Abstract:
A system for removably attaching a tonneau cover over the bed of a pickup truck or similar vehicle. The system includes front, rear, and side rails. The front and two side rails are respectively secured in fixed positions atop the front and side walls of the bed. The rear rail is then suspended to extend between the two side rails across the mouth of the tailgate opening. The ends of the rear rail are inserted into longitudinally extending channels in the side rails and can be slid relative to the fixed, front and side rails. The system also can include one or more support bows that can be inserted into the channels in the fixed, side rails and slid relative to them to spaced positions intermediate the front and rear rails. With the slidable, rear rail, the cover can be selectively tensioned or loosen to ease putting the cover over the bed and taking it off. The tailgate and rear rail sealingly engage each other when the tailgate is closed to make the system substantially watertight.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/071,622 filed Jan. 16, 1998. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to the field of tonneau covers and more particularly, to the field of tonneau covers for the beds of pickup trucks and similar vehicles. 
     2. Discussion of the Background 
     Tonneau covers for pickup trucks and similar vehicles (such as sport utility ones with exposed beds or decks) help to cover and protect the beds of the vehicles and any items in them. Such covers would ideally have a relatively low profile (i.e., extend relatively flat across the top of the bed walls) and would be easily moved to cover and uncover the bed and its contents. They would also be easily and conveniently storable on the vehicle when not in use or easily removed completely from the vehicle for separate storage. 
     With this in mind, the tonneau cover system of the present invention was developed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention involves a system or arrangement for removably attaching a tonneau cover over the bed of a pickup truck or similar vehicle. The system includes front, rear, and side rails. The front and two side rails are respectively secured in fixed positions by clamps or other means atop the front and side walls of the bed. The rear rail is then suspended to extend between the two side rails across the mouth of the tailgate opening. The ends of the rear rail are inserted into longitudinally extending channels in the side rails and can be slid relative to the fixed, front and side rails. The system also can include one or more support bows that can be inserted into the channels in the fixed, side rails and slid relative to them to spaced positons intermediate the front and rear rails. 
     In operation and with the front and side rails secured atop the front and side walls of the bed, one or more of the support bows can be inserted directly (or through notches in the side rails) into the channels that extend longitudinally along the side rails. The tips or ends of the bows are preferably provided with spring-biased members. Once these end members are inserted into the channels of the side rails, the bows can be slid forwardly or rearwardly in the channels to the desired locations between the front and rear rails. The tonneau cover can then be placed over the bows and attached to the rails. This is preferably done by inserting belts sewn about the perimeter of the rectangular cover into retaining grooves in the front, rear, and side rails. In one embodiment, the rear rail at this time may be slightly spaced from its rearmost position. The flexible, tonneau cover at this point is slightly loose and the retaining belt on the rear of the cover can be easily inserted into the retaining groove in the rear rail. Thereafter, the tonneau cover can be stretched and drawn taut to its final tension by slidably moving the rear rail rearwardly until spring-biased pins lock into slots in the side rails. The tailgate can subsequently be closed to seal against a flexible seal mounted to and extending across the rear rail. Alternatively, the seal can be mounted on the tailgate to engage the rear rail to form a watertight seal. 
     To store the tonneau cover, the spring-biased pins of the rear rail are withdrawn from their locked positions to allow the rear rail and attached tonneau cover to move slightly forwardly. This relieves or lessens the tightness of the cover and permits the rear belt of the loosened cover to be easily removed from the retaining groove in the rear rail. It also allows the belts on the sides and front of the cover to be more easily removed from the front and side rails. The cover can then be rolled to a forward position or removed altogether. The bows can also be removed but in the preferred embodiments, they are slid forwardly to positions adjacent each other and the front wall. The rolled up tonneau cover is then supported on the bows adjacent the front wall and secured in place. The rear rail is also preferably slid forwardly in the channels in the side rails wherein the front and rear rails and bows are all positioned adjacent one another at the front of the bed. Alternatively, the bows can be removed and rolled up in the cover or the rear rail and bows can be slid rearwardly out of the channels in the side rails and stored separately if desired. In another approach, the tonneau cover can be attached to the bows and slid forwardly with the bows and rear rail to a position adjacent the front wall of the bed. In doing so, the cover would fold essentially like an accordion. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the tonneau cover system of the present invention in use covering the bed of a pickup truck. 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the tonneau cover system. 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  3 — 3  of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  4 — 4  of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  5 — 5  of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 1 with the tailgate shown in its open position. 
     FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a rear corner area of the tonneau cover system with the cover partially cutaway to show the rear rail in its locked position. 
     FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the shuttle portion and locking mechanism on each end of the rear rail. 
     FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  9 — 9  of FIG.  7 . 
     FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 7 showing the rear rail moved to an unlocked position. 
     FIG. 11 is a schematic view of the movement of the locking pin from its retracted position to its extended, locked position. 
