Vehicle load box rail trim brackets

Vehicle load box rail trim brackets, including a rail trim bracket comprised of a housing that is attached to a trim piece, a clamp that engages a load box rail; and a cam disposed between the housing and clamp. The housing, clamp, and cam are configured such that the clamp substantially rotates about the cam, the cam creating a metastable fulcrum point where forces between the housing, clamp, and cam are at a maximum. Rotating the clamp past the fulcrum point causes the clamp to engage the housing. The cam keeps the clamp in tension against the load box rail and in compression against the housing so as to secure the trim to the load box rail. The housing, clamp, and cam are preferably manufactured from glass-reinforced plastic.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No.: CN 201710109228.8 filed on Feb. 27, 2017, the entire contents thereof being incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to mechanisms for securing trim to vehicles. In particular, brackets for securing trim to vehicle load boxes that are light weight and low cost are described.

BACKGROUND

On motor vehicles such trucks that possess cargo beds—also known as load boxes or cargo boxes—the rim (called a rail) of the box or bed may have a trim piece attached. In addition to aesthetic purposes, this trim piece can also serve a protective role, preventing scratches or other damage to the finish of the load box rail and possible subsequent corrosion damage. These load box rail trim pieces are typically attached with a bracket mechanism to attach the trim piece to the load box.

Brackets used for attaching the trim piece are typically manufactured from steel, and are comprised of two components: a first bracket half that is attached to the load box rail, and a second half that is attached to the trim piece and is configured to engage with the first bracket half. The trim piece is then secured by disposing the second half over the first bracket half such that the second half “hooks” over the first half. Bolts securing the second half to the trim piece are tightened, causing the second half to be placed in tension and the first half to be placed in compression, opposing the second half. This combination of tension and compression holds the trim piece in place. In addition, existing brackets may be further secured together using mechanical fasteners to maintain holding integrity.

The use of steel components and mechanical fasteners to create the necessary tension and compression to hold the trim piece to the load box rail results in a mechanism that is unnecessarily heavy and relatively time intensive to install and secure, and consequently, results in unnecessary cost.

Thus, there exists a need for load box rail trim brackets that improve upon and advance the design of known brackets. Examples of new and useful load box rail trim brackets relevant to the needs existing in the field are discussed below.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,688 to Wheatley, for a Cargo Box Side Rail, discloses a rail that is designed to attach to the top of the sides of a pickup truck's cargo box. The box sides are described as possessing a top flange, upon which the disclosed rail sits. The rail is secured using a clamping mechanism that hooks below the top flange, and is secured by tightening a screw mechanism that draws the clamp up and tight to the underside of the top flange. The clamp is thus placed in tension, with a compressive force applied to the underside of the flange as well as between the rail and the top of the flange. These clamping mechanisms are disclosed as attached to the ends of the rail.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,736 to Dutton is directed to rails that mount atop the top flange of a pickup truck cargo box. The rails mount upon the top flange by way of a plurality of screws that go through the rail and into an interior vertical portion of the top flange. Fastening points can be placed in and secured to the rails to facilitate securing of cargo within the box.

Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,913,175 to Martin discloses rails that are secured to the top of a pickup truck cargo box. These rails are secured using conventional means, such as bolts or screws. To each rail a bracket is clamped on, and between a bracket attached to each rail on opposing sides of the cargo box is attached a stringer for supporting cargo loads. The brackets are clamped on using a single piece clamp that can be secured with a bolt or screw.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to rail trim brackets for securing trim pieces to vehicle load box rails. According to a first aspect, a rail trim bracket for securing a trim piece to a vehicle load box rail comprises a housing; a clamp; and a cam disposed between the housing and clamp. The housing, the clamp and the cam are configured to interact to create a retention-release mechanism to allow rotation of the clamp from an open position to a clamped position to attach the trim piece to the load box rail.

In a first embodiment, the rail trim bracket further comprises a plurality of hook-shaped protrusions and a plurality of sliding surfaces located on each of the housing, clamp, and cam. The plurality of hooks and sliding surfaces of the housing, the clamp, and the cam interact to create a retention-release mechanism as the clamp substantially rotates about a longitudinal axis of the cam, the cam is sized so as to create a fulcrum point as the clamp substantially rotates about the longitudinal axis of the cam, and the clamp is at the clamped position when the clamp is rotated past the fulcrum point and the cam keeps the clamp in tension against the load box rail and in compression against the housing so as to secure the trim piece to the load box rail.

In another embodiment, the cam possesses one or more sliding surfaces; and the clamp possesses one or more sliding surfaces that are complementary to the sliding surfaces of the cam, and slideably engage the cam sliding surfaces as the clamp is rotated.

