It has been long recognized that the turbulent drag of an open-top truck body, such as is used on a pick-up truck, can be reduced by opening or perforating the tail gate. A number of perforated replacement tailgates are presently marketed, such as is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,589, in which a replacement tailgate has a perforated membrane supported in a rigid metal frame.
Other similar products are available in which a net-like membrane is made of vertical and horizontal webbing straps that are stitched together and attached to the sides of the pick-up truck bed, and still other products punch square holes to form a pattern of orthogonal straps in a fabric-reinforced flexible membrane that simulates the substantial open area of a webbing strap tailgate. In order to keep the straps taut it is the practice to attach each end of the membrane to a metal vertical stiffener, and to attach the corner straps to the respective truck bed corners with adjustable straps connected to the stiffeners.
A disadvantage of presently known webbing-style tailgates is that they are very limited in area available for printed indicia. It is the practice of pick-up truck manufacturers to apply a large logo across the metal tailgate if their trucks, and then the dealer normally adds a plaque or decal to the tailgate as well. The indicia area for such logos is very limited on webbing or die-cut simulated webbing.
Another disadvantage of prior art webbing-style tailgates is that the large open area exposes the entire cargo area to public view.
It is the purpose of the present invention to provide a perforated membrane tailgate that provides a large open area for free air flow, but also retains the surface area of for printed indicia. It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide a tailgate that has free air flow, but substantially blocks the truck cargo from view.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds