Patent ID: 7472938

Claim:
A tailgate assembly pivotally mounted to a cargo bed of a pick-up truck to be movable between a raised closed position and a lowered open position, said tailgate assembly having an inner panel that is generally planar with said cargo bed when said tailgate assembly is in said lowered open position and an outer panel defining an internal cavity therebetween, said internal cavity housing a supplemental tailgate apparatus movable between a stored position and one or more operative positions extended outwardly from said internal cavity, said supplemental tailgate apparatus including at least one elongated shaft retained within said internal cavity, comprising: a transversely extending frame member located at a top portion of said tailgate assembly, said elongated shaft being received within said frame member in register with an opening formed in said frame member; and a transversely extending reinforcement member positioned within said internal cavity below said frame member and being connected to both said inner and outer panels, said reinforcement member being formed with a passageway therethrough for the vertical passage of said elongated shaft, said passageway and said opening being aligned to receive said elongated shaft of said supplemental tailgate apparatus and being formed with flanges that extend in the direction of movement of said elongated shafts.