Patent ID: 6526735
Filing Date: 2003-03-04
Classification: A01D,Y10S

Abstract:
A T-shaped gang hitch apparatus for towing a plurality of trail-behind mowers by a vehicle for cutting grass and the like, which comprises:a tractor drawbar having an elongated beam, a center pivot pin affixed to and extending perpendicularly from a rearward left side of said tractor drawbar beam, and a means formed on a frontward end of said tractor drawbar beam for pivotal attachment to the vehicle for towing; a center drawbar having an elongated beam, a pair of hinge sleeves affixed perpendicularly and extending from a frontward and a rearward side of either extreme end of said beam, and a sleeve affixed to and extending laterally on a forward side of said beam such that when said center pivot pin of said tractor drawbar extends through said sleeve for attachment, said tractor drawbar is centered with and perpendicular to said center drawbar; a pair of mower drawbars having an elongated beam, a hinge sleeve affixed perpendicularly to a forward end of each said beam for pivotal attachment to either end of said center drawbar, a pair of hinge pins securing said pivotal attachment by vertically extending through all three sleeves once each said mower drawbar hinge sleeve is aligned between said pair of hinge sleeves of said center drawbar beam, and a means formed on a second end of each said mower drawbar beam for attachment to a mower; said means for attaching said pair of mower drawbars to a pair of trail-behind mowers comprises a bore defined in a rearward end of said mower drawbar, a bore formed in a hollow crossbar of said mower, and a lynch pin for extending through each of said bores once said mower drawbar is inserted into said mower's hollow crossbar and each of said bores are aligned; a rear hitch centrally affixed to a rearward side of said center drawbar comprising a flat metal sheet at least two inches wide, at least a quarter inch thick, and being at least thirty-four inches long; a pair of hitch drawbars having an elongated beam with a means formed at a forward end for pivotal attachment to said rear hitch, and a means formed on a rearward end of said hitch drawbar beam for attachment to a third mower; a cable attachment affixed perpendicular with a frontward top side of said tractor drawbar beam having a flat metal rectangle with left and right sides extending at least one half inch and at a slight rearward angle beyond the tractor drawbar, and also having bores formed in either extended side; a cable assembly having a cable and cable clamps; and an eye affixed to each mower crossbar at a point distal to said tractor drawbar for receipt of said cable after passing through said bores in said cable attachment on said tractor drawbar and being secured and tightened by said cable clamp, thereby allowing a mower to bounce off of an obstruction, such as a tree or the like, rather than get caught on an obstruction and possibly bend a component of the assembly.