Patent Application
20180141594
A pickup truck includes a front end having an engine and a cab and a rear end having a bed. The bed is a platform onto which cargo may be loaded. The bed is bordered by a back wall of the cab, two side walls, and a tailgate. The tailgate is movable from an open position in which the tailgate is coplanar with the bed, i.e., generally horizontal, to a closed position in which the tailgate is perpendicular to the bed, i.e., generally vertical. The closed position keeps cargo from sliding off the bed while the truck is in motion, and the open position allows easier access to the bed for loading and unloading cargo.
With reference to the Figures, wherein like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, a tailgate assembly 32 of a vehicle 30 includes a tailgate 34, a left workpiece holder 36, and a right workpiece holder 38. The tailgate 34 has a vehicle-left end 40 and a vehicle-right end 42, and the tailgate 34 is elongated along an axis A from the vehicle-left end 40 to the vehicle-right end 42. The tailgate 34 includes a left pocket 44 at the vehicle-left end 40 and a right pocket 46 at the vehicle-right end 42. The left workpiece holder 36 has an L shape and is configured to slidably engage the left pocket 44 along the axis A, and the right workpiece holder 38 has an L shape and is configured to slidably engage the right pocket 46 along the axis A.
The tailgate assembly 32 provides a convenient way to saw lumber in an arbitrary environment that may lack tables, for example, a worksite. The tailgate 34 gains additional functionality as a worktable, eliminating a need to transport a worktable. The pockets 44, 46 conform well with packaging constraints of existing designs of tailgates 34 for pickup trucks and facilitate the convertible functionality of the tailgate 34.
With reference to
With reference to
The tailgate 34 may include hinged and free ends 56, 58 extending between the vehicle-left and vehicle-right ends 40, 42. The hinged end 56 may be hingedly attached to the bed 50 of the vehicle 30. The tailgate 34 may be movable from an open position in which the inboard panel 52 is coplanar with the bed 50 (as shown in
With reference to
The tailgate 34 may include a tube 60 extending from the vehicle-left end 40 to the vehicle-right end 42. The tube 60 may have the pockets 44, 46. Specifically, the left pocket 44 may be disposed at a left end 62 of the tube 60, and the right pocket 46 may be disposed at a right end 64 of the tube 60.
The tube 60 may have a cross-section that is uniform from the left end 62 to the right end 64. The cross-section of the pockets 44, 46 may be the same as a cross-section of an inside of the tube 60. The tube 60 may extend between the inboard and outboard panels 52, 54 and parallel to and adjacent the free end 58 of the tailgate 34. “Adjacent” means the lack of anything therebetween. The tube 60 may be an extrusion formed of metal, e.g., steel, aluminum, etc.
With continued reference to
The tailgate 34 may include a left knob 74 and a right knob 76. The left knob 74 and the right knob 76 may be supported by the inboard panel 52 and may extend through the inboard panel 52 into the left and right pockets 44, 46, respectively. Specifically, the left knob 74 and the right knob 76 may be threadedly engaged with the inboard panel 52. The left knob 74 may be adjustable, e.g., relative to the inboard panel 52 and the first beam 70 of the left workpiece holder 36, between a locked position preventing movement of a first beam 70 of the left workpiece holder 36 relative to the left pocket 44 and an unlocked position allowing movement of the first beam 70 of the left workpiece holder 36 relative to the left pocket 44. The left knob 74 may be an adjustable screw twistable between the locked position engaging the first beam 70 and the unlocked position spaced from the first beam 70. Likewise, the right knob 76 may be adjustable, e.g., relative to the inboard panel 52 and the first beam 70 of the right workpiece holder 38, between a locked position preventing movement of the first beam 70 of the right workpiece holder 38 relative to the right pocket 46 and an unlocked position allowing movement of the first beam 70 of the right workpiece holder 38 relative to the right pocket 46.
With reference to
The first beam 70 may be configured to slidably engage one of the pockets 44, 46 along the axis A. The first beam 70 may be slidably adjustable within one of the pockets 44, 46. For example, a cross-section of the first beam 70 may correspond to the cross-section of the pockets 44, 46, allowing the first beam 70 to slide into and out of one of the pockets 44, 46.
The second beam 72 may be transverse, e.g., perpendicular, to the first beam 70. For example, with reference to
Alternatively, with reference to
Each workpiece holder 36, 38 may include a pad 84 attached to the second end 80 of the second beam 72. The pad 84 may be designed to hold lumber. For example, the pad 84 may be U-shaped, as shown in
With reference to
When not in use, the workpiece holders 36, 38 may be stored in the bed 50 of the vehicle 30. Alternatively, the workpiece holders 36, 38 may be stored in the pockets 44, 46. Specifically, the first beams 70 of the workpiece holders 36, 38 may be slid entirely into the pockets 44, 46, and the second beams 72 may be oriented along the vehicle-left and vehicle-right ends 40, 42 and may be received by the channels 66, 68 so that the workpiece holders 36, 38 are flush with the vehicle-left and vehicle-right ends 40, 42 of the tailgate 34. Thus, the tailgate 34 may move from the open position to the closed position while the workpiece holders 36, 38 are stored in the pockets 44, 46.
When in use, the workpiece holders 36, 38 may be slid into the tailgate 34 in the open position. The first beams 70 may be slid into the pockets 44, 46, and the second beams 72 may be oriented perpendicular to the vehicle-left and vehicle-right ends 40, 42. The saw 88 may be placed on and fixed to the mounting platform 86. The second beams 72 may be adjusted relative to the first beams 70 to hold lumber at a height within a cutting region of the saw 88. The saw 88 may be then used to cut lumber stably held in place.
The disclosure has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is to be understood that the terminology which has been used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. Many modifications and variations of the present disclosure are possible in light of the above teachings, and the disclosure may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.