In yet another embodiment, the cam possesses one or more hook-shaped protrusions; and the clamp possesses one or more hook-shaped protrusions that are complementary to and engage with the hook-shaped protrusions of the cam so as to retain the clamp.

In still another embodiment, the housing and clamp are manufactured from glass-reinforced nylon and the cam is manufactured from a glass-reinforced acetal.

According to a second aspect, a rail trim bracket for securing a trim piece to a top surface of a sidewall of a vehicle load box comprise a housing having a first portion attached to the trim piece; a clamp configured to engage the sidewall, further comprising one or more hooks; and a cam disposed between the housing and clamp, the cam having a longitudinal axis and one or more hooks corresponding to the one or more hooks on the clamp. The clamp is movably retained by the cam through the interaction of the one or more hooks on the clamp with the one or more corresponding hooks on the cam, such that the clamp is moveable about the cam's longitudinal axis, when the clamp is rotated toward the first portion of the housing, the cam, housing and clamp interact against the sidewall to create a fulcrum point prior to the clamp reaching the first portion of the housing, and as the clamp passes through the fulcrum point, the interaction between the housing, cam, clamp and sidewall impart tension on the clamp and a compression on the housing to maintain the clamp at the clamped position and the trim piece in contact with the top surface of the sidewall.

In one embodiment, the cam further comprises one or more second hooks; and the housing further comprises one or more hooks that correspond to the one or more second hooks, the cam being retained to the housing by the interaction of the one or more second hooks with the one or more hooks of the housing.

In a second embodiment, the cam further comprises one or more sliding surfaces; and the clamp further comprises one or more sliding surfaces that are complementary to the sliding surfaces of the cam, and slideably engage the cam sliding surfaces as the clamp is rotated.

In a third embodiment, the cam further comprises one or more second sliding surfaces; and the housing further comprises one or more sliding surfaces that are complementary to the second sliding surfaces of the cam, and engage the cam second sliding surfaces.

In a fourth embodiment, the clamp engages the sidewall by way of a side flange that extends perpendicularly from the top surface of the sidewall.

In yet another embodiment, the housing and clamp are manufactured from glass-reinforced nylon, and the cam is manufactured from glass-reinforced acetal.

According to a third aspect, a vehicle comprises a load box side that has a top flange that extends perpendicular to the load box side, with a side flange further extending perpendicular from the end of the top flange in the direction of and parallel to the load box side; a trim piece disposed upon the top flange; and a rail trim bracket to attach the trim piece to the load box side, which is further comprised of a housing including a first portion disposed upon the trim piece so as to substantially face away from the load box side, wherein the housing includes one or more hooks and one or more sliding surfaces; a clamp further comprising a first section configured to fit between load box side and side flange, the first section connected to a second section that is disposed proximate to the side flange and away from the load box side such that the first section and second section encompass both sides of the side flange, the second section further configured to fit within the housing and including one or more hooks and one or more sliding surfaces; and a cam with a longitudinal axis, the cam disposed substantially between the housing and clamp, and comprised of one or more first hooks that are complementary to the housing's one or more hooks, one or more second hooks that are complementary to the clamp's one or more hooks, one or more first sliding surfaces that are complementary to the housing's one or more sliding surfaces, and one or more second sliding surfaces that are complementary to the clamp's one or more sliding surfaces. The cam is rotatably attached to the housing by the one or more first hooks engaging with the housing's one or more hooks, the cam is rotatably attached to the clamp by the one or more second hooks engaging with the clamp's one or more hooks, the cam is sized so as to create a metastable fulcrum point where forces between the housing, clamp, side flange and cam are at a maximum, and applying force to the clamp towards the housing past the fulcrum point causes the clamp to engage the housing, placing the clamp in tension between the housing and side flange, thereby securing the trim piece to the top flange by a compressive force.

In one embodiment, the vehicle is a truck.

In another embodiment, the housing's one or more hooks extend from the housing in the direction away from the load box side, the cam's one or more first hooks extend in a direction substantially opposite from the direction of the cam's one or more second hooks of the cam, and the clamp's one or more hooks extend from the clamp in a direction towards the load box side.

In another embodiment, the cam's one or more first hooks and one or more second hooks are disposed about a central section of the cam; and the cam's one or more first sliding surfaces and one or more second sliding surfaces each comprise two first sliding surfaces and two second sliding surfaces, with one each of the first sliding surfaces and second sliding surfaces being disposed on an end positioned along the cam's longitudinal axis on either side of the central section of the cam.

