Vehicle running board construction
First Claim
1. A vehicle running board step construction adapted for use with a hollow support step pipe in turn adapted to be secured to a vehicle exterior at first and second longitudinally opposite ends of the pipe, the pipe having an elongated step portion adapted in vehicle-mounted orientation to extend adjacent a sill of a vehicle door that provides access to a passenger or freight compartment of the vehicle, and wherein the pipe step portion has an elongate mounting opening formed in an upwardly facing exterior surface area thereof and defined by first and second laterally opposite and longitudinally extending opening side edges both lying in a plane chordally intersecting an upper radial cross sectional segment of the pipe,said running board step construction comprising in combination:
- a support plate adapted for straddling the pipe opening side edges and resting thereon for support, said support plate further having first and second catch means adapted for respectively underlying the first and second pipe opening side edges and each having a distal end adapted for engaging an interior surface of the pipe for holding said support plate against upward release from the pipe, and a step plate mounted on and covering said support plate and adapted to cover the mounting opening of the pipe, said step plate having a generally flat planar central step tread portion having an undersurface bearing upon said support plate, said step plate also having first and second downwardly extending side flanges adapted for respectively extending outwardly of and downwardly past the first and second pipe opening side edges and each terminating at a free end edge engaging the exterior surface of said pipe, and fastening means securing said step plate onto said support plate.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle running board step construction and method of making and mounting the same on a hollow metal support pipe having a step portion and in turn adapted in vehicle-mounted orientation to extend generally adjacent a sill of a vehicle door. An upwardly facing exterior surface of the pipe step portion has an elongate mounting opening. The step construction includes a support plate having a plurality of transverse trusses arranged in spaced apart relation in a longitudinally extending row and adapted to straddle the pipe opening side edges and rest thereon for support. A plurality of spacer webs are individually interposed between and joined to longitudinally adjacent pairs of the trusses and support at each of their longitudinally opposite ends a resilient spring finger catch adapted to underlie an associated one of the pipe opening side edges. Each finger catch has a free end adapted to resiliently engage an interior surface of the pipe for holding the step plate against upward release from the pipe. The step construction also includes a step plate mounted on and covering the support plate, and adapted to also cover the mounting opening of the pipe. The step plate has a generally flat planar central step tread portion with an undersurface bearing upon the support plate trusses, and also has downwardly extending side flanges adapted to respectively extend outwardly of and downwardly past the pipe opening side edges and terminate at free end edges adapted to resiliently engage the exterior surface of the pipe. A plurality of retaining barbs extend downwardly from the step plate undersurface into snap lock tang engagement with associated receiving slot anchor tabs provided in the trusses for holding the step plate on the support plate, and vice versa.
36 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A vehicle running board step construction adapted for use with a hollow support step pipe in turn adapted to be secured to a vehicle exterior at first and second longitudinally opposite ends of the pipe, the pipe having an elongated step portion adapted in vehicle-mounted orientation to extend adjacent a sill of a vehicle door that provides access to a passenger or freight compartment of the vehicle, and wherein the pipe step portion has an elongate mounting opening formed in an upwardly facing exterior surface area thereof and defined by first and second laterally opposite and longitudinally extending opening side edges both lying in a plane chordally intersecting an upper radial cross sectional segment of the pipe,
said running board step construction comprising in combination: -
a support plate adapted for straddling the pipe opening side edges and resting thereon for support, said support plate further having first and second catch means adapted for respectively underlying the first and second pipe opening side edges and each having a distal end adapted for engaging an interior surface of the pipe for holding said support plate against upward release from the pipe, and a step plate mounted on and covering said support plate and adapted to cover the mounting opening of the pipe, said step plate having a generally flat planar central step tread portion having an undersurface bearing upon said support plate, said step plate also having first and second downwardly extending side flanges adapted for respectively extending outwardly of and downwardly past the first and second pipe opening side edges and each terminating at a free end edge engaging the exterior surface of said pipe, and fastening means securing said step plate onto said support plate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A vehicle running board step construction adapted for mounting on and assembled use with a hollow support step pipe in turn adapted to be secured to a vehicle exterior at first and second longitudinally opposite end of the pipe, the pipe having an elongated step portion adapted in vehicle-mounted orientation to extend adjacent a sill of a vehicle door that provides access to a passenger or freight compartment of the vehicle, and wherein the pipe step portion has an elongate mounting opening formed in an upwardly facing exterior surface area thereof and defined by first and second laterally opposite and longitudinally extending opening side edges both lying in a plane chordally intersecting an upper radial cross sectional segment of the pipe, the opening being defined at opposite longitudinal ends thereof by first and second end edges each extending from the opening side edges to a junction with an uppermost apex area of the upwardly facing exterior surface area of the pipe,
