An improved trailer hitch is disclosed for coupling a towing vehicle and a trailer. The invention is suitable for accommodating both ball and socket-type couplings and ring and pintle-type couplings. The integral body of the trailer hitch has the known elements of a rear mount for attaching the body to a towing vehicle, a ball housing with a bore for mounting a removable ball stud, a plate for mating with the attachment means of a towed vehicle, and a passage for connecting a latching arm. The improvement comprises four elements. First, the latching arm has a head, having a front face and a rear face, and a pair of substantially parallel legs integrally attached to opposite sides of the head and extending beyond the faces of the head. Each leg has an aperture for mating with the passage of the integral body and engaging a pin. Second, to prevent rotation of the latching arm, a notch on the integral body seats the rear face of the latching arm. Third, a pin is provided for insertion through the apertures of the legs and the passage of the integral body to lock the latching arm in place. This pin engages the final element of the improvement: a locking means prevents the pin from disengaging the apertures and passage. By including an insert into the passage of the integral body, the latching arm can attain multiple fixed positions and the hitch can accommodate a variety of different sized ball couplings.
This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 075,553, filed July 20, 1987, issued on July 4, 1989 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,998, which is a continuation-in-part of pending application Ser. No. 006,473, filed Jan. 23, 1987, abandoned.
A coupling system for attaching a utility item to a vehicle trailer hitch is disclosed. The system provides improved ease of attachment and removal of the utility item to the vehicle trailer hitch. Further, the system allows access to the rear of the vehicle without removal of the utility item from the trailer hitch. The system design also provides reduced movement between the trailer hitch and the utility item.
A theft prevention lock for trailers with socket-type hitches has a first plate element having a base portion and inner and outer ends. An upwardly extending arcuate protrusion is formed on the inner end of the first plate to penetrate the socket of a trailer hitch through an open bottom of the socket. An upwardly extending ear is on the outer end of the base portion and has a aperture therein. A second plate element has a lower end and an upper portion curving upwardly and terminating in a hook element with a lower arcuate portion complimentary in shape to the arcuate portion formed on the inner end of the first plate element. An aperture is in the second plate registering with the aperture in the ear of the first plate. The first and second plates are pivotally connected together. The shape of the first and second plates is such that when the apertures in the plate elements are in a registered position, a slot exists between the lower edge surface of the hook element and the outer edge surface of the arcuate protrusion on the inner end of the first plate. A U-shaped lock bar of a padlock is adapted to extend through the registered apertures in the first and second plates to receive a wall portion of a socket-type hitch.
A pintle hitch guard for protecting a pintle hitch extending from a vehicle. The pintle hitch guard may include a base plate and a loop member fixedly interconnected to the base plate. The loop member may be sized to receive a hook or horn portion of a pintle hitch. The base plate is generally sized to cover the pintle hitch and protect the hitch form rearward impacts. In further arrangements, the hitch guard may also include side plates to protect the pintle hitch from side impacts.
A vertically adjustable hitch having a locking latch. The hitch is quickly adjustable along a vertical hitch bar using pins to secure the hitch. The upper portion of the first end of the body is offset from the center of the mounting base for the hitch in a first direction. The first end of the latch is also offset from the center of the mounting bracket. When the offset latch is secured to the offset, upper portion of the body, the single pivot point of the latch is in the center of the mounting base. The hitch has a locking mechanism which allows the latch to be locked in the open or closed position.
A trailer hitch for resisting inadvertent separation of a trailer tongue coupler from a vehicle's hitch ball. The trailer hitch includes a sleeve, a retainer rotatably disposed within the sleeve and including: a rod rotatably disposed within the sleeve, a displacement member coupled to the rod and extending radially therefrom, and a retaining member coupled to the displacement member and resisting inadvertent separation of the trailer tongue coupler from the vehicle's hitch ball when the retaining member is axially disposed adjacent the vehicle's hitch ball. The sleeve includes a shaft coupler removably coupleable to the vehicle. Further, there is a hitch shaft substantially parallel to the sleeve. Also, the displacement member includes a bent rod and the retaining member includes a disk. Still more, the rod is rotatably coupled to the sleeve by a pair of apertures and a bolt.
