Abstract:
The present invention provides a hinge which can be used to attach a cover made up of individual parts to a cargo bed of a pick-up truck. The hinge provides adjustments to accommodate variations in the cargo bed so that the cover can be placed on the bed and the parts of the cover located relative to one another to allow the parts to be opened and closed independently. The hinge includes a mechanism which permits lengthwise movement relative to the truck as the cover part is raised angularly about the hinge so that the part does not interfere with adjacent parts as the part is raised or lowered. A cover made up of several parts for attachment to a cargo bed of a pick-up truck is also provided.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of prior filed provisional application serial No. 60/162,459 filed on Oct. 29, 1999. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to trucks having a cargo bed and more particularly to a multi-part cover for the cargo bed, and a hinge for use in attaching the cover to the cargo bed. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Users of pick-up trucks commonly add a cover to the cargo bed to provide secure storage and also, in some instances, to simply improve the appearance of the pick-up truck. Such covers include hard covers with structure to lock the cover to the cargo bed of the pick-up truck. Because of the size of the cargo bed it is advantageous if the hard cover can be made in sections such that each section can be opened and closed independently of the other sections. However such a cover must include structure to enable the installer to place the parts of the cover in relation to one another and also to place the complete cover in the preferred position on the cargo bed. The necessary adjustments should preferably be inherent in the assembly of the hinges to the cargo bed and to the parts of the cover. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In one of its aspects, the present invention provides a hinge which can be used to attach a cover made up of individual parts to a cargo bed of a pick-up truck. The hinge provides adjustments to accommodate variations in the cargo bed so that the cover can be placed on the bed and the parts of the cover located relative to one another to allow the parts to be opened and closed independently. The hinge includes a mechanism which permits lengthwise movement relative to the truck as the cover part is raised angularly about the hinge so that the part does not interfere with adjacent parts as the part is raised or lowered. A cover made up of several parts for attachment to a cargo bed of a pick-up truck is also provided. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a pick-up truck looking from the side and to the rear of the truck to show a fitted cover for the cargo bed, the cover being attached by hinges according to a preferred embodiment of the invention to allow opening the three sections independently; 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of the cover and associated hinges to illustrate the movement of intermediate and rear parts of the cover as the parts are opened; 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded isometric view of one of the hinges; 
     FIG. 4 is a side view of the hinge showing the hinge in a closed position in full outline, and in an open position in ghost outline; and 
     FIG. 5 is a view of the hinge in use with the cover on the pick-up truck. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Reference is first made to FIG. 1 to describe a preferred use of the invention on a pick-up truck designated generally by the numeral  20 . The pick-up truck has a cargo bed  22  which can be closed by a cover assembly  23  having a three-part cover  24 . The cover  24  has front, intermediate, and rear parts designated respectively as  26 ,  28 , and  30  and each of the three parts can be raised about hinges according to the invention. The rear part is hinged upwardly to illustrate this movement. It will be clear from a general understanding of hinge movement that the hinges must not only allow upward movement but also move without interfering with the adjacent parts of the cover. This is achieved by a combination of hinge design and cover design and is illustrated in FIG. 2 from which it will be evident that hinges  31  are provided to accommodate movement of the parts both lengthwise of the truck and angularly. The lengthwise movement is accommodated by inclining the respective rear and front walls  32 ,  34  of the intermediate and rear parts  28 ,  30 . As will be explained, when the parts are closed they come together to allow compression of a weather seal. 
     The intermediate part  28  combines with the front part  26  differently. In this case the front end of the intermediate part  28  has no wall but overhangs the hinge  31  to guide rainwater into a gutter  36  formed at the foot of a rear wall  38  of the front part  26 . Although there are reasons why one or the other arrangement would be used, the requirements of the hinge are the same because for the hinge to allow the parts to open and close, the movement must be both lengthwise and pivotal. 
     Reference is next made to FIG. 3 which illustrates a preferred form of the hinge  31  according to the invention. A support designated generally by the numeral  40  includes a bracket assembly  41  having first and second brackets  42  and  44 . The support  40  also includes a post  46  adapted to be mounted in the second bracket  44 , and this bracket  44  is shaped to be attached to the first bracket  42  for attachment to the truck  20  (FIG. 1) as will be described. 
     The support  40  carries a fixed element  48  which is angled rearwardly (with respect to the truck) from the supporting post. A mechanism  50  is pivotally attached to the fixed element  48  and to an attachment piece  52  which is adapted to be attached to one of the parts of the cover. The mechanism  50  is arranged to provide a combination of angular and lengthwise movement as the hinge is operated to move the attachment piece  52  (and hence the associated one of the parts of the cover  24  shown in FIG.  1 ). 
     As seen in FIG. 3 the first bracket  42  has a main portion  54  and a projection  56  extending orthogonally from the main portion  54 . Aligned slots  58 , and  60  are provided in the main portion  54  to provide horizontal adjustment of the bracket once it is mounted using fasteners  62  and  64 . The projection  56  includes a cylindrical bottom opening  66  shaped to receive a fastener  68  and a slot  70  above the opening  66  to receive a fastener  72 . The fasteners  68  and  72  combine to hold the second bracket  44  in place by engagement through openings  74 ,  76  in a plate  78  of the second bracket  44 . The arrangement is such that the slot  70  allows some angular motion between the brackets  42  and  44  to vary angular orientation of an extension  80  and attached sleeve  82  which is shaped to receive the post  46 . As a result the post  46  can be moved angularly within limits to position the attachment piece as will be explained. 
     As mentioned previously, the post  46  is part of the support  40 . The post is threaded to receive upper and lower location nuts  84  and  86  together with respective flat washers  88  and  90 . As a result, the post can be locked to the sleeve after adjusting its height relative to the sleeve. This adjustment is used to vary the vertical spacing between the assembly of the first and second brackets  42  and  44  and the attachment piece  52 . 
