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:
Nov. 07, 1995
Filed:
Jul. 25, 1994
James H Flater, Zeeland, MI (US);
Holland Hitch Company, Holland, MI (US);
Abstract
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.