Vehicle mounted awning

An awning is mounted in stake pockets of a truck bed and casts shade asymmetrically relative to its mount rearwardly toward the truck tailgate. The awning is braced by struts connecting the truck and the awning. The awning is pivoted between a stowed position overlying the truck rails to a position extending rearwardly of the truck bed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It occasionally occurs that it is desirable to work on, or near, the end of a truck. Often, these are work trucks such as welder's trucks but equally often they are standard pickup trucks. Standard pickup trucks are often used for either work or pleasure under circumstances where it is desirable to have an awning or canopy providing shade on or near the tailgate. Most current model pickup trucks include stake pockets in the rails of the truck bed. These pockets are used for a variety of applications including attaching tie down points or mounting a camper shell to the truck bed.

It is known in the prior art to provide an umbrella at the rear of welder's trucks. Similar disclosures are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,481,784; 7,789,097; 8,123,190; 9,127,475; 9,506,269; 9,968,167 and 10,029,547.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An awning includes a frame and a sheet material cover. The frame may connect to the stake pockets of a conventional truck bed and extend rearwardly to overlie or extend beyond a tailgate thereby providing shade rearwardly of an open tailgate. The awning may provide shade not only on the tailgate but also rearwardly of the tailgate where individuals likely stand or sit. In some embodiments, the awning may provide all shade from vertical sunlight rearwardly of the truck bed or rearwardly of an open tailgate of the truck. One or more braces may connect the frame to the truck bed thereby stabilizing the frame against excessive movement, even in high winds.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The awning10includes a cover12supported by a frame14which is mounted on the rear of a truck16. The truck16is illustrated as a conventional pickup truck having a truck bed18bounded by rails20and having a floor22. A tailgate24may be pivotally mounted on the truck16to lie coplanar with the floor22. The rails20may include a horizontal section26providing one or more upwardly opening conventional stake pockets28. In its upright position, the tailgate24may nest inside a recess30provided by the rails20. The tailgate24is conventionally latched in its upright position by a latch (not shown) on the tailgate24which cooperates with a stud32fixed to the truck16inside the recess30. In some trucks, the stud32is a horizontally extending stub with an enlarged end. In other trucks, the stud32may be a U-shaped member fixed to the recess30. Those skilled in the art will recognize the pickup truck16as being typical of currently available models.

The awning10may be of any suitable type and is illustrated as a bimini top common on small boats. The frame14may include a U-shaped support34having legs36and a crossbar38. The support34may be one piece or in segments. The legs36are pivotally mounted for movement about an axis provided by pins40extending through a mount or a pair of brackets42secured in the stake pockets28by a connector44. The frame14may also include a U-shaped strut46including a crossbar48and legs50receiving a sliding sleeve assembly52which may be temporarily fixed to the legs36by a set screw54as explained more fully hereinafter. The legs36and/or the legs50may be of one piece, segmented or telescoping in any suitable manner. Conventional bimini tops cast shade symmetrically relative to its pivotal mount analogous to the bracket42. It will be seen the cover12casts a shadow from vertical sunlight asymmetric relative to the bracket42toward the rear of the truck bed and, in some embodiments, beyond the open tailgate24as discussed more fully hereinafter.

As so far disclosed, the awning10is unstable because it is freely moveable about the pivot axis of the pin40and requires some bracing56to stabilize it. The amount, position and angle of the bracing56depends on the distribution of weight of the awning10relative to the pin40. It is advantageous for the awning10to cast shade from vertical sunlight on and/or rearwardly of the tailgate24, i.e. rearward relative to the normal direction of movement of the truck16. With most combinations of frame14and cover12, this means a major fraction of the weight of the awning10is rearward of the pin40meaning the awning10tends to rotate clockwise as viewed in the position ofFIG. 2. Thus the bracing56may include struts58secured to fittings60on the rail20of the truck16and to the frame14or to the cover12. The bracing56may be of any suitable type including rigid material, elastic bands such as bungee cords, or the like and may preferably be conventional inelastic webbing including a length adjusting buckle (not shown) and suitable end connectors for securement to the fittings60, the frame14and/or the cover12.

In high wind or rain, it may be desirable to have additional bracing62stabilizing the awning10. To this end, the bracing62may include a second set of struts64which likewise may be rigid, elastic bands, inelastic webbing or the like removably attached to the stud32with a key-hole connector (not shown) at one end and to the frame14or to the cover12at the opposite end. In the alternative, suitable tie downs or clips (not shown) may be attached inside the recess30and the bracing62removably attached to them.

Referring toFIGS. 5-7, the brackets42and connectors44are illustrated in more detail. The brackets42may be modified from commercially bimini top brackets available from Overton's Inc. of Lincolnshire, Ill. and include a conventional housing66having spaced apart ears68extending from a base plate70. The pin40is mounted in aligned openings in the ears68and includes a spring72biasing the pin40outwardly out of a position in the gap between the ears68so the frame14can be removed from the truck16and a normal position spanning the distance between the ears68for captivating the pin40between the ears68. The pin40may be of conventional design including a pivoted end (not shown), hidden inFIG. 7, movable between a position coaxial with the pin40so the pin40can be removed from the bracket42and a trans-verse position captivating the pin40in the bracket42. In a preferred embodiment, the connector44secures the bracket42in the stake pocket28. The bracket42accordingly may include a threaded opening74(FIG. 7) provided in the housing66into which is placed a screw76comprising part of the connector44.

