The present invention relates to a clamp member assembly for securing a first component on top of a second component, such as a cantilevered second component.

More particularly the present invention concerns assembling of and securing of a coupling rail for a roll-up truck bed cover to a side wall of a truck bed by means of said clamp member assemblies.

Many existing clamp devices are used in the past to secure a roll-up truck bed cover to an open cargo bed of a motor vehicle, in such instances as the addition of the roll-up truck bed cover after the vehicle has left the factory, thereby upgrading the vehicle off-factory.

Coupling rails for truck bed covers composed of rigid slats of the kind described in e.g. the applicant's Danish patent application nos. PA 201870246 and PA 2019 70310 are secured by means of clamps on top of the side walls of the truck bed.

US patent application no. 2003/0230697 concerns a pivotable clamp for mounting a retractable cover system over the cargo space of a vehicle, such as a roll-up cover for a truck bed, wherein the roll-up cover in itself are comprised of pivotably interconnected rigid slats. This known pivotable clamp is a complicated structure having several clamp members pivotably coupled to each other by means of pivots. This known clamp is expensive, not only to manufacture due to the many molds and the amount of metal, but also due to the time needed to assemble the many sub-components correctly. Furthermore this known clamp is heavy to mount.

US patent no. 5,827,026 relates to a device for attaching objects together. A main body of the attachment device has a U- shaped cross section with an upper portion, a lower portion, and a rear portion. In normal use, a first object is inserted between the upper and lower portions. A hole is provided on both the upper and lower portions for receiving a bolt or screw to secure an object inside the U-shape and to secure an object exterior to the upper portion. This known attachment device can only attach objects parallel to the upper and lower portions and only objects limited to entering the gap between the lower and upper portions. This known attachment device cannot couple a coupling rail for a roll-up truck bed cover to a side wall of a truck bed because descending legs of the side wall of the bed rail of the truck bed extends perpendicular to the coupling rail placed on top of the bed rail.

In a main aspect the present invention aims to remedy at least some of the disadvantages and challenges of the prior art clamp members.

In a further aspect of the present invention is provided a clamp member assembly of the kind mentioned in the opening paragraph, which clamp member assembly is easy to install, in particular being easy to install to secure a coupling rail of a roll-up bed cover to the side wall of a vehicle.

In a further aspect of the present invention is provided a clamp member assembly of the kind mentioned in the opening paragraph, which clamp member assembly is comprised of very few sub-components.

In a further aspect of the present invention is provided a clamp member assembly of the kind mentioned in the opening paragraph, which clamp member assembly has no pivots or hinges.

In a further aspect of the present invention is provided a clamp member assembly of the kind mentioned in the opening paragraph, which clamp member assembly has spring properties. In a further aspect of the present invention is provided a clamp member assembly of the kind mentioned in the opening paragraph, which clamp member assembly is a non-drill clamp-on system.

In a further aspect of the present invention is provided a clamp member assembly of the kind mentioned in the opening paragraph, which clamp member assembly is configured for securing a coupling rail for a roll-up truck bed cover to the bed rail of a truck bed, in a configuration wherein the coupling rail is placed on top of the bed rail.

The novel and unique features whereby these and other aspects are achieved according to the present inventions consist in that the clamp member assembly comprises at least a spring clamp member comprised of - a U-bend lower spring part comprising an interior lower spring leg section,

- an exterior lower spring leg section that via a U- bend spring section extends into the interior lower spring leg section,

- an adjustable spring gap delimited between said interior lower spring leg section and said exterior lower spring leg section, and a tensioning member operatively connected to said interior lower spring leg section and said exterior lower spring leg section, and being adapted for adjusting the size of the adjustable spring gap, an upper spring part comprising an interior upper spring leg section, and an exterior upper spring leg section, wherein the interior lower spring leg section extends into an interior upper spring leg section adapted to be secured to the first component, and the exterior lower spring leg section extends into an exterior upper spring leg section adapted to engage/disengage the second component by operating the tensioning member to secure the first component to the second component.