     FIGS. 12-13 show one method of tensioning the cover in which the cover is initially attached about its perimeter to the walls of the bed and to the rear rail with the cover in a loose state (FIG.  12 ). Thereafter, the rear rail is pulled rearwardly to its locked position (FIG. 13) to tension the cover. 
     FIG. 14 is a view of the preferred manner in which the cover, bows, and rear rail are stored adjacent the front wall of the pickup truck when not in use. 
     FIG. 15 illustrates another manner in which the system can be stored on the vehicle in which the bows are removed from the side walls and rolled up in the cover. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1 shows the tonneau cover  1  of the present invention in position over the bed of a pickup truck  3 . The cover  1  is made of flexible material (e.g., canvas or vinyl) that is elastic and slightly stretchable. In the exploded view of FIG. 2, the overall structure of the system of the present invention is illustrated. As shown, the system includes the cover  1  which is removably attachable along its perimeter sides  1 ′ to the rails  5 ,  7 , and  9 . Front rail  5  and side rails  7  in turn are affixed (e.g., by clamps  11  in FIG. 2, brackets, or adhesives) atop the front wall  15  and two side walls  17  of the bed  19 . These rails  5  and  7  if desired could be molded directly into the walls  15  and  17  but preferably are separate pieces. One or more bows  21  are preferably used to help support the cover  1  over the bed  19 . As explained in more detail below, the rear rail  9  is mounted to extend horizontally between the side walls  17  across the mouth of the tailgate opening adjacent the closed tailgate  23 . The closed tailgate  23  in this regard forms the fourth wall of the bed  19 . FIGS. 3-5 illustrate these features in more detail. 
     As seen in FIGS. 3-5, the perimeter sides  1 ′ of the cover  1  have sewn-in belts  25  that can be removably attached in grooves  27  in the respective rails  5 ,  7 , and  9 . This can be done in the known manner of co-owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,757,854 and 5,765,903. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the tip portion of the belt  25  can be inserted into the mouth of the groove  27  by initially stretching the slightly elastic cover  1  to place the belt  25  in the dotted position of FIG.  5 . The belt  25  can then be manually rotated or pivoted using the upper edge of the groove  27  as a fulcrum to gain leverage. This will further stretch and tension the cover  1  wherein the cover  1  will thereafter essentially draw the belt  25  into the groove  27  to the position shown in solid lines in FIG.  5 . The belt  25  will then be firmly held in place under the residual tension in the stretched, resilient cover  1 . The tips of the bow  21  as seen in FIG. 4 have spring-biased, end member  31 . In use, each end member  31  is inserted at the desired location into the channel  33  in each side rail  7 . Alternatively, each end member  31  can be inserted anywhere along the channel  33  and then slid therealong to the desired location intermediate the front and rear rails  5  and  9 . If desired, the end member  31  could have an enlarged, interlocking shape with the channel  33  wherein notches  35  (see FIG. 2) could be provided along the channel  33  to received the enlarged, end members. Once received and captured in the channel  33 , the bow  21  could then be slid as desired along the channel  33 . 
     Each end  9 ′ of the rear rail  9  as best seen in FIGS. 6 and 7 is slidably received in the channel  33  in each side rail  7  including its corner or end piece  7 ′. More specifically and referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, each end member  9 ′ of rear rail  9  is attached to the main body of the rear rail  9  by inserting the plug  41  into the channel  43  (see also FIG.  5 ). The mating channel at  45  of the shuttle portion  47  of end member  9 ′ (see FIGS. 7 and 9) is then slidably received in channel  33  in the respective side rail  7 . In FIGS. 7 and 9, the end member  9 ′ is shown in its locked position with the spring-biased pin  51  extended and received (i.e., locked) in the slot  53  in the side rail  7 . In this locked position of FIGS. 7 and 9, the cover  1  is preferably in a slightly stretched and tensioned state and is securely being held in place with all of the belts  25  of FIGS. 3-5 being firmly held in their retaining grooves  27 . To release the rear rail  9  from its locked position of FIG. 7, the handle  55  of the pin  51  can be grasped and manually pulled to the dotted position of FIG.  9 . This will retract or withdraw the pin  51  along its axis  52  out of the slot  53  to the dotted position of FIG.  9 . The rear rail  9  can then be slid forwardly substantially in a horizontal plane to the position of FIG.  10 . If desired, the handle  55  can be rotated 90 degrees as shown in FIG. 10 to abut and hang up against the sides  57  of recess  59  to keep the pin  51  in its retracted position. The axis  52  of the pin  51  is preferably perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the channel  33  (i.e., perpendicular to the direction between the front wall  5  and the rear rail  9 ). 
