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. 15, 1998
Filed:
Apr. 14, 1997
Gary T Gibbs, Santa Rosa, CA (US);
E Leon Hopkins, Emporia, KS (US);
Other;
Abstract
A method and apparatus (10) for aligning a towed vehicle (12) with a towing vehicle (14) is disclosed. The method is implemented with an alignment apparatus (10) including a base (22) configured for attachment to the towed vehicle (12), a platform (23) rotatably mounted on the base (22), and a level device (24) mounted on the rotatable platform (23). While the towed vehicle (12) is connected to the towing vehicle (14), the platform (23) and level device (24) are rotated until the level device (24) is in its level position. This sets a reference height position for the towed vehicle (12). When it is desired to reconnect the towed vehicle (12) with the towing vehicle (14), the towed vehicle (12) is raised until the level device (24) is once again in its level position. In one embodiment, the alignment apparatus includes a base hingedly connected to a mounting bracket for permitting side-to-side leveling of the towed vehicle.