Patent ID: 7195271

Claim:
A children's ride-on vehicle assembly, comprising: a leading vehicle, comprising: a leading vehicle body having a seat sized for a child; a drive assembly adapted to selectively propel the leading vehicle along a ground surface; and a first plurality of wheels rotatably coupled to the leading vehicle body, wherein the first plurality of wheels includes at least one driven wheel adapted to be rotationally driven by the drive assembly; a trailing vehicle, comprising: a trailing vehicle body; a second plurality of wheels rotatably coupled to the trailing vehicle body; and a hitch assembly adapted to couple the leading vehicle for pivotal movement with the trailing vehicle, the hitch assembly comprising: a receiving member on a first one of the leading vehicle body and the trailing vehicle body; a housing on a second one of the leading vehicle body and the trailing vehicle body, the housing defining an interior chamber including a pair of spaced-apart stop regions; and a hitch member, comprising: a linking portion adapted to interlock with the receiving member; and a pinch-relief portion extending within the interior chamber and adapted to selectively engage each of the pair of stop regions; wherein the housing is adapted to pivot relative to the receiving member in a first range of pivotal movement, wherein pivotal movement in a selected direction is restricted when the pinch-relief portion engages a corresponding one of the pair of stop regions.