Coupler

Claim 1

AN IMPLEMENT COUPLER ADAPTED TO CONNECT A TRACTOR HAVING UPPER AND LOWER HITCH LINKS AND POWER LIFT MEANS CONNECTED TO RAISE AND LOWER SAID LINKS WITH AN IMPLEMENT HAVING UPPER CONNECTION MEANS AND GENERALLY TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING LOWER HITCH PINS; THE IMPLEMENT COUPLER COMPRISING: A TRANSVERSE BIGHT, A PAIR OF DEPENDING LEGS HAVING OPPOSITELY DISPOSED SIDE WALLS, UPPER AND LOWER MEANS ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE REAR ENDS OF SAID UPPER AND LOWER HITCH LINKS FIXED TO SAID BIGHT AND LEGS RESPECTIVELY, MEANS FIXED TO THE BIGHT TO RECEIVE THE UPPER CONNECTION MEANS, HOOK MEANS ON SAID LEGS ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE LOWER HITCH PINS, AND LATCHING MEANS CARRIED BY EACH OF SAID LEGS AND ADAPTED TO COOPERATE WITH THE LOWER HOOK MEANS TO HOLD THE LOWER HITCH PINS WITHIN THE LOWER HOOKS, EACH OF SAID LATCHING MEANS COMPRISING A TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING PIVOT PIN EXTENDING BETWEEN THE OPPOSITE SIDE WALLS OF EACH LEG, A DEPENDING SWINGABLE LATCH BAR SECURED AT ITS UPPER END TO SAID PIVOT PIN, AN OVERCENTER LINKAGE COMPRISING AN INTERMEDIATE PIVOT MEANS, FIRST LINK MEANS PIVOTALLY INTERCONNECTED WITH AN INTERMEDIATE PORTION OF THE LATCH BAR AT ONE END AND PIVOTALLY INTERCONNECTED WITH THE INTERMEDIATE PIVOT MEANS AT THE OTHER END, AND SECOND LINK MEANS PIVOTALLY INTERCONNECTED WITH THE OPPOSITELY DISPOSED SIDE WALLS OF SAID LEG AT ONE END AND PIVOTALLY INTERCONNECTED WITH THE INTERMEDIATE PIVOT MEANS AT THE OTHER END, MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID LEG AND ENGAGEABLE WITH SAI D SECOND LINK MEANS TO RESTRICT MOVEMENT OF SAID SECOND LINK MEANS MOUNTED DIRECTION, SAID RESTRICTING MEANS BEING SO POSITIONED WITH RESPECT TO SAID SECOND LINK THAT WHEN THE LINK IS IN CONTACT WITH THE RESTRICTING MEANS THE LINKAGE IS IN ITS OVERCENTER POSITION AND SAID LATCH BAR IS IN ITS OPERATIVE POSITION, MEANS ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID LINKAGE MEANS TO NORMALLY BIAS THE LINKAGE INTO ITS OVERCENTER POSITION, AND MEANS OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID LAST-MENTIONED MEANS TO HOLD SAID LINKAGE MEANS IN A SECOND POSITION IN WHICH SAID LATCH BAR IS IN ITS INOPERATIVE POSITION.