The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 18, 1979
Filed:
Jul. 03, 1978
Richard T Hendrickson, South Bend, IN (US);
The Bendix Corporation, Southfield, MI (US);
Abstract
A hitch for connecting a trailer to a tow vehicle. The hitch has a beam attached to the tow vehicle for transmitting a load having vertical and horizontal components between the trailer and the tow vehicle. A bearing retained in a guide is connected to the beam by a rack and pinion connection. A shaft retained by the bearing has a yoke pivotally attached to the end thereof for connecting a ground wheel to the beam. By changing the position of the rack with respect to the pinion, the distance between the beam and wheel can be adjusted to distribute a selected portion of the vertical component of the load into the wheel. A linkage connects the tow vehicle to the shaft for maintaining the wheel in alignment with the tow vehicle to allow the wheel to resist the development of lateral forces between the tow vehicle and the trailer as a function of the vertical component of the load carried by the ground wheel.