In the context of the present invention the terms "interior" and "exterior", when used in combination with a component or feature, are mainly used to indicate that the clamp member assembly has two different leg sections. The different leg sections of the clamp member assembly are in extension of each other following different courses, and are intended to have different orientations in use. The "interior" leg sections are the sections of the spring clamp member facing the second component, such as a side wall of a truck bed, whereas the "exterior" leg sections faces away from the second component, such as towards the cargo space of the truck bed.

In the context of the present invention the term "angle" in relation to two consecutive leg sections refers to the smallest angle between said consecutive leg sections. Thus the reference to the "angle" is to the smallest angle, whether it be the exterior angle or the exterior angle between two legs section in angular extension of each other.

In the context of the present invention the term "truck", "truck bed", etc. is used in a non-limiting way in relation to the preferred uses for the clamp member assembly. Other kinds of vehicles and structures where a rigid cover that requires coupling rails to be mounted for making the bed cover retractable and to be rolled-up is however also intended within the scope of the present invention.

Operation of the tensioning member can move the interior lower spring leg section and the exterior lower spring leg section closer together and further apart. When the spring gap is adjusted the interior upper spring leg section moves in relation to the interior upper spring leg section. Reducing the spring gap results in movement of the spring leg sections so that the exterior upper spring leg section moves upwards and/or forward and the interior upper spring leg section simultaneously moves downwards and/or backwards. Increasing the spring gap by loosening tension of the tensioning member results in the opposite movements so that the exterior upper spring leg section moves downwards and/or backwards thereby disengaging the second component, and the interior upper spring leg section simultaneously moves upwards and/or forward thereby loosing pulling power on the first component.

In the installed position of the clamp member assembly on both a truck bed side wall and a coupling rail for a truck bed cover the general orientation of the clamp member assembly will be substantially vertical so that the interior upper spring leg section and the exterior upper spring leg section are moved up and down when the tensioning member is operated.

Advantageously the interior upper spring leg section may have an upright first interior upper leg part that forms a first angle with the interior lower spring leg section opposite the U-bend spring section, and a first interior upper leg part that extends cantilevered from the upright first interior upper leg part via a second angle away from the exterior lower spring leg section.

The upright first interior upper leg part may increase the overall length of the spring clamp member to a length that arranges the tensioning member a suitable distance from the first component, which distance provides sufficient space for the tensioning member to be free to be operated and manipulated manually. The first angle turns the upright first interior upper leg part away from the exterior lower spring leg section. So when the clamp member assembly is installed on e.g. a vehicle bed, such as a truck bed, the upright first interior upper leg part may be substantially perpendicularly suspended, typically below an upper edge projection of a vehicle side wall, such as a truck bed side wall, which upper edge projection faces towards the opposite side wall of the vehicle, e.g. the opposite truck bed side wall.

The cantilevered first interior upper leg part may serve as an expedient angle brace for mounting the clamp member assembly detachably to the first component, directly or via one or more intermediate components, such as spacers, damping members, extenders or gaskets.

In a similar manner the exterior upper spring leg section may have a first exterior upper leg part that forms a third angle with the exterior lower spring leg section opposite the U- bend spring section to arrange the first exterior upper leg part in the direction towards the upright first interior upper leg part, the first exterior upper leg part extends into an upright second exterior upper leg part via a fourth angle, the upright second exterior upper leg part extends into a third exterior upper leg part via a fifth angle, the fifth angle turns the third exterior upper leg part away from the first exterior upper leg part, the third exterior upper leg part extends into an upright fourth exterior upper leg part via a sixth angle, and the upright fourth exterior upper leg part has a free exterior end.

The third angle turns the first exterior upper leg part against the upright first interior upper leg part. When the first exterior lower leg part is pushed towards the first exterior lower leg part by operating the tensioning member the upright second exterior upper leg part is, due to the fourth angle, capable of being moved towards the upright first interior upper leg part and to slide substantially parallel to said upright first interior upper leg part whereby the upright first interior upper leg part is pulled down, and so is the first component, such as a coupling rail of a roll-up truck bed cover, due to the first component being secured to the cantilevered first interior upper leg part. At the same time the upright second exterior upper leg part is pushed up to engage the second component, e.g. a side wall of the vehicle. Due to the fifth angle and the sixth angle the upright fourth exterior upper leg part is arranged a suitable distance from the upright first interior upper leg part that allows the free end of the fourth exterior upper leg part to apply an upwards force to the second component with the final result that the clamp member assembly secures the first component to the second component quickly and easily. In use to secure a coupling rail to the free upper edge of the side wall of a truck bed the upright second exterior upper leg part and the upright first interior upper leg part may clamp on opposite sides of descending leg(s) of a cantilevered bed rail of the side wall.

