Patent ID: 6883822

Claim:
A hitch ball assembly for towing a trailer comprising: (A) a mounting element adapted to be secured to a vehicle, said mounting element including an upright post having a cylindrical free end portion with a selected diameter and extending along a longitudinal axis, said free end portion having a key structure disposed thereon of a selected size and shape; (B) a hitch ball element having (1) a passageway extending along a rotational axis with an entryway that is keyed to the size and shape of said key structure such that in a first rotational orientation, said free end portion may be inserted into the passageway of said hitch ball element to define a mated state and removed from the passageway, and (2) an internal cavity communicating with the passageway and configured to permit relative rotation of said hitch ball element on said free end portion when in the mated state between the first rotational orientation and a second rotational orientation wherein said key structure is trapped in the cavity such that said hitch ball element and said free end portion cannot be disengaged from one another; (C) a latch notch located on one of said hitch ball element and said mounting element; and (D) a latch element disposed on another of said hitch ball element and said mounting element and movable between a latch position and an unlatch position such that, when said hitch ball element and said free end portion are in the mated state with said hitch ball element in the second rotational orientation, said latch element can be moved (1) into the latch position so as to engage the notch and thereby prevent said hitch ball element from moving from the second rotational orientation to the first rotational orientation, and (2) into the unlatch position permitting rotation of said hitch ball element from the second rotational orientation to the first rotational orientation.