Tailgate lock
US5823022A · kind A · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 20, 1997 |
| Grant date | Oct 20, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 20, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T292/502
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A lock and keeper assembly are employed to secure a pickup truck tailgate against theft. A conventional keeper is modified by flattening its bight region. The flattened bight is placed into capturing relation to a transversely disposed, inwardly extending protrusion formed in a side wall of the pickup truck adjacent the tailgate. A transversely disposed, outwardly extending hollow, "C"-shaped axle integral with the tailgate receives the protrusion, so the flattened bight and the lock body cooperate to trap the protrusion within the hollow axle. The hollow axle cannot be separated from the protrusion without first defeating the lock.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.