The design of the clamp member assembly is unique. Moving of the opposite lower leg sections makes the clamp member assembly generally self-tensioning in response to operating the tensioning member.

In a very simple embodiment the tensioning member is a screw means, e.g. a screw means that can be turned using a wrench, a spanner, or an Allen key. No holes need to be drilled in either of the first component or the second component.

The interior lower spring leg section and the exterior lower spring leg section may be substantially parallel in the non- biased condition, however according to the constructor's choice said leg sections may also converge or diverge in the non- biased condition. Due to the first angle, the third angle and the fourth angle of the clamp member assembly the spring clamp member turns away from the second component, e.g. the truck bed side wall, when the clamp member assembly is mounted to said second component, whereby the spring clamp member protrudes below the first component. So the spring clamp member may protrude below e.g. the part of the coupling rail for the roll up truck bed cover that protrudes laterally above the cargo space and serves for mounting the interconnected array of rigid slats, that constitutes the roll-up truck bed cover, to the truck bed side wall.

The clamp member assembly may further comprise an intermediate component that facilitates firm securing of the spring clamp member to the first component. Such an intermediate component can e.g. be a mounting member having a first mounting part adapted for securing to the first interior upper leg part and a second mounting part adapted for engaging the first component, such as being configured to engage a bottom groove or track of a coupling rail for receiving the roll-up truck bed cover, when the coupling rail of the roll-up truck bed cover is to be secured to the wall of the truck bed.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention the mounting member may be made of a resilient material.

The mounting member makes the spring clamp member suited for use with different coupling rails in that various individual mounting members can be used with one and the same spring clamp member of the clamp member assembly. This way the number of different subparts for different truck beds and different truck bed covers are substantially reduced. The garage and mechanic need not keep a huge number of different clamp member assembly structures on stock, and the car owner need not wait a long time for special spare parts to have his/her truck bed cover properly mounted. Due to the spring properties of the spring clamp member the spring clamp member adapts to different truck bed designs. Only the small mounting member may be different for different coupling rail designs. For most uses the first mounting part will be the same for different applications.

The first interior upper leg part may have a first screw hole, and the mounting member may have at least one second screw hole axially aligned or alignable with the first screw hole for said first and second screw holes in common receiving a first screw member. If said first screw hole and said at least one second screw hole is not aligned sufficiently to receive the first screw member, the mounting member can simply be slide from side to side until correct alignment is achieved.

The interior lower spring leg section may have a third screw hole, the exterior lower spring leg section may have a fourth screw hole axially aligned with the third screw hole for said third and fourth screw holes in common receiving a tensioning member, e.g. in form of a second screw member across the adjustable spring gap.

The above-mentioned angles arrange the tensioning member, e.g. the second screw member, with the head on the exterior lower spring leg section closer to the coupling rail than the tip of the second screw member that passes through the fourth screw hole in interior lower spring leg section.

In the non-biased condition of the spring clamp member the interior lower spring leg section and the exterior lower spring leg section may, as mentioned above, be substantially parallel. A screw axis through the third screw hole and through the fourth screw hole may then be substantially perpendicular to the interior lower spring leg section and the exterior lower spring leg section, respectively. In a preferred embodiment of the clamp member assembly of the present invention the first angle, the third angle and the fourth angle are more than 90°, thus obtuse, optionally blunt.

Preferably the first angle and the fourth angle have same or different size and are between 130° and 160°, more preferred between 135° and 155°, and most preferred between 138° and 152°.

Preferably the third angle is smaller than one or both of the first angle and the fourth angle. So preferably the third angle is above 90° and below 130°, more preferred between 95° and 125°, and most preferred between 100° and 120°.

