Patent ID: 8210558

Claim:
A secondary lock assembly for a fifth wheel, said fifth wheel including a hitch plate having a front and a rear corresponding to a vehicle on which the fifth wheel is installed, configured with a rearward opening slot to receive a trailer kingpin and a transversely sliding primary locking member for retaining the kingpin within the slot, and having a transverse support wall disposed forward of the locking member, said assembly comprising: a generally longitudinally oriented elongated tie bar pivotally connected at its middle to said primary locking member, and having a forward end; a transversely oriented bar member, having an outer end and an inner end, pivotally connected at an inner end to said forward end of said tie bar, said transversely oriented bar comprising a rearward offset tab; a latch having a first pivoting connection roughly at said latch's center to the forward end of the tie bar, and a second pivoting connection rearwardly and inwardly offset from said first pivoting connection to said offset tab; and a detent extending forward from said forward transverse wall such that said detent lies in the same horizontal plane as said latch such that said latch is engaged by said detent to prevent movement of said tie bar.