Abstract:
A combination tailgate cover and seat cushion has a slip cover which covers a front side and a rear side of a tailgate. Cushion material is placed inside the slip cover so that the slip cover has characteristics of a pillow or seat cushion. An attachment device is coupled to the slip cover for attaching the slip cover to the tailgate.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to pickup truck accessories and, more specifically, to a cover for a tailgate which is used to protect the tailgate from being damaged and also as a seat cushion when the tailgate is lowered. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     In the past, pickup trucks were used mainly for transporting bulky material as well as general purpose hauling. Recently, pickup trucks have become increasingly popular as a means for general purpose transportation. Because of this, more and more pickup truck owners are buying accessories for their trucks. 
     One popular pickup truck accessory is the bed liner. The bed liner is a preformed plastic liner which is placed in the cargo area of the pickup truck. The bed liner is used to prevent direct contact between the bed of the pickup truck and chemicals, abrasives, and other destructive elements which tend to rust and/or scratch the surface of the pickup truck&#39;s bed. 
     Tailgate covers are often used in conjunction with pickup truck bed liners. Tailgate covers are used to prevent the tailgate of the pickup truck from being scratched whenever cargo is slid into or out of the pickup truck. Tailgate covers are generally preformed and are made out of the same material as the pickup truck bed liner. 
     Often times, the tailgate of the pickup truck is lowered (i.e., horizontal position) to form a makeshift seat. Many times people like to sit on the tailgate while fishing along a riverbank or while at an outdoor event like a drive-in movie or a soccer game at the local park. The problem is that the tailgate is hard and not very comfortable. Furthermore, present tailgate covers are also very uncomfortable as these are made out of preformed plastic and have no cushion affect to them. 
     Therefore, a need existed to provide an improved tailgate cover. The improved tailgate cover would allow a person to comfortably sit on the tailgate for extended periods of time. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved tailgate cover. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved tailgate cover that would allow a person to comfortably sit on the tailgate for extended periods of time. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention a combination tailgate cover and seat cushion is disclosed. The combination tailgate cover and seat cushion has a slip cover which covers a front side and a rear side of a tailgate. Cushion material is placed inside the slip cover so that the slip cover has characteristics of a pillow or seat cushion. An attachment device is coupled to the slip cover for attaching the slip cover to the tailgate. 
     The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular, description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawing. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an elevated perspective view of the combination tailgate cover and seat cushion of the present invention installed on a tailgate of a pickup truck with the tailgate in a closed position. 
     FIG. 1A is an elevated perspective view of the combination tailgate cover and seat cushion of FIG. 1 with the tailgate in an opened position. 
     FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of the combination tailgate cover and seat cushion of FIG. 1 taken along lines  2 — 2 . 
     FIG. 3 is a top view of the combination tailgate cover and seat cushion uninstalled. 
     FIG. 4 is a back end view of the combination tailgate cover and seat cushion of FIG. 1 looking from inside the cargo area of the pickup truck. 
     FIG. 5 is an elevated perspective view of one embodiment of a fastener used with the combination tailgate cover and seat cushion of FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIGS. 1-4 wherein like numerals and symbols represent like elements, the combination tailgate cover and seat cover  10  (hereinafter cover  10 ) is shown. The cover  10  has an outer slipcover  12 . The outer slipcover  12  is made out of a durable water and weather resistant material. However, the material of the outer slipcover  12  must not be hard and uncomfortable like current preformed plastic tailgate covers. Thus, the outer slipcover  12  should be made out of a durable water and weather resistant material that is fairly soft like vinyl, nylon, canvas, naughide, and the like. Other material like cloth could be used if the material is treated to be weatherproof. It should be noted that these are only examples and should not be seen as to limit the scope of the present invention. 
     The outer slipcover  12  is made out of a first sheet of material which is coupled to a second sheet of material. The two pieces of material may be sown together or may be removably coupled together by a zipper mechanism or the like. When the two pieces of material are coupled together, an internal void area  14  is formed between the two pieces of material. The void area  14  is filled with a soft cushion material. By filling the void area  14 , the cover  10  has characteristics similar to a seat cushion or pillow. The soft cushion material will allow a person to comfortably sit on the tailgate when the cover  10  is installed on the tailgate of the pickup truck. The soft cushion material may be a foam, cotton fibers, or the like. If the outer slipcover  12  is made and sealed to be air tight, air may be used to fill the void area  14 . It should be noted that these are only examples of what could be placed in the void area  14  and should not be seen as to limit the scope of the present invention. 
     The outer slip cover  12  is preformed to fit the specific size of a tailgate assembly for a pickup truck. The outer slip cover  12  could be sized to fit over a tailgate assembly with or without a present tailgate cover. On the front end of the outer slip cover  12  is an opening  16 . The opening  16  is cut completely through the outer slip cover  12 . The opening  16  is cut to allow access to a tailgate release handle. The tailgate release handle is used to unlock and lower the tailgate as well as to lock the tailgate in the closed position. 
     Once the outer slip cover  12  is place over the tailgate assembly, one end of the outer slip cover  12  is coupled to another end of the outer slip cover  12  to hold the cover  10  on the tailgate assembly. A fastener device  18  is used to coupled the two ends of the outer slip cover  12  together. The fastener device  18  may be any type of device which will couple and hold the two ends of the outer slip cover  12  together. For example, hook and loop material could be place on opposite ends of the outer slip cover  12 . A button type fastener or male/female connectors could also be placed on each end of the outer slip cover  12 . It should be noted that these are only examples of the type of fasteners that could be used and should not be seen as to limit the scope of the application. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, the fastener device  18  has a plurality of openings. A predetermined number of openings are cut through one end of the outer slip cover  12 . An equal number of corresponding openings are cut through the second end of the outer slip cover  12 . When the outer slip cover  12  is place over the tailgate assembly, the openings will be in relative alignment with one another. An “S” hook  20  (FIG. 5) is then placed through the opening and the corresponding opening to hold both ends of the outer slip cover  12  together. 
     While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.