Abstract:
This is a device, which would extend a truck bed for a pickup truck without making any permanent modifications to the truck.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
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   STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
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   REFERENCE TO APPENDIX 
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   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   A. Field of the Invention 
   Every pickup truck has a bed, which is normally used to haul different items. Although some of the beds are closed, most are open. This device allows the length of the bed to be extended. This would increase the storage capacity of the bed and also be useful in situations where extremely long items i.e. timbers or pieces of drywall need to be hauled. 
   B. Prior Art 
   In the prior art there are other examples of extensions to bed liners and a few examples of these are Leitner, D417,859, Devalcourt U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,593, Tibbals, U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,311, and Trostle U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,410. 
   All of these devices extend the length of the truck bed in a variety of different fashions. In this case this device will allow one edge of the truck bed extender to fold down to load an item and then fold back up to again contain the contents of the pickup truck bed. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Every pickup truck has a bed with a folding gate or tailgate. The purpose of the folding gate on the pickup truck is to insure that the contents in the bed of the truck remain in the bed when the items are hauled. This device extends that gate. 
   The device lies flat against the pickup bed surface and is comprised of a hard surface material, and a folding gate on one end. A hinge on the gate of this device allows the gate to rotate approximately one hundred eighty degrees from a vertical position relative to the pickup truck tailgate in an “up” position to a “down” position. When it is installed, the pickup truck bed is open and this device lies against the surface of the pickup truck bed and the tailgate. 
   The device is secured to the truck bed by two holding straps, which attach to the top surface of the folding gate device and a holding strap across the underside of the tailgate of the pickup. Hooks are provided to secure the holding strap. Steel bands or thick rope material may also be used for the holding straps. 
   The folding gate portion of this device will be solid in construction similar to the tailgate of the pickup truck. This solid structure will prevent debris from leaving the pickup truck bed and onto traffic in the road. Because of the exposure to the elements and the general nature of the material to be hauled, it should be constructed from durable material. 
   When the device is used it will be able to be strapped and unstrapped from the top surface of the truck bed liner as needed in the event that an extension is not necessary. 
   It is an object of the device to extend the useful length of a pickup truck bed without making any permanent modifications to the pickup truck and yet at the same time maintain the safety of the item for other traffic. It is a further object to make the device such that it can be easily removed, folded up and stored when not needed. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Every pickup truck has a bed with a folding gate or tailgate. The purpose of the folding gate on the pickup truck is to insure that the contents in the bed of the truck remain in the bed when the items are hauled. This device extends that gate. 
   The device lies flat against the pickup bed surface and is comprised of a hard surface material, and a folding gate on one end. A hinge on the gate of this device allows the gate to rotate approximately one hundred eighty degrees from a vertical position relative to the pickup truck tailgate in an “up” position to a “down” position. When it is installed, the pickup truck bed is open and this device lies against the surface of the pickup truck bed and the tailgate. 
   The device is secured to the truck bed by two holding straps, which attach to the top surface of the folding gate device and a holding strap across the underside of the tailgate of the pickup. Hooks or other means are provided to secure the holding strap to the top surface of the device tailgate to the walls of the pickup truck. Steel bands or thick rope material may also be used for the holding straps. 
   The folding gate portion of this device will be solid in construction similar to the tailgate of the pickup truck. This solid structure will prevent debris from leaving the pickup truck bed and onto traffic in the road. Because of the exposure to the elements and the general nature of the material to be hauled, it should be constructed from durable material. 
   When the device is used it will be able to be strapped and unstrapped from the top surface of the truck bed liner as needed in the event that an extension is not necessary. 
   It is an object of the device to extend the useful length of a pickup truck bed without making any permanent modifications to the pickup truck and yet at the same time maintain road safety when using this device. It is a further object to make the device such that it can be easily removed, folded up and stored when not needed. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the device attached to a truck bed with the truck tailgate in a horizontal position. 
       FIG. 2  is a top view of the device. 
       FIG. 3  is a partially exploded view of the tailgate and holding points for the straps. 
       FIG. 4  is a side view of the device. 
       FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view of the device according to line  5 — 5  on  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 6  is cross sectional view of the alternative embodiment. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
   This is a tailgate bed extension  5  and is used when the truck tailgate  14  is opened and is in a roughly horizontal position such as shown in  FIG. 1 . It is comprised of a flat surface  30 , which rests on a portion of the bed of the pickup truck  16  and extends over the entire surface of the truck tailgate  14 . A portion of the device will remain in the area of the original bed  16  of the truck.  FIG. 1   
   On one end of the device  5  is the device tailgate  25 . When the device  5  is installed, the device tailgate  25  will be roughly perpendicular to one end of the device  5  and will be connected to the flat surface  30  at that end by a hinge  20 .  FIG. 5  Holding straps  10  will secure the top edge of the device tailgate  25  to the sides of the pickup truck.  FIG. 2  A separate tailgate strap  15  will secure the device to the truck tailgate. FIGS.  1 , 4   
   The hinge  20  will enable the device tailgate  25  to rotate approximately one hundred and eighty degrees from a configuration of pointing straight up to a configuration where it is pointing straight down. The hinge  20  will allow the device tailgate  25  to rotate downward in order to load large items and then easily secure the device  5  when the items have been placed in the bed  16  of the pickup truck. FIGS.  4 , 5  The device tailgate  25  of this device will be constructed as a solid piece so that the items in the bed  16  of the pickup truck remain in the bed  16  of the truck. 
   Two holding straps  10  secure the device in place. The holding straps connect to one end of the device tailgate  25  and the other end to the sides of the pickup truck. Most trucks have holes in the sides of the truck and it is anticipated that the means of connection would include a pin or hook, which would fit within these predrilled holes. FIGS.  1 , 2 , 4  The holding straps  10  may be constructed of plastic, rope, nylon, or any other suitable material. 
   The bottom surface  30  of this device will rest on the original tailgate  14  of the pickup truck.  FIG. 1  It is imperative that the bottom surface not be allowed to shift especially if one or both of the holding straps  10  became damaged. As an added precaution the bottom surface  30  of this device is secured to the truck tailgate  14  by a separate tailgate strap  15 . FIGS.  1 , 4  On the edges of the bottom surface  30  are the means to connect  35  the respective ends of the tailgate strap  15 . FIGS.  1 , 3 , 4  It is anticipated that an elastic cord would be used for the tailgate strap  15  although other means such as ropes or steel bands may also be used. The means to connect  35  is depicted as hooks, which will accommodate hooks on the separate tailgate strap  15 ; other means may also be used. 
   On the sides of this device is a hook  35  which secures the tailgate strap  15 . The purpose of this means to connect and separate tailgate strap  15  is to ensure that the device remains affixed as much as possible to the truck tailgate  14  during normal operations. 
   The device tailgate  25  can be hollow or solid although it is depicted as a solid piece. It is preferable that it be a solid piece for the safety of other vehicles on the road. 
   Second Embodiment 
   At times the bottom surface  30  may shift and the placement of a preformed or molded ridge  45 , which is inserted into the gap, which is formed between the truck bed and device tailgate  25 , would provide added stability to this device  5 .  FIG. 6  A gap when the truck tailgate is folded down is unavoidable and the ridge  45  would provide additional security and stability for the device to prevent shifting in a horizontal fashion during normal operation. 
   Regardless of the embodiment and because of the wear and tear in a typical pick up truck all parts of the device should be constructed from durable yet weather resistant and environmentally resistant material.