Electrical mounting bracket for hitch

• US 9,016,707 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2012
• Issued: 04/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Curt Manufacturing (LCI Industries)
• Original Assignee: Curt Manufacturing (LCI Industries)
• Inventors: Bowe, Curtis M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Boehler, Anne Marie
• Assistant Examiner(s): WILLIAMS, MAURICE L
• Application Number:
  US13/601,337
• Publication Number:
  US 20130049327A1
• Time in Patent Office: 970 Days
• Field of Search: 280/409, 280420-422, 280/504, 280/514, 439/35, 439/527
• US Class Current: 280/420
• CPC Class Codes: B60D 1/62 involving supply lines, electric circuits, or the like
• CPC Class Codes: B60D 1/64 Couplings or joints therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 2201/26 for vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49002 Electrical device making

Abstract

A mounting bracket cantilevers a support arm off the side of a receiver tube of a hitch, using flats on the receiver tube or receiver tube lip to support the cantilevered weight. The support arm is configured to receive and support one or more mating electrical connection structures, with a plug/unplug direction matching the fore/aft direction of the towing vehicle. Flanges of the mounting bracket are pulled toward each other around the receiving tube using mounting bolts which extend on right and left sides of the receiving tube. The mounting bracket is preferably formed from stamped and bent sheet metal.

Claims

1. An electrical mounting bracket comprising:

a receiving tube opening sized and shaped to allow access therethrough to an interior of a hitch receiving tube, the interior of the hitch receiving tube defining a generally horizontally extending recess for longitudinally receiving a removeable hitching structure, the horizontally extending recess defining a hitch receiving tube axis;

a first flange for abutting a first exterior flat of the hitch receiving tube;

a second flange opposing the first flange, the second flange for abutting a second exterior flat of the hitch receiving tube;

a side arm extending in a cantilevered fashion in a sideways direction away from the receiving tube opening; and

a mounting structure adapted for receiving an electrical socket of a towing vehicle electrical connection on the side arm at a cantilevered location displaced sideways relative to the receiving tube opening, the mounting structure defining a direction of socket connection/disconnection which is parallel to the hitch receiving tube axis.

2. The electrical mounting bracket of claim 1, wherein the first flange and the second flange comprise two pairs of aligned bolt holes to receive two bolts to secure the electrical mounting bracket around the hitch receiving tube with a bolt on each side of the hitch receiving tube.

3. The electrical mounting bracket of claim 1, wherein the first flange and the second flange have a gap selected from the group consisting of about 2.225 inches and about 3.1 inches, wherein the first flange is spaced to contact with a first lip flat and the second flange is spaced to make contact with a second lip flat of a standardly sized hitch receiving tube.

4. The electrical mounting bracket of claim 3, further comprising:

a pair of bolt holes in the first flange which are aligned with a pair of bolt holes in the second flange; and

two bolts which extend through the bolt holes between the first and second flange, the two bolts being configured to tighten the electrical mounting bracket around the lip of the standardly sized hitch receiving tube.

5. The electrical mounting bracket of claim 1, wherein the first flange is a top flange and wherein the second flange is a bottom flange.

6. The electrical mounting bracket of claim 5, wherein the side arm comprises a horizontally extending surface as a continuation of one of the top flange and the bottom flange.

7. The electrical mounting bracket of claim 1, wherein the side arm comprises a socket receiving opening.

8. The electrical mounting bracket of claim 7, wherein the side arm further comprises a plurality of bolt holes around the socket receiving opening, and wherein the electrical mounting bracket further comprises a socket clamp mountable to the side arm using the plurality of bolt holes, such that the socket clamp and the socket receiving opening are jointly configured to hold an electrical socket.

9. The electrical mounting bracket of claim 1, formed by stamping out of sheet metal and bending.

10. An electrical mounting bracket comprising:

a receiving tube opening sized and shaped to allow access therethrough to a hitch receiving tube;

a first flange for abutting a first flat of the hitch receiving tube;

a second flange opposing the first flange, the second flange for abutting a second flat of the hitch receiving tube;

a side arm extending in a cantilevered fashion away from the receiving tube opening; and

a mounting structure adapted for receiving an electrical socket of a towing vehicle electrical connection on the side arm at a cantilevered location relative to the receiving tube opening;

wherein at least one of the first flange and the second flange comprise a lip receiving slot for receiving a lip of the hitch receiving tube.

