Patent ID: 7607711

Claim:
A pickup truck and tailgate assembly including a box portion comprising a front end wall and a pair of laterally spaced apart side walls that extend vertically upwardly from a floor and a tailgate moveable form one to another of a first “closed position abutting said side walls” and a second “open” position, said tailgate assembly being pivotally and retractably mounted on said box portion for selectively closing and opening the same, said tailgate assembly comprising: a tailgate, a pair of elongate slide members mountable in lateral spaced apart relation on said pickup truck, sliding pivot means interconnecting opposite ends of the tailgate with a respective one of said pair of elongate members, said pivot means being disposed proximate a lower marginal edge of the tailgate and slidable longitudinally along said elongate slide members, a first extendible and retractable assembly having relatively movable respective first and second portions, with the first portion anchorable to said pickup truck and said second portion being connected to the tailgate to pivot same on said sliding pivots moving the tailgate from a horizontal position where it projects rearwardly from said pickup truck to a vertical closed position, a second extendible and retractable assembly having relatively movable respective first and second portions with the first portion anchorable to said pickup truck and said second portion being hingedly connected to the tailgate proximate a lower marginal edge thereof, and power means connected to said first and second assemblies and operable selectively to extend and retract the same and thereby respectively pivot the tailgate from a horizontal position to a vertical position and move said tailgate back and forth longitudinally along said slide members.