Tailgate pad

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11760271-B2
Application number	US-202117335990-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 1, 2021
Priority date	Apr 19, 2019
Publication date	Sep 19, 2023
Grant date	Sep 19, 2023

Abstract

A tailgate pad. The tailgate pad includes a front side. The tailgate pad also includes a back side. The tailgate pad further includes a fold out panel coupled with the front side, the fold out panel to wrap about at least a portion of a wheel of a vehicle.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An adjustable tailgate pad comprising:
a front side;
a back side;
an adjustable top side coupled to said front side and said back side, said adjustable top side having an adjustable width; and
a fold out panel coupled with said front side, said fold out panel to wrap about at least a portion of a wheel of a vehicle, wherein said fold out panel is removably attached to said adjustable tailgate pad.

2. The adjustable tailgate pad of claim 1 further comprising:
a plurality of top side straps coupled to said adjustable top side, said plurality of top side straps configured to adjust said adjustable width of said adjustable top side.

3. The adjustable tailgate pad of claim 1 further comprising:
a plurality of retaining straps coupled to said adjustable tailgate pad.

4. The adjustable tailgate pad of claim 3 wherein said plurality of retaining straps are coupled to said adjustable tailgate pad at a location on said adjustable tailgate pad to enable strapping a portion of said vehicle against said back side of said adjustable tailgate pad.

5. The adjustable tailgate pad of claim 1 further comprising:
a plurality of front side straps coupled to said front side of said adjustable tailgate pad; and
a plurality of strap receiving features coupled to said back side of said adjustable tailgate pad, at least one of said plurality of front side straps configured to be coupled to a respective at least one of said plurality of strap receiving features to secure said adjustable tailgate pad to a tailgate.

6. The adjustable tailgate pad of claim 1 further comprising:
a plurality of retaining blocks disposed on said back side of said adjustable tailgate pad, said plurality of retaining blocks configured to retain a portion of said vehicle between adjacent ones of said plurality of retaining blocks.

7. The adjustable tailgate pad of claim 1 , wherein said fold out panel is attached to said adjustable tailgate pad by at least one fastener selected from a group consisting of a zipper, hook-and-loop fasteners, buttons, clips, hook and eye fasteners, buckles, snap fasteners.

8. The adjustable tailgate pad of claim 7 , wherein said fold out panel further comprises at least one protective portion extending over said fastener.

9. The adjustable tailgate pad of claim 1 , further comprising anti-slipping features.

10. The adjustable tailgate pad of claim 1 wherein said adjustable top side is comprised of a material having sufficient elasticity such that adjustable top side has an initial width which is less than a width of a tailgate to which said adjustable tailgate pad will be coupled.

11. The adjustable tailgate pad of claim 1 further comprising:
a tailgate facing surface on an interior of said adjustable tailgate pad, wherein at least a portion of said tailgate facing surface comprises at least one paint protecting material selected from a group consisting of a synthetic and/or natural textile, fleece, microfiber, polymer foams, a non-woven textile, and flannel.

12. The adjustable tailgate pad of claim 1 further comprising:
a wear resistant surface, wherein at least a portion of said wear resistant surface comprises at least one durable material selected from the group consisting of nylon, polyamide (PA), rayon, denim, stretched polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), aramid, and a thermoplastic polymer, polyester, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), silicone.

13. The adjustable tailgate pad of claim 1 further comprising:
a plurality of pads disposed on said front side of said adjustable tailgate pad, said plurality of pads configured to provide a resting location for said portion of said wheel of said vehicle for a plurality of vehicles; and
said fold out panel to wrap about at least a portion of said wheel of a most exterior of said plurality of vehicles, and retain said wheel with respect to one of said plurality of pads.

14. The adjustable tailgate pad of claim 1 , wherein the tom side comprises at least two parts, wherein each part is respectively attached at one edge to the back side or the front side of the tailgate pad so that the other end of each part is free, and each part of the top side comprises a fastener to attach one part of the top side to the other part of the top side.

15. An adjustable tailgate pad comprising:
a front side;
a back side;
an adjustable top side coupled to said front side and said back side, said adjustable top side having a width which is adjustable;
a plurality of top side straps coupled to said adjustable top side, said plurality of top side straps configured to adjust said width of said adjustable top side; and

a fold out panel coupled with said front side, said fold out panel disposed at a location of said front side such that it will not cover a tailgate feature, said fold out panel to wrap about at least a portion of a wheel of a vehicle, wherein said fold out panel is stowable between said front side of said adjustable tailgate pad and a tailgate, such that said fold out panel does not protrude from said front side of said adjustable tailgate pad when said fold out panel is stowed.

16. The adjustable tailgate pad of claim 15 further comprising:
a plurality of retaining blocks disposed on said back side of said adjustable tailgate pad; and
a plurality of retaining straps coupled to said adjustable tailgate pad, wherein said plurality of retaining straps and said plurality of retaining blocks are configured to retain a portion of said vehicle in a desired position with respect to said adjustable tailgate pad.

17. The adjustable tailgate pad of claim 16 further comprising:
a plurality of pads disposed on said front side of said adjustable tailgate pad, said plurality of pads configured to provide a resting location for said portion of said wheel of said vehicle for a plurality of vehicles, said plurality of pads offset from said plurality of retaining blocks disposed on said back side of said adjustable tailgate pad; and
said fold out panel to wrap about said portion of said wheel of a most exterior of said plurality of vehicles, and retain said wheel with respect to one of said plurality of pads.

18. The adjustable tailgate pad of claim 15 further comprising:
a plurality of front side straps coupled to said front side of said adjustable tailgate pad; and
a plurality of strap receiving features coupled to said back side of said adjustable tailgate pad, at least one of said plurality of front side straps configured to be coupled to a respective at least one of said plurality of strap receiving features to secure said adjustable tailgate pad to a tailgate.

19. The adjustable tailgate pad of claim 15 further comprising:
a paint protecting tailgate facing surface of the adjustable tailgate pad, wherein at least a portion of said paint protecting tailgate facing surface comprises at least one paint protecting material selected from the group consisting of a synthetic and/or natural textile, a non-woven textile, fleece, microfiber, polymer foams, and flannel; and
a wear resistant surface of said adjustable tailgate pad, wherein at least a portion of said wear resistant surface comprises at least one durable material selected from the group consisting of nylon, polyamide (PA), rayon, denim, stretched polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), aramid, and a thermoplastic polymer, polyester, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), silicone.

20. The adjustable tailgate pad of claim 15 wherein said adjustable tailgate pad is less than half a length of a tailgate upon which said

Assignees

• Fox Factory Inc

Inventors

• Low Siupo
• Schreiber Gary
• Huynh Vincent
• Tekhteleva Anastasiia

Classifications

• B62D33/0273

  Movable tailboards for vehicles comprising non-movable sideboards, e.g. pick-up trucks (B62D33/037 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B60R9/10

  for cycles · CPC title

• B60J11/06 Primary

  for covering only specific parts of the vehicle, e.g. for doors (covers or guards for traction couplings, hitches, draw-gear or towing devices B60D1/60; guards for wheels, radiators or bumpers B60R19/00) · CPC title

• B60R9/06 Primary

  at vehicle front or rear {(rear luggage compartments within vehicle extensible externally of the vehicle body B60R5/041)} · CPC title

• B60R13/01

  Liners for load platforms or load compartments · CPC title