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. 06, 2007
Filed:
Sep. 14, 2004
Applicant:
Robert J. Dornbos, Hudsonville, MI (US);
Inventor:
Robert J. Dornbos, Hudsonville, MI (US);
Assignee:
Shape Corporation, Grand Haven, MI (US);
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B60D 1/48 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
Abstract
A towing apparatus mounted to a frame of a vehicle includes a receiver and an energy management device. The receiver is operably connected to the energy management device and the energy management device is operably connected to the vehicle frame. When the receiver is moved in a first tow direction, the energy management device is isolated and the tow force is coupled directly to the frame. However, when the energy management device is moved in a second, generally opposite direction, the energy management device reduces some or all of the force applied to the receiver from being transferred to the vehicle frame.