     A second pair of nuts  85  and  87  is associated with a pair of washers  89  and  91  for use to attach a weather strip or gutter as will be described. 
     As also seen in FIG. 3 the post  46  extends upwardly terminating where it is attached to the fixed element  48 . This element is angled rearwardly (as mounted on a truck) and provides a compact assembly when the hinge is in a closed position (as will be described more fully with reference to FIG.  4 ). The fixed element  48  has upper and lower spindles  92  and  94  which are rotatably mounted in suitable openings, and the spindles extend in parallel and orthogonally with respect to the element  48 . Two similar first links  96  are attached to the respective ends of the upper spindle  92  and extend in parallel from the spindle for movement in unison with the spindle  92 . The links are attached at their upper ends (as drawn in FIG. 3) to a spindle  100  which is rotatably mounted in similar side flanges  102 ,  104  of the attachment piece  52 . 
     The mechanism  50  also includes two similar second links  106  which are attached in similar fashion to the links  96  using lower spindle  94  and another spindle  108  which is seen in FIG. 4 but hidden in FIG.  3 . The movement of the hinge  20  will be described with reference to FIG.  4 . 
     The attachment piece  52  includes a central plate  110  between the side flanges  102  and  104  and defines a pair of slots running lengthwise of the truck when mounted on the truck. The slots in flanges  102 ,  104  allow adjustment of the associated part of the cover  24  (FIG. 1) to complement the other adjustments mentioned previously. Consequently hinges  20  can be positioned on the truck  20  and on the cover  24  to fit the parts of the cover relative to the truck and to one another. 
     Reference is next made to FIG. 4 which illustrates the movement of the hinge. The full outline shows the hinge  31  in a closed position in which the attachment piece  52  is generally horizontal, the position it would occupy when an associated part of the cover  24  (FIGS. 1 and 2) is closed. An open position is shown in ghost outline. When the part is opened the hinge accommodates the opening movement by rotating the links  96  and  106 . The arrangement of the links is such that the piece  52  will tilt as it rotates. Also because the links start from a generally horizontal position, the piece  52  will carry the associated cover part lengthwise of the truck as the links become more vertical. This motion is indicated by the loci  116  and  118  which represent the motions of the respective ends of the attachment piece  52 . It will be evident that such non-parallel motion of the piece  52  can be accomplished by selecting the spacing between the spindles  92  and  94  relative to the spacing between the spindles  98  and  100 , and also by selecting the relative lengths of the links  96  and  106 . 
     Reference is next made to FIG. 5 which illustrates the hinge  31  assembled on the cover rear part  30 , previously described with reference to FIG.  2 . The rear part  30  is shown in the open position in full outline and in the closed position in ghost outline. It will be evident that when the part  30  is in the ghost outline closed position, the hinge is in a position corresponding to the full outline closed position shown in FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 5 also shows loci  116  and  118  of points at the bottom and top respectively of the front wall  34 . These loci show that as the cover part  30  is raised, the wall  34  tilts and at the same time moves lengthwise of the truck away from the part  28 . This avoids interference between the cover parts and also allows the use of upper and lower seals  120  and  122 . Also, the rearwardly (with respect to the truck) angled fixed element  48  carries the mechanism  50  away from the locus  116  thereby providing clearance for the wall  34 . 
     The upper seal  120  is simply attached to either of the parts  28  and  30  for compression between the parts when the cover  24  is closed. The lower seal  122  is generally U-shaped for attachment to the bottom edge of the wall  34  and proportioned to be compressed against a cross member  124  which forms part of a support structure attached to the truck for that purpose. The cross member  124  has a top trough  126  for guiding rainwater off the truck and the seal engages the trough. A similar seal  128  is provided on the wall  32  of the cover part  28  for the same purpose. 
     Although not shown in FIG. 5 hinges according to the invention are used to mount the cover intermediate part  28  in the position shown in FIG.  2 . The motion of the part  28  when it is opened is indicated by a locus  130  which carries the lower end of the wall  32  forwardly of the truck to avoid engagement with the wall  34  of the cover part  30  and to release pressure on the seal  120 . The action of the hinges on all of the cover parts is essentially the same with the hinges shaped to permit the required motions. 
     FIG. 5 also illustrates a typical attachment of the hinge  31  to the truck  20  and to the cover  24 , in this case to the cover rear part  30 . The hinges are used in pairs, one to either side of the truck, and attached to the cross member  124 , which in turn is attached to side rails  132 ,  134  (FIG. 1) attached to the cargo bed of the truck. The fasteners  62  and  64  are used to make the attachment and adjusted in the slots  58 ,  60  (FIG.  1 ). As mentioned previously, the post  46  (FIG. 3) is aligned with respect to the vertical using fasteners  68  and  72  and the vertical positioning is done using the nuts  84  and  86  (also seen in FIG.  3 ). 
     In the exemplary arrangement shown in FIG. 5 the nuts  85  and  87  are used with the washers  89  and  91  to position a rainwater deflector  136  which guides water into the trough  126  to minimise the entry of water into the cargo bed of the truck. 
     The cover rear part  30  is attached to the attachment piece  52  and a reinforcing plate  138  is provided for the purpose. This plate includes tapped openings to receive screws  140  so that the fasteners will not show externally of the cover part  30 . 
     It will be evident from the foregoing description that the hinge can be varied in shape to accommodate a variety of cover parts as required. This will result in varying the relative lengths of the links  96  and  106  and the positioning of the spindles  92 ,  94 ,  98  and  100 . Also the support  40  can be varied to fit different truck cargo beds if necessary. These and other variations dictated by simple design criteria are within the scope of the invention as described and claimed.