Abstract: A connector assembly for supplying power and transmitting signals from a vehicle to a towed trailer or other towed equipment. The connector assembly comprises a trailer hitch having a cross tube extending horizontally behind the vehicle. The cross tube has a wall separating an inside cavity from an outside surface of the cross tube. A first connector attached to the outside surface or mounted in a first opening in the wall of the cross tube has a connecting portion outwardly of the outside surface. Likewise, a second connector mounted at the outside surface or in a second opening in the wall of the cross tube has a connecting portion outwardly of the outside surface of the trailer hitch. One or more conduits extend across the inside cavity between the first and second connectors for interconnecting the vehicle to the towed trailer for supplying power and transmitting signals between them.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
May 11, 2007
Date of Patent:
November 25, 2008
Assignee:
Thule Towing Systems, L.L.C.
Inventors:
Chris J. Fudala, Robert W. Ruby, Michael James McCann