Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
GOOSENECK HITCH BALL COUPLER
This disclosure relates to the field of hitches for connecting trailers to
towing vehicles
and in particular a coupler apparatus for attachment to the trailer ball of a
gooseneck
hitch assembly.
BACKGROUND
Connecting mechanisms for towed vehicles take a variety of forms, such as
clevis and
tongue mechanisms, ball and socket mechanisms, pintle hook and ring
mechanisms, and
the like.
Ball and socket connections comprise a spherical ball extending upward from a
base
attached to the towing vehicle, and a receiver socket that is attached to the
trailer tongue
and drops over and engages the ball to make the connection. A locking
mechanism
prevents the ball and socket from disengaging. The socket assembly on the
trailer tongue
typically includes some manner of clamp mechanism that engages the ball to
prevent the
socket from moving out of engagement with the ball. The ball and socket
connection
allows horizontal and vertical relative movement between the towing and towed
vehicles.
In a gooseneck ball and socket hitch assembly, typically used for heavier
trailers, the ball
is mounted on a load bed forward of the rear end so the weight of the trailer
is carried
generally over or in front of the rear axle of the towing vehicle. A gooseneck
frame
member extends from the trailer over the rear end of the load bed and includes
a post
extending downward at the front end of the gooseneck frame member. A socket
shaped
coupler is attached to the bottom end of the post and engages the ball. A ball
locking
mechanism secures the coupler to the ball. Such a gooseneck coupler is
disclosed for
example in United States Patent Numbers 9,579,939 to Rabska et al. and
8,783,706 to
Drake et al.
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It is typically required to climb onto the load bed to activate the ball
locking mechanism,
however United States Patent Number 8,376,388 to Graber et al. discloses a
ball locking
mechanism for such a gooseneck hitch assembly that can be operated by a lever
mounted
on the trailer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present disclosure provides a hitch apparatus that overcomes problems in
the prior
art.
In a first embodiment the present disclosure provides a gooseneck hitch socket
apparatus
comprising a socket member adapted for releasable attachment to a bottom end
of a
downward extending gooseneck hitch member of a towed vehicle for connecting
the
towed vehicle to a hitch ball extending upward from a load bed of a towing
vehicle. The
socket member defines a socket extending upward from a bottom side of the
socket
member, the socket having an inner surface substantially conforming to an
outer surface
of an upper portion of the hitch ball. The socket member further defines a
wear head
recess above a top end of the socket, and a wear member is releasably secured
in the wear
head recess such that a bottom side of a head of the wear member substantially
coincides
with a top end of the hitch ball when the hitch ball is engaged in the socket.
A ball lock
is operative, when in a closed position and with the hitch ball engaged in the
socket, to
prevent the hitch ball from moving downward out of the socket.
.. In a second embodiment the present disclosure provides a gooseneck hitch
socket
apparatus comprising a socket member adapted for releasable attachment to a
bottom end
of a downward extending gooseneck hitch member of a towed vehicle for
connecting the
towed vehicle to a hitch ball extending upward from a load bed of a towing
vehicle. The
socket member defines a socket extending upward from a bottom side of the
socket
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member, the socket having an inner surface substantially conforming to an
outer suiface
of an upper portion of the hitch ball. A ball lock is operative, when in a
closed position
and with the hitch ball engaged in the socket, to prevent the hitch ball from
moving
downward out of the socket, and a lock engagement linkage extends upward from
the
socket member beside the socket and beside the gooseneck hitch member when the
socket member is attached to the gooseneck hitch member. The lock engagement
linkage
is connected at a bottom end thereof to the ball lock, and a handle attached
to atop end of
the lock engagement linkage is operative to activate the lock engagement
linkage to move
the ball lock from the closed position to an open position where the hitch
ball is free to
move downward out of the socket, and a linkage lock is operative to secure the
lock
engagement linkage with the lock pin in the closed position.
In a third embodiment the present disclosure provides a gooseneck hitch socket
apparatus
for connecting a towed vehicle to a hitch ball extending upward from a load
bed of a
towing vehicle. The apparatus comprises a mounting plate fixed to the bottom
end of a
downward extending gooseneck hitch member of a towed vehicle, the mounting
plate
defining a plurality of mounting plate fastener holes. A socket member defines
a socket
extending upward from a bottom side of the socket member, the socket having an
inner
surface substantially conforming to an outer surface of an upper portion of
the hitch ball.
A ball lock is mounted to the socket member and is operative, when in a closed
position
and with the hitch ball engaged in the socket, to prevent the hitch ball from
moving
downward out of the socket. The socket member defines a plurality of socket
member
fastener holes corresponding to the mounting plate fastener holes such that
the socket
member is releasably attachable to the downward extending gooseneck hitch
member by
releasable fasteners, where each releasable fastener extends through one of
the mounting
plate fastener holes and a corresponding one of the socket member fastener
holes.