Preferably the second angle is about 85° and 100°, preferably about 90°. Preferably the fifth angle is about 80° and 110°, preferably between 85° and 105°, such as about between 90° to 100°, such as about 95°. Preferably the sixth angle is about 75° and 95°, preferably between 80° and 90° so that the interior upper spring leg section and the second exterior upper leg part are substantially parallel, optionally converge slightly.

A resilient mounting member is gentle to the surrounding components and provides in itself, due to its compressibility, a frictional engagement, so that the clamp member assembly does not move unintended along the side wall and the coupling rail, e.g. during driving, or if influenced by other kinds of external forces.

An additional friction between the first interior upper leg part and the mounting member can be obtained if the free upper surface of the first interior upper leg part has a first friction means and a free lower surface of the first mounting part has a second friction means. The first and second friction means can e.g. be a roughened or serrated surface topography.

In the alternative the first interior upper leg part may have a free upper surface in form of an upper engagement surface provided with one or more beads for improved frictional engagement with the mounting member.

A mounting groove that may extend along the width of the mounting member may have an exterior groove part that defines an entry opening for insertion of a lateral coupling web of the coupling rail, which exterior groove part may extend into a narrower interior groove part. The exterior groove part may thus be wider than the interior groove part for facilitated insertion of the lateral coupling web, while at the same time the narrower interior groove part restricts unintended displacement of the lateral coupling web during mounting of the clamp member assembly. The different sizes of exterior groove part and interior groove part may also be an advantage when mounting the clamp member assembly to lateral coupling webs of different thicknesses.

In a preferred embodiment the first mounting part may have two second screw holes to provide two different options for positioning the mounting member in relation to the spring clamp member. The first screw hole of the first interior upper leg part can be aligned with any of the second screw holes of the mounting member simply by moving said mounting member from side to side thereby allowing a first screw to be screwed into any of the second holes to make the best fitting of the clamp member assembly to the truck bed.

When the first mounting part has two second screw holes that are offset along the depth of the mounting member, thus offset crosswise of the width of the mounting member, the mounting process is less sensitive in relation to the clamp member assembly to be able to fit together with various different structural designs and dimensions of the first and second component.

For use to secure roll-up truck bed covers to truck beds to retractably cover the cargo space of the truck the first component may be a coupling rail for a roll-up truck bed cover and the second component may be the side wall of a truck bed.

The invention will now be described in further details with references to the drawing in which fig. 1 is plane view of a side wall of a truck bed, where the side wall of the truck bed has a coupling rail mounted on top of its free edge by means of a first embodiment of a clamp member assembly of the present invention, fig. 2 is an enlarged scale view of the fragment framed by the box seen in fig. 1, fig. 3 is an enlarged scale fragmentary end view of fig. 1, fig. 4 shows the same but without the side wall of the truck bed, fig. 5 shows the first embodiment of a spring clamp member seen in fig. 4 from the side to illustrate the different curvatures of the opposite leg sections, fig. 6 shows the same in a perspective view seen from the exterior spring leg sections, fig. 7 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a mounting member seen from the interior section, fig. 8 is a side view corresponding to the side view seen in fig. 5, but of a second embodiment of a spring clamp member, fig. 9 shows in perspective exploded view and slightly from above a second embodiment of a clamp member assembly of the present invention implementing the second embodiment of a spring clamp member and a second embodiment of a mounting member, fig. 10 shows the same in an exploded view slightly from below, fig. 11 shows the same in assembed state, fig. 12 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of a mounting member seen from the side facing the side wall of the truck bed, fig. 13 is a sectional view taken along line XIII-XIII in fig. 12, and fig. 14 is a sectional view taken along line XIV-XIV in fig. 12.

Below the inventions are described in relation to preferred embodiments under the assumption that the first component is a coupling rail for a roll-up truck bed cover, and that the second component is the side wall of the truck bed. It is emphasized that the design of the coupling rail and of the side wall are examples, and that other designs and uses are within the scope of the present invention. Replacing the mounting members shown in the figures with other mounting members suited for engaging another coupling rail designs make the spring clamp members extremely versatile in use.

