JPS6126143Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a molded plastic liner for the cargo bed of a truck, and more particularly to a one-piece protective liner for a pickup truck or the like.

Various track bed liners have been disclosed in prior art patents. An example of such a liner is the 1977
U.S. Patent No. 1, granted to Lambitz et al. on September 13,
No. 4,047,749 and US Pat. No. 4,111,481, issued to Nix et al. on September 5, 1978. One problem with prior art track liners relates to preventing moisture retention between the liner and track bed to reduce rusting and corrosion. Truck beds are particularly damaged by crevice corrosion, which develops in localized areas due to small amounts of stagnant water trapped in surface depressions or corrugations, for example by mud clots.

The situation is exacerbated if the metal parts are coated with track bed liners, for example.

A problem that often occurs with prior art track liners that are molded in one piece is a lack of strength in the bends and sidewall areas that are susceptible to failure where cargo impact can shorten the useful life of the liner.

Another problem encountered with prior art molded track bed liners is maintaining a proper fit between the liner and track bed when heated, as the plastic material has a tendency to deform and cause the liner walls to bow or wavily. is impossible.

Yet another problem is providing an interference fit between the track bed and the liner, such as the access opening corner areas, to prevent ingress of water and dirt and to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance. Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a one-piece track liner that has high strength for robust durability and reduces moisture retention between the liner and track bed to minimize corrosion. That's true.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a one-piece truck bed liner having a ribbed structure that strengthens the fragile cargo impact area and provides resistance to temperature-induced deformation forces.

The protective liner of the present invention includes a molded one-piece construction having a generally box-like configuration adapted to be accommodated in the cargo bed of a truck. The liner sidewalls are shaped to resemble shingles to provide a plurality of substantially continuous, longitudinally extending stepped panels. Each panel includes an upwardly sloping riser section that extends laterally from its upper end.
It ends in parts. The junction of the panel riser and tread portions defines a longitudinally extending, substantially continuous side rail to resist longitudinal bending stresses that may occur when the liner is exposed to high temperatures. It's becoming like that. Additionally, the side rails serve to absorb impact and friction forces during cargo loading and wheeling.

The bottom and front walls of the liner are joined together by a transverse bend section and ribbed with inverted U-shaped rib segments extending substantially the length of the liner bottom wall and the height of the liner front wall. It's taking shape.
The bend portion has no rib segments and is separated from the bottom wall ribbed section by a transition step-down tangent ribbed section. This feature supports the cargo on the liner bottom wall ribs and in contact with the front wall ribs, and maintains the cargo in a spaced apart, non-contact relationship with the lateral bends. A stepped or shallower bottom wall rib adjacent to the transverse bend section thus prevents the corners of the cargo from damaging the bend section. That is, the corners of such cargo cannot engage the bend portion due to the unique rib design.

Another feature of the invention is that the sidewall stepped panel terminates short of the rear access opening of the liner and defines a vertically and horizontally extending boundary portion with a corner radius that closely matches the track bed corner. It is to be. Thus, a custom liner is provided which minimizes the accumulation of moisture and dirt between the liner and the track bed.

Yet another feature of the invention is the stepped structure formed in the top portion of the front wall of the liner. This stepped construction allows the liner to fit into each truck manufacturer's nose rail construction, so that the liner fits closely into any conventional truck cargo bed.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from reading the following description, of which the accompanying drawings form a part.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a conventional pickup truck 10 including a cab 11 and a truck bed or cargo compartment 12. As shown in FIG.

The cargo bed 12 includes a bottom wall or floor 13 consisting of an elongated inverted channel 14 and a slot 15 as seen in FIG. The trackbed further includes a front wall 16, a left side wall 17 and a right side wall 18;
The front and side walls 16, 17, 18 each have a top rail or shelf portion 19, 20, 21.
Tailgate 22, which is pivotally mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis, is shown in its open position and supported by toggle link bar assembly 23.

As best seen in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the truck bed liner is generally designated 24 and includes an integral or one-piece molded body liner 26 and an integral molded tailgate liner 28 inserted or housed in the truck bed. It consists of The tailgate liner is secured on the inner wall of the tailgate 22 in any suitable manner.

The truck body liner 26 is comprised of a bottom wall 30, a front wall 31, and opposing left and right walls 32 and 33, as shown. The box-like plastic liner 26 is preferably formed from a continuous plastic sheet of polyethylene plastic material having an average heat-formed wall thickness on the order of 5 mm.

