Anti-friction pad for ball and socket couplings
OwnerRonald M. Wallbankinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A bore extends radially inward from the top side of the ball component of a ball and socket trailer hitch coupling and removably receives the stem projecting from the underside of a thin pad of plastic material having a low coefficient of friction, whereby when the socket component is coupled to the ball the pad is interposed between their confronting surfaces. The pad may be formed as a hollow segment of a sphere approximately matching the radius of the ball, or it may be flat but sufficiently flexible to be bent to conform to the spherical surface of the ball when the ball and socket components are coupled together.
Claims6
In combination with a ball and socket coupling, an anti-friction pad forming a segment of a hollow sphere and being comprising:
- (a) a pad of material having a low coefficient of friction interposed removably between the upper spherical portion of the ball and the overlying portion of the socket,
- (b) the pad extending downward over less than the upper half of the spherical ball and being tapered in section so as to have a maximum outer transverse cross sectional dimension no greater than the diameter of the ball.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.