AU725858B2 - Hitch assembly - Google Patents

Description

Our Ref: 648318 P/00/011 Regulation 3:2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT r V Applicant(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: Reg Meier 498 Carters Road Lake Munmorah New South Wales 2259

AUSTRALIA

DAVIES COLLISON CAVE Patent Trade Mark Attorneys Level 10, 10 Barrack Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 Hitch assembly The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- 5020 P:\WPDOCS\DYS\SPEC1\6483 8spe.doc-IOIO8ICO -1- HITCH ASSEMBLY The present invention relates to a hitch assembly for facilitating interconnection of two vehicles for towing, particularly but not exclusively a car and a trailer.

It is known to hitch a trailer to a car for towing by interconnecting a tow ball of the car with a hitching point socket of the trailer. In order to effect such interconnection the ball and socket must first be located in substantially adjacent and aligned positions. It is common to obtain such positioning by reversing the car toward the trailer and/or manually manoeuvring the socket of the trailer into engagement with the tow ball.

Interconnection of the tow ball and socket may, however, become difficult if the car is not accurately reversed, and manual manoeuvring of the trailer is restricted due to, for e* example, a weight load of the trailer.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hitch assembly to address the above :::difficulty.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a hitch assembly for facilitating interconnection of a first coupling member of a first vehicle and a second coupling member of a second vehicle, for towing, the hitch assembly including: a retractable member which includes a chain for coupling the vehicles; and a retracting mechanism operatively mounted to one of the vehicles, the mechanism including at least one locking device wheel includes bracket which includes at least one slot therein for releasably holding a link of the chain and an actuating lever operatively connected to the -R -bracket the bracket and lever being wounded for pivotal movement relative to the said one vehicle, the arrangement being such that pivotal movement between a first and second P:\WPDOCS\DYS\SPECIE\48318speoc-IOO/8/O -2position results in the retractable member being retracted so as to draw the vehicles together.

Preferably, the lever is operably linked to the retractable member via a locking device arranged to releasably hold the retractable member.

Preferably, the lever is coupled to the mounting means via a rotatable shaft, so as to pivot about an axis of rotation thereof.

Preferably, the locking device is arranged to releasably hold the retractable member intermediate the axis of rotation and a free end of the lever.

Preferably, the hitch assembly includes a second locking device positioned at a spaced S. location with respect to the first locking device, in a widthwise direction of the first vehicle.

Preferably, the first and second locking devices are interconnected by the shaft for rotation in unison. Alternatively, the second locking device is separately rotatable via a second actuating lever.

a second actuating lever.

-3- Preferably, the retractable member is held by both the first and second locking devices so as to form a loop for coupling with the second coupling member. Alternatively, a second retractable member is provided for coupling between the second locking device and the second vehicle.

Preferably, the first vehicle is a trailer and the first coupling member is a hitch point socket, the mounting means being connected to a chassis of the trailer.

:°oui Preferably, the second vehicle is a car and the second coupling member is a tow ball or, alternatively, an anchor bracket which is fixed to a tow bar of the car and includes a slot for releasably holding the retractable member.

The invention is more fully described, by way of non-limiting example only, with S" reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hitch assembly, in accordance with the 0• 'present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of an actuating lever and locking device of the assembly of Figure 1; Figures 3 and 4 are side views of the actuating lever of Figure 2, in use.

Figures 5a and 5b are plan and side views, respectively of a modified bracket for use in the assembly of the invention; Figures 6a and 6b are plan and side views, respectively of an anchor bracket; and Figure 7 is a perspective view of a mounting structure for attaching the assembly to a frame of a trailer.

p:\\%pdocs\ap\speci\600746.26j Referrering to Figure 1, a hitch assembly 1 is shown for facilitating interconnection of a first coupling member 2, in form of a hitch point socket 3, and a second coupling member 4 in the form of tow ball 5. The socket 3 and ball 5 are provided, respectively, on a chassis 6 of a first vehicle 7, in the form of trailer 8, and a tow bar 9 of a second vehicle 10, in form of a car 11.

The hitch assembly 1 includes a retractable member 12 formed of a chain 13 and a mechanism 14 including an actuating lever 15 operably linked to the chain 13 via a locking device 16 arranged to releasably hold a link 17 of the chain 13. The device 16, as shown in more detail in Figure 2, is in the form of a shaped bracket 18 which is oo fastened to a shaft 19 at one end 20 by screws 21, 22 and includes a slot 23 at its other Send 24 for receipt of the link 17. The end-24-ofthe bracket 18 also includes an opening through which the lever 15 extends. The link 17 is therefor held intermediate a free end of the lever 15 and an axis of rotation of the shaft 19 such that pivotal movement of the lever 15 also effects corresponding movement of the link 17. An end 26 of the ,oo° lever is preferably recessed so as to receive a free end 27 of screw 21, as shown in Figure 3, for securely locating the lever 15 relative to the shaft 19.

The mechanism 14 also includes mounting means 28 for securing the mechanism 14 to the chassis 6 of the trailer 8. The mounting means 28 includes a clamp 29 which may be releasably attached to a frame member 30 of the chassis. The clamp 29 also serves to anchor a bearing collar 31 which receives the shaft 19.

A second locking device 32, clamp 33 and collar 34 are provided on another frame p:\%xpdocsrnap'ppeci\600746.26j member 35 of the trailer chassis 6 and arranged such that the shaft 19 extends substantially widthwise of the trailer 8 and interconnects both locking device 16 and 32.

In operation, the chain 13 is linked around the tow ball 5 and the free ends locked into the locking devices 16 and 32, as illustrated in Figure 1.

