Patent Abstract:
A truck topper having a pair of sidewalls in parallel spaced relation and adapted to be mounted to the bed of a truck at one end and having grooves at an opposite end. The grooves receive a retractable roof such that when attached to a retraction assembly the roof will retract to open the top of the truck topper.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 11/065,811, filed Feb. 25, 2005 now abandoned. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a truck topper and more specifically to a truck topper having a retractable roof. 
   Truck toppers are devices which are adapted for placement on the bed of a standard pickup truck to thereby enclose the pickup truck bed. A standard truck topper has a front end, a rear end, a roof, and side walls. Usually a door is placed in the rear end of the truck topper to allow access to the contents of the pickup bed. 
   A problem in the art exists in that when items that are taller than the truck topper are placed into the bed of a pickup truck, the truck topper must be removed which is time consuming and physically difficult for one person. To solve this problem, devices having complicated canopy systems with retractable canopies allow the canopy to be retracted for the loading of an item in the truck that is taller than the canopy. 
   For example, one device has an arcuate bow that supports a canopy that can be moved from an open position to a closed position of the container of a truck. A disadvantage is that the cover moves as a single unit eliminating the structural support of the sidewalls of the topper for securing a load during transport. 
   In addition, further problems exist with toppers having a retractable roof portion. As one example, without added support, the topper will expand and narrow in response to wind forces during transport. When the topper is not maintained in a square/plum position, it becomes difficult to open and close the retractable roof portion. Also, by using a retractable roof portion, sealing the interior compartment from rain and moisture presents challenges. Current canopies do not effectively solve this problem. 
   Accordingly, a need exists in the art for a topper for a truck having a roof portion that is independently retractable from the side portions. 
   Therefore, it is a principle object of the present invention to provide a truck topper that has a retractable roof to allow for easy storage and transport of items taller than the sides of the truck topper. 
   Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a truck topper having a roof portion that is retracted by a retraction assembly that is manual or automatic. 
   Another object of the invention is to provide a truck topper that will accommodate tall loads and provide structural support during transport. 
   Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a truck topper that has a retractable roof that is resilient to the elements. 
   Still a further object of the present invention is to provide support for a topper to stabilize the topper against wind forces. 
   One other object of the present invention is to provide sealing and drainage elements to protect the inside compartment from moisture and rain. 
   These and other objects, features, or advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the specification and claims. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A truck topper that has a pair of side walls that are in parallel spaced relation mounted to the bed of a truck. One edge of the side wall is adapted to be attached to the bed of the truck and the opposite edge has grooves on its interior wall for receiving a roof portion. The roof portion is slidable within the grooves to be moved from closed to open positions. A retraction assembly is attached to the roof portion to facilitate movement of the roof portion between open and closed positions. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the truck topper; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a truck topper; 
       FIG. 3  is a top view of a truck topper; 
       FIG. 4  is a side view of a truck topper; 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a truck topper; 
       FIG. 6  is an end view of a stabilizing member for a topper; 
       FIG. 7  is a side view of a drainage channel in a topper; and 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a roof cover. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIGS. 1-4  show a truck topper  10  that is mounted onto the back of a pickup truck  12 . As is well known in the art, a pickup truck  12  has a cab  12   a , and a loading compartment  12   b  that is formed by sidewalls  12   c  and end wall  12   d  and a moveable tailgate  12   e . The topper  10  has side walls  14  and  16 , and a roof portion  18  that preferably extends to the tailgate  12   e  of the truck  12 . Optionally a door  20  ( FIG. 2 ) can be hingedly attached to a side wall  14  or  16  to provide an opening in the topper  10  above the tailgate of the truck  12 . In a preferred embodiment the side walls  14 ,  16  have a bottom edge  22  that is adapted to be attached to the top of the truck  12  and has an opposite top edge  24  with a groove  26  on the interior portion of the side wall  14  or  16 . In one example, the roof portion  18  is comprised of a plurality of slats  28  and a plurality of lateral shafts  30  that are positioned to allow the roof to fold like an accordion as best shown in  FIG. 2 . To provide one to view the contents of the loading compartment, one or all of the slats are made of a translucent glass or plastic material. Attached to the shafts  30  are a plurality of wheels or rollers  31  that are received within the groove  26  of sidewalls  14  and  16 . The rollers  31  are moveable within the grooves  26  in order to allow the roof portion  18  to move in a longitudinal direction toward the cab of the pickup  12  and vice versa. Alternatively, other types of roof portions can be used such as resilient plastic or rubber. 