In yet another embodiment, the first sliding surface and second sliding surface on each of the cam's end are disposed so as to face in opposite directions.

In another embodiment, the housing and clamp have an elongated shape along and parallel to the cam's longitudinal axis.

In another embodiment, the clamp's first section and second section are configured to create a channel that extends substantially parallel to the cam's longitudinal axis, the channel further being configured to receive the side flange.

In another embodiment, the clamp's one or more sliding surfaces and the housing's one or more sliding surfaces are substantially convex in shape, and the cam's one or more first sliding surfaces and one or more second sliding surfaces are substantially concave in shape.

In still another embodiment, the housing and clamp are manufactured from glass-reinforced nylon, and the cam is manufactured from glass-reinforced acetal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference toFIGS. 1-6, an example of a vehicle load box rail trim bracket, rail trim bracket100, will now be described. Rail trim bracket100functions to provide a lightweight and cost-effective means by which a load or cargo box trim piece can be secured to a top rail of the cargo or load box found on a typical consumer-grade pickup truck or cross-over vehicle.

Rail trim bracket100provides a means for securing a trim piece to the top rail of a vehicle cargo box. Rail trim bracket100can be made out of lightweight engineered plastic materials, such as glass-filled nylon and acetal. The use of engineering plastics reduces the weight and costs associated with using a metal bracket. As the trim piece is primarily decorative and is not intended to be load-bearing, the rail trim bracket100can be made from any plastic that can provide sufficient strength required for securing the trim piece to the top rail.

Further, rail trim bracket100essentially comprises a retention-release mechanism in the form of a latch that can be secured without the need for special tools, effectively with a person's hands. A hooked portion of a clamp, which is part of rail trim bracket100, is hooked around the cargo box rail. The associated trim piece is then quickly secured by pushing the clamp past a fulcrum point. As the clamp is pushed towards the fulcrum point, the force the installer must apply increases until reaching the fulcrum point. The fulcrum point is the point of travel of the clamp that presents maximum resistance to the installer's efforts, after which the clamp snaps shut into a housing that is also part of rail trim bracket100. The housing is affixed to the trim piece. Once snapped shut, the clamp remains in tension by a cam, part of rail trim bracket100that is interposed between the clamp and the housing, which causes the hook of the clamp to pull against the box rail, and the housing to impart a compressive force between the trim piece and the cargo box rail, thereby securing the trim piece into position. As no special tools are needed and the clamp can be quickly shut, the trim piece can be installed more quickly than conventional metal brackets that require tightening a screw mechanism, which, in addition to being more time consuming, may require use of tools. This time savings further serves to reduce production costs.

In some vehicle implementation, a plurality of rail trim brackets100may be employed to secure a single trim piece to the cargo box rail.

Referring toFIGS. 1A to 2, rail trim bracket100includes a housing102that is disposed upon a trim piece104, a cam110with a longitudinal axis112, and a clamp106rotatably connected to housing102via cam110. Housing102may include a first portion103configured to be connected to trim piece104. In the depicted embodiment, the load box includes a load box rail108. Load box rail108is further comprised of a top flange114attached to cargo box sidewall101, and a side flange116that extends perpendicularly down from top flange114, towards the floor of the load box and approximately parallel to cargo box sidewall101. Cam110is disposed between housing102and clamp106.

Each of housing102, clamp106and cam110are configured to interact to create a retention-release mechanism, to allow rotation of clamp106between an open position and a clamped position. For example, clamp106may substantially rotate about longitudinal axis112of cam110. Cam110is configured to create a metastable fulcrum point in the travel of clamp106as it rotates with respect to housing102and cam110, where forces between housing102, clamp106, and cam110are at a maximum. At the fulcrum point, clamp106is in maximum tension between cam110and side flange116. The fulcrum point is metastable, so that rotating clamp106towards housing102past the fulcrum point results in tension being partially released from clamp106so as to drive it further towards and into housing102. The interaction between housing102, clamp106and cam110keeps clamp106in tension against side flange116and in compression against housing102by way of cam110. As housing102is attached to trim piece104, this compression acts through housing102to secure trim piece104to load box rail108. Similarly, rotating clamp106away from housing102results in the tension being released from clamp106so as to drive it to disengage from side flange116and results in rail trim bracket100being unlatched.

In some embodiments, housing102and clamp106may be injection molded from 30% glass-reinforced nylon to impart strength and durability to the system and cam110may be injection molded from glass-reinforced acetal, providing ease of movement and creep/compression resistance. It should be appreciated that housing102, clamp106and cam110may be manufactured from any suitable material now known or later developed, including other types of plastics, or metal, such as aluminum.

