Abstract:
A cover shield for a trailer coupler comprising an elongated hollow, tubular shield, internally sized to receive the forward portion of a trailer coupler and coupler means mounted thereon. The shield is preferably of flexible two-ply padded material and impervious to moisture. The shield includes a pouch-like portion sized to snugly encompass and cover the trailer coupler means. A seam means extends longitudinally from an aft opening toward the front opening and may be selectively manually opened to an open mode and closed to a closed mode.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10/156,266 filed May 28, 2002. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to vehicular trailers, and more specifically to covers for the hitch portions of vehicular trailers.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    The present invention provides a unique and multifunction cover or shield for a trailer coupler which alleviates two significant problems.  
           [0004]    A trailer coupler, by definition, provides a means for coupling or attaching a trailer to a towing vehicle. Trailers have been and continue to be in widespread use for hauling a wide variety of cargos, e.g., boats. When trailers are detached from a towing vehicle they of course are at rest, and many trailers have a support means for supporting the forward portion of the trailer so that the trailer maintains substantially the same attitude about its pitch axis as it would have when attached to a towing vehicle. The trailer comprises in part a longitudinally-extending member. At the very forward end of said member is a coupler means which is adapted to be attached to a ball trailer hitch on the towing vehicle. The coupler means in most cases comprises an inverted cup-like member for receiving a ball trailer hitch, and the cup-like member typically has a horizontally extending rim or flange portion around the periphery thereof. The aforesaid flange portion is relatively thin, e.g., one-eighth of an inch, and thus poses a serious safety hazard if once accidentally or otherwise bumps into it, which unfortunately, occurs far too frequently. The present invention solves this problem.  
           [0005]    Another issue associated with trailer couplers is that they are exposed to the weather, both when the trailer is at rest detached from the towing vehicle, and also when the trailer is attached to the towing vehicle. The trailer coupler has some moving parts and further, usually there are auxiliary apparatus such as safety chains and electrical connecting wires which can be adversely affected by the weather and also by factors such as “kicked-up” stones or other debris from the roadway as the trailer is in forward motion with the towing vehicle. The present invention provides a weatherproof enclosure for the trailer coupler and associated auxiliary apparatus.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    In broad terms, the present invention provides a cover and a shield for a trailer coupler having a coupler means mounted on the forward portion of a longitudinally extending member of a trailer. The coupler means is adapted to be attached to a ball trailer hitch on a towing vehicle. The cover specifically comprises an elongated, hollow tubular shield having a longitudinal fore and aft axis, a forward end, an aft end, a top, a bottom, port and starboard sides, a forward opening, and an aft opening. The shield is dimensioned or internally sized so as to receive the forward portion of the longitudinally extending member of the trailer and the coupler means mounted thereon. Thus, prior to the trailer being attached to the towing vehicle, the shield may be assembled with the trailer coupler the coupler means mounted thereon with the aft end of the shield being positioned aft of the coupler means and with the forward end of the shield being positioned around the coupler means to thereby provide a protective covering around the coupler means and a substantial portion of the forward portion of the longitudinally-extending member of the trailer. Thus, both of the above-described problems are addressed and solved.  
           [0007]    The forward opening of the shield is sized to receive a ball trailer hitch when the coupler means is attached to the trailer hitch. The shield, in the preferred embodiment, is fabricated from a flexible material which includes a layer of padding, and at least the outer surface, and preferably the inner surface, of the shield and is impervious to moisture. Also in the preferred embodiment, the forward end of the shield includes a pouch-like portion sized to snugly encompass and cover the coupler means.  
           [0008]    In the preferred embodiment, the shield further includes a seam means extending longitudinally along the bottom of the shield from the aft opening forward towards the front opening. The seam means may be selectively manually opened to an open mode and/or closed to a closed mode so as to facilitate the installation of the shield onto the forward portion of said member and the coupler means mounted thereon.  
           [0009]    In another aspect of the invention, the shield presents relatively large side surfaces suitable for displaying graphic material when installed on the trailer coupler.  
           [0010]    Finally, the preferred embodiment of the invention includes strap means attached within the inside of the shield for providing a support function for auxiliary apparatus such as safety changes and electrical wire means. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 is a plan view of the front portion of a trailer;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is an elevation view or side view of the apparatus depicted in FIG. 1;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is a port-side elevational view of the front portion of a trailer with the safety shield mounted thereon;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIGS. 4, 5, and  6  are cross-sectional views of the apparatus depicted in FIG. 3 as viewed, respectively, along section lines  4 - 4 ,  5 - 5 , and  6 - 6  of FIG. 3.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIGS. 7, 8, and  9  depict, respectively, layouts of the material  40 ,  50 , and  30 , used in fabricating the shield;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 10 depicts the apparatus of FIG. 3 attached to a ball trailer hitch of a towing vehicle; and  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 11 depicts an embodiment of the present invention wherein graphic indicia is displayed on side surfaces of the shield. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0018]    The front portion of a typical trailer TR is depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2. The trailers have a longitudinally-extending member (see FIG. 3 for a depiction of the longitudinal axis LA). For the trailer depicted, the longitudinally-extending member is a single beamlike member  10  with side braces  11  and  12 . A vertically adjustable support member  15  passes through a gearbox  15 ′ and at the lower end thereof has a support wheel  16  or equivalent for resting on the ground G when the trailer is detached from a towing vehicle, and which is moved upwardly out of contact with the ground when the trailer is attached to a towing vehicle as is depicted in FIG. 10.  
