BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

THIS invention relates to a hitch assembly. In particular the invention is concerned with a hitch assembly having a hitch ball which can be adjusted vertically in order to accommodate tow hitches of a range of drawbars of various trailer types.

Trailers are normally connected to towing vehicles with the use of a rigid drawbar which includes a tow hitch which can be connected to a hitch ball of a towing vehicle. The hitch ball in turn is normally connected to a tow bar which is secured to the chassis of the towing vehicle. In most instances the hitch ball is permanently secured in one position and can not be adjusted without much effort.

Owners of off-road vehicles will be well aware of the fact that the hitch assemblies of their vehicles often tend to scrape across the ground when undulating off-road terrain is traversed. This occurrence could be deterred if it was readily possible to adjust the position of the hitch assembly relative to the ground.

Various adjustable hitch assemblies are known in the prior art. Due however to a number of factors which include amongst others cost and difficulty of operation, existing adjustable hitch assemblies have not proven to be commercial successes.

It is an object of the invention to address the drawbacks which are typically associated with existing adjustable hitch assemblies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a hitch assembly comprising:

a base member;

a connector formation for connecting the base member to a vehicle; and

- a support member to which a hitch ball can be connected, the support member including an adjustment formation which can cooperate with the connector formation for securing the support member to the base member, the adjustment formation further also defining a first and a second position between which the hitch ball can be adjusted relative to the base member.

Preferably the base member includes a securing formation for securing the support member to the base member.

Typically the adjustment formation comprises a first and a second hole which are sized for holding a portion of the connector formation.

More preferably the connector formation comprises a first and a second connector and the adjustment formation comprises a first and second pair of holes for holding the two connectors, the first and second pair of holes defining the first and second position between which the hitch ball can be adjusted relative to the base member.

Typically the connector is provided in the form of a cap screw or a bolt.

Advantageously the base member includes two legs.

In an embodiment of the invention the securing formation comprises firstly that each leg of the base member includes a hole, the holes being in

register, and secondly a securing pin, the securing pin being suitably sized such that it can be located inside the holes of the legs while spanning the distance between the holes, thereby preventing the connector formation from being removed from the adjustment formation and thus securing the support member to the base member.

Advantageously the securing pin has a head at its one end which is sized such that it can not pass through the holes of the securing formation.

More advantageously the securing pin has a hole towards its other end in which a securing device can be placed for preventing the securing pin from being removed from the holes in the legs of the base member.

In one embodiment of the invention the securing device is provided in the form of a hair pin.

In another embodiment of the invention the securing device is provided in the form of a padlock.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure A shows a standard tow ball and a tow hitch which is to be connected to the tow ball;

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a hitch assembly in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 shows an exploded perspective view of the hitch assembly; and

Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional side view of the hitch assembly along the line 3-3 in Figure 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT

By way of background and with reference to Figure A of the drawings it is pointed out that trailers are normally connected to towing vehicles with the use of a rigid drawbar 1 which includes a tow hitch 2 which can be connected to a hitch ball 3 of a towing vehicle. The hitch ball 3 in turn is normally connected to a tow bar 4 which is secured to the chassis of the towing vehicle.

Figure 1 shows a hitch assembly in accordance with the invention, generally indicated with the reference numeral 10. The hitch assembly 10 comprises a base member 12 which can be secured to the rear of a towing vehicle, not shown, via a connector formation 14. A support member 16 in turn is secured to the base member 12 with the use of a securing formation 18. A standard hitch ball 20 is connected to the support member 16 with the use of two bolts 22 as shown. In use the hitch ball 20 can be hitched to a drawbar of a trailer through the use of a standard tow hitch, not shown.

The invention will now be described with specific reference to Figure 2 of the drawings. From Figure 2 it will be noticed that the base member 12 is substantially U-shaped and comprises two legs 24 and 26 which are connected to each other via a middle portion 28. The middle portion 28 has two holes therein which are shown in broken lines and indicated with the reference numerals 30 and 32 respectively. The holes 30 and 32 are sized and located such that in use the base member 12 can be secured to the rear of a vehicle by aligning the holes 30 and 32 with respective holes of a tow bar of the vehicle, not shown. Once the holes 30 and 32 are aligned with those of the tow bar, the base member 12 is secured to the vehicle with the use of the connector formation 14. The connector formation 14 of the present embodiment comprises a first and a second connector, here

provided in the form of two cap screws bolts 34 and 36. Each connector 34 and 36 of the connector formation 14 has a head indicated with the reference numerals 38 and 40 respectively. Although not shown, it is envisaged that the connectors 34 and 36 could also be provided in the form of bolts.

