FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to trailer hitch devices, systems, and associated methods. Accordingly, the present invention involves the mechanical arts field.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When towing a trailer behind a vehicle, one factor that can significantly affect safety is the distribution of the trailer's weight among the front and rear wheels of the tow vehicle. When a trailer is hitched to a tow vehicle, the tongue weight typically causes the rear of the tow vehicle to lower, and the front of the tow vehicle to raise. One purpose of a weight distributing hitch is to remove excessive weight from the tow vehicle's rear axle and to distribute it to the front wheels of the tow vehicle and to the trailer wheels. Typical weight distributing hitches require an iterative trial and error set-up process, which often involves repeated loading and unloading of the hitch to achieve the correct weight distribution adjustment.

Another factor that can significantly affect safety is the tongue weight or static downward force that the trailer applies to the hitch of the tow vehicle. If the tongue of the trailer does not apply enough downward force to the hitch, a dangerous condition called trailer sway could result. If the tongue of the trailer applies too much downward force to the hitch, then the rear tires of the tow vehicle can be overloaded, thus pushing the rear of the vehicle around and compromising steering and/or braking of the tow vehicle. A generally acceptable tongue weight for any trailer is somewhere between 9% and 15% of the gross trailer weight (GTW).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Weight distributing trailer hitch technology is provided. In one embodiment, a weight distributing trailer hitch can include a hitch portion for interfacing with a hitch receiver associated with a vehicle. The weight distributing trailer hitch can also include a ball portion to facilitate coupling with a tongue of a trailer. The weight distributing trailer hitch can further include a spring bar vertically pivotal relative to the hitch portion. In addition, the weight distributing trailer hitch can include an adjustment mechanism actuatable to selectively adjust a tilt angle of the spring bar relative to the hitch portion to vary preload on the spring bar and adjustably distribute weight of the trailer relative to the vehicle.

In another embodiment, a weight distributing trailer hitch can include a hitch portion for interfacing with a hitch receiver associated with a vehicle. The weight distributing trailer hitch can also include a ball portion having a hitch ball configured to couple with a tongue of a trailer. The weight distributing trailer hitch can further include a spring bar for distributing weight of the trailer relative to the vehicle. In addition, the weight distributing trailer hitch can include a load measurement device to determine a magnitude of a downward force on the hitch ball.

In yet another embodiment, a method for distributing trailer weight on a tow vehicle can comprise coupling a tongue of a trailer to a hitch ball of a weight distributing trailer hitch mounted on a tow vehicle. The method can also comprise determining a tongue weight of the trailer with a load measurement device of the weight distributing trailer hitch, the load measurement device being operable to determine a magnitude of a downward force on the hitch ball. The method can also comprise coupling a spring bar of the weight distributing trailer hitch to a frame of the trailer. The method can also comprise determining a first horizontal distance from a center of a rear axle of the tow vehicle to a center of the hitch ball. The method can also comprise determining a second horizontal distance from the center of the hitch ball to an attachment location of the spring bar to the frame of the trailer. The method can further comprise determining a third horizontal distance from the center of the hitch ball to a center of a trailer axle. The method can still further comprise calculating an adjusted downward force to be achieved on the hitch ball operable to evenly distribute trailer weight on front and rear axles of the tow vehicle, wherein the adjusted downward force is calculated based on the tongue weight and the first, second, and third distances. In addition, the method can comprise adjusting preload on the spring bar until the adjusted downward force is achieved on the hitch ball as measured by the load measurement device.