         [0019]    A coupler means is attached to the forward end of the beam  10 . The coupler means comprises a bracket portion  19  attached with bolt means  19 ′ and, at the forward end thereof is an inverted cup  20  sized to receive a ball of a hitch member H which is integrally attached to a towing vehicle TV. A typical lever-type member  21  which is pivoted at  21 ′ may be used for locking the inverted cup  20  to the ball B as is well know by those skilled in the art.  
         [0020]    Referring to FIG. 3, the unique cover/shield AA is shown in the “trailer at rest” mode, i.e., trailer not attached to a towing vehicle. In broad terms, the shield AA is an elongated, hollow, tubular device having a longitudinal fore and aft axis LA, a forward end  60 , an aft end  61 , a top  30 T, a bottom  30 B, port and starboard sides  30 P and  30 S (see FIGS.  4 - 6 ), a forward opening FO and an aft opening AO. As is clear from FIGS.  3 - 6  and  10 , the shield AA is sufficiently dimensioned or internally sized so as to receive both the forward portion of member  10  of the trailer, as well as the coupler means  19 - 21  mounted thereon. Thus, the shield may be assembled with the trailer coupler and coupler means with the forward end of the shield being positioned around the coupler means and with the aft end of the shield being positioned aft of the coupler means. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the cover AA is configured to include, at forward end  60 , a pouch-like portion  60 ′ sized to snugly encompass the coupler means as is clearly shown in FIG. 3. In this trailer-at-rest position, it is seen that the cover shield AA is totally encompassing the coupler means  20 , with the forward opening FO of the shield AA well below the member  20 .  
         [0021]    The preferred embodiment of the invention provides a shield with a two-ply construction, i.e., an outer layer  30  and an inner layer  40  sandwiching therebetween padding material PD, all as is clearly depicted in FIG. 5. FIGS. 9 and 7 respectively depict the material pieces  30  and  40  when laid out prior to fabrication, together with a member  50  shown in FIG. 8, which is adapted to be part of the front opening FO upon final assembly. Referring to FIG. 9, the surfaces of sides of the piece  30  are respectively (starting at top and proceeding clockwise)  30   a - 30   g  and, correspondingly, for member  40 , the sides or surfaces are  40   a - 40   g . Member  50  shown in FIG. 8 has end surfaces  50 A and  50 B, and side surfaces  50 ′ and  50 ″.  
         [0022]    The forward and aft openings FO and AO are elasticized in the preferred embodiment to provide a snug fit.  
         [0023]    To facilitate easy assembly and disassembly of the shield with the trailer coupler means, a seam means  70  is provided which extends longitudinally from the aft opening AO toward the front opening FO. The seam means  70  in the preferred embodiment is a hook-and-loop fastening arrangement with the co-acting surfaces being identified in FIG. 5 by reference numerals  70 P and  70 S. The seam means  70  is configured so that it may be opened fully at the aft opening AO all the way to, but not including, the front opening FO.  
         [0024]    An optional feature of the invention, but on that is included in the preferred embodiment, is to have a strap means  75  with two separate elements  75 P and  75 S shown in FIG. 5 adapted to be connected together selectively so as to support auxiliary apparatus such as a safety chain SC shown clearly in FIGS.  3 - 6  and  10 . A typical safety chain configuration is to have one end SC′ of the chain connected to a bracket  24  on member  10 , the other end SC″ and a decoupling link SC′″ being attached to a connector H″, at the end H′ of hitch H of the towing vehicle.  
         [0025]    Thus, both of the above described problems are solved by the shield AA. The pouch  60 ′ at the front of the shield provides a layer of protection around the sharp periphery  20 ′ of cup  20  to prevent injuries. The shield AA provides an excellent protection for the coupler means with respect to weather and dynamic road factors. The support of auxiliary apparatus by strap  75  is an additional important feature of the invention.  
         [0026]    In another embodiment of the invention depicted in FIG. 11, the side portions  30 P and  30 S present relatively large and substantially vertical side surfaces  90 . Any type of graphical indicia  92  may be displayed on side surfaces  90  as desired. Graphical indicia  92  may include for example, but is not limited to, advertising messages or logos, instructions or warning information, or informational and decorative images. The graphical indicia  92  may be a separate member affixed by sewing, adhesives or any other means, or may be imprinted directly on the side surfaces  90  by printing, embossing, screen printing, embroidery, or any other suitable method.  
         [0027]    While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated, it will be understood that variations maybe made by those skilled in the art without departing from the inventive concept. Accordingly, the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the following claims.