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US 11,697,332 B2Granted
Modified retractable tonneau cover
AssigneeRoll-N-Lock Corporation
InventorRichard Gregory Bernardo
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed are embodiments of a retractable tonneau cover for a vehicle that has been modified in order to generally minimize the size of a housing of the tonneau cover, providing more vehicle cargo space for a user. The modified retractable tonneau cover can be automatically closed through an electronic system.
Claims20
A retractable tonneau cover system configured for use with a vehicle, the retractable tonneau cover system comprising:
- a pair of side rails, each of the pair of side rails configured to be secured to a portion of a cargo bed of the vehicle;
- a plurality of slats coupled to one another and configured to extend between the pair of side rails, wherein each of opposing ends of each of the plurality of slats are configured to be received by a portion of one of the pair of side rails;
- a housing configured to be positioned near a cab end of the cargo bed of the vehicle when the retractable tonneau cover system is installed, wherein the cab end of the vehicle is positioned opposite a tailgate end of the vehicle;
- a motor drive reel positioned at least partially within the housing;
- a motor positioned at least partially within the motor drive reel and configured to cause rotation of the motor drive reel;
- one or more drive cogs coupled with the motor drive reel, wherein, upon rotation of the motor drive reel, the one or more drive cogs are configured to engage one or more of the plurality of slats to move the plurality of slats with respect to the pair of side rails between an extended position and a retracted position;
- and
- a key fob configured to wirelessly communicate with the motor to cause rotation of the motor drive reel and the one or more drive cogs coupled with the motor drive reel to move the plurality of slats between the extended position and the retracted position, wherein the key fob is further configured to wirelessly communicate with the motor to stop said rotation of the motor drive reel and the one or more drive cogs coupled with the motor drive reel and to stop movement of the plurality of slats at any one of a plurality of intermediate positions between said extended and retracted positions.
5 more elements
A retractable tonneau cover system configured for use with a vehicle, the retractable tonneau cover system comprising:
- a pair of side rails, each of the pair of side rails configured to be secured to a portion of the vehicle;
- a plurality of slats coupled to one another and configured to extend between the pair of side rails;
- a housing configured to be positioned near a cab end of a cargo bed of the vehicle;
- a motor;
- one or more drive cogs coupled with the motor;
- and
- a key fob configured to wirelessly communicate with the motor to cause rotation of the one or more drive cogs to move the plurality of slats between an extended position and a retracted position, wherein the key fob is further configured to wirelessly communicate with the motor to stop said rotation of the one or more drive cogs and to stop movement of the plurality of slats at any one of a plurality of intermediate positions between said extended and retracted positions.
4 more elements
A retractable tonneau cover system configured for use with a vehicle, the retractable tonneau cover system:
- a pair of side rails, each of the pair of side rails configured to be secured to a portion of the vehicle near a cargo bed of the vehicle;
- a plurality of slats coupled to one another and configured to extend between the pair of side rails;
- a stopper extending transverse from a portion of the plurality of slats;
- a housing comprising a first side configured to be positioned near a cab end of the cargo bed of the vehicle when the retractable tonneau cover system is installed and a second side opposite the first side;
- a cargo bumper connected to the housing, the cargo bumper defining an abutment surface that is spaced from the first side of the housing, wherein the cargo bumper is configured to be positioned farther from the cab end of the vehicle than the housing when the retractable tonneau cover system is installed;
- a motor;
- and
- one or more drive cogs coupled with the motor, wherein the motor is configured to cause the one or more drive cogs to engage one or more of the plurality of slats to move the plurality of slats between an extended position and a retracted position;
- wherein, when the plurality of slats is moved to the retracted position, the stopper contacts the abutment surface of the cargo bumper to prevent an end of the plurality of slats from being moved into the housing.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.