Hitch construction

Claim 1

IN A HITCH CONSTRUCTION FOR RELEASABLY CONNECTING THE DRAWBAR OF A FIRST VEHICLE TO A SECOND VEHICLE, A DRAWBAR RECEIVING CHUTE COMPRISING A CONVERGING SECTION AND A HITCHING SECTION, AN ELONGATED CYLINDRICAL LOCKING PIN, A HOUSING SUPPORTING SAID PIN FOR SLIDING MOVEMENT FROM A FORWARD POSITION EXTENDING THROUGH ALIGNED OPENINGS IN SAID HITCHING SECTION TO A RETRACTED POSITION SPACED ABOVE SAID HITCHING SECTION, SAID LOCKING PIN INCLUDING A RADIALLY OUTWARDLY EXTENDING RETAINING SHOULDER, FIRST SPRING MEANS EXTENDING COAXIALLY OF ONE END OF SAID PIN AND RESILIENTLY URGING SAID PIN TOWARD SAID FORWARD POSITION, POWER MEANS FOR BIASING SAID LOCKING PIN FROM SAID FORWARD POSITION TO SAID RETRACTED POSITION AGAINST THE RESISTANCE OF SAID FIRST SPRING MEANS, MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTING SAID POWER MEANS WITH SAID LOCKING PIN, A GENERALLY L-SHAPED RETAINING LATCH COMPRISING FIRST AND SECOND END SECTIONS AND AN INTERMEDIATE MOUNTING SECTION, MEANS DISPOSED BELOW SAID CHUTE PIVOTABLY SUPPORTING SAID MOUNTING SECTION OF SAID LATCH AT A POSITION WHEREIN SAID FIRST END SECTION EXTENDS GENERALLY PARALLEL TO SAID LOCKING PIN AND ACROSS ONE END OF SAID HITCHING SECTION OF SAID CHUTE AND WHEREIN SAID SECOND END SECTION EXTENDS PERPENDICULAR TO SAID LOCKING PIN BELOW SAID HITCHING SECTION, AND SECOND SPRING MEANS EXTENDING BETWEEN THE LOWER SIDE OF SAID HITCHING SECTION OF SAID CHUTE AND THE UPPER SIDE OF SAID SECOND END SECTION OF SAID RETAINING LATCH PIVOTABLY BIASING SAID LATCH TO A POSITION WHEREIN THE UPPER END PORTION OF SAID FIRST END SECTION ENGAGES SAID RETAINING SHOUDLER ON SAID LOCKING PIN WHEN THE SAME IS BIASED TO ITS RETRACTED POSITION BY SAID POWER MEANS, WHEREBY TO RETAIN SAID PIN IN SAID RETRACTED POSITION, SAID DRAWBAR BEING ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID FIRST SECTION OF SAID LATCH INTERJACENT SAID MOUNTING SECTION AND SAID UPPER END PORTION AS IT IS INSERTED INTO SAID CHUTE WHEREBY SAID UPPER END PORTION OF SAID LATCH WILL BE BIASED OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID RETAINING SHOULDER TO PERMIT SAID LOCKING PIN TO BE BIASED TOWARD ITS FORWARD POSITION BY SAID FIRST SPRING MEANS AND THEREBY LOCKINGLY SECURE THE DRAWBAR WITHIN THE CHUTE.