Patent ID: 6030019
Filing Date: 2000-02-29
Classification: B62D,Y10S,Y10T

Abstract:
A truck tailgate key-actuated locking mechanism comprising, in combination:a truck with a truck bed defined by a rectangular bottom face and a pair of rectangular side walls coupled to elongated side edges of the bottom face and extending upwardly therefrom to define a rectangular rear opening encompassed by an elongated lower edge and a pair of short side edges, the truck further including a tailgate with a planar rectangular configuration and defined by a planar rectangular outboard face, a planar rectangular inboard face and a thin periphery defined by a top edge, a bottom edge and a pair of intermediate edges coupled to define an interior space, wherein the bottom edge of the tailgate is hingably coupled to the lower edge of the rear opening of the truck bed, a pair of recesses are each formed in an upper extent of one of the side edges of the rear opening of the truck bed, and a pair of horizontally oriented hollow sleeves are mounted within the interior space of the tailgate and positioned in alignment with a pair of bores each formed in an upper extent of one of the intermediate edges of the tailgate;a pair of locking arms each having a linear short portion slidably positioned within one of the sleeves of the tailgate and with a first end having a frusto-conical configuration, each locking arm further having a linear elongated portion with a first end hingably coupled to a second end of the corresponding short portion;a motorized gear assembly including a disk-shaped gear rotatably mounted within the interior space of the tailgate between a center of the inboard face and outboard face thereof, wherein second ends of the elongated portions of the locking arms are hingably coupled to diametrically opposed points on the disk-shaped gear such that the disk-shaped gear has a first orientation for retracting the short portions of the locking arms and a second orientation for inserting the short portions of the locking arms into the recesses of the truck bed when the tailgate is closed, the gear assembly further including a motor secured within the interior space of the tailgate between the inboard face and outboard face thereof with a rotor having a worm gear mounted thereon which resides in engagement with the disk-shaped gear; anda key assembly mounted on the outboard face of the tailgate for receiving a key, the key assembly connected between a battery and the motor for rotating the motor in a first direction when the key is inserted and rotated in a counterclockwise direction, thereby positioning the disk-shaped gear in the first orientation to unlock the tailgate, the key assembly further being for rotating the motor in a second direction when the key is inserted and rotated in the clockwise direction, thereby positioning the disk-shaped gear in the second orientation to lock the tailgate.