Universally pivotal tow bar assembly
AssigneeNSA RV Products Inc.
InventorTod Westervelt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tow bar assembly for use in connecting a towing vehicle to a towed vehicle wherein the tow bar assembly includes at least a cylindrical knuckle connected to a draw bar that is receivable within a receiver of the towing vehicle and wherein a pair of spaced flanges of a first end of a U-joint coupler are connected to the knuckle so as to pivot about a first pivot axis defined by an elongated central axis of the draw bar and a second pivot axis perpendicular to the first pivot axis and relative to a horizontal plane and where a pair of spaced flanges of a second end of the U-joint coupler are adapted to permit relative motion of the U-joint coupler about a third pivot axis with respect to a hitch mechanism that is adapted to be connected to the towed vehicle.
Claims17
A universal tow bar assembly for connecting a double arm tow hitch member for a towed vehicle to a hitch receiver of a towing vehicle, the tow bar assembly comprising;
- a knuckle member mounted to a draw bar that is receivable within the hitch receiver of the towing vehicle, the knuckle member being cylindrical and having a pair of generally aligned vertically extending open slots therein, a U-joint coupler having oppositely oriented first and second ends defined by pairs of opposing generally parallel and spaced flanges with the flanges of each pair having aligned openings therein, the pair of flanges of the first end being oriented in a first direction and the pair of flanges of the second end being oriented in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction, a first pivot member extending through the aligned openings in the pair of flanges of the first end of the U-joint coupler and through the aligned open slots in the knuckle member such that the U-joint coupler is pivotal with the first pivot member about a first pivot axis defined by an elongated central axis of the draw bar and the knuckle member and such that the U-joint coupler is also pivotal about a second pivot axis defined by an orientation of the first pivot member relative to the knuckle member, and the aligned opening in the pair of flanges of the second end of the U-joint coupler being adapted to receive a second pivot member associated with the tow hitch member such that the second end of the U-joint coupler is pivotal relative to the tow hitch member about a third vertical pivot axis, whereby the tow bar assembly permits universal pivoting motion between the towing vehicle and the towed vehicle.
A universal tow bar assembly for connecting a towed vehicle to a hitch receiver of a towing vehicle, the universal tow bar assembly comprising;
- a knuckle member mounted to a draw bar that is receivable within the hitch receiver of the towing vehicle, the knuckle member being cylindrical and having a pair of generally aligned vertically extending open slots therein, a U-joint coupler having oppositely oriented first and second ends defined by pairs of opposing generally parallel and spaced flanges with the flanges of each pair having aligned openings therein, the pair of flanges of the first end being oriented in a first direction and the pair of flanges of the second end being oriented in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction, a first pivot member extending through the aligned openings in the pair of flanges of the first end of the U-joint coupler and through the aligned open slots in the knuckle member such that the U-joint coupler is pivotal with the first pivot member about a first pivot axis defined by an elongated central axis of the draw bar and the knuckle member and such that the U-joint coupler is also pivotal about a second pivot axis defined by an orientation of the first pivot member relative to the knuckle member, and the aligned openings in the pair of flanges of the second end of the U-joint coupler being adapted to receive a second pivot member associated with a tow hitch member having at least one arm that extends from the second end of the U-joint coupler to a mounting bracket for connection to the towed vehicle and such that the U-joint coupler is pivotal relative to the tow hitch member about a third vertical pivot axis, whereby the tow bar assembly permits universal pivoting motion between the towing vehicle and the towed vehicle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.