Pickup truck tailgate latch
AssigneeBAE Industries, Inc.
InventorsDavid Grable, Joel Hudson, Tristan Putnam, Jesse Leonard
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A latch assembly for pivotally securing a tailgate to a truck bed including a body adapted to being secured to a side of the tailgate and enclosing each of a pawl and sector. A pivot support is adapted to being secured to each of first and second opposing side locations of the tailgate in alignment with a main pivot extending through said sector. The pawl exhibits projecting portions which oppose circumferentially offset and radial projection portions of the sector. A torque is exerted by the pawl against the sector at selected downward and return upward pivoting directions, permitting rotation of the tailgate between each of upright, intermediate and down positions.
Claims24
A latch assembly for pivotally securing a tailgate to a bed of a truck, comprising:
- a housing defining a package interior containing a sector for receiving a main pivot secured to the truck bed;
- a pawl selectively engageable with circumferentially offset support surfaces of said sector corresponding to at least up and down positions of the tailgate;
- and
- a cinch cam rotatably supported on one side of said pawl for engaging, in the up position, a support bushing secured to said sector at a location offset from said main pivot;
- and
- actuation of said pawl displacing said cinch cam in order to initiate downward rotation of the tailgate.
An upper latch assembly for operating an upper split portion of a truck tailgate separately from a lower latch assembly, comprising:
- said lower latch assembly operating up and down rotation of the tailgate about a lower main pivot;
- said upper latch assembly having a housing defining a package interior containing a sector rotatably supported to an upper main pivot;
- an arm slaved to said sector and extending from said upper main pivot for supporting the upper split portion of the tailgate;
- an upper structural cam, in combination with an upper cinching cam, being coaxially mounted with said structural cam for biasing against said pawl in a first engaged position;
- and
- downward rotation of said arm and upper split tailgate occurring upon retracting said structural cam and cinching cam from engagement with said pawl.
A latch assembly for pivotally securing a tailgate to a truck bed, comprising:
- a housing defining a package interior containing a fixed sector for receiving a main pivot secured to the truck bed;
- a rotatable pawl selectively engageable with circumferentially offset support surfaces of said sector corresponding to each of up, intermediate and down positions of the tailgate;
- a cinch cam rotatably supported on one side of said pawl for engaging, in the up position, a support bushing secured to said sector at a location offset from said main pivot;
- a cam follower rotatably supported on an opposite side of said pawl, said cam follower selectively engaging a rotatable pawl blocker supported by said support bushing during rotation of said housing about said main pivot, and in order to prevent said pawl from engaging said sector during pivoting between the up and down positions of the tailgate;
- and
- a release gear for actuating said pawl to in turn displace said cinch cam from contact with said support bushing to initial downward rotation of the tailgate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.