The present disclosure provides a gooseneck hitch socket apparatus that
includes an
easily replaceable wear member that bears the weight of the towed vehicle
through the
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gooseneck hitch member, and so incurs the wear that typically occurs during
operation
due to movement between the hitch ball and the socket member. A lock
engagement
linkage with a handle located far enough above the socket member that when the
hitch
ball is engaged in the socket an operator of average size can simply reach
over the wall of
a truck box of the towing vehicle and manipulate the handle while standing on
the ground
outside the truck box. The gooseneck hitch socket apparatus can be easily
mounted to the
bottom end of any one of the wide variety of downward extending gooseneck
hitch
members presently used in various applications.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
While the invention is claimed in the concluding portions hereof, preferred
embodiments
are provided in the accompanying detailed description which may be best
understood in
conjunction with the accompanying diagrams where like parts in each of the
several
diagrams are labeled with like numbers, and where:
Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of an embodiment of the apparatus of the
present
disclosure installed on the gooseneck hitch member of a towed vehicle in
position to be
connected to a hitch ball attached to a towing vehicle;
Fig. 2 is a side view of the embodiment of Fig. 1 with the socket member above
the
hitch ball and with the ball lock in the open position;
Fig. 3 is a side view of the embodiment of Fig. 1 with the hitch ball engaged
in the
socket and with the ball lock in the closed position;
Fig. 4 is a perspective top front view of the socket member of the embodiment
of Fig.
1 detached from the gooseneck hitch member with the ball lock in the open
position;
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Fig. 5 is a perspective bottom front view of the socket member of Fig. 4 with
the ball
lock in the open position;
Fig. 5A is a schematic sectional side view of the portion of the socket member
of Figs.
4 and 5 showing the wear head recess and wear member aperture;
Fig. 5B is a schematic sectional side view of the portion of the socket member
of Figs.
4 and 5 showing a wear member extending up through the wear member aperture
and
secured by a fastener with the head of the wear member in the wear head
recess;
Fig. 6 is a perspective bottom front view of the socket member of the
embodiment of
Figs. 4 and 5 attached to the gooseneck hitch member with the hitch ball
engaged in
the socket and the ball lock in the closed position;
Fig. 7 is a perspective top front view of the socket member as shown in Fig.
6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS
Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a gooseneck hitch socket apparatus l of the
present
disclosure comprising a socket member 3 releasably attached to the bottom end
of the
downward extending gooseneck hitch member 5 of a towed vehicle 7. The
gooseneck
hitch member 5 is in position above a hitch ball 9 extending upward from the
load bed 11
of a towing vehicle 13. The front end of the towed vehicle 7 is supported by
an
extendable jack assembly 15 and the towing vehicle 13 is maneuvered into the
illustrated
position where the jack assembly 15 can be activated to lower the front end of
the towed
vehicle 7 and the gooseneck hitch member 5 so the hitch ball 9 enters a socket
defined by
the socket member 3.
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Figs. 2 - 7 illustrate the socket member 3. The socket member 3 defines a
socket 17
extending upward from a bottom side of the socket member 3. The socket 17 has
an
inner surface substantially conforming to an outer surface of an upper portion
of the hitch
ball 9.
The socket member 3 is adapted for releasable attachment to the bottom end of
the
downward extending gooseneck hitch member 5. A mounting plate 19 is attached
to the
bottom end of the gooseneck hitch member 5 and defines a plurality of mounting
plate
fastener holes 19A. The socket member 3 is attachable to the mounting plate 19
by
fasteners, illustrated as a bolt 21 and corresponding nut 23. The bolts 21
extend through
the mounting plate fastener holes 19A and corresponding socket member fastener
holes
3A defined by the socket member 3, and the nuts 23 are threaded onto the bolts
21.
In this manner the socket member can be manufactured separately and then
distributed to
various manufacturers of trailers and like towed vehicles who simply weld a
mounting
plate 19 to the bottom end of the gooseneck hitch member 5, and then bolt on
the socket
member 3.
The mounting plate 19 defines a mounting plate aperture 25 as shown in Fig. 7,
and an
upper end 27 of the socket member 3, when attached to the mounting plate 19,
extends
upward through the mounting plate aperture 25 and into the open inner area of
the
gooseneck hitch member 5, typically provided by a hollow steel beam.
As seen in Figs. 5, SA, and 5B the socket member 3 further defines a wear head
recess 29
above a top end of the socket 17. As shown in Fig. 5B, a wear member 31 is
releasably
secured in the wear head recess 29 such that a bottom side of a head 31A of
the wear
member 31 substantially coincides with a top end of the hitch ball 9 when the
hitch ball 9
is engaged in the socket 17.
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In the illustrated apparatus 1 the socket member 3 defines a wear member
aperture 33
extending upward from the top end of the socket 17 and the wear head recess 29
is
defined in a bottom end of the wear member recess 33. The wear member 31
extends
upward through the wear member aperture 33 and a fastener 35 is engaged on an
upper
end of the wear member 31 above the socket member 3 and secures the wear
member 31
to the socket member 3. Conveniently the wear member 31 is provided by a bolt
and the
fastener 35 is provided by a corresponding nut threaded onto an upper end of
the bolt
Thus the weight of the towed vehicle, which is often significant in these
types of hitches,
is carried on the gooseneck hitch member 5 and bears on the hitch ball 9. In a
conventional socket member of the prior art this weight is carried on the
inner surface of
the top portion of the socket and the socket wears during use so that the
socket member
must be replaced. Typically the socket member is welded to the bottom end of
the
gooseneck hitch member and so the entire gooseneck hitch assembly must be
replaced.
