TRAILER COUPLER

摘要

A trailer coupler may be provided with an opening and socket for a hitch ball, and a clamping bar in an internal channel for locking the coupler and hitch together. The internal channel may extend horizontally and be positioned above the opening and below the socket. The channel may include a laterally-facing aperture adjacent the second end, out of which one end of the clamping bar may extend. That end of the clamping bar may include a bracket with an open channel to fit over a flange on the coupler body. The coupler may be assembled by inserting a first end of the clamping bar through the laterally-facing aperture, and moving the first end of the clamping bar into the coupler body channel while fitting the bracket over the flange at the open channel of the clamping bar.

主权项

1. A trailer coupler for installation at a forward end of a trailer, the coupler configured to attach to a hitch of a towing vehicle, the hitch defining a ball and a neck below the ball, the coupler comprising:
a. a coupler body including
i. a downwardly-facing opening configured to allow the ball to pass therethrough,ii. a socket above the opening for receiving the ball, andiii. a flange, b. a clamping bar defining a curved middle portion adjacent the opening, the clamping bar movable between a locked position and an open position, the curved middle portion of the clamping bar in the locked position being positioned to partially block the opening and configured to contact the neck of the ball to hold the ball in the socket; wherein an end of the clamping bar includes a bracket, and further wherein the bracket and the flange cooperate to provide a range of motion for the clamping bar to move between the locked position and the open position.