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US 12,466,336 B2Granted
Tailgate protector structure with modular accessory attachments
AssigneesToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsRyan C. Harris, Scott L. Frederick
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The application generally relates to an apparatus comprising a tailgate protector having a base disposed atop a first portion of a tailgate, a support arm extending from a first edge of the base, and one or more mounting elements disposed within the base, wherein the one or more mounting elements are configured to removably couple an attachment via one or more attachment mounting elements includes in the attachment.
Claims20
An apparatus comprising:
- a base disposed atop a first portion of a tailgate of a vehicle, the base comprising a first surface adjacent to the first portion of the tailgate and a second surface opposite the first surface of the base;
- a support arm extending from a first edge of the base downward along an inner surface of the tailgate and coupled to the inner surface of the tailgate;
- a plurality of mounting elements extending below the first surface in a first direction past a top surface of the first portion of the tailgate, wherein each of the plurality of mounting elements comprises an opening at the second surface and a hollow region extending from the second surface toward the first surface;
- and
- an attachment, comprising an attachment body portion configured to accept an item to be attached to the base and a plurality of attachment elements of a geometry to be inserted into a corresponding plurality of mounting elements;
- wherein each of the plurality of attachment elements and mounting elements are configured to removably couple the attachment to the second surface of the base via insertion of the attachment elements of the attachment, through the opening and into the hollow regions of corresponding ones of the plurality of mounting elements.
3 more elements
An apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of tailgate attachments, each tailgate attachment comprising:
- a plurality of attachment mounting elements configured to removably couple the tailgate attachment to a tailgate protector, wherein the tailgate protector includes a plurality of mounting elements each configured to receive the plurality of attachment mounting elements via a hollow region, the mounting elements extending below a first surface of a base of the tailgate protector in a first direction past a top surface of a first portion of the tailgate, wherein the plurality of mounting elements are configured to removably couple the tailgate protector to a tailgate;
- and a storage mechanism configured to secure a plurality of items to a tailgate of a vehicle, wherein each one of the plurality of tailgate attachments includes a unique storage mechanism.
An apparatus comprising:
- a tailgate protector having a base and a top surface, wherein the base includes a plurality of mounting elements extending from the base below a first surface of the base in a first direction past a top surface of a first portion of a tailgate, wherein each of the plurality of mounting elements comprises a hollow region having an opening on the top surface;
- and an attachment comprising:
- a storage mechanism;
- and a plurality of attachment mounting elements, wherein the attachment mounting elements are configured to removably couple the attachment to the tailgate protector by securely coupling the plurality of mounting elements of the base of the tailgate protector to the plurality of attachment mounting elements of the attachment by receiving the plurality of attachment mounting elements in the hollow regions of the plurality of mounting elements.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.