Dump truck tailgate

For use with a dump truck having a bed opening, a tailgate assembly for selectively closing said opening, said tailgate assembly comprising:

• a closure member mounted on the bed for movement therewith and for movement between a closed position in disposition blocking egress of material from the bed through said opening, and an open position permitting egress of material, the closure member having top, bottom and side margins;
• at least one elongated, rigid arm having a pair of ends, one end of the arm being pivotally coupled to the bed in spaced relationship from the closure member;
• power means pivotally connected with the arm for swinging the other end of said arm with respect to the bed;
• and
• means interconnecting said other end of the arm with one of the side margins of the closure member, said interconnecting means including a lost motion connection between the arm and the closure member, said connection being operable to permit relative pivoting of the closure member with respect to the arm during a first predetermined portion of the arm swing and to prevent relative pivoting of the closure member relative to the arm during a second predetermined portion of the arm swing, whereby the closure member may be moved on a substantially rectilinear path of travel by the swinging arm during said first portion of the arm swing and the closure member may be swung outwardly from the bed by the arm during said second portion of the arm swing.

A tailgate assembly for use with a dump truck having a bed having two side walls with side ends and a bed opening, said tailgate assembly being adapted to be mounted on the bed for movement therewith, the assembly comprising:

• a closure member adapted to be moved between a closed position in disposition blocking egress of material from the bed through said opening, and an open position permitting egress of material;
• means for moving the closure member between the open and closed positions, the moving means including at least one elongated rigid arm having a pair of ends, one of said arm ends adapted to be pivotally coupled to the bed with the other end being swingable outwardly from the bed, and power means including a fluid and piston assembly pivotally coupled with the arm and adapted to be pivotally coupled to the bed for swinging the arm with respect to the bed;
• lost motion means for restricting the movement of the closure member against swinging movement relative to the bed during a first path of movement of the closure member and for causing outward swinging of the closure member with respect to the bed during a second path of movement of the closure member, said lost motion means comprising a connector interconnecting the other end of said arm with the closure member for movement of the member with the arm, said connector being operable to provide free relative pivoting of the arm with respect to the member as the latter is moved along said first path of movement, and to prevent relative pivoting between the arm and the closure member when the latter is moved on said second path of movement.