Abstract:
A quick release assembly for remotely actuating operative disconnection between vehicles includes a lock bolt ejection assembly for remotely ejecting a lock bolt normally maintaining a coupling between the vehicles thereby allowing independent movement of the vehicles.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/991,350 filed on Nov. 30, 2007. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to hitching apparatus and, in particular to a hitch assembly for releasably interconnecting a towing vehicle with a towed vehicle. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   There are many situations wherein it is necessary to uncouple vehicles under adverse conditions. In military operations, because of concern for safety for personnel, it is undesirable to stop the vehicles and have the personnel manually uncouple the vehicles. The situations may also arise suddenly and unexpectedly, requiring immediate maneuvers inhibited by the trailed vehicle. Such conditions are experienced by a wide variety and combinations of existing towing and trailing vehicles. It would accordingly be desirable to provide a safe and effective way for quickly decoupling vehicles while in motion that can be readily incorporated on these vehicles. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention provides a simplified and versatile quick release hitch for decoupling existing vehicles through retrofit with minimal modification whereby the release assembly may be directly incorporated on existing vehicles. The hitch incorporates a remotely actuated ejection lock bolt assembly for effecting decoupling. 
   In one aspect the present invention provides a hitch assembly mounted on a first vehicle for connection with a second vehicle including; a first coupling member for connection with the first vehicle, a second coupling member for connection with the second vehicle wherein the coupling members overlap in a coupled condition with apertures therein axially aligned, the hitch assembly being provided with a lock member slidably extending through the apertures for interconnecting the coupling members, the lock member including retaining means for normally preventing removal of said lock member in said coupled condition, control means remotely operable from one of said vehicles for moving the retaining means to a disengaged position allowing movement of the lock member, and spring means acting on said lock member to remove said lock bolt from said receiver member at said disengaged position thereby permitting independent travel of said first and second vehicles. 
   In another aspects, the invention provides a quick release hitch assembly for connecting a towing vehicle with a towed vehicle including a support assembly including a forwardly extending lunette for connecting with a hitch component on the towing vehicle and a rearwardly extending shank, a base assembly adapted for mounting on the towed vehicle and having a forwardly opening cavity slidably telescopically receiving said shank in a coupled condition, a cylindrical collar on said base assembly aligned with said cavity, axially aligned holes formed in said collar, said receiver assembly and said support assembly, a cylindrical lock bolt extending through said holes to couple said base assembly to said support assembly; a cross hole formed at one end of said lock bolt outwardly of said receiver member; a clip member extending through said cross hole for normally preventing removal of said lock bolt from said base assembly and said shank to maintain a coupled condition; a control cable attached to said clip member and manually actuated from the truck to remove said clip member from said lock bolt; and a compression spring retained in said collar surrounding said lock bolt and acting on another end of said lock bolt to eject said lock bolt from said receiver member upon removal of said clip member to permit independent travel of the towing vehicle with said base assembly remaining connected with the towing vehicle and said support assembly remaining connected with the towed vehicle. The hitch assembly base member may include spaced plates with said collar is mounted on one of the plates and forming slots therebetween with said plates including apertures aligned with said holes, and a safety chain having one end for attachment to the truck and another end terminating with apertured tabs retained in said slots by said lock bolt in said coupled condition, whereby ejection of said lock bolt also releases said tabs and safety chain. The hitch assembly may accommodate mounting on a bracket that normally mounts the lunette at a variable height wherein the support assembly includes a bracket for mounting said lunette at a similar height. 
   Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a release assembly for remotely disconnecting hitched vehicles without modification of the existing hitching components. 
   Another object is to provide a release assembly for quickly decoupling vehicles during transit. 
   A further object is to provide a quick release assembly for decoupling vehicles during transit that may be incorporated into the hitching component of an existing towed vehicle. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above and other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a quick release hitch assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the invention for connecting the tongue of a trailer to the chassis of a truck; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective side view of the quick release hitch assembly in the coupled and locked condition; 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective side view of the quick release hitch assembly in the coupled and unlocked condition; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective side view of the quick release hitch assembly in the uncoupled condition; 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the lock bolt prior to locking; and 
       FIG. 6  is a cross sectional view of the lock bolt ejection assembly. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , the present invention provides a quick release hitch assembly  10  for remotely disconnecting the draw bar or tongue  12  of a towed vehicle or trailer from the rear chassis  16  of a towing vehicle or truck. The hitch assembly  10  as described below permits personnel of the towing vehicle to decouple the trailer while the vehicles are in motion in the event independent travel of the truck is necessary or desirable. 
   The hitch assembly  10  includes conventional hitch components such as a ring shaped lunette  20  mounted on the towed vehicle that is conventionally coupled at a lunette connector hook  22  attached at the rear of the vehicle below the chassis  16 . Other conventional connector members such as a ball and socket couplers may be used. The hitch assembly may also be carried on the towing vehicle and releasably connected to the towed vehicle. The hitch assemblies of the present type are particularly adapted for heavy-duty vehicles, such as military transport systems. 
   The hitch assembly  10  is mounted on a bracket  24  attached to the tongue  12  of the towed vehicle  12  whereat the lunette is normally mounted. The hitch assembly  10  of the invention as described below is interposed solely in the trailer hitch component between the mounting bracket  24  and the lunette  20 . The lunette may be vertically positioned at its desired former location. 
