AU2014100320A4 - A towing accessory - Google Patents

Abstract

A towing accessory comprising a mount including a base and a first engagement member and a guide including a pair of wings and a second 5 engagement member, the guide being removably mounted to the mount by engagement of the first engagement member with the second engagement member wherein the base includes at least one projection located on a bottom face of the mount. 30

Description

TITLE "A TOWING ACCESSORY" FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a towing accessory. In particular 5 the invention resides in a two hitch accessory for guiding a tow hitch over a tow ball of a tow bar. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Tow hitch accessories that enable drivers of a vehicle to align the hitch of a trailer over a tow ball of a tow bar have become 10 popular with many trailer owners. One very popular towing accessory is described in US Patent No. 5,697,630. The tow hitch assembly shown in US Patent No. 5,697,630 is a two part towing accessory which includes a mount which is used to mount a removable guide. The mount is sandwiched between the tow ball 15 and the tow bar. The guide includes two splayed wings which are arranged in a V-shape. The removable guide has a tongue which is located in a slot which forms part of the mount. In use, a driver reverses a vehicle until the hitch of the trailer contacts one of the wings. As the vehicle continues to reverse, the hitch is guided by the wing until it is 20 positioned over the top of the tow ball. Generally, the towing accessory shown in US Patent No. 5,697,630 is very effective in aligning a trailer hitch above a tow ball. However some drivers are more vigorous than others when reversing a vehicle causing the vehicle to contact the wing with a large force. This 25 can lead to the mount being rotated with respect to the tow bar leaving the wings orientated in a skewed position which is undesirable. In order to align mount in the desired orientation, the tow ball must be loosed, the mount repositioned in the correct position and the tow bar tightened. This can be time consuming and requires appropriate tools (such as a 30 spanner). If the tools are not available then the tow hitch assembly is rendered useless. The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion 2 that the prior art forms part of the common general knowledge. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to overcome and/or alleviate one or more of the above disadvantages and/or provide the consumer 5 with a useful or commercial choice. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one form, although not necessarily the only or broadest form, the invention resides in a towing accessory comprising: a mount including a base and a first engagement member; 10 and a guide including a pair of wings and a second engagement member; the guide being removably mounted to the mount by engagement of the first engagement member with the second 15 engagement member, wherein the base includes at least one projection located on a bottom face of the mount. The first engagement member is typically a female engagement member whilst the second engagement member typically is a 20 male engagement member. Normally the first engagement member includes a slot whilst the second engagement member includes a tongue. Normally there are at least two projections. Preferably there are at least four projections. 25 Preferably the width of at least one end of the wing is slightly smaller than the length of the slot of the first engagement member. A locking hole may be located adjacent an end of the wing. In another form, the invention resides in a method of operating a locating a method of attaching a mount of a tow hitch 30 assembly to a tow bar, the method include the steps of: placing a threaded ended of a tow ball through the mount and through the tow bar; 3 placing a nut onto the threaded end of the tow ball; tightening the nut until at least one projection located on a bottom face of the mount deforms the tow bar. Further forms and features of the present invention will 5 become apparent from the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a towing accessory attached to a tow bar assembly; FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a towing accessory and a tow bar 10 assembly; FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a mount and a tow bar assembly; FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a mount attached to a tow bar assembly; FIG. 5 is a tow pitch assembly in a guiding position; and 15 FIG. 6 is a tow pitch assembly in a security position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG 1 and 2 show a towing accessory 100 attached to a tow bar assembly 10 for guiding a hitch of a trailer or the like vehicle above a tow ball on a tow bar. 20 The tow bar assembly 10 is a standard tow bar assembly 10 that is found on many modern day vehicles. The tow bar assembly 10 includes a tow bar 20 and a tow ball 30. The tow bar 6 extends rewardly from a vehicle from which is it attached. A tow bar hole 21 is located through the tow bar 20. The tow ball 30 includes a main body 31 to which 25 a trailer hitch is attached and a threaded shank 32 to which a nut 40 is attached. When typically assembled, the threaded shank 32 of the tow ball 30 extends