Pickups are a quite popular type of vehicle because the pickups enable objects of various sizes to be placed in the bed of the pickup and then be transported. The bed of the pickup generally has a floor surface that is bounded by a front wall, a pair of side walls, and a back wall.
At least one of the front wall, the side walls and the back wall may be movable to facilitate placing objects into the bed and removing objects from the bed. For example, the back wall of many pickup beds may pivot from a closed position in which the back wall is substantially vertically oriented to an open position in which the back wall is substantially horizontally oriented.
While the front wall, the side walls and the back wall preclude objects from sliding out of the pickup bed, these walls do not retain objects at specific locations within the pickup bed.
Additionally, the open top of the pickup bed does not shield or otherwise protect objects stored in the pickup bed from damage by environmental factors such as rain and snow. The open top of the pickup bed also means that objects placed in the pickup bed are visible to persons near the pickup bed, which makes the objects vulnerable to theft.
To protect objects placed in the bed of a pickup from damage from environmental factors or theft, tonneau covers may be placed over the bed to substantially cover the bed. The tonneau covers are typically attached to the sides of the pickup bed.
There are two primary types of tonneau covers—hard and soft. Hard tonneau covers have a relatively hard surface that extends over the pickup bed. The hard tonneau covers may be in a single piece or in several pieces that are pivotable with respect to each other.
Soft tonneau covers, on the other hand, are made from a flexible material such as vinyl that permits the soft tonneau covers to be at least partially rolled up to provide access to items stored in the pickup bed.
To retain objects at desired locations in the pickup bed and thereby enhance the ability to access such items, a toolbox may be attached to the pickup box. The toolboxes typically include a box and a lid pivotally attached thereto. The toolboxes are typically mounted to the side of the pickup bed proximate the front end of the pickup bed.
Because the toolboxes extend over the sides of the pickup bed, it is not possible to use conventional tonneau covers in pickup beds that also have tonneau covers attached thereto. Rather, it is necessary to purchase a special size tonneau cover that may be used in conjunction with the toolbox.
The special size tonneau cover may only be used when the toolbox is in the pickup bed because the special size tonneau cover would only cover a portion of the pickup bed when the toolbox is removed.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds