Tool box adapter

A new Tool Box Adapter for mounting a tool box to a pickup truck cargo box without the need for drilling holes into the cargo box walls. The inventive device includes an adapter plate, threaded attachment studs for attaching the adapter plate to a tool box, and a side brace for mounting the adapter plate to the cargo box of a pickup truck.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to attachment structures for mounting tool 
boxes to truck cargo boxes and more particularly pertains to a new Tool 
Box Adapter for mounting a tool box to a pickup truck cargo box without 
the need for drilling holes into the cargo box walls. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
The use of attachment structures for mounting tool boxes to truck cargo 
boxes is known in the prior art. More specifically, attachment structures 
for mounting tool boxes to truck cargo boxes heretofore devised and 
utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious 
structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs 
encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the 
fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements. 
Known prior art attachment structures for mounting tool boxes to truck 
cargo boxes include U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,737; U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,774; and 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,961. 
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and 
requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new Tool Box 
Adapter. The inventive device includes an adapter plate, means for 
attaching the adapter plate to a tool box and means for mounting the 
adapter plate to a pickup truck cargo box. 
In these respects, the Tool Box Adapter according to the present invention 
substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the 
prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for 
the purpose of mounting a tool box to a pickup truck cargo box without the 
need for drilling holes into the cargo box walls. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of 
attachment structures for mounting tool boxes to truck cargo boxes now 
present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new Tool Box 
Adapter construction wherein the same can be utilized for mounting a tool 
box to a pickup truck cargo box without the need for drilling holes into 
the cargo box walls. 
The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described 
subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new Tool Box Adapter 
apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the attachment 
structures for mounting tool boxes to truck cargo boxes mentioned 
heretofore and many novel features that result in a new Tool Box Adapter 
which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by 
any of the prior art attachment structures for mounting tool boxes to 
truck cargo boxes, either alone or in any combination thereof. 
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises an adapter plate, 
means for attaching the adapter plate to a tool box and means for mounting 
the adapter plate to a pickup truck cargo box. 
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features 
of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that 
follows may be better understood, and in order that the present 
contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional 
features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which 
will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention 
in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its 
application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the 
components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the 
drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being 
practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood 
that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose 
of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon 
which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the 
designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the 
several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, 
that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions 
insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present 
invention. 
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent 
and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the 
scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar 
with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a 
cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of 
the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention 
of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to 
be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way. 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new Tool 
Box Adapter apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the 
attachment structures for mounting tool boxes to truck cargo boxes 
mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new Tool Box 
Adapter which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even 
implied by any of the prior art attachment structures for mounting tool 
boxes to truck cargo boxes, either alone or in any combination thereof. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new Tool Box 
Adapter which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new Tool Box 
Adapter which is of a durable and reliable construction. 
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new Tool 
Box Adapter which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard 
to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of 
low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such Tool Box 
Adapter economically available to the buying public. 
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new Tool 
Box Adapter which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art 
some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of 
the disadvantages normally associated therewith. 
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new Tool Box 
Adapter for mounting a tool box to a pickup truck cargo box without the 
need for drilling holes into the cargo box walls. 
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new Tool Box 
Adapter which includes an adapter plate, means for attaching the adapter 
plate to a tool box and means for mounting the adapter plate to a pickup 
truck cargo box. 
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new Tool 
Box Adapter that is easy to install. 
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a new Tool 
Box Adapter that safely and securely attaches a tool box to a pickup truck 
cargo box. 
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various 
features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with 
particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this 
disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating 
advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should 
be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there 
is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 6 
thereof, a new Tool Box Adapter embodying the principles and concepts of 
the present invention and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 
will be described. 
More specifically, it will be noted that the Tool Box Adapter 10 comprises 
an adapter plate, a means for attaching the adapter plate to a tool box 
and a means for mounting the adapter plate to the cargo box of the pickup 
truck. 
In FIG. 1, the Tool Box Adapter 10 is shown in mounted relationship to a 
tool box 8 and the cargo box 2 of a pickup truck 1. A cargo box 2 of a 
pickup truck 1 suitable for use with the tool box adapter 10 of the 
invention includes parallel, laterally spaced side walls 3, 4 with side 
wall ledges 5, 6 at their respective upper regions. A suitable tool box 8 
bridges across the interior of the cargo box 2 and rests upon the side 
wall ledges 5, 6 for vertical support. The typical tool box depends below 
the level of the ledges 5, 6 of the side walls 3, 4 into the interior of 
the cargo box 2. 
The tool box adapter 10 of the invention includes an adapter plate 20 
having an upper surface 21 and a lower surface 22. A preferred material 
for the adapter plate 20 is aluminum, but other metals and sufficiently 
stiff and strong materials may also be used. 