     By moving the rear rail  9  forwardly from the position of FIG. 7 to the position of FIG. 10, the cover  1  is loosened and the tension in the cover  1  is relieved. The belt  25  on the rear rail  9  can then be more easily removed from the retaining groove  27 . That is, with the rails  5 ,  7 , and  9  in the positions of FIGS. 3-5, the cover  1  can be stretched and attached to the rails  5 ,  7 , and  9  by the belts  25  in the manner discussed above (see also FIG.  5 ). The cover  1  is then fairly tightly stretched in place both front to back and side to side to have a substantially flat and low profile. In most cases, the lightly tensioned or tightened cover  1  in this condition can be somewhat difficult to remove. This is a desirable characteristic for security and integrity of the tonneau cover system. However, to assist and to make removal of the cover  1  easier, the rear rail  9  can be unlocked and moved forwardly from the position of FIG. 7 to the position of FIG.  10 . This will loosen the elastic cover  1  and relieve its tension not only from front to back but also from side to side. To do so, the tailgate  23  can be opened and each handle  55  (see FIG. 9) of the locking mechanisms pulled to retract the pins  51 . If desired, the handles  55  can also be rotated 90 degrees after being pulled out to hold the pins  51  in their retracted positions as discussed above. Upon retracting the pins  51  from the slots  53  in the side rails  17  of the side walls  7 , the rear rail  9  will usually be slightly moved or pulled forwardly under the force of the tensioned cover  1 . The rear rail  9  can additionally be manually moved forwardly as desired to a position (e.g., FIG. 10) allowing easy removal of the belt  25  from the retaining groove  27  in the rear rail  9  (see FIG.  5 ). For the most part, the rear rail  9  is moved far enough by the tension of the cover  1  alone that the operator can easily remove the belt  25 . As also discussed above, this forward movement of the rear rail  9  relieves tension in the cover  1  not only from front to back but also from side to side making it also easier to remove belts  25  from the side rails  7 . 
     To initially attach the cover  1  as discussed above to the front wall  15 , side walls  17 , and rear rail  9 , the rear rail  9  can be initially positioned in the locked position of FIG.  7 . Using the technique of FIG. 5 as also discussed above, the respective belts  25  about the perimeter sides  1 ′ of the cover  1  can be inserted into the respective retaining grooves  27 . Alternatively, if desired, the rear rail  9  could be initially positioned in the unlocked position of FIGS. 10 and 12. The loose cover  1  can subsequently be easily attached to the front wall  15 , side walls  17 , and rear rail  9  (FIG. 12) and the rear rail  9  thereafter manually pulled rearwardly in the direction of  61  in FIG. 12 to the locked position of FIG.  13 . In doing so, each locking pin  51  under the bias of spring  63  (see FIG. 11) will slide along the channel  33  in each side rail  7  until the pin  51  reaches the slot  53  (shown in dotted lines in FIG. 11) and is extended under the force of the biasing spring  63  into the slot  53 . 
     In the preferred embodiments and with the rear rail  9  in the locked position of FIG. 5, the closed tailgate  23  will abut the sealing member  65  on the rear rail  9 . The elongated, sealing member  65  could be on either the rear rail  9  or the tailgate  23  but in either case, a substantially watertight seal is created when the tailgate  23  is closed against the rear rail  9 . Additionally, as best seen in FIGS. 1,  5 , and  13 , the tailgate  23  can be opened and closed without having to undo the cover  1  or move the rear rail  9 . In this regard, the tonneau cover system of the present invention can remain in its locked position and does not need to be manipulated in any manner to open the tailgate  23  to provide access to the bed  19  and its contents. This is true whether the tailgate  23  is mounted for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis  24  as shown in FIG. 12 or mounted for rotation about a vertical axis. 
     FIG. 14 illustrates a preferred manner of storing the tonneau cover  1  on the vehicle  3 . In this approach, the cover  1  is released from being attached to the rear rail  9  and side walls  17  and rolled up toward the front wall  15 . One or more of the bows  21  are then slid forwardly in the channels  33  in the side rails  7  and positioned beneath the rolled up cover  1 . In this manner, the bows  21  extending between the side walls  17  support the rolled up cover  1  at a location adjacent the front wall  15  of the truck bed  19 . The cover  1  and bows  21  can then be secured in place (e.g., with ties  67 ). The bows  21  in this regard can either be slid forwardly in the channels  33  of the side rails  7  or be removed and inserted again in the channels  33  immediately adjacent the front wall  15 . In yet another approach (see FIG.  15 ), the cover  1  can be rolled forwardly and as the bows  21  are uncovered, the bows  21  can be removed and added to the roll. In this manner, the bows  21  are then actually rolled up within in the cover  1  for convenient storage and to give the rolled up cover  1  additional rigidity. The rear rail  9  could also be moved forwardly to another locked position adjacent the front wall  15  and rolled up cover  1  and tied up with them at  67 . Alternatively, the cover  1  can be completely removed from over the bed  19  of the vehicle  3  as can the bows  21 . Additionally, the rear rail  9  can be slid rearwardly completely out of the rails  7  including their end or corner pieces  7 ′ and stored separately if desired. In another approach, the cover  1  can be attached to the bows  21  and the cover  1 , attached bows  21 , and rear rail  9  can all be slid forwardly with the cover  1  folding essentially like an accordion. 
     While several embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described in detail, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications could be made without departing from the scope of the invention.