Ball clamp trailer coupler

Details Ball clamp trailer coupler Ball clamp trailer coupler

2001-01-29

2003-01-14

Hurley, Kevin (Department: 3611)

Land vehicles

Wheeled

Articulated vehicle

Reexamination Certificate

active

06505849

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This disclosure concerns an invention relating to ball clamps for engaging hitch balls such as those used on trailers and towing vehicles.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Ball- and socket-type trailer hitches are commonly used in connection with automobiles, tractor trucks, and/or other vehicles when towing trailers and other wheeled implements. Examples of such prior couplers are given in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,090,113 to Dayton; U.S. Pat. No. 2,143,322 to Knobel, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 2,149,189 to Shaffer; U.S. Pat. No. 2,166,208 to Dayton; U.S. Pat. No. 2,170,980 to Thorp et al.; U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,178,094 and 2,204,882 to Berluti; U.S. Pat. No. 2,363,755 to Smith; U.S. Pat. No. 2,726,099 and RE 24,362 to Nunn, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 2,823,931 to Schrader; U.S. Pat. No. 3,130,993 to McCleary; U.S. Pat. No. 3.773,358 to Butler et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,954,286 to Weber, U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,935 to Vollmer et al.; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,344,174 to Sanders; and 5,632,501 to Jackson et al. Certain features are highly desirable for incorporation within a coupler, such as high coupling strength; easy actuation by the user between the open (uncoupled) and closed (coupled) states, preferably with “single motion” (i.e., solely rotational or translational) action; easy and inexpensive manufacture; and easy and inexpensive field maintenance. The coupler designs of the aforementioned patents are not believed to fulfill all of these goals, or otherwise do not achieve what is regarded to be an optimal balance between these sometimes-competing goals. Thus, the following invention has been developed to overcome the disadvantages of the prior couplers in this field.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention involves a ball clamp coupler which is intended to at least partially solve the aforementioned problems. To give the reader a basic understanding of some of the advantageous features of the invention, following is a brief summary of preferred versions of the ball clamp coupler, with reference being made to the drawings to allow the reader to visualize examples of the structures being described. As this is merely a summary, it should be understood that more details regarding the preferred versions may be found in the Detailed Description set forth elsewhere in this document. The claims set forth at the end of this document then define the various versions of the invention in which exclusive rights are secured.
The ball clamp coupler (item
10
in
FIGS. 1 and 2
) includes a coupler housing
12
having an interior wherein a coupler socket
26
is defined. The coupler socket has a bottom socket opening
28
to allow insertion of a hitch ball B (shown in phantom in
FIGS. 1 and 2
) within the socket opening to rest within the coupler socket. Within the coupler housing interior, a rear wall
34
is also defined adjacent the coupler socket, with the rear wall preferably having a planar configuration. A ball clamp
14
is movable within the coupler housing interior so that it may be inserted within the coupler socket
26
by varying degrees, i.e., so that it may move between an open (uncoupled) state wherein the ball clamp is removed from the coupler socket to its maximum extent (FIG.
1
), and a closed (coupled) state wherein the ball clamp is inserted within the coupler socket to its maximum extent (FIG.
2
). As the ball clamp moves within the coupler housing interior, it is guided against the rear wall, whereby the ball clamp is sandwiched between the hitch ball and the rear wall when the hitch ball is engaged. The rear wall prevents the hitch ball from pushing the ball clamp away from the coupler socket, and therefore the ball clamp can more strongly grasp the hitch ball.
The ball clamp
14
is driven by a clamp driving member
86
, which is affixed to the ball clamp and extends from :the interior of the coupler housing
12
to its exterior at a driving member aperture
36
. An actuator lever
16
is pivotally affixed to the coupler housing at a lever pivot
70
, and is also at least pivotally affixed to the clamp driving member at a driving member pivot
88
(e.g., a pivot pin) outside the coupler housing. As will be discussed later in this document, the actuator lever is preferably also translatably affixed to the clamp driving member at the driving member pivot, as by situating the driving member pivot in an elongated slot
68
. Thus, rotating the actuator lever about the lever pivot causes the actuator lever to rotate (and perhaps translate) with respect to the clamp driving member at the driving member pivot, thereby moving the clamp driving member and in turn moving the ball clamp between the open (uncoupled) state and the closed (coupled) state. The rear wall
34
within the coupler housing interior preferably slopes downwardly away from the coupler housing and forwardly toward the coupler socket so that as the clamp driving member urges the ball clamp downward, it will also urge the ball clamp forwardly into the coupler socket
26
to better grasp a hitch ball B therein.
The ball clamp
14
preferably includes an engagement face
94
which faces the coupler socket
26
and a lower ball clamp face
98
situated below and adjacent to the engagement face. The engagement face is configured to engage a hitch ball B within the coupler socket. The lower ball clamp face preferably slopes downwardly and rearwardly away from the coupler socket. When the lower ball clamp face is oriented in this manner, when a hitch ball encounters the lower ball clamp face, the lower ball clamp face will urge the hitch ball forwardly into the coupler socket rather than the hitch ball ineffectively pushing the ball clamp up into the interior of the coupler housing without the hitch ball moving into the coupler socket to be engaged.
While the lever pivot
70
(and thus the actuator lever
16
) may be pivotally attached directly to the coupler housing
12
, it is preferred to instead provide it on an actuator bracket
38
which is affixed to the exterior of the coupler housing. Where the clamp driving member
86
extends from the interior of the coupler housing to its exterior, the clamp driving member may extend from the housing adjacent the actuator bracket. The driving member pivot
88
may then affix the clamp driving member to the actuator lever adjacent the actuator bracket and outside the coupler housing.
As noted previously, the actuator lever
16
is also preferably translatably affixed to the clamp driving member
86
. This may be done by providing the aforementioned slot
68
within the actuator lever, and also providing a protrusion
88
on the clamp driving member (e.g., a protruding pin) at the driving member pivot, whereby the protrusion may rotate and translate within the slot. By allowing the protrusion to translate within the slot as the actuator lever rotates, the rotating motion of the actuator lever is converted into translational motion of the clamp driving member (and thus the ball clamp
14
). This efficient conversion of rotational motion to translational motion allows greater mechanical advantage, and it also reduces wear between the actuator lever and clamp driving member because the slot allows relative motion between the parts to relieve stress. Additionally, where the actuator lever is rotatably mounted to an actuator bracket
38
which is in turn mounted to the coupler housing
12
, this slot compensates for imprecision in the manufacturing process: it allows minor error in placement of the actuator bracket on the coupler housing while still providing a smoothly rotating actuator lever. This helps reduce the number of discarded or refurbished couplers during manufacturing and thereby helps preserve time, manpower, and facility resources.
The actuator lever
16
may be provided with a latch
74
which can engage the coupler housing
12
(or the actuator bracket
38
, if present) to fix the actuator lever (and thus the ball clamp
14
) in position. For example, the latch may be rotatably mounted on the actuator lever, and may be pivotable to engage the actuator bracket to fix

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