FOR (A) HOOKER HITCH

Inventor: Edward Scott Brooker and Larry Glen Carlton, Loxahatchee,

Florida

(B) CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable

(C) FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable. (D) MICROFICHE

Not applicable

(E) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to ball and receiver type trailer hitches and particularly to a safety device for preventing the decoupling of the ball and receiver members.

(2) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The conventional type of trailer hitch that is in widespread use includes a trailer hitch which is mounted on a vehicle which is to tow a trailer. Trailer hitch assemblies are well known in the art. Such assemblies are used with towing vehicles, such as cars and trucks, to allow them to pull towed vehicles, such as boat trailers, pop-up campers and the like, behind them. In general, the trailer has a forward tongue to which a ball receiver is attached thereto. The ball and receiver interface enables a flexible yet typically strong connection between the vehicle and trailer.

If there is a bad coupling between the ball and receiver can result in a decoupling and loss of control over the trailer and/or vehicle. Typically, safety chains are required to at least keep the trailer connected to the vehicle, if such a decoupling has occurred. However, such safety chains are designed to do nothing more than keep the moving vehicle and trailer somewhat connected until the two can be stopped and reconnected.

Because of danger, required that the ball and socket hitch be supplemented by chains that connect the trailer to the vehicle so that should the ball become dislodged from the socket, the trailer and the towing vehicle will remain connected. Thus, the driver of the towing vehicle will retain at least some control over the movement of the trailer, and it is hoped, will be able to bring the trailer and towing vehicle safely to a halt.

Some prior art devices have been described for assisting the driver with this type of maneuver. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,630 to Thompson et al. discloses and claims a hitching assembly having a base plate portion and a hitching portion with guide plates, the hitching portion being insertable by means of a tongue portion that fits into a slotted mounting socket. A similar device is disclosed and claimed in US Patent No. 6,234,510 to Hammons.

U.S. Patent No. 5,584,495, issued Dec. 17, 1996 to Mason, is for a trailer hitch locking assembly, which comprises an assembly for locking a trailer hitch to a trailer ball. The device includes a mounting plate securable between a hitch ball and a vehicle hitch. A trailer tongue securing assembly is pivotally mounted to the mounting plate and can be pivoted over the hitch ball to capture a trailer tongue there between. A ball securing assembly is pivotally mounted to the mounting plate and can be positioned over a mounting shank of the ball to preclude removal of the ball. A lock assembly extends between the ball securing assembly and the trailer tongue securing assembly to preclude unauthorized or unintentional decoupling of the hitch.

An article carrier is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,414 issued to Orlando Deguevara. In this patent, the article carrier is bolted to the end of a unique draw bar which is inserted in a receiver that is mounted on the vehicle. Rotation of the carrier cannot occur due to the structure of the receiver type hitch.

US Patent No. 6,412,314, issued Jul. 2, 2002 to Jenks, discloses a trailer hitch module for engaging a trailer tongue socket includes a base and a ball fixed to the base for engaging a socket cup. A locking arm is provided and pivotally attached to the base so that it is movable in a plane parallel to the base between a close position engaging a protruding lip of the socket in order to prevent removal of the socket from the ball and an open position away from the lip in order to enable removal of socket from the ball. A lock mechanism is provided for securing the locking arm in the closed position.

What is needed is a very sturdy means of securing the ball within the trailer socket which is easy to use and is part of a system which also provides a sturdy and easy to use guide for aligning the ball and socket for interconnection.

Although attempts have been made to produce a trailer decoupling prevention device which eliminates the before-mentioned problems of the safety chains, such attempts have either required a specialized trailer hitch or are difficult and costly to use. Thus, a need exists for a trailer decoupling prevention device which substantially uses a commercially available trailer hitch and trailer to provide a less costly and more desirable trailer decoupling prevention device. It is to such an improved trailer decoupling prevention device which the present invention is directed.

(F) SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a trailer decoupling prevention device for preventing a trailer from decoupling from a trailer hitch mounted on a towing vehicle.

