Tonneau cover device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10071618-B2
Application number	US-201715414199-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 24, 2017
Priority date	Jan 26, 2016
Publication date	Sep 11, 2018
Grant date	Sep 11, 2018

Abstract

The embodiment provides a tonneau cover device. The tonneau cover device includes a tonneau cover and a fixing device to engage with a lock portion to thereby hold the tonneau cover in a pulled-out-and-held state. The fixing device includes: a slider provided in a slidable manner and a hook provided in a swingable manner. When a force is exerted on an engagement protruding portion of the hook as a result of pushing in the tonneau cover toward the winding direction from the pulled-out-and-held state, and the exerted force acting on the engagement protruding portion is larger than the normally-given urging force acting on the engagement protruding portion, the hook swings such that the engagement protruding portion retracts into the case while causing the slider to be pushed in away from the sidewall, thereby being disengaged from the locking portion.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A tonneau cover device including:
a tonneau cover provided to cover a cargo chamber of a vehicle and configured to be pulled out from a wound state;
a fixing device attached on both sides of the tonneau cover at one end thereof toward a pull-out direction; and
a cover-urging mechanism configured to urge the tonneau cover in a winding direction that is opposite to the pull-out direction,
wherein a locking portion is provided on a sidewall of the cargo chamber and configured to be engageable with the fixing device on the tonneau cover when the tonneau cover is pulled out against an urging force of the cover-urging mechanism to thereby hold the tonneau cover at a pulled-out position,
wherein the fixing device includes:
a case fixed to the tonneau cover, the case having an opening opposed to the sidewall;
a slider mounted slidably on the case, the slider being slidable in a sliding direction intersecting the pull-out direction;
a hook supported swingably on the slider, the hook having an engagement protruding portion configured to retractably protrude from the opening of the case in accordance with a swinging movement of the hook to be engageable with the locking portion;
a spring provided to urge the slider against the sidewall; and
a conversion mechanism configured to convert a sliding movement of the slider toward the sidewall into a swinging movement of the hook such that the engagement protruding portion protrudes from the opening of the case, and to convert a sliding movement of the slider to be away from the sidewall into a swinging movement of the hook such that the engagement protruding portion retracts into the case, and

wherein, when a force is exerted on the engagement protruding portion as a result of pushing in the tonneau cover toward the winding direction from a pulled-out-and-held state where the engagement protruding portion is engaged with the locking portion and the tonneau cover is held at the pulled-out position, and the exerted force acting on the engagement protruding portion is larger than the urging force of the cover-urging mechanism acting on the engagement protruding portion, the hook swings such that the engagement protruding portion retracts into the case while causing the slider to be pushed in away from the sidewall through the conversion mechanism, thereby being disengaged from the locking portion.

2. The tonneau cover device of claim 1 ,
wherein a sliding amount of the slider to be away from the sidewall when the engagement protruding portion is pressed toward the pull-out direction to cause the hook to swing as a result of pushing in the tonneau cover toward the winding direction from the pulled-out-and-held state to thereby be disengaged from the locking portion is a first sliding amount,
wherein a sliding amount of the slider to be away from the sidewall when the engagement protruding portion is pressed toward the winding direction to cause the hook to swing as a result of pulling out the tonneau cover toward the pull-out direction from the pulled-out-and-held state to thereby be disengaged from the locking portion is a second sliding amount, and
wherein the first sliding amount is larger than the second sliding amount.

3. The tonneau cover device of claim 1 ,
wherein the conversion mechanism includes:
a shaft portion provided to one of the slider and the hook; and
a groove portion provided to the other of the slider and the hook, into which the shaft portion is slidably inserted,

wherein the shaft portion includes:
a first shaft portion; and
a second shaft portion,

wherein the groove portion includes:
a first groove portion that is formed along the sliding direction, into which the first shaft portion is slidably inserted; and
a second groove portion that is formed to intersect the first groove portion, into which the second shaft portion is slidably inserted, and

wherein, when the hook swings, the first shaft portion slides inside the first groove portion while the second shaft portion slides inside the second groove portion to draw a swinging trajectory on an outer side of the first shaft portion, so that the slider is pressed to slide.

4. The tonneau cover device of claim 3 ,
wherein the second shaft portion is disposed further than the first shaft portion in the pull-out direction.

5. The tonneau cover device of claim 3 ,
wherein the hook includes a first supporting portion and a second supporting portion that are capable of abutting on edge portions on both sides of the opening of the case,
wherein, when the tonneau cover is pulled out, the first supporting portion abuts on one of the edge portions on the pull-out direction, and the one of the edge portions functions as a supporting point of the swinging movement of the hook,
wherein, when the tonneau cover is wound in the winding direction, the second supporting portion abuts on the other one of the edge portions on the winding direction, and the other one of the edge portions functions as a supporting point of the swinging movement of the hook, and
wherein a distance between the second supporting portion and the second shaft portion is longer than a distance between the first supporting portion and the second shaft portion.

6. The tonneau cover device of claim 3 ,
wherein the spring presses a position of the slider that overlaps the second groove portion when the slider is seen in the sliding direction.

Assignees

• Piolax Inc

Inventors

• Miyamae Hitoshi
• Asai Hiroaki

Classifications

• B60J7/02 Primary

  of sliding type {, e.g. comprising guide shoes} · CPC title

• B60J7/198

  for locking tonneau covers such as covers for roof storage compartments or for pick-up truck beds · CPC title

• B60J7/057

  Driving or actuating arrangements (B60J7/047 - B60J7/053 take precedence){e.g. manually operated levers or knobs} · CPC title

• B60R5/047 Primary

  collapsible by rolling-up · CPC title