In contrast in the presently disclosed apparatus the head 31A of the wear
member 31
bears the weight of the gooseneck hitch member 5 and when wear has occurred
that must
be addressed the nuts 23 are removed from the bolts 21 and the socket member 3
is
removed providing access to the fastener 35 securing the wear member 31 to the
socket
-- member 3 is removed and the wear member 31 is withdrawn and replaced with a
new
wear member 31. The top end of the hitch ball 9 also may be flat as shown in
Figs. 2 and
5B such that an increased bearing surface is provided between the flat top of
the hitch
ball 9 and the bottom of the head 31A of the wear member 31.
A ball lock 37 is operative, when in a closed position and with the hitch ball
9 engaged in
the socket 17, to prevent the hitch ball 9 from moving downward out of the
socket 3.
A front lower edge 39 of the socket member 3 is configured to guide the hitch
ball 9 into
alignment with the socket 17 as the hitch ball 9 moves rearward, and the
socket member
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3 comprises a stop 41 on a rear portion thereof configured to stop rearward
movement of
the hitch ball 9 when the hitch ball 9 is substantially aligned with the
socket 17.
In the illustrated apparatus 1, the hitch ball 9 comprises a ball neck 43
extending
downward from a bottom side of the hitch ball 9, and the ball lock 37
comprises a lock
pin 45 movable from an open position shown in Figs. 4 and 5, allowing the
hitch ball 9 to
enter the socket 17, to the closed position shown in Figs. 3 and 6 where the
lock pin 45
extends laterally under the hitch ball 9 adjacent to the ball neck 43.
The illustrated socket member 3 comprises right and left pin lugs 47R, 47L
extending
downward from corresponding right and left lower rear portions of the socket
member 3,
the right and left pin lugs 47R, 47L defining corresponding right and left
lock pin holes
49R, 49L. The lock pin 45 extends through the right and left lock pin holes
49R, 49L
when in the closed position of Fig. 6 and extends through only the left lock
pin hole 49L
when in the open position of Fig. 5. The spacing LS between the right and left
pin lugs
47R is less than the diameter BD of the hitch ball 9 such that rearward
movement of the
hitch ball 9 rearward between the right and left pin lugs 47R, 47L is
prevented.
In the illustrated apparatus 1 a lock engagement linkage 51 extends upward
from the
socket member 3 beside the socket 17 and beside the gooseneck hitch member 5
when
the socket member 3 is attached to the gooseneck hitch member 5. The lock
engagement
linkage 51 is connected at a bottom end thereof to the lock pin 45, and a
handle 53
attached to a top end of the lock engagement linkage 51 is operative to
activate the lock
engagement linkage 53 to move the lock pin 45 between the open and closed
positions.
A linkage lock 55 is operative to secure the lock engagement linkage 51 with
the lock pin
45 in the closed position. In the illustrated apparatus 1 the linkage lock 55
is provided by
a grooves 57 defined in a pair of lock bars 59 and a handle pin 61 extending
through the
handle 53 and engaging the grooves 57.
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The lock engagement linkage 51 extends upward from the socket member such that
the
handle 53 is at least 12 inches above the socket member 3. As shown by the
dotted lines
in Fig. the load bed 11 of the towing vehicle 13 commonly is provided by the
floor of a
truck box with upward extending walls 63. Conventionally an operator would be
required to climb into the truck box inside the walls 63 to operate the ball
lock 37. The
handle of the presently disclosed lock engagement linkage 51 is located far
enough above
the socket member 3 that when the hitch ball 9 is engaged in the socket 17 an
operator of
average size can simply reach over the wall and manipulate the handle 53 while
standing
on the ground outside the truck box.
The present disclosure provides a gooseneck hitch socket apparatus 1 that
includes an
easily replaceable wear member 31 with a head 31A that bears the weight of the
towed
vehicle 7 through the gooseneck hitch member 5, and so incurs the wear that
typically
occurs during operation due to movement between the hitch ball 9 and the
socket member
3. A lock engagement linkage 51 with a handle 53 located far enough above the
socket
member 3 that when the hitch ball 9 is engaged in the socket 17 an operator of
average
size can simply reach over the wall 63 of a truck box of the towing vehicle 13
and
manipulate the handle 53 while standing on the ground outside the truck box.
The
gooseneck hitch socket apparatus 1 can be easily mounted to the bottom end of
any one
of the wide variety of downward extending gooseneck hitch members 5 presently
used in
various applications.
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the
invention.
Further, since numerous changes and modifications will readily occur to those
skilled in
the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction
and operation
shown and described, and accordingly, all such suitable changes or
modifications in
structure or operation which may be resorted to are intended to fall within
the scope of
the claimed invention.
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