FIG. 2 shows that body liner 26 includes a transverse bend portion 34 connecting liner front wall 31 and liner bottom wall 30. FIG. Vertically extending bend portions 35 and 36 are formed that connect the left side wall 32 and the right side wall 33 with the bottom wall 30, respectively. 1st
As seen, the liner side walls 32, 33 terminate in outwardly extending top flange portions 37, 38, respectively, while the front wall 31 terminates in a forwardly extending top flange portion 39. As best seen in FIG. 8 for flange 37, the top flange portions of the side and front walls are sized to completely cover and protect the upper shelf or rail portions of the side and front walls of the track bed.

Side wall 32 has a universal well 40 surrounding the left wheel well of the pickup rack. An identical well is provided in the right side wall of the liner for the right wheel well of the truck, but this is not shown in the drawings.

As best seen in FIG. 2, the liner front wall 31 is formed at its uppermost portion with a first stepped angled section 41 and a second stepped angled section 42 of substantially uniform cross section, The angled portion 42 is integrally joined to the top flange portion 39 of the front wall by a third angled portion 43. Stepped angle section 4 at the top of the liner front wall 31
1, 42, and 43 enable the liner to be compatible with each of the top rail configurations of various truck manufacturers, such that the liner 26 will fit closely into any conventional truck cargo box or bed.
Thus, the largest angled section 43 accommodates the largest barbed section 46 of the front rail, and the angled section 4
2,41 are arranged to receive an optional flange configuration.

Because the liner 26 is substantially symmetrical about the longitudinal midplane, the liner sidewalls are formed in opposing mirror image relationship. Therefore, left wall 3
Only 2 is shown in detail in the drawing.

FIG. 8 shows a sidewall 32 having a distinctive stepped or shingle-like configuration consisting of a plurality of longitudinally extending, substantially continuous wedge-shaped stepped panels. . In this embodiment, each stepped panel, such as the bottom panel A, includes an upwardly and inwardly sloped rising portion 50 integral with the bend portion 36 and an angularly disposed step portion 52. The tread portion 52 preferably extends outwardly at a substantially right angle from the upper end of its associated upright portion 50 such that the juncture of the upright portion and the tread portion form a “rope-rib”. )” shape,
A longitudinally extending substantially continuous side rail 53 is defined.

Similarly, the next adjacent or top panel B has an upwardly and inwardly sloping raised portion 54 integral with the step portion 52 and an angular shape extending outwardly from the upper end of its associated portion 54. It consists of a stepped plate portion 56 arranged as shown in FIG. Panels A and B are substantially identical, except that panel B's raised portion 54 is approximately 14
cm, whereas panel A has a height h1 of approximately 10 cm.
It has a height h2 of cm.

The junction of the raised section 54 and the stepped section 56 defines an upper side rail 57 that is substantially continuous horizontally over the entire vertical length of the left side wall 32, as seen in FIG. and extend. Although only stepped panels A, B are shown in this substantial embodiment of the invention, it is of course possible to provide additional panels on the side walls. The side wall 32 terminates in an upper flat wall section 58 which extends substantially vertically from the step section 56 of the B panel to the upper flange section 38 which overlaps the top rail 21 of the track.
In the configuration described above, the stepped panels A, B provide the liner sidewalls 32 with strength to resist longitudinal bending stresses that tend to bend or deform the sidewalls about vertical axes. The stepped panels including side rails 53, 57 also provide strength to resist shear or impact stresses and prevent forces caused by high temperatures from undulating the side walls.

The stepped wall panel design of the present invention extends from the top flange to the bottom bend portion 35 of the side wall 3 around the longitudinal axis.
2 to allow some degree of bending. This design allows the sidewalls to flex and absorb cargo impact forces. Furthermore, this design
1 and the bottom wall 13 of the cargo hold to accommodate small changes in vertical height between the flange 37 and the bottom wall 13 of the cargo hold to allow a flush contact between the flange 37 and the top rail 21. 1 and 2 show that the side rail 57 has a stepped portion 56 that is substantially coplanar with the top portion 59 of the left well 40. FIGS. The coplanar relationship between the panel step portion 56 and the well top portion 59 contributes to the lateral flexibility of the liner sidewall 32 to absorb cargo impact forces. The junction of the step plate portion 56 and the flat wall portion 58 provides a continuous hinge-like deflection of the flat wall portion 58.
Thus, the sidewall flange 37 is free to flex overlying the track top rail 21 to provide intimate contact therebetween, providing maximum protection of the top rail surface as well as the finished appearance of the liner.

