Abstract:
A splash guard assembly having an attachment mechanism in the form of a collar. The collar is adapted to fit around a portion of a ball mount or receiver hitch of a trailer hitch. A generally horizontal extending structure is attached to the collar and has splash guards operationally attached to its distal ends. The generally horizontal extending structure can be an integral horizontal bar or a series of bars fixedly or adjustably disposed with respect to the collar. The generally horizontal extending structure can include bent portions allowing the splash guards to be connected to the structure at a different vertical position than that of the collar. The collar can be made of any design that allows a firm connection with the ball mount or receiver hitch. The attachment mechanism can alternatively take the form of a generally horizontal plate adapted to be attached to a bumper of the vehicle.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to provisional patent Application Ser. No. 60/066,877 filed Nov. 25, 1997 titled “Removable Splash Guard Assembly for Vehicles,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. Design patent application Ser. No. 29/080,960, filed on Dec. 22, 1997, which is also hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a removable splash guard assembly for a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a splash guard assembly for a vehicle that is removably mounted on a trailer hitch. 
     Splash guards are commonly provided on large trucks and trailers to prevent mist, rocks and mud from being thrown by the rotating tires of the truck. Smaller vehicles such as pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles also benefit from splash guards when towing a trailer. Splash guards help keep the trailer and the trailer&#39;s contents free from water mist, mud, and rocks that are picked up by the tires of the vehicle. However, many smaller vehicles are not equipped with splash guards. When a manufacturer does provide splash guards, they are often inadequate to protect the trailer and its contents. 
     Previous attempts to provide adequate splash protection for a vehicle such as a pick-up truck have typically involved permanently attaching splash guards to the frame, bumper, or undercarriage of the vehicle. These solutions are inadequate for use with a vehicle that only occasionally needs such splash protection. 
     The difficulties and problems found in past splash guard systems are overcome by providing a splash guard assembly having an attachment mechanism in the form of a collar. The collar is adapted to fit around a portion of a ball mount or receiver hitch of a trailer hitch. A generally horizontal extending structure is attached to the collar and has splash guards operationally attached to its distal ends. The generally horizontal extending structure can be an integral horizontal bar or a series of bars fixedly or adjustably disposed with respect to the collar. The generally horizontal extending structure can include bent portions allowing the splash guards to be connected to the structure at a different vertical position than that of the collar. The collar can be made of any design that allows a firm connection with the ball mount or receiver hitch. 
     Alternatively, the splash guard assembly can be adapted to be removably attached to the rear bumper of a vehicle. A connecting structure, preferably in the form of a horizontal plate, extends substantially orthogonally with respect to the horizontal bar. Holes are drilled into the plate that are coaxial with holes found in the step of a step-type bumper. Bolts or fasteners firmly connect the plate to the bumper. The connecting structure can be of any design that allows a firm connection with the bumper. 
     These and other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the removable splash guard of the present invention, with the rear of a vehicle shown in dashed lines. 
     FIGS. 1A and 1B are perspective views of other embodiments of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIGS. 3 and 3A are perspective views of still another embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIGS. 4A,  4 B, and  4 C are perspective views of another embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4D is a detail view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4C, and FIG. 4E is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG.  4 C. 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The drawings and the following description disclose several embodiments of the present invention. It will be understood that similar reference numbers in the different figures refer to similar parts of the invention. 
     FIG. 1 shows a removable splash guard assembly  10  of the present invention about to be mounted to the rear of a vehicle V. Vehicle V has a trailer hitch including a hitch receiver R disposed substantially flush with a rear bumper  12 . Bumper  12  can be of the type known in the industry as a “step bumper” which has a generally horizontal step  13  disposed at the midpoint of bumper  12 . Hitch receiver R can also extend rearwardly of bumper  12 . Hitch receiver R has a hollow opening  14 . The trailer hitch has a ball mount which includes a tube  16  adapted to fit in hollow opening  14 . Ball mount M also has a vertical extension  18  upon which is disposed a ball  20 . A gusset  22  extends between tube  16  and vertical extension  18 . 
