portions of the associated sidewalls of the vehicle 10. The integral workbench 14 may bed further dimensioned and adapted to have a wheel gap 24, a cutout or void, to accommodate the wheel 30 in the latched position, as illustrated in
The wheel gap 24 provides a gap flange 28, indicated by the dashed line in
In the operable position, the integral workbench 14 forms a work bench on the side of the vehicle 10, in certain embodiments, a pickup truck bed. The inner wall of the bed side panels stays in place, thus maintaining the integrity of the bed while the integral workbench 14 is in the operable position.
A method of using the present invention may include the following. The vehicle workbench assembly 100 disclosed above may be provided. After arriving at the worksite, a user may unlock the integral workbench 14 in the latched position and then move it to the operable position. Then the user may move the wheel gap plate 18 to the flush condition in the wheel gap 24. The user can now use the workbench for plying their tools, supporting equipment, reading blueprints, etc. The vehicle workbench assembly 100 may be disposed on one or both sides of the exterior of a bed of a pickup truck.
It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2365940 | Couse et al. | Dec 1944 | A |
4135761 | Ward | Jan 1979 | A |
4917430 | Lawrence | Apr 1990 | A |
5215346 | Reitzloff et al. | Jun 1993 | A |
5518158 | Matlack | May 1996 | A |
5615922 | Blanchard | Apr 1997 | A |
5823595 | Tronco | Oct 1998 | A |
5979617 | Clare | Nov 1999 | A |
6059341 | Jensen et al. | May 2000 | A |
6059343 | Emery | May 2000 | A |
6105231 | Clare et al. | Aug 2000 | A |
6116676 | Edwards | Sep 2000 | A |
6439634 | Jensen | Aug 2002 | B1 |
6447039 | Song | Sep 2002 | B1 |
6485077 | Foster | Nov 2002 | B1 |
6588822 | Duvall, Jr. | Jul 2003 | B1 |
7461884 | Clare et al. | Dec 2008 | B2 |
7571947 | Hawley | Aug 2009 | B2 |
7950728 | Plavetich | May 2011 | B2 |
9511803 | Wassell | Dec 2016 | B2 |
10328860 | Lewis | Jun 2019 | B2 |
10974653 | Scaringe | Apr 2021 | B2 |
20010050491 | Clare et al. | Dec 2001 | A1 |
20020109369 | Boomhower et al. | Aug 2002 | A1 |
20050052045 | Juzwiak | Mar 2005 | A1 |
20050093339 | Klassen | May 2005 | A1 |
20050225117 | Miskech | Oct 2005 | A1 |
20100206666 | Jeeves | Aug 2010 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20210155164 A1 | May 2021 | US |