Fig. 1 shows the side wall 1 of a truck bed. The side wall 1 has an inner bed structure 2 having a first bed rail 3a on which a second bed rail 3b of the exterior bed side 4 is hanging. The first bed rail 3a and second bed rail 3b are seen best in fig. 3. The exterior bed side 4 is thus cantilevered towards the cargo space of the truck bed to provide a free side wall edge 5 onto which a coupling rail 6 can be arranged and secured by means of a first embodiment of a clamp member assembly 7, as shown in the enlarged scale view of fig. 2 of the framed box in fig. 1, and in the end view of fig. 3.

Fig. 4 corresponds to fig. 3 but the side wall of the truck bed has been removed for visual purposes to better illustrate the structure of the first embodiment of a clamp member assembly 7 and how the first embodiment of a clamp member assembly 7 is secured to the coupling rail 6.

The first embodiment of a clamp member assembly 7 comprises a first embodiment of a spring clamp member 8 that is secured to the coupling rail 6 by means of a first embodiment of a mounting member 9 and a first screw 10. The first embodiment of a mounting member 9 has a first mounting part 11 in extension of a second mounting part 12. A mounting groove 13, which serves to receive a lateral coupling web 14 of the coupling rail 6, is delimited between the first mounting part 11 and the second mounting part 12. Opposite the mounting groove 13 the mounting member 9 has a mounting web 15 that engages a coupling groove 16 of the coupling rail 6.

The first embodiment of a spring clamp member 8 has a U-bend lower spring part 17, which includes an interior lower spring leg section 18, and an exterior lower spring leg section 19 that via a U-bend spring section 20 extends into the interior lower spring leg section 18. An adjustable spring gap 21 is delimited between said interior lower spring leg section 18 and said exterior lower spring leg section 19. A tensioning member in form of a second screw 22 extends through a third screw hole 23 in the interior lower spring leg section 18 and a fourth screw hole 24 in the exterior lower spring leg section 19 to reduce or increase the size of the spring gap 21 for the opposite interior lower spring leg section 18 and exterior lower spring leg section 19 to clamp around the adjacent free descending leg 25a of the first bed rail 3a and the free descending leg 25b of the second bed rail 3b, as seen best in fig. 3, and whereby a free exterior end 26 of an exterior upper spring leg section 27 can be arranged inside the channel cavity 27 of the first bed rail 3a. In the situation shown in figs. 4 and 5 the interior lower spring leg section 18 and the exterior lower spring leg section 19 are substantially parallel, and an axis X extends perpendicularly through both the third screw hole 23 and the fourth screw hole 24.

The interior lower spring leg section 18 extends into an interior upper spring leg section 28 adapted to be secured to the coupling rail 6 via the mounting member 9 by means of the first screw 10.

As seen in the views of figs. 5 and 6 the interior upper spring leg section 28 has an upright first interior upper leg part 29 that forms a first angle a with the interior lower spring leg section 18 opposite the U-bend spring section 20. A first interior upper leg part 30 extends cantilevered from the upright first interior upper leg part 29 via a second angle b away from the exterior lower spring leg section 19. The first interior upper leg part 30 has an upper engagement surface 31, that has a serrated upper surface 31a for improved frictional engagement with the mounting member 9, and a first screw hole 32 for receiving the first screw 10.

The exterior upper spring leg section 27 has a first exterior upper leg part 33 that forms a third angle d with the exterior lower spring leg section 19 opposite the U-bend spring section 20 thereby arranging the first exterior upper leg part 33 facing towards the upright first interior upper leg part 29. The first exterior upper leg part 33 extends into an upright second exterior upper leg part 34 via a fourth angle g, and the upright second exterior upper leg part 34 extends into a third exterior upper leg part 35 via a fifth angle f. The fifth angle f turns the third exterior upper leg part 35 away from first exterior upper leg part 33 to extend via a sixth angle q into an upright fourth exterior upper leg part 36 having a free exterior end 26.

In fig. 7 the first embodiment of a mounting member 9 is illustrated from below. The first embodiment of a mounting member 9 has a second screw hole 37 in the first mounting part 11, which in alignment with the first screw hole 32, receives the first screw 10 to secure the first embodiment of a clamp member assembly 7 to the first component. The first mounting part 11 has a serrated first mounting surface 38 for engaging the serrated upper surface 31a of the first interior upper leg part 30, and the second mounting part 12 has a serrated second mounting surface 39 to engage corresponding means on the lateral coupling web 14 of the coupling rail 6.