through the tow ball hole 21 of the tow bar 20. The nut 40 is then attached to the threaded shaft 32 and tightened to hold the main body 31 of the tow ball 3 to the tow bar. 30 The towing accessory 100 is formed a mount 110 and a guide 120 that can be removably interlocked. Both the mount 110 and the guide 120 are from steel. However it should be appreciated that the 4 mount 110 and/or guide 120 may be made from other suitable materials that would be evident to a person skilled in the art. The mount 110 has a base 111 from which extends a first engagement member 112. The base 111 has a tow ball aperture 113 that 5 extends through the base 111. The tow ball aperture 113 is substantially oval in shape. Four projections 114 extending outwardly from a bottom face of the base 111. The projections are formed by punching a top face of the base 111. Accordingly, four punch indentations 115 are located on the top face of the base 111. 10 The first engagement member 112 is formed from a frame 116 that extends upwardly from the base 111 to form a slot 117. The guide 120 is formed from a pair of wings 121 which are attached to a second engagement member 125. The pair of wings 121 are splayed with respect to each other in a V-shape. The wings 121 are 15 integrally formed. An end of one of the wings 121 is of a reduced width in comparison to the remainder of the wing 121. The width of the end of the wing 121 is slightly small than the length of the slot 117 of the first engagement member. A locking hole 122 is located within the end of the wing that has the reduced width. It should be appreciated that both wings 20 121 may have an end of a reduced width and a locking hole 122 located adjacent the end of each wing 121. The second engagement member 125 is in the form of a tongue 126 which is attached to the rear of the wings 126. The width of the tongue 126 is slightly smaller than the length of the slot 117 of the 25 frame 116. In order to attach the guide 120 to the mount 110, the tongue 126 of the guide 120 is placed within the slot 117 of the mount as shown in FIG. 1. The guide 120 can be removed and stored until its use is required. 30 In order to install the mount 110 on the tow bar assembly 10, the tow ball 30 is removed from the tow bar 20 by undoing the nut 40 from the threaded shank 32 of the tow ball 31. The tow ball 30 is then 5 removed from the tow bar 20 as shown in FIG. 3. The mount 10 is then located on the tow bar 10 in its desired orientation. That is, the tow ball aperture 113 of the mount 110 in alignment with the tow bar hole 21 in the tow bar 20. The threaded shank 32 of the tow ball 30 is then passed 5 through the tow ball aperture 113 of the mount 110 and the tow bar hole 21 in the tow bar 10. The nut 40 is then placed on the threaded shank 32 and then tighten to sandwich the mount 110 between the tow bar 10 and the main body 31 of the tow ball 30. The tightening of the nut causes the projections 114 to deform the tow bar 10 as shown in FIG. 4. This 10 deformation inhibits rotation of the mount 110 with respect to the tow bar 10. FIG. 5 and 6 show how the towing accessory 100 can be used to assist in preventing theft of a trailer. Once the trailer hitch 50 is located over the tow ball 30, an end of the reduced width wing 121 can be 15 placed within the slot 117 of the frame 116 of the mount 110. Once the wing 121 is placed through the slot, a lock 57 can be placed through the locking hole 122 so that the guide 120 cannot be removed from the mount 110. The wing 121 that is not located through mount covers the trailer hitch 51 thereby assisting in preventing the removal of the tow hitch trailer 20 51 from the tow ball 30. In this specification, the terms "comprise", "comprises", ''comprising" or similar terms are intended to mean a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a system, method or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include those elements solely, but may well include 25 other elements not listed. It should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications may be made to the embodiment described without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Claims (5)

1. A towing accessory comprising: a mount including a base and a first engagement member; and 5 a guide including a pair of wings and a second engagement member; the guide being removably mounted to the mount by engagement of the first engagement member with the second engagement member, 10 wherein the base includes at least one projection located on a bottom face of the mount.

2. The towing accessory of claim 1 wherein the first engagement member includes a slot whilst the second engagement member includes a tongue. 15

3. The towing accessory of claim 1 or claim 2 the width of at least one end of the wing is slightly smaller than the length of the slot of the first engagement member.

4. The towing accessory of claim 3 wherein a locking hole is located adjacent an end of the wing. 20

5. A method of operating a locating a method of attaching a mount of a tow hitch assembly to a tow bar, the method include the steps of: placing a threaded ended of a tow ball through the mount and through the tow bar; placing a nut onto the threaded end of the tow ball; 25 tightening the nut until at least one projection located on a bottom face of the mount deforms the tow bar.