Abstract:
A hitch ball locking plate for securing equipment in the bed of a truck, a trailer, or the like. The hitch ball locking plate comprises a first plate having a first guiding aperture. The first plate further comprises a second plate normal to the first plate and extending across the first plate. The second plate has a substantially semi-circular removed portion in communication with the first guiding aperture. Pivotably connected to the first plate is a locking bar which locks the first and second plate to a hitch ball in the bed of a truck, trailer, or the like. From this position, equipment and goods can be locked to the plate for security.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to a locking plate. More particularly the invention relates to a locking plate for a hitch ball mounted in the bed of a truck or trailer to which items can be secured such as lawn mowers, power equipment or any other equipment which might be easily stolen from the back of the truck or trailer if not secured. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Many truck owners have a bedliner installed the bed of their truck. These bedliners protect the finish of the bed from abrasions caused by hauling materials therein. However, many of these bedliners cover holes that were placed in the bed of the truck for locking goods therein. Additionally, many of the truck manufacturers have stopped placing holes securing means in the metal beds of their trucks which could be used to secure goods to the therein. For these reasons new truck buyers are not afforded a way to secure goods within the bed of a truck which raises the possibility of theft of the goods placed therein. In the same way, people who use flat bed trailers often have difficulty securing or locking goods within the trailer and protecting them from theft. 
     In view of the deficiencies in known means for securing goods within a truck bed, it is apparent that a design is needed allowing a user to secure goods within the bed of a truck or a trailer. It is also preferable that the design allow securing of goods in a locked manner thereby reducing the incidence of theft of, for example, equipment from the truck or trailer. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a locking plate. 
     It is a further objective of this invention to provide a locking plate for a hitch ball mounted to the bed of a truck or trailer. 
     It is still a further objective of this invention to provide a locking plate for securing removable goods to the bed of a truck while the plate is locked to a hitch ball installed to the bed of the truck or trailer. 
     An even further object of the present invention is to provide a platform for securing valuable items to the hitch ball of a vehicle, the platform removably affixed to the hitch ball. 
     One embodiment of a hitch ball locking plate, comprising a first plate having a centrally located positioning aperture having a wide and a narrow portion therein, a locking tab adjacent a narrow portion of the first aperture, and a locking bar pivotably attached to the first plate is described herein. The locking bar and locking tab each have opposed curved and beveled edges for positioning against a hitch ball. The hitch ball locking plate further comprises a second plate integral with the first plate and normal to the first plate. The second plate is centrally aligned across the first plate and above the narrow portion of the first aperture. The second plate has at least one aperture and one substantially semi-circular removed portion. The substantially semi-circular removed portion is operably communicating with the narrow portion of the guiding aperture. 
     The hitch ball locking plate is further comprising a first lock aperture in the first plate and a second lock aperture on the locking bar in alignment with the first locking bar aperture. A lock can be placed through the first and second lock apertures to secure the locking plate to a hitch ball. 
    
    
     All of the above outlined objectives are to be understood as exemplary only and many more objectives of the invention may be gleaned from the disclosure herein. Therefore, no limiting interpretation of the objectives noted is to be understood without further reading of the entire specification, claims, and drawings included herewith. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The aspects and advantages of the present invention will be better understood when the detailed description of the preferred embodiment is taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 shows a top view of the hitch ball locking plate of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 shows a sectional view along line  2 — 2  of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the hitch ball locking plate of the present invention; and, 
     FIG. 4 shows an assembly view of the hitch ball locking plate of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The present invention will now be described in conjunction with the drawings, referring initially to FIGS. 1 and 3, which show a hitch ball locking plate  10  for mounting to a hitch ball  60 , for instance a gooseneck ball hitch, in a flat bed truck, pick-up truck, or flat bed trailer (not shown). 
     The hitch ball locking plate  10  comprises a first plate  12  preferably formed of steel and having a first, positioning, or guiding aperture  14 . The first plate  12  is substantially rectangular in the described embodiment, but may vary in shape. Preferably, the first plate  12  has a size of about 10″×11″×⅜″, but may vary depending on the application. The first positioning or guiding aperture  14  has two portions, a wide portion  14   a  and a narrow portion  14   b  as best shown in FIG.  4 . The hitch ball locking plate  10  must be positioned over a hitch ball  60  through the wide portion  14   a  before moving the locking plate  10  such that hitch ball  60  is positioned in the narrow portion  14   b  for proper locking. The narrow portion  14   b  of guiding or positioning aperture  14  prevents hitch ball locking plate  10  from slipping over the head of hitch ball  60  when the device is in a closed or locked position. The wide portion  14   a  of guiding aperture  14  is preferably sized to fit a ratchet strap hook. The ratchet strap can be used to secure goods having a length greater than the bed of the truck such as boards, pipes, and the like. Alternatively, aperture  14  may be used to in conjunction with chains, ropes, or cables to secure goods to the hitch ball locking plate  10 . 
     Returning to FIG. 1, adjacent the narrow portion  14   b  of the first plate  12  and on a top surface thereof, is a locking tab  16 . The locking tab  16  preferably has a substantially rectangular block type shape. Along an upper edge and adjacent the narrow portion  14   b  of the locking tab  16  is a curved beveled edge  16   a  as best seen in FIG.  4 . The curved beveled edge  16   a  provides a close fit against the hitch ball  60  when the ball hitch locking plate  10  is in a locked position, as shown in FIG.  2 . The locking tab  16  is preferably derived from of a piece of flat bar stock, although this size and shape may vary. As one skilled in the art will recognize the locking tab  16  provides a mechanism for placing a beveled edge against the hitch ball  60  thus allowing a tight and secure fit. 
     A second aperture  32  is located in the first plate  12 . Second aperture  32  may be preferably sized to fit a hook of a ratchet strap. Wide portion  14   a  of guiding aperture  14  is preferably sized to also fit a ratchet strap hook such that guiding aperture  14  and second aperture  32  can be used in combination to secure pipe, timbers, boards, and the like with ratchet straps. Alternatively, aperture  14  may be used to in conjunction with chains, ropes, or cables to secure goods to the hitch ball locking plate  10 . In addition, the second aperture  32  also reduces the weight of the hitch ball locking plate  10 . 
     A plurality of lockdown apertures  30  are provided in a spaced configuration around a peripheral edge of the first plate  12 . The lockdown apertures  30  allow a lock arm to be inserted therethrough, for instance, also passing through a chain to lock a piece of equipment to the hitch ball locking plate  10 . Alternatively, a rope may be placed through the lockdown apertures  30  and tied to a piece of equipment. The size of the lockdown apertures may vary such that chains, bolt clevises, hooks, or the like may be used with the lockdown apertures. 
     At least one aperture is provided as a first pivoting or first pivot aperture  18 , shown in FIG.  4 . The first pivot aperture  18  is aligned with a second pivot aperture  22  on locking bar  20 . A screw and nut, rivet, or preferably, a bolt and nut  80 , 82  are placed through the aligned apertures  18  and  22  to provide a pivotable connection between the locking bar  22  and the first plate  12 . Most preferably, the nut  82  is welded to the bolt  80  and the edges of the bolt  80  are cut or ground off so that a thief can not use a wrench or ratchet tool to loosen the nut  82  and bolt  80 . The locking bar  20  may be, substantially rectangular in shape having the second pivoting aperture  18  at a first distal end and a second lock aperture  24  at a second distal end. Of course one of ordinary skill in the art may utilize a number of known geometries for the locking bar and plate and these varying geometries are considered to fall within the teachings herein. 
     Along the upper edge of locking bar  20  closest to locking tab  16  is a beveled area  23 . The beveled area or edge  23  is preferably also curved such that the locking bar  20  fits closely against the ball hitch  60  in a closed position. The locking bar  20  is preferably made of steel such as from a piece of flat bar stock. As one skilled in the art will recognize, the beveled edge  23  should also be opposing the beveled edge  16   a  of locking tab  16 . 
     In the closed position second lock aperture  24  of the locking bar  20  is aligned with first lock aperture  26  in first plate  12 . As shown in FIG. 3 a lock is placed through the aligned apertures  24 , 26  to secure the ball hitch locking plate  10  to ball hitch  60 , and therefore a truck, trailer or the like. 
     In addition to the first plate  12  and pivotably connected locking bar  20  is a second plate  50 , preferably welded to an upper surface of the first plate  12 . The second plate  50  is integral with and centrally located on the first plate  12  and has a substantially circular removed portion  52 . The removed portion  52  is located above the narrow portion  14   b  of guiding or positioning aperture  14 . The removed portion  52  is operably communicating with narrow portion  14   b  of first aperture  14 . As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, when ball hitch  60  is positioned in the narrow portion  14   b  of guiding or positioning aperture  14 , ball hitch  60  moves within removed portion  52  of second plate  50 . 
     The second plate  50  also has at least one aperture locking  40 , and may have two as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The at least one locking aperture  40  is placed in the second plate  50  for connecting chains, ropes, and the like between removable equipment or goods in the truck or trailer and the hitch ball locking plate  10 . 
     A hitch ball  60  is also included in the device for connection to a truck bed or trailer. The hitch ball  60  has a head  62  at an upper end of a shaft preferably having a diameter of 2-{fraction (5/16)}″. At a lower end of the shaft are a plurality of threads  64  for connecting with a truck bed or trailer. Below the head  62  is a neck portion  63  having dimensions which allow it to fit within the narrow portion  14   b  of guiding or positioning aperture  14 . When the hitch ball locking plate  10  is closed, one can see that the locking plate  10  is prevented from moving in three dimensions by the locking tab  16  and locking bar  20 , first plate  12 , and second plate  50 . This, in turn, secures the locking plate  10  to the truck, trailer, or the like. 
     In operation, the hitch ball  60  is threadably attached to a truck bed or trailer. The threads  64  of the hitch ball  60  may be directly threaded into the bed of the truck or trailer or threaded into a nut located beneath the bed of the truck or trailer on an underside. 
     With the locking bar  20  pivoted to an open position away from second plate  50 , the locking plate  10  is placed over the head  62  of hitch ball  60  with second plate  50  oriented in an upward position. The locking plate  10  is lowered on to the head  62  so that the head  62  extends through the wide portion  14   a  of guiding or positioning aperture  14 . Next, the locking plate  10  is moved laterally so that the neck  63  of the hitch ball  60  is positioned within the narrowed portion  14   b  of the guiding aperture  14 . The locking plate  10  should also be positioned so that the beveled portion  16   a  of locking tab  16  has a close fit against head  62  of ball hitch  60 . 
     The locking bar  20  is next rotated to a closed position as shown in FIG.  3 . The beveled edge  23  of locking bar  20  should be closely fit against the head  62  of the hitch ball  60  opposite locking tab  16 . With first lock aperture  26  and second lock aperture  24  aligned, a lock  70  is placed through both apertures and locked. In this position the lock  70  keeps the locking bar  20  in close relation with the hitch ball  60 . In addition equipment and goods in the bed of the truck or trailer can be attached by chain, rope, or other means to the locking plate  10 . 
     The foregoing detailed description is given primarily for clearness of understanding and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom for modifications will become obvious to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure and may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.