Patent ID: 6533061
Filing Date: 2003-03-18
Classification: B62D

Abstract:
A hitch assembly for an articulated machine, the machine having front and rear sections, the hitch permitting articulation of the machine sections about a vertical axis, comprising:a tube member comprising forged steel and having opposing ends and an outer surface, the surface being wear-resistant and hardened, the tube member having a plurality of bolt holes at one of the ends and being pivotally supported at the other end by one of the sections; a yoke member comprising cast steel and having opposing ends, one of the ends having a plurality of bolt-receiving holes which are axially alignable with the bolt holes of the tube member, and the other of the ends having a pair of spaced apart receptacles for receiving pivoting means for pivoting the hitch assembly about the vertical axis, the yoke member further including a boss for receiving pivot actuating means, the yoke member being removably fastenable to the tube member; and a plurality of fasteners receivable in the axially alignable holes for fastening the tube and yoke members together such that when said fasteners are removed from the bolt-receiving holes, said tube member is axially movable in a direction from the tube member's one end toward the tube member's other end.