Collapsible canopy for pick-up trucks

Claim 1

A collapsible canopy in combination with a pick-up truck, the truck being of the type having a cab and cargo bay, the cargo bay bounded by a pair of spaced-apart panels, the cab and an end gate, comprising: a track removably mounted on an upper edge of each side panel of the cargo bay; a flexible sheet-material cover for selectively, covering said cargo bay; a firt rib, for supporting one edge of said cover, having a leg slidably mounted on each said tracks, and having means for maintaining said rib in a vertical plane; a second rib, for supporting an opposing edge of said cover, having a leg mounted on the upper edge of each side panel of the cargo bay, said second rib being mounted in a vertical plane forward of said first rib, said vertical plane being toward said cab; two rack and pinion means, the rack elements thereof each facing the cargo bay and affixed in meshing engagement with said tracks, each pinion element thereof having a vertical shaft axially affixed to its upper side, and each said shaft being rotatably mounted to a leg of said first rib; and universal shaft means for connecting each end of an axle to an adjacent free end of said pinion gear shafts, said universal shaft means being a resilient flexible hose, whereby movement of one leg of said first rib results in rotation of one pinion along its rack which will simultaneously transfer rotation through said axle to the other vertical shaft and to the attached other pinion and maintain said first rib in transverse perpendicular alignment while the canopy is collapsed or expanded by moving said one leg of said first rib.