Patent ID: 8690181

Claim:
A tow bar apparatus for towing a towed vehicle behind a towing vehicle, the tow bar apparatus comprising: (a) a towing vehicle hitch apparatus mounted to a rear of the towing vehicle; (b) a towed vehicle hitch apparatus mounted to a front of the towed vehicle; (c) a towing connector structured to be releasably connectable to the towing vehicle hitch apparatus; (d) a pair of opposing tow bar legs, each tow bar leg including: (1) a pair of parallel flanges with a pair of vertically-aligned leg orifices, (2) an outer member fixedly secured to and extending-rearwardly from the pair of flanges and spaced from the leg orifices to provide a gap, and (3) an inner member slidably, telescopingly and longitudinally receivable by the outer member; (e) a swivel unit including: (1) a first portion having a fore end fixedly secured to the towing connector, and an aft end having a rearwardly-extending yoke with a pair of horizontally-aligned first orifices; the first portion including at least one upwardly-extending lobe structured to be receivable by one of the gaps of the tow bar legs to thereby enable a user to pin-lessly stow the tow bar legs in a generally horizontally-oriented stowed configuration at the rear of the towing vehicle, (2) a second portion having a fore end with a horizontally-oriented second orifice, and an aft end having a cavity and an axially-oriented third orifice in communication with the cavity, (3) a first fastener through the first and second orifices which pivotally connects the second portion to the first portion and which operatively establishes a pitch axis between the towing and towed vehicles when the tow bar apparatus is in use, (4) a third portion having a fore end with a forwardly-extending post rotatably captured in the cavity of the second portion which operatively establishes a roll axis between the towing and towed vehicles when the tow bar apparatus is in use, and an aft end with a vertically-oriented fourth orifice, and (5) a second fastener, through the fourth orifice and both pairs of leg orifices of the tow bar legs, which pivotally connect the tow bar legs to the third portion and which operatively establishes a yaw axis between the towing and towed vehicles when the tow bar apparatus is in use; (f) latching mechanisms secured to the outer members and structured to automatically releasably lock the tow bar legs in a deployed configuration; (g) stowing latches secured to the outer members and structured to releasably secure the tow bar legs in the stowed configuration; (h) boots structured to enclose the inner members such that the boots extend outwardly from the respective outer members; and (i) rear leg connectors secured to aft ends of the inner members and structured to releasably connect the pair of tow bar legs to the towed vehicle hitch apparatus.