     Assembly  10  includes end caps  24  attached at the distal ends  26  of a generally horizontal extension structure, which in FIG. 1 takes the form of a bar B. Bar B can be hollow and has a square or rectangular cross-section. Alternatively, the cross-sectional shape of bar B can be circular or any other suitable shape. Splash protection elements in the form of mud flaps or guards G are attached at distal ends  26 . Guards G can be made of rubber, plastic, heavy cloth, or a composite of materials as is known in the industry. An attachment mechanism in the form of a collar C is attached to bar B at a center region  28  of bar B. Collar C includes a hollow square sleeve  30  with a cross-sectional size sufficient to accept tube  16 . Sleeve  30  has a threaded hole  32  disposed on the bottom of sleeve  30 . A securing assembly in the form of a bolt  34  is threaded into hole  32 . When tightened, bolt  34  presses against tube  16  and prevents movement of collar C with respect to tube  16 . As shown in FIG. 4D, threaded hole  32  can be defined by a hole drilled into collar C with a nut  85  welded so the threaded hole of the nut is coaxial with the drilled hole. The securing assembly can also take other forms, such as a pin inserted into a hole in ball mount M, a friction-type lever-actuated clamp, or a contoured portion on the inside of collar C that contacts a contoured portion on tube  16 . 
     To mount assembly  10  on vehicle, collar C is placed on tube  16  and bolt  34  is tightened so that collar C is secured to tube  16 . Tube  16  is inserted into hollow opening  14  and attached to hitch receiver R using conventional methods. The trailer hitch is ready to be used. To remove assembly  10 , tube  16  is detached and removed from hitch receiver R. Bolt  34  is loosened, and collar C is slid off tube  16 . 
     The splash guard assembly of the present invention can also be mounted directly on hitch receiver R if hitch receiver R is not flush with bumper  12  but extends rearwardly of bumper  12 . This arrangement allows assembly  10  to be mounted on vehicle V in the absence of ball mount M. 
     In some situations it may be desirable to mount assembly  10  on a trailer hitch when ball mount is already attached to hitch receiver. The embodiments shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B allow assembly to be mounted in such a situation. FIG. 1A shows an open-ended collar including a U-shaped bolt  36  threaded at both ends  38 . A plate  40  has two holes  42  adapted to be inserted through threaded ends  38 . Nuts  44  are threaded onto ends  38 . Collar C is attached to bar B. Bar B is hollow and has a round cross-section. To mount assembly  10  on vehicle V, U-shaped bolt  36  is placed on tube  16  or on hitch receiver R. Plate  40  is placed on threaded ends  38 , and nuts  44  are attached to threaded ends  38  and tightened until U-shaped bolt  36  and plate  40  are snug against tube  16 . FIG. 1B shows a variation of the open-ended collar C. A U-shaped bracket  46  is attached to bar B. A bolt  48  is inserted through holes in bracket  46  when bracket  46  is placed on tube  16  or hitch receiver R. A nut  50  secures bolt  48  to bracket  46  when bracket  46  is mounted on hitch receiver R or ball mount M. 
     FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention in which the splash protection elements take the form of a plurality of strips  52 . Each of strips  52  has a length substantially greater than its width. Strips  52  can be flexible or relatively rigid, or alternately strips  52  can comprise a combination of flexible and rigid individual strips. 
     FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention in which a bar mounting assembly  54  is attached to collar C. As shown in FIG. 3, bar mounting assembly  54  can take the form of two hollow tubes  56  having square cross-sections which are welded to the outer sides of collar. As with bar B, hollow tubes  56  can be of any suitable cross-sectional shape. The extension structure takes the form of two substantially identical extensions  58  upon which guards G are mounted. Extensions  58  can be separate from each other as shown in FIG. 3, or can be integrally connected to each other as shown in FIG.  3 A. Each extension  58  has an angled end  60  adapted to fit into hollow tubes  56 . Angled ends  60  preferably have a cross-sectional shape complementary to that of hollow tubes  56 . For example, angled ends  60  in FIG. 3A have a generally round cross-sectional shape and are designed to be used with hollow tubes  56  having a generally round cross-sectional shape (not shown). Means, such as bolt  61 , can be provided to secure angled ends  60  in hollow tubes  56  to prevent extensions  58  from inadvertently coming out of hollow tubes  56 . Alternatively, collar C can be permanently attached to a hitch receiver R or ball mount M while extensions  58  are removably disposed on collar. The embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and 3A allow guards G to be mounted and removed from vehicle V while collar C remains attached to hitch receiver R or ball mount M. 
