Releaseable hinge for truck bed cover

[0001] This application is based on and claims priority of provisional patent application 60/731,130 filed Oct. 28, 2005.

[0002] This invention relates to a hinge mechanism for releaseably attaching tonneau covers to the cargo compartment of pickup trucks.

[0003] Pickup trucks have rectangular shaped beds at the rear of the vehicle, generally with a pivoting tailgate that pivots downwardly and in a rearward direction to a flat, horizontal plane that is generally in the same plane as the floor of the bed. Pickup trucks are used for numerous purposes for hauling all types of articles that vary in size, shape and weight. At times it is beneficial that the bed be covered to protect the articles being transported.

[0004] Various covers have been used in the past. There are essentially two types of covers. One type is comprised of flexible covers including canvas, other fabrics and flexible vinyl covers. The flexible cover is secured to the pickup truck by ropes, flexible cords and other straps that are secured by hooks, ties, snaps and other fasteners. These types of covers are unsatisfactory in that they are extremely time consuming to put in place and secure to the truck, with a similar amount of time required to remove them. Due to the flexible characteristics of the cover, they allow water to pool in low spots, rather than run off and onto the ground. Due to their lack of structural strength, they do not permit the user to walk on them or to install other items, such as racks, onto the flexible cover.

[0005] As an alternative to flexible cover, a second type of cover, also called a tonneau cover, has gained popularity. These are rigid covers comprised of one piece rigid covers and multi-piece sectional rigid covers. Metal and rigid plastic covers have been introduced and are usually pivotally connected to the front portion of the cargo compartment or bed. These allow the user to raise the cover from the rear of the bed, place the items in the bed, and lower the cover to protect the items. Generally hinges and other connectors are used to connect the cover to the truck bed or truck body. These connectors are not readily or easily removed if the cover is to be removed from the cargo bed for additional storage space. Thus, there is not a quick and convenient attachment means for easily and quickly attaching and removing rigid tonneau covers from the cargo compartment.

[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 6,447,045 issued to Dickson et al. illustrates a tonneau cover mounting system that utilizes a pair of hinges mounted on opposite sides of the truck bed. The hinge mechanism allows the cover to pivot away from the cab as it is opened to allow for the cover to be mounted close to the cab. However, this device does not illustrate a means for easily detaching the cover from the truck bed or for easy re-attachment.

[0007] Other prior art patents that illustrate various tonneau covers are U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,547,310 and 6,857,683 both issued to Myers and U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,194 issued to Muirhead et al. None of these patents address the problem of easily removing and then re-attaching the tonneau cover to the truck bed. In fact, none of these patents even address the problem of easily attaching and removing the tonneau cover from the truck bed. They merely describe a hinge attachment at the front of the cover for pivotally attaching the cover to the truck bed.

[0008] Applicant's releasable hinge has a hinge mechanism mounted to the tonneau cover that is separable from a complementary locking tab mounted to the truck bed at the cab end of the truck bed. The hinge mechanism has a top plate portion mounted to the tonneau cover and another portion of the hinge mechanism releaseably attached to a complementary locking tab mounted to the truck bed. The hinge mechanism has a mid plate with a locking tongue that is received in a locking channel in the locking tab to latch the tonneau cover in place on the truck bed. To remove the tonneau cover, the rear portion of the tonneau cover is raised above a predetermined angle, generally greater than approximately 23°, which releases the locking tongue from the locking tab. If the cover has gas struts to assist in opening and closing the tonneau cover, at least one end is released from its attachment means. Once the locking tongue disengages from the locking tab, the hinge portion attached to the tonneau cover can separate from the locking tab which allows the tonneau cover to be removed.

[0009] Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide an attachment means for easily attaching and removing a rigid tonneau cover to a truck bed. It is another object to provide an attachment means that once installed to the truck bed and tonneau cover, allows the tonneau cover to be attached and removed without tools. Related to this object is to provide a releasable attachment means that does not interfere with the tonneau cover pivoting to an open position to access the storage bed. These and other objects and advantages will be apparent from reading the Description of the Preferred Embodiment.

[0041] Turning first to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a tonneau cover 10 in its opened or raised position over a cargo bed 12 of a pickup truck. The cover 10 has a smooth top surface 14 with side overhanging edges 16 and a front and rear overhanging edge 18 and 20. Grain, texture or various surface geometries and patterns can be formed into the top surface 14. The overhanging edges 16, 18 and 20 extend over upstanding walls 22 of the cargo bed 12 so that water runs off the top surface 14 and does not enter into the cargo bed 12. Gas charged or air cylinders 24 control the speed at which the cover 10 is raised and lowered. They can also assist in keeping the cover 10 in the raised position until the user desires to lower the cover 10 to cover the cargo bed 12. They further restrict the height to which the tonneau cover 10 can be raised. The cargo bed 12 has a front end 26 adjacent to the truck cab and a tailgate 28 at a rear end.