As shown in figs. 4 and 5 by turning the second screw 22 the spring gap 21 can be reduced or increased.

When the spring gap 21 is reduced by moving the upright second exterior upper leg part 34 in the direction B1 the first interior upper leg part 30 moves vertically downwards, as indicated by arrow Al, bringing along the coupling rail to which the first interior upper leg part 30 is firmly secured by means of the first screw 10. The first interior upper leg part 30 cannot move laterally in relation to the coupling rail 6. At the same time the upright second exterior upper leg part 34 moves in the direction Cl towards the upright first interior upper leg part 29 to clamp against the free descending leg 25a of the first bed rail 3a (not shown in fig. 5). At the same time the free exterior end 26 of the exterior upper spring leg section 27 moves upwards in the direction D1 inside the channel cavity 27 of the overlapping bed rails 3a;3b, as indicated by arrow Dl. So as a result of turning the second screw 22 to reduce the spring gap 21 the first embodiment of a spring clamp assembly 7 pulls the coupling rail 6 downwards and the upright second exterior upper leg part 34 to engage the descending leg of the first bed rail 3a thereby firmly securing the coupling rail 6 on top of the truck bed side wall 2,4 in a detachable manner, and without drilling holes in the truck bed.

The spring gap 21 is increased by turning the second screw 22 in the opposite direction than the direction used to reduce the spring gap 21. In doing so the upright second exterior upper leg part 34 moves in the direction B2, whereby the first interior upper leg part 30 is relieved to move vertically upwards, as indicated by arrow A2. At the same time the upright second exterior upper leg part 34 is also relieved to move in the direction C2 away from the upright first interior upper leg part 29 to release the clamping force against the free descending leg of the first bed rail whereby the free exterior end 26 of the exterior upper spring leg section 27 moves downwards in the direction D2. When the first screw 10 has been released the rest of the clamp member assembly 7 can be removed.

Fig. 8 is a side view corresponding to the side view seen in fig. 5, but of a second embodiment of a spring clamp member 8'. The second embodiment of a spring clamp member 8' corresponds substantially to the first embodiment of a spring clamp member 8 both structurally and functionally. Similar parts are indicated by same reference numerals but with apostrophes, to illustrate potential deviations in e.g. lengths and curvatures. The second embodiment of a spring clamp member 8' has a U-bend lower spring part 17', which includes an interior lower spring leg section 18', and an exterior lower spring leg section 19' that via a U-bend spring section 20' extends into the interior lower spring leg section 18'. An adjustable spring gap 21' is thereby delimited between said interior lower spring leg section 18' and said exterior lower spring leg section 19'.

As seen best in figs. 9, 10 and 11 a tensioning member in form of a second screw 22 extends through a first washer 40, then through a third screw hole 23' in the interior lower spring leg section 18', out through a fourth screw hole 24' in the exterior lower spring leg section 19', and through a second washer 41 on the exterior side of the exterior lower spring leg section 19'. A screw nut 41 is then mounted at the free end of the second screw 22 to tighten more or less against the second washer 41 in order to reduce or increase the size of the spring gap 21' thereby arranging a free exterior end 26' of an exterior upper spring leg section 27' firmly inside the channel cavity 27 of the first bed rail 3a, as described above for the first embodiment of a spring clamp member 8.

The interior upper spring leg section 28' is adapted to be secured to the coupling rail 6 via a second embodiment of a mounting member 9'.

The interior upper spring leg section 28' has an upright first interior upper leg part 29' that forms a first angle a' with the interior lower spring leg section 18' opposite the U-bend spring section 20'. A first interior upper leg part 30' extends cantilevered from the upright first interior upper leg part 29' via a second angle b' away from the exterior lower spring leg section 19'. The second angle b of the first embodiment of a spring clamp member 8 is substantially the same as the second angle b' of the second embodiment of a spring clamp member 8'.

The second embodiment of a spring clamp member 8' differs from the first embodiment of a spring clamp member 8 in that the first angle a' of the second embodiment of a spring clamp member 8' is smaller than the first angle a of the first embodiment of the spring clamp member 8, whereby the majority of the U-bend spring section 20' is turned further into position below the first interior upper leg part 30' than the U-bend spring section 20 of the first embodiment of the spring clamp member 8 is turned below the first interior upper leg part 30 of said first embodiment of the spring clamp member 8.