     FIGS. 4A,  4 B and  4 C show another embodiment of the present invention that can be used where hitch receiver R or ball mount M are attached to vehicle V a distance below bumper  12 . In this situation, a splash guard assembly of the present invention having a completely horizontal bar would be mounted low enough to allow water or rocks to pass between the top of the bar and the bottom of bumper  12 . The embodiment shown in FIG. 4A provides guards G disposed vertically higher than the vertical position of collar C. Center region  28  and distal ends  26  of bar B are substantially horizontal. Bar also includes upwardly angled portions  62  connecting distal ends  26  to center region  28 . Guards G are attached to distal ends  26 . FIG. 4B shows a variation of this design in which center region is shorter than center region  28  in FIG.  4 A. Angled portions can also be angled downwardly if it is desired to mount guards G vertically lower than the vertical position of collar C. 
     Embodiments of the present invention disclosed thus far have shown collar C as a hollow sleeve  30  adapted to completely surround ball mount M or hitch receiver R. However, some ball mounts are designed to be connected to a hitch receiver at a predetermined point along the tube of the ball mount. If gusset  22  is of substantial size, there may not be enough length of tube extending out of hitch receiver R upon which sleeve  30  can be attached. To overcome this potential problem, collar C can be configured so as not to interfere with gusset  22 . As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, collar C has a “three-corner” design in which two complete sides  64 ,  66  of collar C are connected at a first comer  68 . Two partial sides  70 ,  72 , not necessarily having the same length, are respectively connected to the two complete sides  64 ,  66  at second and third comers  74 ,  76 . Bolt  34  is disposed on one side of collar C. Brackets  75 , 77  provide added attachment support between collar C and bar B. Collar C can be placed on tube  16  without interfering with gusset  22 . Because collar C surrounds tube  16  at three corners  68 ,  74 ,  76 , collar C does not move with respect to tube  16 . 
     FIGS. 4C through 4E show another “gusset avoiding” design in which collar C has a generally square cross-section. Collar C has an opening  78  along the bottom side and is attached to a generally triangular plate  80 . Plate is attached to bar B and, as best seen in FIG. 4E, is substantially thinner than collar C. Plate has a groove  81  disposed just below opening  78 . Groove  81  and opening  78  are designed to accept part of gusset  22  when collar is placed on tube  16 . The embodiment shown in FIGS. 4C through 4E is useful if gusset  22  is irregular in shape or if the cross-sectional width of gusset  22  increases as it approaches tube  16 . 
     Bolts  82 ,  84  are rotatable in angularly disposed threaded holes  86 ,  88  at the lower comers of collar C. When collar C is inserted into tube  16 , angularly disposed bolts  82 ,  84  firmly hold tube in both vertical and horizontal directions. Bolts  82 ,  84  are in a more convenient position to be loosened and tightened by an operator. 
     FIG. 5 shows a removable splash guard assembly according to the present invention in which the distance between guards G and collar C can be adjusted. Hollow bar B has a reduced length and two open ends  90 . Screw bolts  94  are disposed in holes (not shown) in the underside of bar B. Extensions  96  are adapted to fit within hollow bar B. Guards G are attached to extensions  96 . An operator slides each extension  96  within hollow bar B until guard G is at the desired distance from collar C. Screw bolts  94  are tightened to maintain each extension  96  at the desired distance. 
     FIG. 5 also shows another type of “gusset avoiding” collar design. Collar C is designed to surround tube  16  or hitch receiver R around three substantially complete sides. A partial side  98  extends from one of the complete side. Bolt  100  extends through an angularly threaded hole  102  in a lower comer of collar C. Collar C is integrally formed with triangular plate  80  which is attached to bar B. 
     FIG. 6 shows a further embodiment in which the attachment mechanism takes the form of a horizontal plate  104  welded to bar B. Plate  104  has holes  106  which are drilled to be coaxial with holes  108  in step  13  of rear bumper  12 . Bolts or other suitable fastening means firmly hold plate  104  to bumper  12 . The alternate form of attachment mechanism can be used if vehicle V has no trailer hitch that could mount the present invention. 
     The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto.