Holland Hitch Company

Saf-holland Gmbh

James H Flater

Gerald W Hungerink

Michael H Ginocchio

Jason D C Howe

Steven L Hoek

A fifth wheel hitch assembly includes a hitch plate having a rearward end that defines a throat for receiving a kingpin. First and second structural support ribs extend downwardly from a bottom surface of the hitch plate. A pair of ears extend longitudinally between the first and second support ribs. Each ear includes an aperture adapted to receive a pivot pin to pivotably support the top hitch plate on a supporting structure. Each ear is substantially offset from at least a selected one of the first support rib and the second support rib.

Lightweight fifth wheel hitch assembly

A fifth wheel hitch operable between a fully locked condition and a fully released condition, having a top hitch plate and a lock jaw, a locking plunger shiftable between a biased, extended locking position engaging the jaw and a retracted position for releasing the jaw, a release lever pivotally mounted to the hitch plate and engaging the plunger to move the plunger therewith when actuated, for releasing the primary lock, a hitch release rod subassembly having an outer pull handle and an inner pivotal connection to the release lever for actuating the release lever, the release rod subassembly having a secondary stop aligned with an abutment surface in the fully locked condition to serve as a secondary lock, and shiftable out of alignment with the abutment surface to release the secondary lock, and having a limited play connection between its ends, enabling the subassembly to be lengthened a limited amount from its normal length to a lengthened condition, and biased toward the normal length condition, and having an indictor which provides a change in appearance between the normal length condition and the lengthened condition.

Fifth wheel hitch release

A fifth wheel hitch, actuator and lock assembly comprising a bifurcated hitch plate, a kingpin engagement jaw movable between a closed position for engaging a kingpin and an open position for releasing a kingpin, a lever coupled with the jaw and operatively shiftably attached for movement of the jaw from the closed position to the open position when operatively shifted, a release handle attached to the lever and movable for shifting the lever to thereby move the jaw to the release position, the release handle having an outer end with a hand grip thereon, a pivotal lock on the release handle movable between an extended condition and a retracted condition, the pivotal lock in the extended condition being positioned to lockingly engage the hitch plate to prevent the release handle from moving to shift the lever, and in the retracted position to allow the release handle to move to shift the lever, a lock actuator extending between the pivotal lock and hand grip, and movable to pivot the pivotal lock from extended condition to retracted condition, and a biasing spring positioned to bias the pivotal lock to extended condition.

Flatbar fifth wheel release handle

A powered, adjustable height, fifth wheel hitch comprising a support plate having a front end portion and a rear end portion, a fifth wheel plate above the support plate having a front portion and a bifurcated rear portion, coaxial transverse trunnion pins supporting the fifth wheel plate on the support plate, a pair of spaced rear mounts on the support plate rear end portion, torque frame linkage between the rear mounts and the trunnion pins, a pair of spaced forward slides on the support plate front end portion, a pair of spaced forward links between the torque frame linkage and the slides, lock pin receiving openings in the forward links, interconnected lock pins shiftable simultaneously between lock position in the openings and unlock position out of the openings, a pair of laterally spaced cam follower rollers on respective torque frame linkage, a pair of laterally spaced, slidably movable, vertically tapered wedging cams on the support plate, engageable beneath respective ones of the cam followers, a pair of fluid actuators attached to the support plate and connected to the wedging cams to shift the wedging cams toward and away from the cam followers, and thereby shift the cam followers vertically up and down respectively, the wedging cams each having first and second internested wedges, one above the other, and a slide connection therebetween so that first the lower wedges engage the cam follower rollers to start the lifting function of the fifth wheel, and then the upper wedges shift and engage the cam follower rollers to shift the fifth wheel plate to its upper position.

Growing community of inventors

Holland, MI, United States of America

James H Flater