The lever 15 is then pivoted about the axis of rotation in a direction indicated by arrow from a first position, shown in Figures 1 to 3, through to a second position shown in Figure 4. The pivotal movement results in corresponding pivotal movement 10 of the locking device 16 such that the link 17, and thereby the chain 13 is displaced in o° a lengthwise direction, to the right as viewed in the Figures. This results in an effective retraction of the chain whereby the car and the trailer are drawn together. The pivotal movement of the lever 15 also translates into rotational movement of the second locking S.device 32 such that the chain 13 is retracted in unison from both ends. As such, the socket 3 will be drawn into an adjacent location with respect to the tow ball Additionally, however, the simultaneous retraction of the chain from both ends will result in the socket aligning over the top of the tow ball for subsequent interconnection.

Although the above described arrangement includes two locking devices interconnected by a single shaft 19, it should be appreciated that the locking mechanisms may operate independently either on a single chain or, alternatively, on two separate chains connected independently in relation to the tow ball.

p:\vpdoc\map\speci\600746.26j Additionally, one or both locking devices 16, 32 may instead be formed of an shaped bracket, fixed to the shaft 19 such as by welding, as shown in Figures 5a and 5b. The bracket 40 may also be modified to include a sleeve 41 arranged perpendicularly to the shaft 19 for receipt of an end of an actuating lever 42. The bracket 40 is shown as including two locating slots 43, 44 which may be utilised by releasably holding a respective end of a chain coupled to the car 11, so that rotation of the bracket 40 effects motion of the trailer 8 both toward the car 11, and laterally thereof. Such an arrangement is particularly useful in circumstances where the tow ball 5 is considerably out of alignment, to one side of the tow ball S Another modification is to fix an anchor bracket 45 to the tow bar 9 as represented in Figures 6a and 6b. The bracket 45 is also constructed in an 'L'-shape, with a base portion 46 welded to the tow bar 9 and the free end 47 being formed with a slot 48 therein, for receipt of a link of chain 13. Provision of the bracket 45 overcomes any problem of wear on the tow ball 5, which may otherwise be caused by the chain 13.

S

A final modification of the assembly 1 is shown in Figure 7, wherein the clamps 29 and 33 of the abovedescribed mounting means 28 are replaced with a single mounting structure 50, comprising two 'U'-bolts 51, 52 and a plate 53 for securing the assembly to a trailer 8 which has only a centre frame member 54 instead of the A-frame arrangement described with reference to Figures 1 to 4.

p:\\\pdocs\mapspeci\600746.26j -7- The construction of the hitch assembly is such that it may be readily disassembled from the trailer chassis by releasing the chain from the locking devices, removing the lever from the bracket and removing the mounting means by releasing the clamps. However, it is possible that at least a part of the mounting means is permanently fixed to the chassis, such as by welding or the like.

Finally, it is to be understood that the inventive concept in any of its aspects can be incorporated in many different constructions so that the generality of the preceding description is not to be superseded by the particularity of the attached drawings. Various 10 alterations, modifications and/or additions may be incorporated into the various constructions and arrangements of parts without departing from the spirit or ambit of the invention.

*o* i:\wpdocs\map\peci\600746.26j

Claims (14)

1. A hitch assembly for facilitating interconnection of a first coupling member of a first vehicle and a second coupling member of a second vehicle, for towing, the hitch assembly including: a retractable member which includes a chain for coupling the vehicles; and a retracting mechanism operatively mounted to one of the vehicles, the mechanism including at least one locking device wheel includes bracket which includes at least one slot therein for releasably holding a link of the chain and an actuating lever operatively connected to the bracket the bracket and lever being wounded for pivotal movement relative to the said one vehicle, the arrangement being such that pivotal movement between a first and second position results in the retractable member being retracted so as to draw the vehicles together.

2. A hitch assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lever and bracket are operatively coupled to a rotatable shaft, so as to pivot about an axis of rotation thereof.

3. A hitch assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the locking device is arranged to o. releasably hold the retractable member intermediate the axis of rotation and a free •end of the lever.

S4. A hitch assembly according to claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein said bracket includes two said slots each said slot being adapted to releasably receive different links of the above therein.

5. A hitch assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, further including a second said locking device positioned at a spaced location with respect to said first mentioned locking device, in a widthwise direction of the first vehicle.

6. A hitch assembly according to claim 5 wherein said first mentioned and/or said second locking device include two said slots therein. I

7. A hitch assembly as claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein the first mentioned and second P-\WPDOCS\DYS\SPECIX648318spe.doc-10/O -9- locking devices are interconnected by the shaft for rotation in unison.

8. A hitch assembly as claimed in claim 5 or wherein the second locking device is separately rotatable via a second actuating lever.

9. A hitch assembly as claimed in any one of claims 5 or 8, wherein the retractable member is held by both the first mentioned and second locking devices so as to form a loop for coupling with the second coupling member.

A hitch assembly as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein a second retractable member is provided for coupling between the second locking device and the second vehicle.

11. A hitch assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first vehicle is a trailer and the first coupling member is a hitch point socket, the ,:99 mounting means being connected to a chassis of the trailer.

12. A hitch assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the second vehicle is a car and the second coupling member is a tow ball.

13. A hitch assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the second vehicle is a car and the second coupling member comprises an anchor bracket which is fixed to a tow bar of the car and includes a slot for releasably holding the retractable member.

14. A hitch assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 10th day of August, 2000 REG MEIER By Its Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON CAVE