Patent ID: 7100937

Claim:
A locking device disabling normal coupler operations by restricting the movement of a lower latching plate of a gooseneck trailer coupler when the lower latching plate of the coupler is placed in a fully closed position and the locking device is inserted into a gap created between a fixed upper plate and a band of the lower latching plate of the coupler wherein the locking device comprises: a single block of metallic material having an elongated shaft extending outward from an enlarged block end, said shaft provided with at least one padlock opening, said shaft being sufficiently small in size to allow it to be inserted through a gap formed between a fixed upper plate of a coupler and a metal band of a lower latching plate of the coupler when the coupler is in its fully closed position so as to hold the coupler in the fully closed position, said shaft being of a sufficient length to allow at least one padlock opening in the shaft to pass through said gap and clear the coupler so that a padlock can be inserted through said padlock opening to hold the shaft in the gap, said block end being sufficiently large in size to prevent it from being inserted into said gap, said shaft is curved, and an enlarged shoulder provided on the shaft adjacent to the block end increasing the effective width of the shaft.