11. An electrical mounting bracket comprising:

a receiving tube opening sized and shaped to allow access therethrough to a hitch receiving tube;

a first flange for abutting a first flat of the hitch receiving tube;

a second flange opposing the first flange, the second flange for abutting a second flat of the hitch receiving tube, wherein the first flange and the second flange have a gap selected from the group consisting of about 2.225 inches and about 3.1 inches, wherein the first flange is spaced to contact with a first lip flat and the second flange is spaced to make contact with a second lip flat of a standardly sized hitch receiving tube;

a pair of bolt holes in the first flange which are aligned with a pair of bolt holes in the second flange;

a side arm extending in a cantilevered fashion away from the receiving tube opening;

a mounting structure adapted for receiving an electrical socket of a towing vehicle electrical connection on the side arm at a cantilevered location relative to the receiving tube opening; and

two bolts which extend through the bolt holes between the first and second flange, the two bolts being configured to tighten the electrical mounting bracket around the lip of the standardly sized hitch receiving tube;

wherein the electrical mounting bracket comprises a face, wherein the two bolts are spaced wider than the receiving tube opening by a distance of about ⅓

inch on each side and offset from the face by a distance of about ⅔

inch, such that the two bolts interfere with the lip of the standardly sized hitch receiving tube to prevent the electrical mounting bracket from being pulled off the receiving tube.

12. An electrical mounting bracket comprising:

a receiving tube opening sized and shaped to allow access therethrough to a hitch receiving tube;

a first flange for abutting a first flat of the hitch receiving tube;

a second flange opposing the first flange, the second flange for abutting a second flat of the hitch receiving tube;

a side arm extending in a cantilevered fashion away from the receiving tube opening; and

a mounting structure adapted for receiving an electrical socket of a towing vehicle electrical connection on the side arm at a cantilevered location relative to the receiving tube opening; and

a face which encircles the receiving tube opening.

13. An electrical mounting bracket comprising:

a receiving tube opening sized and shaped to allow access therethrough to an interior of a hitch receiving tube, the interior of the hitch receiving tube defining a generally horizontally extending recess for longitudinally receiving a removeable hitching structure;

a first flange for abutting a first exterior flat of the hitch receiving tube, wherein the first flange is a top flange;

a second flange opposing the first flange, the second flange for abutting a second exterior flat of the hitch receiving tube, wherein the second flange is a bottom flange;

a side arm extending in a cantilevered fashion in a sideways direction away from the receiving tube opening, wherein the side arm comprises a horizontally extending surface as a continuation of one of the top flange and the bottom flange, wherein the side arm further comprises a vertically extending surface as a continuation of a front face of the electrical mounting bracket around the receiving tube opening; and

a mounting structure adapted for receiving an electrical socket of a towing vehicle electrical connection on the side arm at a cantilevered location displaced sideways relative to the receiving tube opening.

14. An electrical mounting bracket comprising:

a receiving tube opening sized and shaped to allow access therethrough to a hitch receiving tube;

a first flange for abutting a first flat of the hitch receiving tube;

a second flange opposing the first flange, the second flange for abutting a second flat of the hitch receiving tube;

a side arm extending in a cantilevered fashion away from the receiving tube opening, wherein the side arm comprises a socket receiving opening, wherein the side arm further comprises a plurality of bolt holes around the socket receiving opening, and wherein the electrical mounting bracket further comprises a socket clamp mountable to the side arm using the plurality of bolt holes, such that the socket clamp and the socket receiving opening are jointly configured to hold an electrical socket, wherein the socket clamp and the socket receiving opening are jointly configured to hold the electrical socket oriented such that a direction of socket connection/disconnection is parallel to an axis of the receiving tube opening; and

a mounting structure adapted for receiving an electrical socket of a towing vehicle electrical connection on the side arm at a cantilevered location relative to the receiving tube opening.

15. The electrical mounting bracket of claim 14, wherein the elevation of the socket clamp and the socket receiving opening place the electrical socket such that the elevation of the electrical socket matches the elevation of the receiving tube opening.

16. A method of using an electrical mounting bracket, comprising:

placing an electrical mounting bracket onto a hitch receiving tube, such that a receiving tube opening of the electrical mounting bracket is positioned and sized to allow access therethrough to an interior of the hitch receiving tube, the interior of the hitch receiving tube defining a generally horizontally extending recess for longitudinally receiving a removable hitching structure, with a first flange of the electrical mounting bracket abutting a first exterior flat of the hitch receiving tube and a second flange of the electrical mounting bracket abutting a second exterior flat of the hitch receiving tube opposite the first flange, the first flange and the second flange interacting with the hitch receiving tube to support a moment of a side arm extending in a cantilevered fashion in a sideways direction away from the receiving tube opening;

tightening the electrical mounting bracket onto the hitch receiving tube using bolts extending through the first and second flanges on opposing sides of the hitch receiving tube; and

securing an electrical socket of a towing vehicle electrical connection to a mounting structure on the side arm at a cantilevered location displaced sideways relative to the receiving tube opening, wherein the electrical socket is secured such that a direction of socket connection/disconnection is parallel to an axis of the hitch receiving tube.