Vehicle cargo bed extender

Abstract

A vehicle cargo bed extender adapted to be used in conjunction with a vehicle having a cargo bed. The present invention includes a pair of sidewalls spaced from one another, a center wall extending between the pair of sidewalls, the pair of sidewalls and the center wall cooperating to define a bed extender having an open end. Each of the pair of sidewalls of the bed extender include a pivot assembly disposed between the sidewall of the bed extender and a sidewall of the cargo bed and including a pivot axis defined by a post, and a slot adapted to slidingly accept the post. The post and the slot cooperate to facilitate both pivotal movement of the bed extender and rectilinear longitudinal movement of the bed extender relative to the cargo bed of the vehicle.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates, generally, to a vehicle cargo bed extender, and more specifically, to a bed extender that includes a sliding pivot joint having a post and a slot that facilitates rectilinear longitudinal movement of the bed extender relative to the cargo bed of the vehicle and pivotal movement of the bed extender between stowed and deployed positions. [0003] 2. Description of the Related Art [0004] Pickup trucks are well known vehicles having rear cargo areas that are employed for utilitarian purposes. A representative example of this type of vehicle is generally indicated at 20 in FIG. 1. As is well known in the art, pickup trucks typically include a cab 22 in which the vehicle operator sits and a cargo area, generally indicated at 24. The cargo area 24 is typically disposed adjacent and to the rear of the cab 22. The cargo area 24 is typically defined by a bed 26 and pair of upstanding sidewalls 28 ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0016] Each of the pair of sidewalls of the bed extender include a pivot assembly disposed between the sidewall of the bed extender and a respective one of the pair of upright sidewalls of the cargo bed. Each pivot assembly includes a pivot axis and a slot. The pivot axis is defined by a post and the slot is adapted to slidingly accept the post. Thus, the post and the slot cooperate to facilitate rectilinear longitudinal movement of the bed extender relative to the cargo bed of the vehicle and pivotal movement of the bed extender about the pivot axis relative to the cargo bed of the vehicle at at least two different positions along the slot. The slot further includes an opening that operatively allows the post to be engaged to and separated from the slot such that the bed extender may be installed in and removed from the bed of the vehicle.

[0017] In this manner, the pivot assembly is operative to facilitate selective rectilinear longitudinal and pivotal movement of the bed extender so that the bed extender is movable between a stowed position wherein the open end of the bed extender is adjacent to the rear wall of the vehicle when the rear wall is in its upright position and a deployed position so as to be supported by the rear wall of the vehicle cargo bed when the rear wall is in its extended position such that the open end of the bed extender faces the cargo bed thereby increasing the effective size of the vehicle cargo bed.

[0018] Thus, the vehicle cargo bed extender of the present invention overcomes the drawbacks and disadvantages of the prior art by providing a cargo bed extender that has an improved pivot mounting for use in either a crossover vehicle cargo bed or in a standard pick-up cargo bed where space to stow the extender is limited. Further, the cargo bed extender of the present invention is deployable over a down tailgate gate for use, pivotable on pivot points to readily move to between the deployed and stowed positions, and is also movable rectilinearly so that only a minimum of space is required to stow the extender in the bed of the vehicle and avoid interference with other objects in the cargo area.

Problems solved by technology

While such bed extenders known in the related art have generally worked for their intended purposes, disadvantages still remain regarding their use for certain vehicle applications.

However, the shorted rear bed 26 of the crossover vehicle 40 makes the use of conventional truck bed extenders highly problematic.

Furthermore, since the extender pivot points cannot generally be placed at the end of the bed due to interference with closing the tailgate, the bed extender must actually extend farther into the bed when stowed than it extends out over the tailgate when in use.

This is where the problem lies.

The shorter bed of a crossover vehicle simply does not have the room to accommodate both the bed extender and an additional accessory such as a toolbox or a tonneau cover without causing interference between them and thereby forcing a departure from the desired quick change features.

This adds the additional drawbacks of several extra time-consuming steps necessary to accomplish the change to the extended bed mode of operation.

This bed extender interference problem occurs regardless of the type of accessory that is employed in the crossover vehicle bed.

Additionally, this problem arises with standard pick-up truck cargo beds in any of a variety of scenarios in which the bed regularly carries or maintains large volume objects and only a small amount of space remains at the end of the bed.

In these circumstances it is often desirable to employ a bed extender to carry additional items yet the space to stow a pivotal bed extender is inadequate.

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