Housing102is secured to trim piece104prior to securing to the cargo box rail, preferably by relatively permanent means, such as via screws that pass through provided holes in housing102and into corresponding holes or screw inserts provided in trim piece104. Such holes or inserts are typically previously provided during the manufacture of trim piece104. Alternatively, housing102could be integrally molded as part of trim piece104, using well-known plastics manufacturing techniques. For example, housing102could be integrated into trim piece104using an overmold process, with prefabricated housings102being placed into a mold for trim piece104. Housing102is preferably manufactured from a reinforced material such as 30% minimum glass-reinforced nylon (PA6-G30), but could be manufactured from any suitable material now known or later developed, including other types of plastics, or metal, such as aluminum.

Referring toFIG. 3, the features of housing102are shown in greater detail. Housing102includes one or more hook-shaped projections (hooks)202, that interface with corresponding hook projections on cam110, which will be discussed further herein. These hooks202serve to center and properly align the other components of rail trim bracket100so as to ensure proper closure of rail trim bracket100and proper securing of trim piece104. Also seen inFIG. 3are one or more sliding surfaces204. Sliding surfaces204correspond to and interface with corresponding sliding surfaces on cam110. Sliding surfaces204act as bearing surfaces to accommodate the movement of cam110, and further act to receive the bulk of the compressive forces imposed by clamp106when it is in its closed position. Compressive force transmitted to bracket housing102via sliding surfaces204is in turn transmitted to trim piece104to which bracket housing102is attached, thereby securing trim piece104to load box rail108. It will be understood that housing102must be attached to trim piece104in a manner that is sufficiently robust to withstand the continued compressive force applied from housing102to maintain trim piece104in secure contact with load box rail108.

Housing102further includes recess206which is sized and shaped to accommodate a portion of clamp106as will be discussed herein. Recess206allows clamp106to neatly secure into housing102without protruding into the cargo space of the load box when rail trim bracket100is closed, thereby preventing a possible snag hazard, or possible damage from cargo placed inside the load box. When clamp106is engaged within recess206, cam110, hooks202and sliding surfaces204are further hidden and protected from damage. Finally, as can been seen in the figures, housing102may have various other projections and features that can add attachment points for different types of trim pieces104, or may serve other useful purposes, such as providing structural reinforcement and strength to housing102to ensure that housing102can transmit compressive force to trim piece104without failure over the lifetime of the various components.

Turning toFIG. 4, clamp106is depicted. Clamp106possesses one or more hook-shaped projections, or hooks302, which are positioned and designed to engage with corresponding hook projections on cam110. Further, clamp106includes one or more sliding surfaces304which serve to both provide bearing surfaces as clamp106rotates against cam110, as well as provide the surfaces by which clamp106, when held in tension, transmits compressive force to housing102by way of cam110, so that trim piece104is held secure to load box rail108.

Clamp106is comprised of a first section306and second section308. These two sections306and308define a channel310, so that clamp106is shaped similar to the letter J. Channel310is intended to engage a side portion of a flange located on the top of load box rail108(e.g., side flange116). Load box rail108, as can be seen inFIG. 1B, is composed of a top flange114that extends perpendicular from the top of the cargo box sidewall, and a further side flange116that extends from the end of top flange114in a substantially parallel fashion to cargo box sidewall101, towards the cargo box floor. In some implementations top flange114extends inward towards the center of the cargo box; however, top flange114could extend out away from the exterior of the cargo box and cargo box sidewall101. Trim piece104is secured to the upper surface of top flange114of load box rail108. Side flange116engages with channel310, thereby receiving compressive force from clamp106when it is secured into housing102. Thus, as depicted inFIGS. 1A and 1B, when trim piece104is secured by rail trim bracket100, first section306is substantially placed against the side flange114, relatively adjacent to cargo box sidewall101. Second section308is correspondingly disposed adjacent to the side of side flange114that is distal from cargo box sidewall101.

Referring toFIG. 6, the top of second section308of clamp106is preferably shaped to engage with and be received into recess206of housing102, and to fit flush with housing102when so engaged. Likewise, the top of second section308may be shaped in a handle or paddle configuration to facilitate closing of rail trim bracket100to secure trim piece104.

As with housing102, clamp106is preferably manufactured from an engineered plastic such as glass-reinforced nylon (such as PA6-G30), or other similar material. Clamp could, however, be manufactured from any suitable material, such as different types of plastics, composites, or metals. Such materials should be suitable to withstand the imposition the continuous tension stress imposed upon clamp106when it is engaged into housing102. Clamp106, as can be seen inFIG. 4, may include different features not described herein depending upon the vehicle application, and/or may include features specifically intended to improve the structural rigidity and strength of clamp106.

