Tonneau cover access panel

A tonneau cover assembly for a vehicle that has a cargo bed structure with at least one top opening and a tailgate, comprising:

• a cover operable in sealing the top opening when in a closed position, wherein the cover is moveable between at least the closed position, a partially open position and a fully open position;
• at least one tensioning system operably coupled to the cover to keep the cover under tension when in the closed position for sealing;
• a pair of mounting brackets, wherein the pair of mounting brackets are connected to opposite sidewalls of the vehicle adjacent the top opening of the vehicle with at least one fastener;
• a first recess formed in the pair of mounting brackets;
• a second recess formed in the pair of mounting brackets;
• a pair of rear attachment portions operably connected at both ends of a cross member, said pair of rear attachment portions including an end feature operable to selectively fit within the first recess;
• a pair of cutouts formed in the cross member;
• at least one release lever including a pair of handles, each rotatable within the pair of cutouts, respectively, and, each operably connected to a connecting bar;
• a pair of release latches operably connected toward both ends of the connecting bar and rotatable with the connecting bar, wherein pulling either of the handles toward the tailgate causes rotation of the connecting bar to rotate both release latches from the second recess of the pair of mounting brackets thereby unlatching the pair of rear attachment portions from the pair of mounting brackets in order to allow the cover to be selectively moved to the fully open position when desired, and wherein pushing either of the handles away from the tailgate causes rotation of the connecting bar in the opposite direction to rotate both release latches into the second recess of the pair of mounting brackets thereby latching the pair of rear attachment portions to the pair of mounting brackets to allow the cover to be selectively moved between the partially open and closed positions when desired;
• and
• a pivotal portion operably coupled to the cover and to the pair of rear attachment portions, wherein pivoting the pivotal portion moves the cover between the closed position and the partially open position to partially uncover the opening of the vehicle.

A tonneau cover assembly for a vehicle that has a cargo bed structure with a top opening and a tailgate, comprising:

• a cover moveable between at least a closed position to cover the top opening, a partially open position and a fully open position;
• at least one tensioning system that is a cable system operable to tension the cover;
• a front attachment assembly operably connected to a front of the cover;
• a plurality of mounting brackets connected to a plurality of apertures located toward the upper sidewalls of the vehicle by a plurality of fasteners;
• a first recess formed in the plurality of mounting brackets;
• a second recess formed in the plurality of mounting brackets;
• a pair of rear attachment portions operably connected at both ends of a cross member, said pair of rear attachment portions including an end feature operable to selectively fit within the first recess;
• a pair of cutouts formed in the cross member;
• at least one release lever including a pair of handles, each rotatable within the pair of cutouts, respectively, and, each operably connected to a connecting bar;
• a pair of release latches operably connected toward both ends of the connecting bar and rotatable with the connecting bar, wherein pulling either of the handles toward the tailgate causes rotation of the connecting bar to rotate both release latches from the second recess of the plurality of mounting brackets thereby unlatching the pair of rear attachment portions from the plurality of mounting brackets in order to allow the cover to be selectively moved to the fully open position when desired, and wherein pushing either of the handles away from the tailgate causes rotation of the connecting bar in the opposite direction to rotate both release latches into the second recess of the plurality of mounting brackets thereby latching the pair of rear attachment portions to the plurality of mounting brackets to allow the cover to be selectively moved between the partially open and closed positions when desired;
• and
• a pivotal portion operably coupled to a rear of the cover and to the pair of rear attachment portions, wherein pivoting the pivotal portion moves the cover between the closed position sealing against the tailgate and the partially open position to partially uncover the opening of the vehicle.