Abstract:
A seat retainer arrangement for use on the cargo compartment of a pickup truck or the like comprising a substantially rigid, longitudinally extensible and retractable arm member for engagement removably to respective joints on the bed liner sections covering two opposite side walls of the cargo compartment.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a novel arrangement for retaining seats in place in the cargo compartment of pickup trucks so that such trucks can carry comfortably seated passengers both in their cabs and cargo compartments. Truck cargo compartments are designed to transport cargo, not people. But by providing a fast and convenient means to retain seats in place in said compartments, that also allows truck users to detach the seats easily and instantly therefrom, said compartments would become more versatile and useful to truck users who would occassionally prefer to travel in an open or more natural environment, specially in off the road trips, to inspect a field, farm, forest, or park. Additionally, the seat retainer provides a key to releasably lock the seats to such open-topped cargo compartments and thus secure the seats against theft. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The principal object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement to conveniently retain seats in place in the cargo compartment of pickup trucks, that also allows truck users to detach the seats easily and instantly therefrom, so that such compartments can be readily used to transport either people or cargo. Additionally, the seat retainer provides a key to releasably lock the seats to such open-topped cargo compartments and thus secure the seats against theft. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a conventional pickup truck. The walls of the truck&#39;s cargo compartment are covered by a bed liner having shallow grooves. The bed liner protects the cargo compartment from scratches and rust and has a pair of rectangular recesses or joints to engage removably a telescopic arm member. 
     FIG. 2 shows a seat secured removably to a telescopic arm member which in turn is secured removably to said joints on the bed liner. 
     FIG. 3 shows that the telescopic arm member is attached removably to a securing loop on the rear of the seat. The securing loop is located under the backrest of the seat. 
     FIG. 4 shows a key inside a chamber on said telescopic arm member. The key serves to releasably lock the arm member to said joints, and thus to protect the seat against theft. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Before explaining the present invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the particular arrangements shown and described herein since the invention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. 
     Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional pickup truck  10  has an open-topped cargo compartment or area  11  behind the cab  12 . A plastic or metal bed liner  13  on the inside of the walls of the truck cargo compartment presents a generally flat, horizontal bottom segment  14  formed with a plurality of laterally spaced, shallow grooves or recesses  15  extending longitudinally on the truck. The liner covers the inside faces of the opposite side walls  16  and  17  of the truck at the cargo compartment, and here it is also formed with longitudinally extending, horizontal, vertically spaced, narrow grooves or recesses  18 . 
     In accordance with the present invention, the sides of the liner carry respective rectangular recesses or joints  90 . Each joint  90  is rigidly affixed to a section of the bed liner covering a side wall of the truck&#39;s cargo compartment by suitable fasteners (e.g., screws) or adhesive. FIG. 1 shows joint  90  on one side only of the cargo compartment but it is to be understood that the opposite side of the cargo compartment has an identical joint  90  that is aligned, both lengthwise of the truck and vertically, with the joint appearing in FIG.  1 . 
     Each joint  90  is spaced above the bottom of the cargo compartment to enable a corresponding seat retainer or arm member R to engage the seat a predetermined distance up from the bottom of the seat resting on the bottom  14  of the truck&#39;s cargo compartment. Joints  90  receive the laterally outward rectangular ends of the corresponding substantially rigid, longitudinally extensible and retractable seat retainer or arm member R on opposite sides of the particular seat then being carried by the truck. 
     The principal purpose of the bed liner  13  is to protect the cargo compartment from scratches and rust but, if desired, it may be omitted. If the bed liner is omitted, then joints  90  may be rigidly affixed directly to side walls  16  and  17  of the truck&#39;s cargo compartment. 
     FIG. 2 shows telescopic arm member R securing removably a seat  8  to joints  90  on bed liner sections covering opposite side walls  16  and  17  of the cargo compartment of pickup truck  10 . Said arm member R comprises a substantially cylindrical hollow tube or outer sleeve  20  and a solid striated inner shaft or rod  21  which is snugly but slidably received in sleeve  20 . FIG. 2 also shows that seat  8  is retainable in such a way that a seat occupant faces the rear instead of the front of the truck when seated with backrest  33  in an upright position against his or her back. A main advantage of facing the rear of the truck is that when the vehicle is moving forward the very same sitting orientation and the backrest of the seat protect the seat occupant from the impact of the wind, rain, snow or dust. 
     In FIG. 3 a portion of sleeve  20  is shown passing through a securing loop  4  on the rear of the seat  8  with a rectangular cushioned end  40  of the sleeve  20  opposite to the end  44  which receives the shaft  21  snugly fitted inside joint  90  on a bed liner section covering side wall  16  of the cargo compartment. A rectangular cushioned end  50  of the striated shaft  21  opposite to the end  55  received in the sleeve  20  is also shown about to be fitted inside a respective joint  90  on a bed liner section covering the opposite side wall  17  of the cargo compartment. A pin  80  is also shown extending through coinciding holes on the sleeve  20  and the securing loop  4  on the rear of the seat. The purpose of the pin is to prevent the seat from sliding towards either side wall  16  or  17  of the cargo compartment. The pin is secured removably. Securing loop  4  is located under the backrest of the seat so that said backrest can be reclined backwards even when the seat is attached to outer sleeve  20  and to the cargo compartment of the pickup truck. 
     In FIG. 4 a key  24  is then shown releasably locking the shaft  21  to the sleeve  20  after the shaft has been slid outwardly to the point where joint  90  on the bed liner section covering side wall  17  does not allow the shaft to be extended out of the sleeve any further. Rectangular end  55  of the striated shaft is thus shown snugly fitted inside said joint  90 . 
     Key  24  is rotatably adjustable within chamber  25  on sleeve  20 . As the key is turned it extends outwardly a small pin  32  to obstruct the movement of the striated shaft  21  within sleeve  20  and thus lock the shaft after the shaft is slided to a position along the sleeve where joint  90  does not allow the shaft to slide outwardly any further. (See FIG.  4 ). Conversely, as the key is returned to its original position pin  32  retracts inside chamber  25  to allow the striated shaft  21  to retract again inside sleeve  20 . 
     To detach seat  8  from joints  90  on the bed liner sections covering side walls  16  and  17  of the cargo compartment, shaft  21  would be retracted inside sleeve  20  after key  24  unlocks the shaft from the sleeve. Pin  80  extending through coinciding holes on securing loop  4  and sleeve  20  would also be unlocked and removed, to thus unlock also the sleeve from securing loop  4  and slidably remove the sleeve from said securing loop so that the seat can be used as any other ordinary seat, unconnected to the sleeve and the cargo compartment of the pickup truck.