Patent ID: 7618052

Claim:
A high-load drawbar eye, comprising: a hitch flange for attachment to a towed vehicle; a hitch socket constructed to receive a matching hitch ball and having an open rim and defining a center axis, said hitch socket being substantially hemispherical in shape and defining a greatest diameter; a substantially semicircular collar formed along the open rim and having a diameter smaller than a greatest diameter of the hitch socket and further including two end sections, each end section having a recess formed therein; a hitch arm defining a longitudinal axis and connecting the hitch socket to the hitch flange; and a hold-down device movably attached to the hitch arm for movement along the longitudinal axis and including a semicircular fork engaging with the hitch socket, said semicircular fork having two end sections each end section having a projection formed thereon, with each projection interlocking with a corresponding opposing recess in the semicircular collar when the hitch ball is in engagement with the hitch socket.