The trailer decoupling prevention device basically comprises an assembly of a round ball or a square ball, a pine hole, a washer, cotter key and a nut.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a trailer hitch assembly with an interchangeable ball that reduces the chance of accident on dent tailgates or bumpers. The ball could be square instead of round to change the trailer neck to square as well.

More specifically, the present invention provides an assembly to hold trailer to the ball. The device holds the trailer to the ball so it could not come off.

It is another object if the present invention is that the ball is a part of assembly to work on neck of the trailer so trailer hooked to the ball.

Yet another object of the present invention is that the size of ball and tongue trailer is fixed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a trailer hitch assembly with an interchangeable ball that can be manufactured inexpensively and is easy to use.

Another advantage of the present invention is that it is easy to use.

An additional advantage of the present invention is that it is relatively simple and inexpensive to operation. In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which follows, and in part will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from that description or recognized by practicing the invention as described herein, including the detailed description which follows, the claims, as well as the appended drawings. IEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the improved trailer hitch for preventing the decoupling of trailer hitch ball during travelling; and FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the decoupling of trailer showing its connection to the trailer hitch ball.

(H) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that the embodiments may be combined, or that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural and logical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate identical, or corresponding parts throughout the figures, and in particular FIGS. 1 & 2 show various embodiments of the elongated luggage handle in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows the prospective view of the trailer decoupling prevention device, equipped with a pyramid hitch ball 1, a tapered pin hole 2, a slotted nut 3, a stud portion 4 of the pyramid ball, a cotter key 5, a pin hole 6 on the draw bar, a tubular member 7 in square shape, an alternate trailer hitch tongue connection 9, a draw bar 10 , a plurality of bolt holes 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, a trailer frame 17, a trailer hitch tongue steel plate 18, and two thrush washers 19.

FIG. 2 shows the trailer decoupling prevention device with pyramid hitch ball 1, a tapered pin hole 2, a tubular member 7 in square shape, a tongue pin key 8, an alternate trailer hitch tongue connection 9, a draw bar 10, a plurality of bolt holes 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, a trailer frame 17, a trailer hitch tongue steel plate 18, a trailer hitch tongue pin 20 and a base plate 21

In an embodiment, the present invention generally designated a trailer decoupling prevention device constructed in accordance with the invention. As illustrated, the trailer decoupling prevention device includes a square tubular member 7 that extends vertically over a trailer pyramid hitch ball 1. The pyramid hitch ball 1 is mounted on a trailer hitch draw bar 10. The pyramid hitch ball 1 also includes a horizontal member base plate 21 having a pair of thrush washers 19.

The decoupling prevention device is retained on the pyramid hitch ball 1 by a trailer hitch tongue pin 20 that extends through aligned holes formed in the square tubular member 7. The trailer hitch tongue pin 20 is secured in position by a tongue pin key 8.

The pyramid hitch ball 1 also includes a stud portion 4 that extends through a hole formed in the draw bar 10. The pyramid hitch ball 1 is secured to the draw bar 10 by a cotter key 5 and washer 19 located on the stud portion 4. As clearly shown in FIG. 2, the hitch tongue pin 20 extends through the tubular member 7 adjacent to the pyramid hitch ball 1, so that the tubular member 7 cannot be dislodged from the trailer pyramid hitch ball 1.

Further in another embodiment, the rectangular, spacer or washer member 19 is located between the slotted nut 3 of the pyramid hitch ball 1 and the top of the draw bar 10. The washer member 19 is configured to fit closely within the tubular member 7. If the tubular member 7 is rectangular configuration, the washer member 19 will also be a mating rectangle. The washer member 19 acts as an anti-rotation member when the tubular member 7 is disposed there over so that the trailer decoupling prevention device cannot rotate about the vertical axis of the pyramid hitch ball 1. It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-discussed embodiments may be used in combination with each other. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description.

While the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it should be understood that the embodiments are illustrative and that the scope of the invention is not limited to these embodiments. Many variations, modifications, additions and improvements to the embodiments described above are possible. It is contemplated that these variations, modifications, additions and improvements fall within the scope of the invention.