The liner features side rails 53, 57 that act as protective fender-like sections to reduce wear on the liner.
It is in. The trackbed side rails 53, 57 in the form of rope-like ribs form a line contact engagement with the loaded and wheeled cargo to minimize frictional wear on the liner sidewalls. The angled side rails 53, 57 also act as integral gussets or spars to resist liner deformation.

Figures 3 and 4 show a stepped collinear ribbed tangent section 62 at the forward end of the liner.
A ribbed section 60 is shown ending in the ribbed section 60 (FIG. 5), with the ribbed section 64 defining a step-down transition between the ribbed section 60 and the bend portion (FIG. 6). Ribbed section 6
0, 64, 67 are a plurality of rib segments 61.6 arranged in a particular longitudinally extending vertical plane.
5.68 respectively. The specific planes thus define a first bottom wall rib segment 61, a second bottom wall stepped tangent rib segment 65, and a third front wall vertical rib segment 68. Thus, as seen in FIG. 3, each of the tangential rib segments 65 and the vertical rib segments 68 extend to the transverse bend portion 34 without rib segments.

FIG. 4 shows a bottom wall ribbed section 60 including a plurality of adjacent inverted U-shaped ribs 61, the ribs 6
1 are separated by a groove 62 that extends substantially continuously the entire length of the liner bottom wall 30. Inverted U
The glyph-shaped ribs 61 define a vertically extending passageway 63;
Each passageway has an open cross-sectional area whose height H and width W are of substantially equal dimensions.
In this configuration, H and W are both of the order of 12 mm and define ribs of substantially square cross section. This configuration, along with a liner thickness of about 5 mm in the illustrated configuration, provides strength that allows the bottom wall to resist cargo bending stresses.

As seen in FIG. 4, each bed liner 15 of the truck communicates with at least one rib passageway 63 to ensure optimal ventilation air flow between the truck bed 13 and the liner bottom wall 30. Prevent moisture from accumulating inside. The ribbed section 60 has a rimmed hat-shaped rib adjacent to the rib 6.
It is designed to have an overall width dimension X that is substantially equal to a dimension Y between 1 and 1. Dimensions X and Y are each a predetermined distance less than the width Z of the inverted channel 14 in the floor, thereby providing said communication between the liner bottom wall passage 63 and the gutter 15.
The dimension Z of the inverted channel 14 of many trackbeds is typically about 40 mm, while the substantially equal dimensions X and Y are about 30 mm, so that X and Y are about 3/4 of the dimension Z. It is.

As can be seen with reference to FIG.
4 has an inverted U-shaped or rimmed cap-shaped rib segment 65, the width dimension W of which is equal to that of the rib segment or rib 61. Rib 65 is passage 6
6, and its height H' is about 6 mm, that is, a passage 63 formed by a rib 61 on the liner bottom wall 30.
It is approximately half of the height H of . FIG. 6 shows a ribbed section 67 of the liner front wall 31 that is identical to the tangent ribbed section 64, with vertically extending inverted U-shaped ribs 68 defining venting air and water flow paths aligned with the passageways 66, 63. are doing.

FIG. 3 shows that the ribbed section 60 terminates short of the lateral bend portion 34, defining therebetween a liner bottom wall stepped tangent ribbed section 64, and the ribbed section 64 connects the ribbed section 60 and the lateral bend. section 34, resulting in a clearance space between the cargo and the transverse bend section 34, shown in phantom at D. The cargo supported on the bottom wall rib segment 61 and in juxtaposed relation to the front wall rib segment 68 is maintained in a spaced apart, non-impacting relationship with respect to the bend portion 34. This configuration, the stepped or shallower bottom wall rib segment 65 adjacent the bend section 34, is uniquely designed to prevent cargo corners from damaging the bend section because the cargo corners cannot engage the bend section. do. Next, referring to FIG. 9, another feature of the present invention is that
The configuration is shown where the sidewall stepped panels A, B terminate short of the trailing edges 70, 71 of the sidewalls 32, 33 and the edge 72 of the liner bottom wall 30.