The first interior upper leg part 30' has an upper engagement surface 31' and a first screw hole 32' for receiving the first screw 10. A third washer 43 is inserted between the head 44 of the first screw 10 and the first interior upper leg part 30'.

Instead of a serrated surface the free upper surface 45 of the first interior upper leg part 30' has two upright protruding beads 46a,46b to create friction against the second embodiment of a mounting member 9', the configuration of which will be described more fully in relation to figs. 9 - 14.

The exterior upper spring leg section 21 has a first exterior upper leg part 33', which is longer than the corresponding first exterior upper leg part 33 of the first embodiment of a spring clamp member 8, and forms a third angle d', which, due to the longer length, is slightly larger than the third angle d of the first embodiment of a spring clamp member 8.

The first exterior upper leg part 33' extends into an upright second exterior upper leg part 34' via a fourth angle g', and the upright second exterior upper leg part 34' extends into a third exterior upper leg part 35' via a fifth angle f'. The fifth angle f' turns the third exterior upper leg part 35' away from first exterior upper leg part 33' to extend via a sixth angle q' into an upright fourth exterior upper leg part 36' having a free exterior end 26'. The fourth angle g', the fifth angle f', and the sixth angle q' can be of substantially same size as the corresponding angles of the first embodiment of the spring clamp member 8.

The respective, interior surfaces of the respective interior lower spring leg section 18' and the exterior lower spring leg section 19' facing each other, each have two parallel reinforcing ribs 47a,47b;48a,48b. Furthermore the second angle b' between the interior upper spring leg section 28' and the first interior upper leg part 30' is enforced by spaced apart brace members 49a,49b, to further strengthen the dimensional stability of the second embodiment of a spring clamp member 8'. Reducing and increasing the spring gap 21' takes place as described for the first embodiment of a spring clamp member 8.

The exterior upper spring leg section 27' has, in the embodiment shown, an identifier, in the present case a number, that helps the mechanic or other person, to choose the correct clamp member assembly for a given truck bed and roll-up truck bed cover.

The second embodiment of a mounting member 9' has a first mounting part 11' in extension of a second mounting part 12'. A mounting groove 13', which serves to receive a lateral coupling web 14 of the coupling rail 6, is delimited between the first mounting part 11' and the second mounting part 12'. Opposite the mounting groove 13' the mounting member 9' has a mounting web 15' that serves to engage a coupling groove 16 of the coupling rail 6. As seen best in figs. 12 the mounting groove 13' is stepped. Along the width of the mounting member 9', the mounting groove 13' has a wide exterior groove part 50 that defines an entry opening 51 for insertion of the lateral coupling web 14 of the coupling rail 6, as illustrated in fig. 4. The exterior groove part 50 extends into a narrower interior groove part 52.

As seen in e.g. figs. 12 - 14 the second embodiment of a mounting member 9' differs from the first embodiment of a mounting member 9 in that the first mounting part 11' has two offset second screw holes 37a,37b to be brought in alignment with the first screw hole 32' of the first interior upper leg part 30'. It is a matter of choice of which of the second screw holes 37a,37b that provides the best fixation of the clamp member assembly 7' seen in fig. 11 to different first components and second components. Thus depending on the configuration of the first component and second component one of the second screw holes 37a,37b may fit the best.

For the present second embodiment of a mounting member 9' the second screw holes 37a,37b are offset in relation to the mounting web 15' as well as offset along a lengthwise axis of the mounting web 15', thus also offset along the width of the second embodiment of a mounting member 9'.

The first mounting part 11' has a serrated first mounting surface 38' for engaging the beads 46a,46b of the first interior upper leg part 30'.

The spring clamp member of the present invention is configured to receive at least one bed rail of the truck bed side wall between the upper spring leg sections of the upper spring part and the mounting member is configured to secure to the coupling rail. The spring gap between the upper spring leg sections constitutes a constriction in extension of the lower spring parts that allows a pressure to be applied to a vertical object, while at the same time the mounting member receives another object substantially at a right angle to the vertical object.