Removable truck tie-down device

• US 5,443,341 A
• Filed: 05/26/1994
• Issued: 08/22/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hamilton, Jeffery L.
• Original Assignee: Hamilton, Jeffery L.
• Inventors: Hamilton, Jeffery L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Huppert, Michael S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): ELLER JR, JAMES
• Application Number:
  US08/249,802
• Time in Patent Office: 453 Days
• Field of Search: 410/101, 410/104, 410/106, 410/108, 410/109, 410/110, 410/116, 296/40, 296/41, 296/43, 248/499, 105/390, 24/68 CD, 24/115 M, 24/536, 24/568, 24/526, 24/524, 24/522
• US Class Current: 410/116
• CPC Class Codes: B60P 7/0807 Attachment points
• CPC Class Codes: B61D 45/001 Devices for fixing to walls or floors
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 24/2175 Cargo tie down

Abstract

A tie-down device which is removably securable without tools to an inside, downwardly oriented edge of the inner sidewalls of a pickup truck bed. The device has a stationary portion with an upwardly oriented front lip which inserts under the edge of the inner sidewall and has a loop connected to the front lip by means of a "U" shaped valley so that the loop extends upward on the inside of the truck bed. A movable portion which movably engages the loop can first be moved upward in order to position the device so that the downwardly oriented edge is inserted in a gap formed between the front lip and a wedge shaped bumper provided on the movable portion. The movable portion can then be moved downward to secure the device to the pickup truck by wedging the downwardly oriented edge between the bumper and between a vertical face of the front lip. The front lip is provided with a rubberized coating to prevent the device from scratching the finish of the truck bed.

Claims

1. A device removably securable without the need for tools to a pickup truck bed for securing an object within the truck bed by means of a fastening device comprising:

a stationary portion having a front side engagable with a truck bed and an opposite rear side, said stationary portion being provided with two "U" shaped bends such that the "U" shaped bends are located between said front side of the stationary portion and said rear side of the stationary portion;

a front lip being provided on an upper end of said front side such that the front lip is removably engagable with an interior face of a downwardly oriented edge of a truck bed;

a movable portion being provided with a forward facing bumper, said movable portion being movably provided on said rear side of the stationary portion such that when the movable portion is moved upward relative to the stationary portion a gap formed between the bumper and the front lip increases in width; and

an upper end of said rear side being provided with loop means located between said two "U" shaped bends;

a fastening device for holding an object in the truck bed being secured to said loop means.

2. A device removably securable without the need for tools to a pickup truck bed according to claim 1 wherein the "U shaped bend" forms an angle of between 15 to 20 degrees between said front side and said rear side.

3. A device removably securable without the need for tools to a pickup truck bed according to claim 1 further comprising a tab provided on said movable portion and extending rearward therefrom for the purpose of grasping the movable portion in order to move it upward or downward relative to the stationary portion.

4. A device removably securable without the need for tools to a pickup truck bed according to claim 1 further comprising a compressible, non-scratch coating being provided covering said front lip.

5. A device removably securable without the need for tools to a pickup truck bed according to claim 1 wherein the bumper is wedge-shaped.

6. A device removably securable without the need for tools to a pickup truck bed according to claim 5 wherein the bumper is provided with a forward oriented face which is removably engagable with an inward face of the downwardly oriented edge.

7. A truck tie-down device removably securable without tools to a pickup truck bed for the purpose of securing an object within the pickup truck bed by means of a fastening device comprising:

a rod bent along a first plane to form an inverted "V" shaped loop at a rear side for receiving said fastening device and two parallel legs, said legs being bent along a set of parallel planes to form "U" shaped bends such that the parallel set of planes are perpendicular to the first plane, each said "U" shaped bend being located between a front side and the rear side,

a front lip being provided on an upper end of the front side such that the front lip is removably engagable with an interior face of a downwardly oriented edge of a truck bed, and

a movable portion being provided with a forward facing bumper, said movable portion movably provided along the rear side such that when the movable portion is moved upward a gap formed between the bumper and the front lip increases in width.

8. A tie-down device according to claim 7 wherein each "U" shaped bend forms an angle of between 15 and 20 degrees between said front side and said rear side.

9. A tie-down device according to claim 7 further comprising a tab provided on said movable portion for the purpose of grasping the movable portion in order to move it upward or downward.

10. A tie-down device according to claim 7 further comprising a compressible, non-scratch coating being provided covering said front lip.

11. A tie-down device according to claim 7 wherein the bumper is wedge-shaped.

12. A tie-down device according to claim 11 wherein the bumper is provided with a forward oriented face which is removably engagable with an inward face of said downwardly oriented edge of said truck bed.