It is pointed out that in the automotive industry the size and location of the bolts 22 with which the hitch ball 20 can be secured to the tow bar of a vehicle is standardized. The holes 30 and 32 are made to conform to this standard so that the base member 12 can be attached to any standard sized tow bar. In this embodiment the distance between the centre points of the holes are 88.75mm.

The support member 16 of the present embodiment is oblong in shape with the hitch ball 20 being secured towards the bottom thereof. The support member 16 includes an adjustment formation 42 here provided by pairs of holes 42.1 , 42.2, 44.1 , 44.2, ..., 54.1 and 54.2 which are sized and positioned such that each pair respectively can hold the heads 38 and 40 of the connectors 34 and 36. The support member 16 has six hole pairs and consequently defines six positions and therefore six height adjustable positions between which the hitch ball 20 can be adjusted relative to the base member 12 and the ground.

The base member 12 provides a first portion of the securing formation 18 by providing hole pairs 56.1 , 56.2, 58.1 and 58.2 in the legs 24 and 26 respectively. It is pointed out that the holes 56.1 and 58.1 and 56.2 and 58.2 are in register. The securing formation 18 secondly comprises two securing pins 60.1 and 60.2 which are suitably sized such that they can be located inside the holes 56.1 and 58.1 and 56.2 and 58.2 respectively while spanning the distance between these holes, thereby preventing the connectors 34 and 36 of the connector formation 14 being removed from the holes 44.1 and 44.2 of the adjustment formation. This arrangement secures the support member 16 to the base member 12 as is illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawings.

Referring again to Figure 2 of the drawings the securing pins 60.1 and 60.2 is shaped as shown and have heads 62.1 and 62.2 at one of their ends respectively. The heads 62.1 and 62.3 are sized such that they can not pass through the holes 56.1 , 58.1 , 56.2 and 58.2. Towards their other respective ends each of the securing pins 60.1 and 60.2 includes a hole

64.1 and 64.2. The purpose of the holes 64.1 and 64.2 are for holding a securing device 66, here a hair pin, such that when the securing pins 60.1 and 60.2 have been pushed through their respective hole pairs in the legs 24 and 26, the securing device 66 will prevent the securing pins 60.1 and

60.2 from being dislodged from the base member 12.

In order to adjust the position of the hitch ball 20 the securing device 66 is firstly removed from the holes 64.1 and 64.2 wherafter the securing pins 60.1 and 60.2 are slid from the holes 56.1 , 58.1 , 56.1 and 58.2 respectively. The support member 16 can now be removed from the base member 12 by dislodging the connectors 34 and 36 from the holes 44.1 and 44.2. Hereafter an alternative adjustment can be effected by choosing a hole pair of the adjustment formation 42 such that the hitch ball 20 can be located at a height relative to the base member 12 and the ground which is suitable for a particular purpose.

In the event where, for example, the hitch ball 20 is to be located a relative small distance above the ground in order to be connected to a tow hitch of a specific trailer, a user can locate the connectors 34 and 36 inside the holes 54.1 and 54.2 of the adjustment formation 42 respectively. Hereafter the support member 16 can be secured to the base member 12 with the use of the security pins 60.1 and 60.2 and the securing device 66 in the manner described above.

It is envisaged that in order to prevent unauthorised removal of a trailer from a towing vehicle that the hair pin providing the securing device 66 in this embodiment of the invention, can be replaced with a padlock.

The hitch assembly 10 will typically be manufactured from either mild or high tensile steel. It will however be appreciated that the hitch assembly could be produced from a range of materials. In this embodiment the securing pins 60.1 and 60.2 specifically are produced from EN 8 steel.

Although the connectors, security pins and holes of the hitch assembly 10 have each been shown to have a round shape, it will be appreciated that their shape could vary and could for example be hexagonal or square.

The hitch assembly 10 has the advantage that it comprises only a small number of components and can be adjusted with relative ease. The hitch assembly 10 of the invention can furthermore be produced at relative low cost.