Cam110is shown inFIG. 5. Cam110includes one or more first hooks404and one or more second hooks402. In the depicted embodiment first hooks404and second hooks402are arranged around a center section410of cam110. First hooks404are complementary to and arranged to engage each of hooks202of housing102. Likewise, second hooks402are complementary to and arranged to engage each of hooks302of clamp106. Cam110further includes one or more first sliding surfaces408and one or more second sliding surfaces406. As can be seen in the depicted embodiment ofFIG. 5, first sliding surfaces408and second sliding surfaces406are disposed on either end412of cam110along longitudinal axis112with respect to center section410. Each end412has one first sliding surface408and one second sliding surface406, each such first sliding surface408being disposed so as to face in an opposite direction from the corresponding second sliding surface406. First sliding surfaces408are configured and disposed so as to engage with sliding surfaces204of housing102, and second sliding surfaces406are configured and disposed so as to engage with sliding surfaces304of clamp106.

As can be seen inFIGS. 2 and 5, cam110possesses a longitudinal axis112. Cam110is positioned between housing102and clamp110so that longitudinal axis112is arranged parallel in a lengthwise fashion. When first hooks404and second hooks402are engaged with their corresponding hooks202on housing and302on clamp, clamp106is retained to cam110, which is in turn retained to housing102. Further, second hooks402and corresponding hooks302on clamp106are configured to form a hinge that allows clamp106to rotate with respect to longitudinal axis112. Likewise, the interaction between first hooks404and corresponding hooks202of housing102allows cam110to rotate with respect to housing102.

As can be seen inFIG. 5, cam110is roughly cylindrical in shape. First hooks404and second hooks402, along with first sliding surfaces408and second sliding surfaces406, are positioned along the body of cam110, and cam110is appropriately sized, so as to create a metastable fulcrum point when clamp106is rotated towards housing102, when the side flange of load box rail108is placed into channel310of clamp106. This fulcrum point is created by the interaction between the side flange, clamp106, cam110, and housing102, imposed by the size and shape of cam110relative to the overall height of the side flange, depth of channel310, and size of clamp106. The fulcrum point will be reached and passed prior to clamp106engaging into housing102.

With clamp106hooked to the load box rail108so that the side flange116is placed within channel310, applying pressure to the top of second section308to move clamp106towards housing102will necessitate applying increasing pressure as clamp106rotates towards housing102and approaches the fulcrum point. At the fulcrum point, maximum force will be reached, with clamp106under maximum tension and the compressive forces transmitted to the various sliding surfaces of clamp106, cam110, and housing102likewise at maximum. As the fulcrum point is metastable, applying force to clamp106in either the direction towards housing102or away from housing102will cause an increasing release of tension from clamp106and the associated compressive forces upon the sliding surfaces. This increasing release will urge clamp106either to a fully released state, if the force applied clamp106is away from housing102, or into fully engaging with housing102, if the force applied to clamp106is towards housing102. Thus, the fulcrum point is metastable—its tendency is to flip clamp106to either a fully released state or engaged with housing102.

It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the relevant art that because of the metastable nature of the fulcrum point and its location in the travel of clamp106prior to full engagement with housing102, when clamp106is engaged into housing102it will require the application of increasing force to cause clamp106to reach the fulcrum point and release. Thus, clamp106is positively retained engaged into housing102, which in turn keeps trim piece104secure to load box rail108. When clamp106is engaged into housing102, it remains under tension, with an opposing compressive force applied to the side flange via interaction with channel310. Similarly, compressive force is applied between trim piece104to load box rail108which retains trim piece104. This compressive force is applied from the interaction between sliding surfaces304and cam's110second sliding surfaces406, which in turn transmit through cam110to cam's110first sliding surfaces408that interact with sliding surfaces204of housing102, which in turn is attached to trim piece104. Thus, when clamp106is engaged in housing102, the various sliding surfaces act as bearing surfaces to transmit compressive force.

Cam110is preferably manufactured from an engineered plastic material such as glass-reinforced acetal or delryn, which are both capable of withstanding the compressive stresses imposed in the action of rail trim bracket100, as well as offer inherent lubrication properties to aid in passing the fulcrum point when rail trim bracket100is closed by engaging clamp106into housing102. However, any suitable material that possesses these qualities may be employed, including other plastics, composites, metals, or any other appropriate material now known or later developed.