FIG. 9 shows that the bend portion 3 has a first radius of curvature R of a predetermined size sufficient to accommodate the side and bottom walls to variations in height of the side walls 17, 18 of the track bed.
5.

1 and 9, the liner aft access opening is shown at a left side border portion 74 of the liner sidewall 32 extending vertically.
and is shown defined by a horizontally extending edge portion 76 of the liner bottom wall. Boundary portion 74 defines a left fillet 77 of the liner having a predetermined radius of curvature R-1;
1 is substantially smaller than the radius of curvature R of the bend portion, so that the radius 77 can closely match the corner of the track bed. This corner structure is important and not only gives the protective liner a spectator-friendly appearance, but it also substantially reduces the amount of foreign matter and moisture that can get between the liner and the bottom and side walls of the trackbed.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the above disclosure is illustrative rather than restrictive, and that the present invention is limited only by the scope of the utility model claims.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pickup rack showing the truck bed liner of the present invention installed within the bed of the truck. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2--2 in FIG. 1, showing the left side wall portion of the track bed liner. FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the transverse bend portion of the liner and associated track bed bottom and side walls. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4--4 in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 3. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 3. 7 is a plan view of the left side portion of the trackbed liner shown in FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 2 showing details of the liner bottom wall and side walls. FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 9--9 of FIG. 2 showing the corner joint of the left side wall and bottom wall of the liner. 10...Truck, 11...Kib, 12...
Cargo compartment, 13...bottom wall, 14...channel, 1
5...Tai, 16...Front wall, 17, 18...Side wall, 19, 20, 21...Top rail, 22...
Tailgate, 24... liner, 26... body liner, 28... tailgate liner, 30...
Bottom wall, 31... Front wall, 32, 33... Side wall, 34
...Horizontal bend part, 35, 36...Vertical bend part, 37, 38, 39...Top flange part, 4
0... Universal well, 41, 42, 43...
...Stepped angle part, 50, 54... Rising part, 52, 56... Step plate part, 53, 57... Side rail, 60, 64, 67... Ribbed section, 61, 65, 68... Rib or rib segment, 70, 71... trailing edge, 72... end edge, 7
4, 76... Edge portion, 77... Roundness.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A protective liner for a truck bed structure having a floor, a front wall and an opposing side wall, wherein the side wall and floor of the truck bed form a rear access opening, wherein the liner is inserted into the truck bed. a molded plastic one-piece liner member adapted to fit and having a bottom wall, a front wall and an opposing side wall; a longitudinally extending bend portion joining each said liner side wall and said liner bottom wall, said liner bottom; The wall and front wall are joined by a transverse bend; each said liner sidewall is configured to resemble a shingle including a plurality of longitudinally extending substantially continuous stepped panels; The panels include an upwardly and inwardly sloping raised portion and an associated angularly disposed step portion extending outwardly from the upper end of the raised portion, the raised portion of each said panel the junction with the plate portion defines a longitudinally extending substantially continuous side rail; the liner provides strength for the sidewall stepped panel to resist longitudinal bending stresses; wherein the continuous side rail is operable to absorb cargo impact and friction forces; the liner side and bottom walls are substantially rectangular at the rear for receiving material to be wheeled; a rear edge boundary portion defining an access opening for the liner; said stepped panel extending to said sidewall boundary portion without said stepped panel; having a lower end integral with an associated longitudinally extending bend portion; said longitudinally extending bend portion having a predetermined radius of curvature; and said liner sidewall and bottom wall interface portions forming said bend portion. joined by a bounding radius having a predetermined radius of curvature substantially less than the radius of curvature of the portion;
The boundary radius thereby closely matches the corner of its associated track bed access opening to prevent the ingress of foreign material between the liner and the track bed; the liner side and front walls have a plurality of longitudinal each said inverted U-shaped rib segment disposed in a particular longitudinally extending vertical plane is in a ribbed configuration including adjacent inverted U-shaped rib segments extending from a first bottom wall rib segment; defining a second bottom wall tangent rib segment and a third front wall rib segment; the first rib segment of each said liner bottom wall having a greater height than each said second and third rib segment; each said second and third rib segment extends to said lateral bend portion free of rib segments;
Thereby, the cargo supported on the first rib segment of the bottom wall and in contact with the third front wall rib segment is in a spaced, non-contacting relationship with each corner of the cargo with respect to the lateral bend portion. A protective liner for a trackbed structure characterized in that it is adapted to be maintained.