said running board step construction comprising in combination: -
a support plate having a plurality of truss means adapted to straddle the pipe opening side edges and rest thereon for support when said support plate is mounted on and in assembly with the pipe, a plurality of spacer web means individually interposed between and joined to longitudinally adjacent pairs of said truss means, each of said web means having at each longitudinally opposite end thereof a resilient spring finger catch adapted to underlie an associated one of the pipe opening side edges and having a free end adapted to resiliently engage an interior surface of the pipe for holding said support plate against upward release from the pipe when said support plate is mounted on the pipe, and a step plate mounted on and covering said support plate and adapted to cover the mounting opening of the pipe, said step plate having a generally flat planar central step tread portion having an undersurface bearing upon said support plate truss means, said step plate also having first and second downwardly extending side flanges adapted to respectively extend outwardly of and downwardly past the first and second pipe opening side edges and each terminating at a free end edge adapted to resiliently engage the exterior surface of the pipe when said support plate is mounted on the pipe, and fastening means securing said step plate onto said support plate. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of constructing a vehicle running board step construction comprising a subassembly of a support plate and a step plate adapted for mounting on and assembled use with a hollow support step pipe in turn adapted to be secured to a vehicle exterior at first and second longitudinally opposite ends of the pipe, the pipe having an elongated step portion adapted in vehicle-mounted orientation to extend adjacent a sill of a vehicle door that provides access to a passenger or freight compartment of the vehicle, and wherein the pipe step portion has an elongated mounting opening in an upwardly facing exterior surface area thereof and defined by first and second laterally opposite and longitudinally extending opening side edges both lying in a plane chordally intersecting an upper radial cross sectional segment of the pipe, the pipe opening being defined at opposite longitudinal ends thereof by first and second end edges each extending from the opening side edges to a junction with an uppermost apex area of the upwardly facing exterior surface area of the pipe,
said method comprising the steps of: -
(1) providing the support plate having a plurality of truss means dimensioned for straddling the pipe opening side edges and for resting thereon for support when the support plate is mounted on the pipe, and also having a plurality of spacer web means individually interposed between and joined to longitudinally adjacent pairs of the truss means, each of the web means having at each longitudinally opposite end thereof a resilient spring finger catch adapted for underlying an associated one of the pipe opening side edges when plate is mounted on and in assembly with the pipe and having a free end adapted for resiliently engaging an interior surface of the pipe for holding the support plate against upward release from the pipe when the support plate is mounted on the pipe in assembly therewith, (2) providing the step plate adapted to be mounted on and cover the support plate and the pipe mounting opening when the support plate is mounted on and in assembly with the pipe, the step plate having a generally flat planar central step tread portion having an undersurface adapted to bear upon the support plate truss means when in assembly therewith, the step plate also having first and second downwardly extending side flanges adapted to respectively extend outwardly of and downwardly past the first and second pipe opening side edges when the support plate is mounted on and in assembly with the pipe, and each said flange terminating at a free end edge adapted to resiliently engage the exterior surface of the pipe when the support plate is mounted on and in assembly with the pipe, (3) providing fastening means for securing the step plate onto the support plate, comprising a plurality of retaining barbs extending downwardly from the step plate undersurface adapted for snap lock tang engagement with associated receiving slot anchor tabs provided in the truss means for holding the step plate on said support plate, and (4) forming a sub-assembly of the support and step plates by assembling the step plate onto the support plate by relatively moving said plates bodily toward one another while maintaining their respective longitudinal axes generally parallel until the retaining barbs have fully snap lock engaged the truss means anchor tabs, whereby an assembly of the support pipe with the support plate and step plate sub-assembly can be made by relatively moving the sub-assembly and the pipe bodily toward one another with the leading and trailing ends of the sub-assembly and the pipe opening aligned and while their respective longitudinal axes are maintained generally parallel until the free ends of the second legs of the spring catches have been slid past the first and second pipe opening edges and into the interior of the pipe and the step plate side flanges resiliently engage the exterior surface of the pipe.
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Specification