Patent ID: 8056919

Claim:
A tow bar for connecting a towed vehicle to a towing vehicle, the tow bar comprising: (a) a towing hitch member secured to a towing vehicle; (b) a towed hitch member secured to a towed vehicle; (c) a head member structured to be releasably connectable to the towing hitch member; (d) at least one tow bar leg having: (1) a proximal end including an outer member with a distal end, and (2) a distal end including an inner member with a proximal end telescopingly displaceable within the distal end of the outer member; (e) a fore leg connector mechanism connecting the proximal end of the at least one tow bar leg to the head member; (f) an aft leg connector mechanism structured to be releasably connectable to the towed hitch member; and (g) at least one latching mechanism including a locking portion secured to the at least one tow bar leg near the distal end of the outer member thereof, the locking portion structured to automatically and releasably lock the at least one tow bar leg in a deployed configuration, the locking portion including: (1) a housing having a slot, (2) an orifice through a wall of the outer member, (3) a latch device having a distal end, the latch device being slidingly mounted in the slot, and (4) a biasing mechanism structured to bias the latch device radially inwardly and through the orifice of the outer member wherein the distal end of the latch device extends into a path of the inner member.