   Referring to  FIG. 2 , the hitch assembly  10  comprises the hitch components for interconnecting the vehicles and includes a base assembly  30  mounted on the bracket  24  having an arm assembly  32  releasably connected thereto by a releasable lock assembly  34  including a lock bolt  35 . The base assembly  30  of the hitch assembly  10  includes a front receiver assembly  36  ( FIG. 4 ) connected to a rear support base  38 . The support base  38  includes a rear section that slidably fits between the arms of the mounting bracket  24 . The rear section includes vertically spaced lateral through holes registering with a vertical series of through holes in the arms of the bracket  24  for attachment thereto by nut and bolt fasteners  40 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 4 , the receiver assembly  36  in the base assembly  30  comprises a rectangular tubular body having a frontally opening cavity  44  of rectangular cross section frontally terminating with a rectangular peripheral flange  46 . Suitable receivers are widely employed in hitching applications and commercially available. A pair of shallowly U-shaped plates  50  are attached at the sides of the receiver body and laterally outwardly spaced therefrom to form vertical slots. A cylindrical collar  52  is laterally mounted on one of the plates  50 . A lateral through hole is formed through the receiver body, the plates  50  and bore of the collar  52  for receiving in assembly the lock bolt  35  of the lock assembly  34  in a coupled and locked condition as described below. 
   The arm assembly  32  includes a receiver assembly  54 , similar to receiver assembly  36 , having a rectangular tubular body that telescopically receives and supports a rearwardly extending tubular shank  58  of rectangular cross section. In the coupled condition, the shank  58  is telescopically received in the cavity  44  of the base assembly. The receiver assembly  54  includes a rectangular peripheral flange  60  that engages the flange  46  in the coupled condition. The shank  58  includes a cross hole  61 , axially aligned with the holes in the receiver assembly  36  in the coupled condition, through which the lock bolt  35  extends. 
   Referring additionally to  FIG. 3 , the receiver assembly  54  is attached to a front bracket  62 . The lunette  20  includes a circular coupling ring  64  and a V-shaped base  66 . The base  66  includes vertically spaced lateral through holes. The front bracket  62  includes laterally spaced arms having a vertical series of aligned holes registering with the holes in the base  66  of the lunette. The holes in bracket  62  are vertically aligned with corresponding holes on the bracket  24  enabling the lunette  20  to be attached at a similar height and thereby continue to couple with varying ball heights on the towing vehicle. The lunette  20  is attached to the bracket  62  by nut and bolt fasteners  68 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 2 , a safety chain  70  is releasably supported at the receiver assembly of the base assembly  20 . The safety chain  70  includes a mounting bracket  72  carrying linked chains  74  terminating with hooks, not shown, for securing to the towing vehicle in a conventional manner. The mounting bracket  72  includes a laterally spaced pair of mounting tabs  76  slidably received in the slots between the plates  50 . The tabs  76  are apertured and aligned with the cross holes of the plates  50  and receiver assembly  36  for releasably receiving the lock bolt  35  in the coupled and locked condition. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 2 ,  5  and  6 , the lock assembly  34  comprises the lock bolt  35 , a control cable  82  having a rearward end loop connected a retaining spring clip  84  that extends through a cross hole on the shank  86  of the lock bolt  35 . The control cable  82  is threaded through an eyelet  88  at the top of the bracket  52  and terminates at the forward end with a connector ring  90 . The connector ring  90  is connected to an actuator member carried on the towing vehicle and manually controlled from the cab of the towing vehicle. The control cable may extend continuously to the actuation location. The lock bolt  35  extends through the support collar  52  on one of the support plates  50  on the receiver assembly and has a bore aligned with the cross holes. A compression spring  92  is carried in the bore of the collar  52  and surrounds the shank  86  of the lock bolt  35 . The outer end of the spring  92  may be compressively or mechanically attached to the lock bolt  35  adjacent the bolt head  94  whereupon ejection both the lock bolt and the spring remain connected for recoupling. The spring  92  is compressed between the bolt head  94  and the plate  50  and the clip  84  connected thereto to establish the locked condition. A tether line  96  is connected at one end to the bolt head  94  and at the other end to the bracket  62 . 
   In operation when it is desired to uncouple the hitch assembly, the control cable  82  is retracted from the towing vehicle thereby withdrawing the spring clip  84  from the shank  86  of the lock bolt  35 . After release of the spring clip, the spring  92  laterally ejects the lock bolt  35  thereby allowing separation of the arm assembly  32  from the base assembly  30  and release of tabs  76  of the safety chain  70 . The towing vehicle may then separately proceed with the arm assembly and the safety chain attached thereto. The towed vehicle may thereafter be recoupled with the towing vehicle or a similarly equipped vehicle by coupling the arm assembly to the towed vehicle base assembly, inserting the lock bolt and reattaching the spring clip. 
   Having thus described a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will now be appreciated that the objects of the invention have been fully achieved, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the sprit and scope of the present invention. The disclosures and description herein are intended to be illustrative and are not in any sense limiting of the invention, which is defined solely in accordance with the following claims.