[0042] FIG. 2 illustrates the tonneau cover 10 partially in cross section in its opened position. A hinge mechanism 30 pivotally connects the tonneau cover 10 to the cargo bed 12 adjacent to the front end 26. There is a front frame 32 attached to the front end 26. The front frame extends across the front end 26 and partially around opposite side 34 of the cargo bed 12. The hinge mechanism 30 is comprised of a bottom plate 36, a mid plate 38 and a top plate 40, which will be more fully described later.

[0043] FIGS. 3, 4 and 9 illustrate the hinge mechanism 30 in greater detail. The bottom plate 36 is comprised of opposite bottom plate sides 42 and a bottom 44 such that it is generally of a u-shaped configuration. This is seen in FIGS. 3 and 14-16. Each side 42 has a pin hole 46 passing through the side 42. There is an entrance channel or elongated open slot 47 at one end of the hinge mechanism 30 which is at the front end 18 of the tonneau cover 12.

[0044] FIGS. 3, 4 and 9-13 illustrate the mid plate 38 in greater detail. There is a mid plate bottom 48 having a centrally disposed locking tongue or latch 50. The locking tongue 50 extends from approximately the center of the bottom plate 48 downward such that a distal end 52 extends below the bottom of the mid plate bottom 48. There are upright mid plate side walls 54 at opposite sides of the mid plate bottom 48 such that the end view of FIG. 11 shows the mid plate 38 being generally u-shaped. There are pin holes 56 in each of the mid plate side walls 54. There is a mid plate curved back 58 at the proximal end of the mid plate bottom 48 which is opposite the distal end 52 of the locking tongue 50.

[0045] FIGS. 3, 4, 9 and 17-19 also illustrate the components of the top plate 40. There is a proximal end 60 having a top plate curved back 62. Also at the proximal end 60 is a pair of opposite top plate side walls 64 with pin holes 66 passing through the side plate walls 64. Passing through the top plate 40 are a plurality of fastener holes 68. As seen in FIG. 18 the top plate 40 drops down from the proximal end 60 and then extends at a slightly upward angle to a distal end 70. Fasteners such as screws, bolts, rivets, or other generally known fasteners pass through the fastener holes 68 and attach the top plate 40 to the tonneau cover 10 as seen in FIG. 27.

[0046] FIG. 4 illustrates the assemblage and the pivoting relationship of the individual hinge mechanism components. A split pin 72 with a split end 73 (FIG. 22) extends through the pin holes 46 in the bottom plate sides 42, then through the pin holes 66 in the top plate side walls 64, and through the pin holes 56 in the mid plate side walls 54. There are locking end caps 74 to securely keep the split pin 72 within the hinge mechanism 30. The bottom plate 36, mid plate 38 and top plate 40 all rotate, within rotational limitations, about the split pin 72. The entrance channel 47 leads into a channel or gap 75 which is formed between the bottom plate 36 and the mid plate 38. The locking tongue 50 extends into this channel or gap 75.

[0047] A light duty torsion spring 76 having opposite ends 78 (FIG. 21) is wrapped around the split pin 72 as seen in FIGS. 3-5. The spring 76 assists in forcing the locking tongue 50 in a downward direction as will be described in greater detail herein. A heavy duty torsion spring 80 is also wrapped around the split pin 72 and has one end 82 inserted into the split end 73 and an opposite end 84 secured to the top plate curved back 62 (see FIG. 3). The purpose of the heavy duty torsion spring 80 is to provide a closing force to assist in pulling the top plate 40 towards the bottom plate 36 to facilitate installation of the tonneau cover 12 while the tonneau cover 12 is in the flat, horizontal or down position.

[0048] A front frame 86, which is illustrated in FIGS. 23-25, is mounted to the front end 26 of the cargo bed 12 as seen in FIG. 29. The front frame 86 is the complementary portion of the hinge which receives the hinge mechanism 30 as illustrated in FIGS. 6-8. The front frame 86 has a pair of side mounting rails 88 that attach to the upstanding walls 22 on the cargo bed sides 34. The side mounting rails 88 are preferably attached by clamps rather than drilling holes in the cargo bed sides 34. Such clamps are commonly known and available in the industry. FIG. 30 illustrates one such method. Grooves or slots 87 are cut in the sides rails 88. A pair of C-clamps 89 is place behind a truck rail lip 91 that extends around the cargo bed 12. Bolts 93 pass through the grooves 87 and are fastened to the C-clamps 89 to secure the front frame 86 to the cargo bed 12.

