Patent Application
20240208307
Not Applicable
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The disclosure relates to truck bed covering assemblies and more particularly pertains to a new truck bed covering assembly for selectively expanding cargo capacity of a truck bed. The present invention discloses truck bed covering assembly comprising a selectively raisable and rigid top panel to which are slidably attached a pair of rigid side panels.
The prior art relates to truck bed covering assemblies, which may comprise bed covers that can be raised by linear actuators and which may have non-rigid side panels, bed covers comprising multiple panels connected by hinges that can rest on a floor of a truck bed and which can be scissor-jacked to cover the truck bed, and bed covers comprising rollable tops and side panels. Related prior art comprises campers mountable within truck beds of and having tops that can be raised by linear actuators. What is lacking in the prior art is a truck bed covering assembly comprising a rigid top panel and rigid side panels, which are selectively deployable from a stowed configuration to a deployed configuration by a plurality of linear actuators.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a top panel, a pair of side panels, and a plurality of linear actuators. The top panel is sized and shaped substantially complementarily to a top opening of a bed of a truck. Each side panel is slidably attached to the top panel and is configured to be hingedly mountable to a respective sidewall of the bed. The linear actuators are slidably attached to the pair of side panels and are configured to be mountable to the bed of the truck. The linear actuators are positioned to selectively motivate the top panel and the side panels between a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration. In the stowed configuration, the top panel and the side panels are substantially parallel planar relative to a floor of the bed and are positioned atop the sidewalls. In the deployed configuration, the side panels are nonplanar with the top panels, and a substantially cuboid compartment is defined by the top panel, the side panels, and the bed.
Another embodiment of the disclosure includes a selectively extensible truck bed covering system, which comprises a truck having a bed that comprises a floor and a pair of sidewalls. The selectively extensible truck bed covering system also comprises a selectively extensible truck bed covering assembly, according to the disclosure above, which has been mounted to the bed of the truck.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A plurality of top rails 32 is attached to the top panel 12, with each top rail 32 being perpendicular to opposed edges 34 of the top panel 12. The plurality of top rails 32 may comprise two top rails 32, which are positioned singly proximate to a front edge 36 and a rear edge 38 of the top panel 12.
Each side panel 14 is slidably attached to the top panel 12 and is configured to be hingedly mountable to a respective sidewall 40 of the bed 20. As shown in
The linear actuators 16 are slidably attached to the pair of side panels 14 and are configured to be mountable to the bed 20 of the truck 22. More specifically, each linear actuator 16 is slidably attached to a respective side rail 48. The present invention anticipates a plurality of mounting brackets 54, with each mounting bracket 54 being attached to a respective linear actuator 16 and configured to be attachable to a respective bed rail 56 of the truck 22. The mounting brackets 54 allow for quick and reversible attachment of the plurality of linear actuators 16 to the bed 20 by using the bed rails 56 that are integral to the bed 20.
As shown in
The plurality of linear actuators 16 may comprise four linear actuators 16, although the present invention anticipates other configurations for the selectively extensible truck bed covering assembly 10 comprising other numbers of linear actuators 16, side rails 48, and top rails 32. For example, a configuration of six linear actuators 16, six side rails 48, and three top rails 32 is anticipated, as is a configuration comprising eight linear actuators 16, eight side rails 48, and four top rails 32. Additionally, each top rail 32 need not extend substantially between the opposed edges 34 of the top panel 12. For example, four top rails 32 could be positioned two-apiece proximate to the front edge 36 and the rear edge 38 of the top panel 12, with each top rail 32 extending from a one opposed edge 34 of the top panel 12 toward, but not meeting, another top rail 32 extending from the other opposed edge 34.
The linear actuators 16 are positioned to selectively motivate the top panel 12 and the side panels 14 between a stowed configuration, as shown in
With the top panel 12 having a panel width 24 that is substantially equivalent to the width 26 of the top 28 of the cab 30, each side panel 14 is angled, in the deployed configuration, complementarily to an associated side 68 of the cab 30, as shown in
A controller 70 is operationally engaged to the plurality of linear actuators 16 and is configured to be mountable to the truck 22 so that the controller 70 is positioned to selectively actuate the plurality of linear actuators 16. As shown in
Programming code 74, which is selectively positionable on an electronic device 76 of the user, enables the electronic device 76 to selectively signal the controller 70 to actuate the plurality of linear actuators 16. The programming code 74 allows the user to control the selectively extensible truck bed covering assembly 10 from their electronic device 76, such as a smartphone 78, as shown in
Although not shown in
The present invention anticipates a selectively extensible truck bed covering system 80, which comprises a truck 22 having a bed 20 that comprises a floor 64 and a pair of sidewalls 40. The selectively extensible truck bed covering system 80 also comprises a selectively extensible truck bed covering assembly 10, according to the specification above, which has been mounted to the bed 20 of the truck 22.
In use, the selectively extensible truck bed covering assembly 10 is mounted to the bed 20 of the truck 22. In the stowed configuration, items are positionable on the floor 64 of the bed 20 and are protected from the elements by the selectively extensible truck bed covering assembly 10. The plurality of linear actuators 16 can be actuated selectively to hinge the side panels 14 while concurrently elevating the top panel 12. This creates a substantially cuboid compartment 66 with increased storage capacity, which can handle more and/or larger items, with the top panel 12 and the side panels 14 still providing significant protection of the items from the elements.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
