Trailer hitch alignment apparatus

Claim 1

A trailer hitch alignment apparatus for aligning a ball of a towing vehicle with a socket defined in a tongue of a trailer, comprising: (a) a first mast comprising a single pipe having an upper portion and a cylindrical lower portion, said lower portion including a top end and a bottom end, said upper portion being defined by a forwardly opening semi-cylinder formed by a longitudinally cut portion of the pipe; the top end of said lower portion defining a shoulder, the bottom end of said cylindrical lower portion removably mounted on the top surface of the socket defined in the tongue of the trailer, said socket having an open bottom face; (b) means for mounting said first mast substantially vertically extended above said socket, comprising an elastic band and an "H" shaped socket spanner plate minus for lying across the open bottom face of said socket, said elastic band being engaged around the shoulder of said first mast and down around the tongue of said trailer and around said "H" shaped socket spanner plate; and (c) a second mast having a collar for slipping on and engaging said ball, said ball having a front end and said mast extending upwardly along side the front end of said ball and having a rear-jogging gooseneck which jogs rearwardly to directly above the ball at which point said second mast continues upwardly from just above the height of the shoulder of said first mast.