Patent ID: 8567807

Claim:
A locking tow hitch comprising: a pair of tow bar arms; a receiver joint connecting proximal ends of the pair of tow bar arms, the receiver joint including an upper plate and a lower plate and first and second fasteners securing said pair of tow bar arms between said upper and lower plates; a capture notch on the upper plate; a coupling link secured to the receiver joint; a tow bar receiver mountable in a towing vehicle hitch socket; a clevis hitch mounted in the tow bar receiver, the clevis hitch including a collar journalled on a pivot pin and connected to the coupling link; a self-locking spring-actuated detent having a horizontal lower surface and an angled upper surface converging at a first end and sized to be received in the capture notch when the tow bar arms are rotated to a vertical position about the clevis hitch, including a spring that biases the self-locking spring-actuated detent toward the capture notch; and a release mechanism for releasing the self-locking spring-actuated detent from the capture notch to allow the tow bar arms to return to a horizontal position by compressing the spring to withdraw the self-locking spring-actuated detent from the capture notch.