Patent ID: 6676189
Filing Date: 2004-01-13
Classification: B60J

Abstract:
A cover assembly for a vehicle bed having front and rear end walls, first and second side walls between the front and rear end walls, and a floor, the first and second side walls, the front and rear end walls, and the floor defining an interior space therebetween, the cover assembly comprising:first and second elongated track members, the first track member being mountable to the first side wall and the second track member being mountable to the second side wall; a plurality of transverse support members, each of the plurality of support members having first and second end portions, the first end portions being mountable on the first track member and the second end portions being mountable on the second track member to enable the support members to be moved in opposing opening and closing directions along the first and second track members, respectively; a flexible cover secured to each of the plurality of transverse support members; the support members being movably arranged on the first and second track (members such that (1) movement of a distal one of the support members in the opening direction causes the distal support member to push each of the other support members in a sequential manner in the opening direction and hence sequentially collapses the cover secured thereto, thereby facilitating access to the interior space of the vehicle bed, and (2) movement of the distal support member in the closing direction causes the distal support member to pull the other support members in a sequential manner in the closing direction and hence sequentially moves the cover secured thereto into covering relation to the interior space of the vehicle bed, thereby inhibiting access to the interior space of the vehicle bed; a reversible motor; a gear operatively connected to the motor, the motor being activatable to rotate the gear in opposing rotational directions; a drive cable conduit extending longitudinally along the first elongated track member, the drive cable conduit having a longitudinally extending slot; and a flexible drive cable received within the conduit and having a distal end portion connected to the distal one of the support members through the longitudinally extending slot to enable movement of the cable within the conduit to move the distal support member in the opening and closing directions, the cable being engaged with the gear in intermeshed relation such that (a) rotation of the gear by the motor in a first rotational direction pushes the cable in a distal direction within the conduit to push the distal support member in the closing direction and (b) rotation of the gear in a second rotation direction pulls the cable in a proximal direction within the conduit to pull the distal support member in the opening direction.