Quickly detachable hinge for truck body tailgate

Claim 1

The combination with the tailgate of a truck body which has side walls and a floor and in which the lower edge portion of the tailgate is pivoted adjacent the rear end of the truck body for swinging movement between an upright closed position and an approximately horizontal open position in which it is flush with the truck body floor and extends rearwardly therefrom and in which readily releasable means normally limits downward swinging movement of the tailgate to the substantially horizontal position; of a cylindrical receptacle in each end of the tailgate near the lower edge thereof; and a two part hinge pivotally connecting each end of said tailgate with a side wall of the truck body each hinge comprising a cylindrical bearing tube having in its wall a longitudinal slot extending from its outer end toward its inner end; and a base member of larger over all diameter than the bearing tube rigid with the inner end portion of each bearing tube and serving as a base for the bearing tube, each base member being dimensioned so it fits tightly within and is retained within the cylindrical receptacle in an end of the tailgate; and a hinge stud part comprising a mounting plate secured to the side wall of the truck body, and a flat hinge stud rigid with and extending perpendicularly from said mounting plate, said flat hinge stud being dimensioned so it can be passed transversely through said slot into and out of said bearing tube when it is in edgewise registration with said slot and is rotatively confined within said bearing tube when it is offset from a position of edgewise registration with said slot, said stud and the slot in said bearing tube being relatively positioned so the bearing stud is in edgewise registration with the slot when the tailgate is inclined downwardly at a substantial angle below its normal substantially horizontal position.