On the upper surface of the adapter plate 20 is located attaching means for 
attaching the adapter plate 20 to a tool box 8. The preferred attaching 
means comprises at least one attachment stud 23 protruding from the upper 
surface 21 of the adapter plate 20. Ideally, the attachment stud 23 is 
formed by a bolt having a head mounted flush with the lower surface 22 of 
the plate 20 and extending upwardly through the upper surface 21 of the 
adapter plate 20. 
The upwardly extending attachment stud 23 is adapted to be inserted through 
an attachment hole (not shown) in the bottom wall of the tool box. An 
attachment nut 25 is threaded onto the attachment stud 23 on the interior 
side of the tool box's bottom wall and is threaded tight against the 
bottom wall to press the bottom wall against the upper surface 21 of the 
adapter plate 20. When the access door of the tool box is closed (and, 
e.g., locked), the attachment nuts 25 are enclosed in the interior of the 
tool box and are inaccessible to persons unable to open (e.g., unlock) the 
access door. 
The aperture in the adapter plate 20 through which the attachment stud 23 
passes through may be circular so as to closely approximate the size of 
the shaft of the stud 23, although a slot 24 (as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6) 
is preferred to permit sliding adjustability of the mounting location of 
the attachment stud 23 to permit the adapter plate 20 to be used with tool 
boxes with various attachment hole locations. 
The tool box adapter 10 of the invention also includes mounting means for 
mounting the adapter plate 20 to the side wall 2 of the cargo box 2 of a 
pickup truck 1. The preferred means for accomplishing the mounting of the 
adapter plate 20 to the cargo box 2 comprises a side wall brace 30 that 
protrudes from the lower surface 22 of the adapter plate 20. The side wall 
brace 30 is sized to fit into the vertical mounting channel (not shown) 
commonly found in the side wall ledges 5, 6 of the pickup truck cargo box 
2. When the adapter plate 20 is rested on the ledge 5 of the side wall 3, 
the side wall brace 30 is inserted into the mounting channel and resists 
lateral or sideways movement of the adapter plate 20 relative to the cargo 
box 2. 
To secure the adapter plate 20 to the mounting channel against vertical 
movement relative to the cargo box 2, the tool box adapter 10 is provided 
with a mounting screw 32 for passing through a mounting channel hole that 
extends between the interior of the mounting channel and the interior of 
the cargo box 2. The mounting screw 32 is preferably inserted through the 
mounting channel hole and into a threaded securing hole 31 in the side 
wall brace 30 of the tool box adapter 10. The position of the securing 
hole 31 may be varied to match the channel mounting hole position in 
different makes of pickup trucks, and optionally the side wall brace 30 
may be provided with more than one securing hole 31 so that it may fit 
several makes of pickup trucks. Illustratively, a securing hole 31 
orientation substantially transverse to the longitudinal length of the 
adapter plate 20 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and a securing hole 
orientation substantially parallel to the longitudinal length of the 
adapter plate 20 is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. 
Optionally, a rubber pad 12 is provided between the lower surface 22 of the 
adapter plate 20 and the side wall ledge to protect the surface finish 
(e.g., paint) on the side wall ledge 5 and absorb vibration that might be 
transmitted between the cargo box 2 and the tool box 8. 
Use of the tool box adapter 10 of the invention provides several advantages 
to the user, including the elimination of the need to drill tool box 
mounting holes directly in the side wall ledge 5, the elimination of 
lateral (e.g., side to side) and longitudinal (e.g., front to back) 
movement of the tool box 8 in the interior of the cargo box 2, and 
security from theft of the tool box from the cargo box. 
The tool box adapter 10 is preferably installed by inserting the side wall 
brace 30 of the adapter 10 into the side wall mounting channel until the 
lower surface 22 (or the rubber pad 12) rests upon the ledge 5 of the of 
the side wall 3. The mounting screw 32 is then inserted through the 
mounting channel hole and then threaded into the securing hole 31 in the 
side wall brace 30 to thereby securely mount the adapter plate 20 to the 
cargo box 2 of the truck. The tool box 8 is then lowered onto the adapter 
plate 20 such that the attachment studs are inserted through the holes in 
the bottom wall of the tool box 8. (Adjustable shifting of the attachment 
studs 23 in the adjustment slot 24 may be necessary to achieve alignment 
of the studs 23 with the attachment holes in the bottom wall of the tool 
box 8.) The attachment washers 26 and attachment nuts 25 are then 
tightened into place on the attachment studs 23 to securely attach the 
tool box to the adapter plate 20. Significantly, the installation of the 
tool box on the adapter plate 20 blocks any ability to remove the tool box 
from the cargo box without first having access to the interior of the tool 
box. 
As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the 
present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. 
Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and 
operation will be provided. 
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the 
optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to 
include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of 
operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to 
one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those 
illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are 
intended to be encompassed by the present invention. 
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the 
principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and 
changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired 
to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and 
described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may 
be resorted to, failing within the scope of the invention.