[0049] A pair of locking tabs 90 is located on the front frame 86. As seen in FIGS. 6, 25, and 27, the tabs 90 extend up from the front frame 86 and then turn back over the front frame 86 in a u-shaped configuration with a leading end 92. This creates an opening or gap 94 between a top surface 96 of the front frame 86 and the locking tab 90. The locking tab 90 has locking means illustrated as a locking channel or opening 98 that is generally rectangular in shape within the locking tab 90. Other shaped openings or recesses can be utilized as the locking means for receiving the locking tongue 50.

[0050] To use the hinge mechanism, the user first securely attaches the front frame 86 to the front end 26 or the cargo bed 12 as described above and seen in FIGS. 29 and 30. Alternatively the front frame can be mounted by drilling holes through the front frame 86 and the cargo bed 12 and fastening bolts passed there through. The tonneau cover 10 either has the hinge mechanism 30 already attached to it or the user attaches it to the tonneau cover by fastener means passing through the fastener holes 68 in the top plate 40 into the tonneau cover 10 as previously described and as seen in FIG. 28. The two hinge mechanisms 30 must be separated from each other the same horizontal distance that the locking tabs 90 are separated from each other. Furthermore the two hinge mechanisms 30 must be aligned with their respective locking tables 90.

[0051] The installation of the tonneau cover 10 is seen in FIG. 31. With the hinge mechanisms 30 mounted to the tonneau cover, the tonneau cover 10 is raised above and then gently placed on the upstanding walls 22 of the cargo bed 12 with the rear overhanging edge 20 of the tonneau cover 12 extending past the tail gate 28. This results in the entrance channel 47 for each of the hinge mechanisms 30 being separated from but in alignment with their respective locking tab 90.

[0052] The tonneau cover 10 is slid forward in the direction of arrow B toward the front end 26 of the cargo bed with the locking tabs 90 in alignment with the entrance channels 47 of the hinge mechanisms 30. The leading end 92 of the locking tab 90 is received in the entrance channel 47 and then slides into the channel 75. The bottom plate 36 slides into the gap 94. The leading end 92 engages the underside of the locking tongue 50 which is biased downwardly due to the force exerted on it by the light duty torsion spring 76. The force of insertion of the locking tab 90 overcomes the slight force of the light duty torsion spring 76 which forces the locking tongue 50 upward. Once the leading end 92 passes the distal end 52 of the locking tongue 50, gravity and the force from the light duty torsion spring 76 forces the locking tongue 50 into the locking channel 98. In this position the hinge mechanism 30 is now securely latched into the front frame 86 and cannot be removed by exerting a horizontal force in the rear direction as the locking tongue 50 engages the locking channel 98 which restricts horizontal movement in the rear direction. Likewise, the tonneau cover cannot move forward as the locking tabs 90 restrict any further forward movement of the tonneau cover 10. The gas or air cylinders 24, which are attached to the tonneau cover 10, are attached to the bed sides 34 in a conventional manner such as a removable clamping bracket or permanently affixed mounting brackets.

[0053] With the tonneau cover 10 in the closed position, the hinge mechanism 30 is in the position illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 6, with the tonneau cover 10 removed for clarity. There is a separation or space 100 between a lower edge 102 of the top plate curved back 62 and an upper edge 104 of the mid plate curved back. To release or unlatch the tonneau cover 10 from the locking tabs 90, the tonneau cover 10 is first raised to the fully open position such as seen in FIG. 1. The cylinders 24 restrict the height that the tonneau cover 10 can be raised. As seen in FIG. 7, the separation or space 100 disappears. This is due to the top plate pivoting upward causing the curved back 62 to rotate downward until the lower edge 102 engages the upper edge 104. The tonneau cover 10 is at an angle “A” of about 23°. At this point, the gas or air cylinders 24 are disconnected from their mountings in the cargo bed sides 34. The tonneau cover 10 is then raised further beyond the angle A. As the tonneau cover 10 is raised further, the top plate curved back 62 continues to rotate about the split pin 72 and engages the upper edge 104 of the mid plate curved back 58 causing the mid plate to also rotate about the split pin 72. This rotates the mid plate 38 and the locking tongue 50. The tonneau cover 10 is further raised until the locking tongue 50 is raised sufficiently to clear the locking channel 98 in the locking tab 90. This is illustrated in FIG. 8. In this position the tonneau cover 10 is pulled back toward the tailgate 28 until the locking tongue 50 is at least over the leading end 92 of the locking tab 90 and is clear of the locking channel 98. The tonneau cover can then be fully removed by sliding it off of the cargo bed 12.

[0054] Thus there has been provided a hinge that allows for the easy installation and removal of a tonneau cover for pickup trucks that fully satisfies the objects and advantages set forth herein. While the invention has been described in conjunction with a specific embodiment, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations.