Truck bed liner

A truck bed liner including an integrally formed bottom wall, front wall and opposed side walls, in which each of the opposed side walls, and preferably the front wall, terminate in top edge portions forming outwardly projecting hook-shaped flanges adapted to snap-fasten over the corresponding top ledges and free rims of the corresponding side walls and front wall of a truck bed within which the liner fits.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Molded plastic bed liners are known in the art as evidenced by the 
following U.S. Pat. Nos. 
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3,814,473 Lorenzen, Jr. 
June 4, 1974 
3,881,768 Nix May 6, 1975 
4,111,481 Nix et al. Sept. 5, 1978 
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Although the truck bed liners disclosed in the above U.S. patents include 
integrally molded bottom, front and side walls, the side and front walls 
having top flanges projecting over corresponding top edges of the walls of 
the truck bed, nevertheless, separate fastener members must be provided 
for securing the truck bed liner to the truck bed. Otherwise, air, 
encountered by a fast moving truck, flows between the front wall of the 
truck bed liner and the truck bed to force the liner rearward out of the 
truck bed, where the tailgate remains down or open. One such fastener 
employed for securing the liner to the truck is disclosed in the above Nix 
et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,481. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a truck bed liner of 
the integral, molded plastic type which can be easily and detachably 
secured to the truck bed liner without independent fastener members. 
It is a further object of this invention to provide an integral truck bed 
liner having a bottom wall, front wall and side walls. Each of the front 
and side walls not only have laterally projecting top flanges, but are 
provided with hook-shaped flanges of sufficient rigidity and elasticity to 
snap-fasten over the tops of the corresponding side walls of the truck 
bed. Such snap-fastening, hook-shaped flanges eliminate the need for 
separate and independent fastener members, and not only facilitate, but 
expedite the secure mounting on the liner within the truck bed, regardless 
of whether the tailgate is open or closed. 
The hook-shaped flanges for each of the side walls and/or front wall and 
integrally formed with the top edge portion of the corresponding liner 
wall and are provided with a flange portion which projects laterally 
outward and terminates in a downturned lip of sufficient depth to securely 
engage and receive a corresponding rim of the top ledges of the 
corresponding bed wall. The hook-shaped flanges, including the laterally 
projecting flange portion and downturned lip, are preferably shaped to 
conform to the configuration of the corresponding truck bed wall. However, 
the downturned lip must extend sufficiently far downward to effect a 
secure snap-fastener grip upon the top ledge of the corresponding bed 
wall, without any additional tools or fasteners.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to the drawings in more detail, FIG. 1 discloses a 
conventional pickup truck 10, particularly a miniature or economy-size 
pickup truck, such as the Datsun, Toyota, or the economy-size or 
small-size pickup truck produced by Ford, Chevrolet or GMC. The miniature 
or economy-size pickup truck 10 usually has a single-body wall, as opposed 
to a double-wall for larger pickup trucks, for its truck bed or cargo 
compartment 12, supported upon the wheels 13. The bed 12 includes a bottom 
wall 15, front wall 16 and opposed side walls 17 and 18. Most truck beds 
12 also include a tailgate 19. 
The truck bed liner 20 made in accordance with this invention includes a 
bottom wall 21, a front wall 22 and opposed side walls 23 and 24. 
All of the walls 21, 22, 23 and 24 are integrally formed, such as by 
molding from plastic material. The plastic material is preferably a 
durable, high-impact styrene sheet material, such as ABS (Acrylonitrile 
Butadiene Styrene) and more particularly made of ABS-LS plastic, which is 
a more durable acrylonitrile butadiene styrene sheet material including an 
additive or filler known in the trade as "LS." The plastic material is 
preferably approximately 300 mils thick, and also is preferably laminated 
or covered with a "KORAD" film to function as an ultra-violet ray 
inhibitor to prolong the life of the plastic material against the 
ultra-violet rays from the sun. 
The walls 21, 22, 23 and 24 substantially conform to the interior surfaces 
of the corresponding bottom wall 15, front wall 16, and side walls 17 and 
18 of the truck bed 12. 
Each of the side walls 23 and 24 terminate in their upper edge portions in 
laterally outwardly projecting hook-shaped flanges 25 and 26, 
respectively, which are adapted to snap-fasten over the upper edges of the 
respective side walls 17 and 18 of the truck bed 12. The hook-shaped 
flange 26, which is identical in construction to the hook-shaped flange 
25, is best disclosed in FIG. 3, as having a substantially horizontally 
extending, flat, flange portion 27 terminating in a downwardly projecting 
lip 28. The flange portion 27 and the lip 28 are shaped to substantially 
conform to the top ledge 29 and free rim 30 of the side wall 18 of the 
truck bed 12. The lip 28 depends only a distance sufficient to permit the 
hook-shaped flange 26 to snap-fasten about the ledge 29 and rim 30. The 
flange portion 27 and depending lip 28 preferably extend continuously 
longitudinally for the entire length of the respective side walls 23 and 
24. 
The front liner wall 22 is also provided with a forwardly projecting 
hook-shaped flange 32 having a substantially horizontal flat flange 
portion 33 and a front depending lip 34, as disclosed in FIG. 2. The front 
hook-shaped flange 32 is also adapted to snap-fasten over the top ledge 35 
and depending rim 36 of the front wall 16, and substantially conform to 
the shape of the top ledge 35 and front rim 36. Again, the depth of the 
lip 34 is sufficient to snugly receive and engage the front rim 36 to 
facilitate the detachable snap-fastening of the front hook-shaped flange 
32 over the top ledge 35. The flange portion 33 and the lip 34 also extend 
longitudinally and continuously the full length of the front wall 16, and 
are preferably integral at their opposite ends with the adjacent ends of 
the side wall flange portions 27 and lip 28. Such continuity of the 
hook-shaped flanges 26 and 32 not only assures complete snap-fastening of 
the hook-shaped flanges 26 and 32 over the respective top ledges 29 and 
35, but also provides additional rigidity to the entire truck bed liner 
20. 
The snap-fastening of the front hook-shaped flange 32 over the top ledge 35 
is especially important to prevent rearward shifting or movement of the 
entire truck bed liner 20, while the pickup truck 10 is moving forward, 
and which would normally produce a buildup of compressed air between the 
front wall 16 and the front liner wall 22. 
In the preferred form of the invention, the rear end portions of the side 
wall hook-shaped flanges 25 and 26 continue inward to form rear 
hook-shaped flanges 37 and 38 (FIG. 1), having substantially the same 
construction as flanges 25 and 26. The rear hook-shaped flanges 37 and 38 
are adapted to snap-fasten over corresponding portions of the inturned top 
ledges at the rear of the truck body 12, for further securement of the 
truck bed liner 20 in the truck bed 12. 
Because of the semi-rigidity and elasticity of the sheet material, and the 
particular shape of the hook-shaped flanges 25, 26, and 32, no independent 
fasteners are required for securing the truck bed liner 22 to the truck 
bed 12. Moreover, no tools at all are required for securing the truck bed 
liner 20 within the truck bed 12. 
The hook-shaped flanges 25, 26 and 32 may be made in different shapes and 
forms, particularly to conform to the particular shape of the top ledges 
and rims of the respective body walls, so long as the hook-shaped flanges 
extend entirely across and down on the exterior sides of the upper 
portions of the respective sides and front walls in order to prevent 
lateral displacement of a liner wall relative to its corresponding body 
wall of the truck bed. Yet, the depending lips of the respective 
hook-shaped flanges do not extend so far down, or even so far inward, that 
the respective hook-shaped flanges cannot be readily released by raising 
the entire truck bed liner 20 relative to the truck bed 12. They may be a 
tight enough fit between a respective hook-shaped flange, such as flange 
26, and its top ledge 29 and rim 30 that it may require a certain moderate 
degree of manual downward force, to cause the hook-shaped flange 26 to 
snap over the top ledge 29 and its rim 30. 
It is possible that the flange portion 27 may not necessarily be truly 
horizontal or even flat in order to conform to the corresponding surface 
of top ledge 29, so long as the snap-fastening effect is retained. 
The shape of the respective hook-shaped flanges 25, 26, 32, 37 and 38, may 
also depend upon the degree of elasticity of the plastic material, and the 
rigidity, including the thickness and strength, of the material 
incorporating the respective hook-shaped flanges. 
In the preferred form of the invention, the truck bed liner 20 is 
preferably vacuum-formed from the ABS-LS plastic material.