Patent ID: 7121604

Claim:
A vehicle cargo bed extender adapted to be employed in conjunction with a vehicle having a cargo bed defined by a pair of upstanding bed sidewalls spaced from one another on either side of the vehicle cargo bed and a rear wall extending between the upstanding sidewalls at the rear end of the bed, wherein the rear wall is rotatable from an upright position to an extended position so as to be disposed substantially co-planar with the vehicle bed, said cargo bed extender comprising: a pair of sidewalk spaced from one another, a center wall extending between said pair of sidewalls, said pair of sidewalls and said center wall cooperating to define said bed extender having an open end; each of said pair of sidewalls of said bed extender including a pivot assembly disposed between said sidewall of said bed extender and a respective one of the pair of upright sidewalls of cargo bed to facilitate selective pivotal movement of said bed extender between a stowed position wherein said open end of said bed extender is adjacent to the rear wall of the vehicle when the rear wall is in the upright position and a deployed position so as to be supported by the rear wall of the vehicle cargo bed when the rear wall is in the extended position such that the open end of said bed extender faces the cargo bed thereby increasing the effective size of the vehicle cargo bed; and at least one lock assembly having a main body, defined by longitudinal ends and a central bore extending between said longitudinal ends, and coupled to one of said sidewalls of said bed extender, said lock assembly including a locking pin that is axially moveable within said central bore between an extended position and a retracted position so as to extend from one of said longitudinal ends of said main body to engage with and disengage from the vehicle sidewall respectively, said lock assembly further including a handle disposed at the end of said main body opposite said locking pin and a lever arm operatively disposed therebetween; said handle and said lever arm operative to move between a first and a second position thereby cooperating to facilitate said extension and said retraction of said locking pin from said main body such that said extension of said locking pin locks said bed extender to the vehicle sidewall in said stowed and said deployed positions to prevent any uncommanded movement of said extender.