   A retractor assembly  32  is used to move the roof portion  18  in a longitudinal direction. In one example, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the retraction assembly  32  has at least one cable  34  that is attached to the roof portion  18  at the end adjacent the tailgate of the truck  12  to pull the roof  18  in a longitudinal direction toward the cab of the truck. The cable  34  is attached to a cylinder  36  that rotates such that the cable will wrap around the cylinder and pull the roof portion  18  toward the cylinder  36 . The cylinder  36  is rotated by a crank shaft  42  which is operated either by a power means such as a motor  40 , or manually by a handle  44 . 
   In another example, the cylinder  36  is attached to the roof portion  18  at the end adjacent the retractor assembly  32  either directly or by at least one cable  34 . As the cylinder is rotated, the roof portion  18  is pulled toward the retractor assembly and the roof portion wraps around cylinder  36 . In this manner, the roof portion  18  is moved to an open position allowing access to the bed of the truck  12 . 
   To move the roof portion  18  to a closed position one would pull on the end of the roof portion  18  opposite the retractor assembly in a direction toward the tailgate of the truck exerting sufficient manual force to rotate the cylinder  36  in the opposite direction releasing either the roof portion  18  or the cable  34  from the shaft  36 . The power source also could activate to rotate the cylinder in the opposite direction to release and close the roof portion  18 . Preferably, an activation switch  46  is mounted within the cab  12   a  of the truck  12  that is electrically connected to the power source to activate and/or release the power source. 
   One skilled in the art will appreciate that the truck topper  10  may be made of a fiberglass material or any other resilient material that improves the integrity of the truck topper and also ensures maximum security. Additionally, one skilled in the art will understand that the roof portion  18  can be made of an aluminum material or any rain and weather resistant material that also allows for maximum protection against the elements and others. Also, one skilled in the art will appreciate that by having the door  20  hinged to one of the side walls  14  or  16  that the door  20  of the topper  10  may be opened from the side allowing the roof portion  18  to extend down the sidewalls  14  and  16  of the truck  12  because the door  20  is not attached to the roof portion  18 . Also, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the roof portion may extend down the rearward end of the topper to engage the tailgate when the tailgate is in a closed position. Thus, an improved truck topper with a retractable roof is provided and at least the stated objectives have been met. 
   To add greater stability to the topper  10 , particularly during transport when the roof portion  18  is open, one or more stabilizing members  48  are connected to the topper  10  at one end, and to the pickup truck  12  at the opposite end. In one example, as shown in  FIG. 6  the stabilizing member  48  is a turnbuckle that is connected to the bottom surface of the topper sidewall  14  at one end. The opposite end of the stabilizing member  48  is mounted to the sidewall  12   c  of the truck  12 . By providing a stabilizing member  48  the topper is maintained in a square and plum position as related to the loading compartment of the truck. 
   The topper also has a number of drainage and sealing elements that prevent moisture and rain from reaching the loading compartment. One such sealing element includes a roof cover  49  that is attached to the top of the sidewalls  14  of the topper  10  and positioned to cover at least a portion of the retraction assembly  32 . This helps prevent moisture from reaching the retraction assembly  32 . 
   To assist in controlling drainage a channel  50  is provided at the rearward, or tailgate end, of groove  26  that allows moisture to drain from groove  26  down the rear end of the topper  10 . Also, plugs  52  are provided in the housing  54  that contain the retraction assembly  32 . The plugs  52  within housing  54  in a preferred embodiment comprise a half moon flare  56  to partially cover an overflow drainage hole  58 . The flare  56  is larger than the overflow drainage hole  58  so that when water drains from the track to the retraction housing  54  the water does not drip into the truck box. Specifically, the flare  56  forces water back into the housing  54 . Simultaneously, if drain tubes from the housing  54  are plugged or non operational water is still allowed through the overflow drainage hole  58 . 
   It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other various modifications could be made to the device without the parting from the spirit in scope of this invention. All such modifications and changes fall within the scope of the claims and are intended to be covered thereby.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1