Abstract:
A hitch storage device for securing a hitch to a vehicle that minimizes risk of accidental painful contact between the hitch and the operator of the vehicle. The hitch storage device includes a connecting member, a male hitch member, a hitch-support bracket, and a male protrusion member. The hitch storage device incorporates an integral passive securing mechanism whereby a hitch is secured without having to use an active hitch-securing device such as a bolt to secure the hitch shaft to the hitch storage device of the present invention. In a further embodiment, the male hitch member and hitch-support bracket are integrated to provide an L-shaped bracket with an integral sidewall.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/793,002, filed Mar. 29, 2006, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable. 
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    This invention is directed to a hitch storage device. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    Many modern vehicles, such as trucks and sports utility vehicles (SUVs) make use of a tube type hitch receiver. When not in use, it is not uncommon for a hitch attached to such a hitch receiver to protrude some distance beyond the vehicle&#39;s rear bumper. Hitches that stick out beyond the rear bumper can lead to injuries wherein a person may bump into the hitch and sustain injuries to legs and knees. A driver might forget that the attached hitch is protruding beyond the vehicle&#39;s rear bumper and may inadvertently hit another vehicle while reversing. Drivers of other vehicles may not notice the protruding hitch and make inappropriate contact thereby causing damage to both vehicles. 
         [0005]    The problem presented, therefore, for many drivers is where to put the hitch to avoid mishaps. Some drivers decide to remove their vehicle&#39;s hitch and place it inside or elsewhere on the vehicle. Such a strategy often leads to other problems. For example, a hitch placed on the bed of a pick-up truck may roll about during road trips and cause damage to the bed of the pick-up truck. The hitch is also easier to steal if left in the bed of a pick-up truck. 
         [0006]    The driver might decide to remove the hitch and store it, for example, on or in his/her house or garden shed and later retrieve the hitch when needed. If the driver is located some way from his home and finds he/she needs to use the hitch, this set of circumstances may require the driver to go to a vendor of hitches and purchase a new hitch for immediate use. 
         [0007]    A hitch is often greasy, and grease may be inadvertently transferred from the hitch and cause accidental soiling of carpet or furniture. Thus, there is a need for a hitch storage device that stores the hitch proximate to the vehicle&#39;s hitch receiver while negating the issue of the attached hitch protruding beyond the vehicle&#39;s rear bumper. 
         [0008]    U.S. Patent Publication No. 20060220347, published Oct. 5, 2006 to Witchey, describes a hitch storage device that includes a connecting member having a first surface and a second surface; a male hitch member protruding outwards from and connected to the second surface; a female hitch member connected to the second surface; and a hitch-securing member attached to the female hitch member. The male hitch member and the female hitch member when looked at from above are perpendicular to each other. The maximum distance between the hitch-securing member (180) and the male hitch member is a predetermined distance C MAX  so chosen to ensure that the hitch-securing member cannot separate completely from the female hitch member. 
         [0009]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,048, issued Mar. 20, 2001 to Adair, describes a method and apparatus, including a combination linch-pin stowage adapter, for positioning a ball mount member of most class 2, 3, &amp; 4 trailer hitches in both an operating and non operating retracted position on a trailer hitch receiver mounted underneath a vehicle. 
         [0010]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,181, issued to Biederman, describes a retractable hitch that stores away from view. The hitch consists of a hollow connector bar having an attachment end and a receiver end. The attachment end of the connector bar has an opening extending laterally through it. A mounting bar at the receiver end contains a storage chamber. A draw bar having a connector end and a hitch end fits within the connector bar. The connector end has an opening piercing it, and the hitch end has an end for connecting devices. A locking pin extends through the opening in the attachment end of the connector bar and the opening in the connector end of the draw bar. The locking pin locks in a first position for securing the draw bar in a first position for attaching devices and a second position for storing the connector bar within the storage chamber. 
         [0011]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,832,709 B2, issued to Henry, describes a holder and method of use for storing a ball mount having a stem and a ball supported on the stem in a ball hitch in which the stem is slidably received within a receiver supported on a vehicle. The holder includes a pocket for slidably receiving the stem therein and mounting means for mounting the pocket on a supporting surface of the vehicle, for example a sidewall of a truck box. The use of a pocket with suitable mounting means for mounting to a supporting surface of the vehicle while securing the stem of a ball mount therein provides proper storage for ball mounts, which are not in use. The result is that potentially damaging or annoying sliding movement of the ball mounts within a moving vehicle can be prevented. 
