A wear indicating liner for a vehicle bed comprises a top layer and a bottom layer made of materials which are visually distinct from each other. As a result when the bottom layer begins to be visible after wear through the top layer there is a visual indication that there has been a significant amount of wear of the liner.
Description
THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates a side elevational view of a portion of a vehicle bed having a liner mounted thereon in accordance with this invention; and
FIG. 2 is a top plan view showing the liner of FIG. 1 mounted on top of a vehicle bed.
Claims
1. A wear indicating liner for a vehicle bed comprising a top layer, a bottom layer below and secured to said top layer, said top layer and said bottom layer having different initial thicknesses, said top layer being substantially thicker than said bottom layer, said top layer being made of a heavy duty material, and said top layer and said bottom layer being visually distinct from each other whereby said bottom layer begins to be visible after wear through said top layer to provide a visual indication of wear.
2. The liner of claim 1 wherein said top layer and said bottom layer are made of different colors to be visually distinct.
3. The liner of claim 1 wherein said top layer has a thickness of about 60-70% of the liner thickness and said bottom layer has a thickness of about 30-40%.
4. The liner of claim 1 wherein said bottom layer is made of a reprocessed material and said top layer is made of a virgin material.
5. The liner of claim 1 wherein said top layer has a lower coefficient of friction than said bottom layer.
6. The liner of claim 1 wherein said bottom layer is made of a softer material than said top layer.
7. The liner of claim 1 wherein said bottom layer and said top layer are co-extruded.
8. The liner of claim 1 wherein said top layer and said bottom layer are distinct layers laminated to each other.
9. The liner of claim 1 wherein said liner includes two separate longitudinal sections laterally spliced together.
10. The liner of claim 1 in combination with a vehicle having a body with a bed having a top surface, and said liner being mounted on said top surface to protect said bed.
11. A method of determining wear of a liner for a vehicle bed comprising providing a liner having a top layer and a bottom layer visibly distinct from each other, mounting the liner on the bed of a vehicle body with the top layer uppermost, periodically placing contents in the vehicle body on the top layer of the liner, and detecting significant wear of the liner when the bottom layer begins to be visible through the top layer.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein the top layer and bottom layer are made of different colors to be visibly distinct from each other.
13. The method of claim 11 wherein the top layer is thicker than the bottom layer.
14. The method of claim 11 wherein the top layer is made of virgin material and the bottom layer is made of reprocessed material.
15. The liner of claim 11 wherein the top layer is made of a heavy duty material and the bottom layer is made of a material softer than the top layer.
16. The method of claim 11 wherein the top layer and bottom layer are co-extruded together to form the liner.
17. The method of claim 11 wherein the top layer and the bottom layer are made separately from each other and laminated together to form the liner.
18. The method of claim 11 wherein after a significant amount of wear of a portion of the liner has been detected that portion of the liner is removed and replaced by a different portion which is spliced to the remaining portion of the liner.
Patent Application
20070228760
