Protective bedliner

Abstract

A bedliner (1) used for protecting metal truck beds and utility trailers from chemicals, such as chlorine, transported therein which causes the metal in the bed to corrode and rust when the chemicals spill and come into direct contact with the metal, said bedliner having an upper protective lip (12) and accordion-like protective retention wall (17).

Claims

1. A bedliner for protecting a vehicle bed from liquid chemicals, said bedliner comprising: a unitary rigid rectangular-shaped body having a floor, a front wall, a right side wall, a left side wall, a rear wall and an L-shaped protective lip extending outward perpendicularly from upper perimeter edges of the front wall, right side wall, left side wall and rear wall to cover top surfaces of walls of a vehicle bed and a tailgate of the vehicle bed in a manner that allows the tailgate to freely open and close without moving the bedliner; a drain located on the body of the bedliner in a location that is accessible by lowering the tailgate of the vehicle bed; and said drain having a flexible tube attached thereto to allow spilled chemicals in the bedliner to be drained away from the vehicle bed and the tailgate, thereby preventing any contact between the chemicals and the vehicle bed and the tailgate.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the following detailed description, reference will be made to the attached drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective top view of a bedliner of the present invention having a drain extending from a rear wall;

(3) FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view along lines A-A of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view along lines B-B of FIG. 1; and

(5) FIG. 4 is a perspective top view of a bedliner of the present invention having protective extension walls.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(6) For purposes of describing the preferred embodiment, the terminology used in reference to the numbered accessories in the drawings is as follows: 1. bedliner 2. body of bedliner 3. floor 4. front wall 5. right side wall 6. left side wall 7. rear wall 8. front right corner 9. front left corner 10. rear right corner 11. rear left corner 12. protective lip 13. upper perimeter edge of body 14. drain 15. aperture 16. tubing 17. protective extension wall 17a. right side protective extension wall 17b. left side protective extension wall 18. rear edge of floor 19. sealed hinge 20. right side edge of rear wall 21. rear edge of right side wall 22. left side edge of rear wall 23. rear edge of left side wall

(7) With reference to FIG. 1, a perspective top view of a bedliner 1 of the present invention having a drain extending from a rear wall is illustrated. The bedliner 1 of the present invention comprises a substantially rectangular-shaped body 2 having a floor 3, a front wall 4, a right side wall 5, a left side wall 6 and a rear wall 7. A front right corner 8, front left corner 9, rear right corner 10 and rear left corner 11 are each preferably sealed to prevent liquids from escaping the bedliner 1. A protective lip 12 preferably extends outward perpendicularly from an upper perimeter edge 13 of the rectangular-shaped body 2. The protective lip 12 may be L-shaped, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, or u-shaped wherein a portion of the protective lip 12 is parallel to the front wall 4, right side wall 5, left side wall 6 and rear wall 7, respectively, thereby preventing chemicals from spilling on the outside of the a bed when removing chemicals from the bed.

(8) At least one drain 14 is preferably located on the rear wall 7 of the bedliner 1 in a location that is accessible by lowering a tailgate of the bed. The drain 14 comprises an aperture 15 located on the rear wall 1 to which to an elongated rigid or flexible tubing 16, such as a pipe, hose and so forth, may be attached via an attachment means. The tubing 16 extends or is extendable from the bedliner 1 over an opened tailgate to allow spilled chemicals contained in the bedliner 1 to be rinsed out and drained away from the vehicle, thereby preventing any contact between the chemicals and the vehicle.

(9) With reference to FIG. 4, a perspective top view of a bedliner 1 of the present invention having protective extension walls 17. The rear wall 7 may be foldably attached to a rear edge 18 of the floor 3 via a sealed hinge 19 that prevents liquids from reaching a bed in which the bedliner 1 is installed. A right side edge 20 of the rear wall 7 is preferably attached to a rear edge 21 of the right side wall 5 via a right side protective extension wall 17a, which may be accordion-shaped and/or constructed out of a flexible material. Likewise, the left side edge 22 of the rear wall 7 is preferably attached to a rear edge 23 of the left side wall 6 via a left side protective extension wall 17b, which may be accordion-shaped and/or constructed out of a flexible material. The protective extension walls 17 allow a tailgate on which the rear wall 7 is mounted to be folded into a downward position when the tailgate is opened, as illustrated in FIG. 4, thereby extending the protective extension walls 16 into extended open positions to prevent chemicals from spilling between the tailgate and the bed and from spilling off the sides of the tailgate onto the vehicle.

(10) It is to be understood that while a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement of parts herein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and drawings.