Lock rod supports stowed in D-pillar of vehicle
First Claim
1. A pick-up truck comprising:
- a frame including a pair of upright tubular pillars located at transversely spaced positions at the rear of said pick-up truck;
a cargo bed supported on said frame being defined by a pair of upright side walls and a floor extending generally horizontally between said side walls;
a tailgate pivotally mounted generally between said side walls and movable between an upright, generally vertical closed position and a lowered, generally horizontal open position;
a supplemental tailgate assembly housed within said tailgate and being extendable from said tailgate between a retracted position and an extended position, said supplemental tailgate assembly being pivotable relative to said tailgate between a position generally parallel to said tailgate and a position generally perpendicular to said tailgate, such that said supplemental tailgate assembly can be operated as a temporary tailgate in a generally vertical orientation when said tailgate is in said open position; and
a lock rod assembly mounted in said upright tubular pillars, said lock rod assembly including a pair of lock rods being movable between a stowed position and an extended position in which said lock rods can be connected to said supplemental tailgate assembly when being operated as a temporary tailgate.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A lock rod support member can be stowed within a support tube housed in the body of the pick-up truck on which a supplemental tailgate assembly to be deployable from the tailgate structure of the pick-up truck. The support tube for the lock rod can be mounted internally of the D-pillar of the pick-up truck body with the lock rod extendible therefrom, or mounted beneath the top rail of the pick-up truck bed from which the lock rod can be extended, for engagement with the deployed supplemental tailgate assembly. A stop bracket positioned at the end of the lock rod support tube engages and positions the formed distal end of the lock rod for appropriate positioning for engagement with the supplemental tailgate assembly. A spring latch mechanism is mounted on the opposing ends of the supplemental tailgate structure for clasping the insertion end of the lock rod members.
48 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A pick-up truck comprising:
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a frame including a pair of upright tubular pillars located at transversely spaced positions at the rear of said pick-up truck; a cargo bed supported on said frame being defined by a pair of upright side walls and a floor extending generally horizontally between said side walls; a tailgate pivotally mounted generally between said side walls and movable between an upright, generally vertical closed position and a lowered, generally horizontal open position; a supplemental tailgate assembly housed within said tailgate and being extendable from said tailgate between a retracted position and an extended position, said supplemental tailgate assembly being pivotable relative to said tailgate between a position generally parallel to said tailgate and a position generally perpendicular to said tailgate, such that said supplemental tailgate assembly can be operated as a temporary tailgate in a generally vertical orientation when said tailgate is in said open position; and a lock rod assembly mounted in said upright tubular pillars, said lock rod assembly including a pair of lock rods being movable between a stowed position and an extended position in which said lock rods can be connected to said supplemental tailgate assembly when being operated as a temporary tailgate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A pick-up truck comprising:
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a frame including a pair of upright tubular pillars located at transversely spaced positions at the rear of said pick-up truck; a cargo bed supported on said frame being defined by a pair of upright side walls and a floor extending generally horizontally between said side walls, said side walls terminating in top rails spaced above said floor; a tailgate pivotally mounted generally between said side walls and movable between an upright, generally vertical closed position and a lowered, generally horizontal open position; a supplemental tailgate assembly housed within said tailgate and being extendable from said tailgate between a retracted position and an extended position, said supplemental tailgate assembly being pivotable relative to said tailgate between a position generally parallel to said tailgate and a position generally perpendicular to said tailgate, such that said supplemental tailgate assembly can be operated as a temporary tailgate in a generally vertical orientation when said tailgate is in said open position; and a lock rod assembly mounted in generally horizontally oriented support tubes positioned at least partially beneath said top rails, said lock rod assembly including a pair of lock rods being movable from a stowed position within said support tubes so as to be horizontally extended therefrom into an extended position in which said lock rods can be connected to said supplemental tailgate assembly when being operated as a temporary tailgate. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A lock rod assembly for use in positionally stabilizing a supplemental tailgate assembly being operated as a temporary tailgate oriented generally vertically at a rearward end of a tailgate lowered into an open position for extending a cargo bed forming part of an automotive vehicle, comprising:
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a support tube mounted on said cargo bed; a lock rod mounted in said support tube and being extendable therefrom into an extended position, from a stowed position within said support tube, for engagement with said supplemental tailgate assembly, said lock rod interconnecting said cargo bed and said supplemental tailgate assembly for positionally stabilizing said supplemental tailgate assembly for use as a temporary tailgate. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. In a vehicle having a frame including a pair of transversely spaced upright tubular pillar located at a rearward portion of said vehicle, a cargo bed supported on said frame and being defined by opposing upright side walls and a generally horizontal floor extending between said side walls;
- a tailgate pivotally mounted between said sidewalls for movement between an upright closed position and a lowered open position; and
a supplemental tailgate assembly housed within said tailgate to be extendable therefrom, said supplemental tailgate assembly being pivotally movable into a generally vertical position when said tailgate is in said lowered open position to serve as a temporary tailgate, the improvement comprising;a lock rod assembly extendable from a top portion of each said pillar to be engagable with said supplemental tailgate for stabilization thereof when being operated as said temporary tailgate, each said lock rod assembly including a support tube and a lock rod housed within said support tube in a stowed position and being extendable therefrom into an extended position for engagement with said supplemental tailgate assembly, each said lock rod being formed as an elongated rod member having an insertion end engagable with said supplemental tailgate assembly and an enlarged distal end. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
- a tailgate pivotally mounted between said sidewalls for movement between an upright closed position and a lowered open position; and
Specification