The connector44is designed to be secured inside the stake pocket28. The connector44may include a clamped plate78providing a base larger than the base plate70to provide a large surface area contacting the horizontal surface26of the rail20or to a lip of the stake pocket28. A conventional toggle assembly80is threaded onto the screw76. To attach the bracket42to the stake pocket28, the housing66and plate78are positioned on top of the rail20and the toggle assembly80and screw76passed into the stake pocket28. The bracket42is rotated to advance the toggle assembly80into load bearing engagement with a lip (not shown) of the stake pocket28. This clamps the housing66and the plate78to the rail20and secures the bracket42to the stake pocket28.

As shown inFIGS. 1-3, the fittings60provide an anchor for the bracing64. The fittings60may be essentially the same as the bracket42and are secured in any suitable manner to the truck rail20, preferably in another stake pocket (not shown) by a screw and toggle assembly similar to the screw76and toggle assembly80. In other embodiments, the fitting60may be secured to the truck rail20by drilling a suitable hole (not shown) in the horizontal section26and securing the fitting60with the screw and toggle assembly. One advantage of the fitting60will become more fully apparent hereinafter.

As an alternative to securing the brackets42to the stake pockets28, the brackets42may be secured to the bed rails20using either conventional screws to secure the base plate70to the rail20.

The cover12may be of any suitable material capable of casting a shadow. Bimini top material has proven satisfactory and is available from Overton's Inc. The cover12is secured to the frame14in a conventional manner.

An important advantage of this invention is the ability to provide shade from vertical sunlight rearwardly of the tailgate24where people are apt to stand or sit. The amount of shade from vertical sunlight rearwardly of the tailgate24is a function of the length of the legs36and the angle of the legs36relative to the ground or to the truck16. At least 30% of the cover12may be rearwardly of the open tailgate24and, as shown by a comparison of the distance between the vertical dash-dot lines82,84,86inFIG. 2. It may preferred that at least 50% of the cover12may provide shade from vertical sunlight rearwardly of the tailgate24. As shown inFIG. 2, a substantial majority. i.e. at least 60% of a length of the cover, of shade cast by vertical sunlight is rearward of the truck bed16. Even though the frame14may be overly complicated and expensive, there is no upper limit of the amount of the cover12that may be rearwardly of the tailgate24.

The awning10may be stowed against the rails20of the truck16as shown inFIGS. 4 and 5. A boot (not shown) is used to enclose the cover12in the stowed position and keep it from flapping. This has the additional advantage of captivating the legs36and preventing the U-shaped support34from moving. The fitting60advantageously cooperates with the sleeve assembly52to secure the frame14to the bed rail20. The sleeve assembly52includes a sleeve88slidably mounted on each leg50and secured in place by the set screw54. The sleeve assembly52includes a single tab90having an opening (not shown) therein receiving a spring actuated pin92and thereby captivate the sleeve assembly52to the fitting and thereby captivate the frame14to the bed rail20.

Many current model pickup trucks have stake pockets on each rail20spaced at a distance conducive to sizing and positioning the awning10in a desirable location. For example, with appropriately positioned stake pockets and appropriately sized members34,46, the sleeve assemblies52can be secured correctly by simply folding the support34and strut46to their stowed position and securing the sleeve assemblies52with the set screws54. Some pickups have only one appropriately positioned stake pocket at the rear of each rail20so the position of the fittings60may be set either by varying the position of the fittings60or by varying the length and angle of the braces54.

To deploy the cover12from a stowed position of the awning10shown inFIG. 4, the frame14is released from the fittings60by manipulating the pins92and releasing the frame14for movement. The U-shaped support34is pivoted clockwise inFIG. 2and the sleeve assemblies52slide along the legs36and the U-shaped support46and the bracing56is installed to position the cover12at a desired location. The sleeve assemblies52are fixed to the legs36by tightening the set screws54. The additional bracing62may be added as desired. To move the awning10from the extended position ofFIGS. 1-2back to the stowed position ofFIG. 4is basically the reverse.

Referring toFIG. 8, an awning94includes a frame96and a cover98mounted on a bed100of a truck102. The frame96includes legs104of sufficient length and at a sufficient angle to the truck102to position the cover98so the cover98casts shade from vertical sunlight entirely rearwardly of the truck bed102as suggested by the vertical line106. In such an embodiment, it may be desirable that the legs104be multipart or telescoping.

Referring toFIG. 9, an awning108includes a frame110and a cover112mounted on a bed114of a truck116. The frame110includes legs118of sufficient length and at a sufficient angle to the truck116to position the cover112so the cover112casts shade from vertical sunlight entirely rearwardly of an open tailgate120the truck bed114as suggested by a vertical line122. In such an embodiment, it may be desirable that the legs118be multipart or telescoping.

Although this invention has been disclosed and described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form is only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of operation and in the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.