Cargo bed having self-aligning side wall panels

摘要

A cargo bed has a succession of swinging side wall panels whose top margins self-align when staked in upright positions.

主权项

1. A cargo bed comprising:
a floor for providing underlying support for cargo and at least one side wall panel mounted for swinging about an axis which passes through a bottom margin of the at least one side wall panel parallel such that the at least one side wall panel swings between an upright position which places a top margin of the at least one side wall panel higher than the floor and a non-upright position; the cargo bed further comprising an upwardly open channel which has a length parallel with a side of the floor; at least one stake positioned on the at least one side wall panel to stake and unstake the at least one side wall panel to and from the upwardly open channel; at least one spring mechanism disposed at the bottom margin of the at least one side wall panel at a location above the axis such that the at least one spring mechanism opposes swinging of the at least one side wall panel to the upright position and when the at least one side wall panel is in the upright position, keeps the bottom margin of the at least one side wall panel against a wall of the upwardly open channel; the at least one side wall panel comprising multiple posts disposed perpendicular to the axis; sheeting attached to the multiple posts; and the multiple posts comprising four rectangular tubes, two of the four rectangular tubes are outer end posts and another two of the four rectangular tubes are inner intermediate posts, one of the at least one stake associated with one of the inner intermediate posts, and one of the at least one spring mechanism disposed at the bottom margin of the at least one side wall panel at each outer end post.