Patent ID: 8016314

Claim:
An electronically controlled tow hitch assembly for a vehicle comprising: a. a base with two ends, an angled face plate which is connected to one end of the base, a tow hitch holder shaped and configured for holding a load which is connected to the face plate, an angled connector with cylindrical sides which is connected at the other end of the base, said connector having a top remote from the connection with the base and having a flattened face extending from the top towards the base to a transverse groove; b. a locking unit shaped and configured to be securable to a vehicle, said locking unit having a top, bottom and sides with an aperture extending upward from the bottom which is shaped to receive and lock the cylindrical connector, the aperture having a cylindrical wall with a shaft passage between two sides of the locking unit and forming a groove across the cylindrical wall, with the groove being in alignment with the groove in the connector when the connector is in the locking position, the locking unit having a sensor for determining when the connector has been inserted far enough into the aperture for locking; c. a locking shaft with two ends which extends through the shaft passage and groove in the locking unit, the shaft having an eccentric section with a cam which can be rotated within the aligned grooves in the cylindrical wall of the locking unit and connector between a locked and unlocked position with the cam being in juxtaposition to the groove in the cylindrical wall in the unlocked position so as to allow the flattened face of the connector to be moved past the locking shaft in the inserting and withdrawal of the connector from the locking unit, with the cam being in juxtaposition to the groove in the connector in the locked position to prevent the connector from being withdrawn from the locking unit, the shaft having a gear on one end of the shaft, and a transverse aperture on the other end of shaft; d. an electric motor and reduction gear assembly with the gear on the end of the shaft connecting to a gear in the gear assembly; e. a safety pin secured to the locking unit for extending through the transverse aperture in the locking shaft when the connector is in the locked position, the safety pin having means for extending it into the locked position and means for removing it from the locked position; and f. means to control the electric motor to move the locking shaft between the locked and unlocked positions.