         [0012]    Patent Application Publication US 20020017770 A1, published to Parrish, describes a receptacle mounted at a predetermined location for storing various tow hitch apparatuses and assemblies. Behind the mounting surface, the area may be hollow such as a standard dwelling wall or solid such as a brick or concrete wall found in a basement. The &#39;770 device may be mounted on a floor or wall of a vehicle storage compartment. The dimensions of the invention are such that it can in one embodiment receive the standard two-inch male connector and in other embodiments receive other standard male portions of a tow hitch apparatus. In particular, the invention is designed to receive the various racks that have become popular for carrying sports equipment. These rigid racks attach to the standard trailer hitch receptacle found on many vehicles. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    A hitch storage device for securing a hitch to a vehicle that minimizes risk of accidental painful contact between the hitch and the operator of the vehicle. The hitch storage device includes a connecting member, a male hitch member, a hitch-support bracket, and a male protrusion member. The hitch storage device incorporates an integral passive securing mechanism whereby a hitch is secured without having to use an active hitch-securing device such as a bolt to secure the hitch shaft to the hitch storage device of the present invention. In a further embodiment, the male hitch member and hitch-support bracket are integrated to provide an L-shaped bracket with an integral sidewall. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is an environmental perspective view of the hitch storage device, according to the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIGS. 2 through 3  show perspective views of the hitch storage device, according to the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  shows a side-view of the hitch storage device of  FIG. 1  connected to a vehicle&#39;s hitch receiver and with a hitch stored in the hitch storage device. 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  shows a view of the hitch storage device according to the present invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  shows a view of a further embodiment of the hitch storage device according to the present invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  shows a side-view of the hitch storage device shown in  FIG. 6 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  shows a bracket component used in the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . 
       
    
    
       [0021]    Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0022]    This invention is directed to a hitch storage device. The hitch storage device of the invention is denoted generally by the numeric label “ 500 ”. 
         [0023]      FIGS. 1 through 4  show perspective views of one embodiment of the present invention in which the hitch storage device  500  comprises a connecting member  520 , a male hitch member  540 , a hitch-support bracket  560 , and a male protrusion member  580 . The connecting member  520  is a generally planar structure of overall rectangular shape and possesses sufficient resilience (e.g., thickness and stiffness) to resist deformation when supporting the weight of a hitch such as, but not limited to, a standard tri-ball hitch TBH, an example of which is shown in  FIG. 1 . The connecting member  520  defines opposite first  600  and second  620  sides. The connecting member  520  includes a top  640  and a bottom  660 . 
         [0024]    Still referring to  FIGS. 1 through 4 , the male hitch member  540  is of generally overall tubular shape with top  680  and bottom  700  sidewalls, and first  720  and second  740  opposite sidewalls, and further defines first  760  and second  780  opposite ends. The male hitch member&#39;s first end  760  is connected to the connecting member  520  such that the male hitch member  540  protrudes from the top  640  of the connecting member and in a perpendicular direction from the first side  600  of the connecting member  520 , the male hitch member&#39;s second end  780  is dimensioned to fit inside a vehicle&#39;s hitch receiver VHR (see, e.g.,  FIGS. 1 and 4 ). The bottom sidewall  700  defines a bottom sidewall exterior surface  710 . 
         [0025]    Still referring to  FIGS. 1 through 4 , the hitch-support bracket  560  has a U-shaped cross-section. The hitch-support bracket  560  includes bottom side  800 , a bottom inner surface  820 , and first  840  and second  860  opposite bracket-sidewalls. The first bracket-sidewall  840  is attached lengthwise to the bottom  660  of the connecting member  520  such that the male hitch member  540  and the hitch-support bracket  560  are connected to the first side  600  of the connecting member  520  and the first  840  and second  860  opposite bracket-sidewalls are disposed in an upward direction and parallel to the connecting member  520 . 
         [0026]    Still referring to  FIGS. 1 through 4 , the male protrusion member  580  is disposed on and extends upwards for a predetermined height from the bottom inner surface  820  of the hitch-support bracket  560 . The male protrusion member  580  has any suitable cross-section shape such as a circular cross-section or a polygonal cross-section shape. The height and cross-section of the male protrusion member  580  are dimensioned to fit into a locking-pin aperture LPA on the shaft S of a hitch such as, but not limited to, a tri-ball hitch TBH (see, e.g.,  FIG. 1 ) or a single-ball hitch SBH (an example of which is shown in end view in  FIG. 4 ). A locking-pin aperture LPA on A shaft S of a hitch is shown in dotted outline in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0027]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , the height D 2  of the male protrusion member  580  is selected to secure the shaft S of a hitch via shaft&#39;s LPA without allowing the shaft S to slip or fall away when the male hitch member  540  is inserted into a vehicle hitch receiver VHR. For a given hitch shaft S the dimensions of the hitch storage device  500  are selected to ensure that the distance D 1  between the top of shaft S (once placed in hitch-support bracket  560 ) and the vehicle&#39;s hitch receiver VHR is less than the height D 2  of the male protrusion member  580 , but upon removing the male hitch member  540  from the vehicle&#39;s hitch receiver VHR the shaft S is easily removed from the hitch-support bracket  560 , i.e., there is sufficient clearance (represented by distance D 3  in  FIG. 4 ) to allow the shaft S to be easily removed from the hitch-support bracket  560 ; and conversely there is sufficient clearance for the shaft S to be placed on the hitch-support bracket  560  once the shaft&#39;s LPA and member  580  are lined up and member  580  allowed to penetrate through the shaft&#39;s LPA and thence penetrate someway into the hollow bore HB of the shaft S. In one expressly non-limiting aspect of the invention D 3 &gt;D 2 &gt;D 1  and D 1 &lt;D 2 &lt;D 3  (i.e., D 3  is greater than D 2  and D 2  is greater than D 1 , and conversely D 1  is less than D 2  is less than D 3 ). 
         [0028]    Thus, the preferred way of using the hitch storage device  500  of the present invention to store a hitch includes the steps of: (1) placing the shaft S on the U-shaped hitch-support bracket  560  and maneuvering the shaft S to align the locking-pin aperture LPA on the shaft S directly over the male protrusion member  580  and lowering the shaft S such that the shaft S is secured by the male protrusion member  580  penetrating the locking-pin aperture LPA on the shaft S; (2) inserting the male hitch member  540  into a vehicle&#39;s hitch receiver VHR and (3) securing the male hitch member  540  to the vehicle&#39;s hitch receiver VHR using a locking pin LP (shown in  FIG. 1 ). 
         [0029]    Once the male hitch member  540  is secured inside a vehicle hitch receiver VHR the shaft S is firmly secured on U-shaped hitch-support bracket  560 . Specifically, the vehicle hitch receiver VHR reduces the clearance between the shaft S and the vehicle hitch receiver VHR such that the shaft S is secured on the U-shaped hitch-support bracket  560  and thereby remains firmly attached and safely secured and stored in the hitch storage device  500 . 
         [0030]      FIG. 5  shows another aspect of the invention (represented by the alphanumeric label “ 500   a ” in  FIG. 5 ), which is similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 through 4  except that the hitch-support bracket  560  is attached to second side  620  at the bottom  660  of the connecting member  520 . Specifically side bracket-sidewall  840  is attached to the second side  620  at the bottom  660  of the connecting member  520 . Still more specifically, bracket-sidewall  840  defines an interior surface  850 , which is attached (e.g., by welding) to the second side  620  at the bottom  660  of the connecting member  520 . 
         [0031]    In more detail,  FIG. 1  is an environmental perspective view of a first embodiment of the hitch storage device  500 . The hitch storage device  500  is shown attached to a vehicle V, and more particularly to the vehicle&#39;s hitch receiver VHR. A tri-ball hitch TBH is shown stored in the hitch storage device  500  proximate to and below the vehicle&#39;s hitch receiver VHR and parallel to the vehicle&#39;s rear bumper RB thereby reducing the risk of someone coming into harmful contact with the tri-ball hitch TBH. It will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art that the hitch storage device  500  of the invention is expressly not limited to safely storing a tri-ball hitch TBH. The hitch storage device  100  can be used to safely store any kind of hitch designed to fit into a vehicle&#39;s hitch receiver VHR such as, but not limited to, a single ball hitch SBH (see  FIG. 4 ). 
         [0032]    The components that make up hitch storage device  500  can be made of steel, but any material that is sufficiently durable may be used. For example, the connecting member  520 , a male hitch member  540 , a hitch-support bracket  560 , and a male protrusion member  580  can be made of a suitable gauge steel and welded together by at least one weld  560 . The various parts of the hitch storage device  500  can be attached to each other by any suitable means such as epoxy-based adhesive or by at least one weld. For example, the male hitch member  540 , a hitch-support bracket  560  can be welded to the connecting member  520 . 
         [0033]      FIGS. 2 through 3  show perspective views of the hitch storage device  500 . The male hitch member  540  is preferably fitted with aligned apertures  555   a  and  555   b  for accepting locking pin LP (see  FIG. 1 ).  FIG. 4  shows a side of the hitch storage device  500  when fitted to a vehicle&#39;s hitch receiver vehicle&#39;s hitch receiver VHR.  FIG. 5  shows a further aspect of the invention in which the hitch-support bracket  560  is secured (e.g., by welding) to the second side  620  of connecting member  520 . 
         [0034]    It will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art that various components of the hitch storage device  500  can be integrated. For example, the connecting member  520  and the hitch-support bracket  560  can be integrated to form an L-shaped bracket  520   s  (see  FIG. 8 ) with an integral sidewall  860   s  equivalent in function to sidewall  860  of U-shaped bracket  560 . This further embodiment of the hitch storage device is shown in  FIGS. 6 through 8 ; this specific embodiment of the hitch storage device is actually represented by alphanumeric label  500   s  in  FIGS. 6 through 8 . 
         [0035]    A design, symbol, number, light, decoration or application may be adhered to, engraved, built-in, affixed in some way to any part of the surface of the hitch storage device  500  for design, marketing, usefulness, or aesthetics. 
         [0036]    It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.