Patent Application
20190232743
The following includes information that may be useful in understanding the present disclosure. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art nor material to the presently described or claimed inventions, nor that any publication or document that is specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
The present invention relates generally to the field of trailer hitch covers of existing art and more specifically relates to a trailer hitch cover for displaying warning language.
When traveling by a vehicle such as a car, many parents may feel that other drivers are operating their vehicles recklessly by driving too fast or too close to other vehicles. Indicating to other drivers that there are babies or children on board the vehicle can have an immediate effect, possibly causing them to slow down or proceed with caution. This may help reduce the chances of a collision and improve safety on the road. Prior attempts to warn drivers of babies and children on board include stickers placed on windows or bumpers. These stickers can be difficult to be removed or reapplied when desired requiring drivers to permanently display these signs. Therefore, a suitable solution is desired that is effective and not distracting.
U.S. Pub. No. 2017/0326931 to Rene Carl Batiste relates to a flexible trailer hitch receiver display sign. The described flexible trailer hitch receiver display sign includes a flexible decorative display device for attachment to a hitch receiver. The flexible display device is formed from a bendable sheet having a distal front surface, a proximal rear surface, an outer shaped outline, and interior shaped edges. The interior shaped edges form both a central opening to accommodate the trailer hitch receiver and a tongue. The tongue has tongue alignment cavity edges that define an interior tongue pin-receiving cavity. The tongue bends backwardly at a flexure line to fold back over the outside of the receiver tube, aligning the tongue pin-receiving cavity with the pin-receiving hole of the receiver.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known display signs for a “baby on board” art, the present disclosure provides a novel baby-on-board trailer hitch cover assembly and method. The general purpose of the present disclosure, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a display for a trailer hitch cover to notify other drivers that a baby is on board a vehicle (or other such desired warning).
A baby-on-board trailer hitch cover assembly is disclosed herein. The baby-on-board trailer hitch cover assembly includes a board including a front, a back, and a side perimeter. The side perimeter may circumscribe and extend between the front and the back. The side perimeter may further be defined by a bottom side opposite a top side, and a left side opposite a right side. A tube-hitch-insert may be provided including a first-end and a second-end. The first-end is configured to be attached to the board and the second-end is configured to be inserted into a receiver trailer hitch on a vehicle. The baby-on-board trailer hitch cover assembly may further include a doll fastened to the front of the board.
According to another embodiment, a method of using a baby-on-board trailer hitch cover assembly is also disclosed herein. The method includes a providing a baby-on-board trailer hitch cover assembly as describe above, mounting the baby-on-board trailer hitch cover assembly to the receiver trailer hitch, and warning other drivers that a baby is on board the vehicle via the baby-on-board trailer hitch cover assembly.
For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any one particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein. The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings and detailed description.
The figures which accompany the written portion of this specification illustrate embodiments and methods of use for the present disclosure, a baby-on-board trailer hitch cover assembly and method, constructed and operative according to the teachings of the present disclosure.
The various embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements.
As discussed above, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to displays for notifying other drivers that a baby is on board a vehicle and more particularly to a baby-on-board trailer hitch cover assembly and method as used to improve the vehicle safety around the vehicle that a baby is on board of.
Generally, present invention provides drivers with a novelty sign designed to bring public awareness to the fact that there is a baby or small child inside the vehicle. It enables drivers to convey to others on the road to use extra caution within close proximity to their vehicle. The baby-on-board trailer hitch cover assembly may offer a way for parents to indicate that they are transporting one or more children or babies. It assists in reducing the chances of a traffic collision caused by reckless driving by warning others to slow down and use caution. The present invention may also double as a step to assist users with accessing the bed of a truck or SUV.
Referring now more specifically to the drawings by numerals of reference, there is shown in
According to one embodiment, the baby-on-board trailer hitch cover assembly 100 may be arranged as a kit 105. In particular, the baby-on-board trailer hitch cover assembly 100 may further include a set of instructions 107. The instructions 107 may detail functional relationships in relation to the structure of the baby-on-board trailer hitch cover assembly 100 such that the baby-on-board trailer hitch cover assembly 100 can be used, maintained, or the like, in a preferred manner.
The baby-on-board trailer hitch cover assembly 100 may include the (functional) doll 130 fastened to the front 111 of the board 110. The doll 130 may preferably be a baby doll. One or more pieces of apparel 132 may be attachable to (or otherwise worn on) the baby doll. The pieces of apparel 132 may include but not be limited to shirts, pants, shorts, hats, dresses, and shoes. In some aspects, the pieces of apparel 132 may correspond to a theme, event, and/or occupation (e.g. sports team, religion, etc.). One or more accessory items 134 (as shown in
The front 111 of the board 110 may further include (functional) indicia 140. The indicia 140 can be positioned on a left-side 142 and a right-side 144 of the doll 130. The indicia 140 may include warning language. Preferably, the warning language reads “Baby On Board”. However, other such language that conveys the same message may be used (i.e., “Future Pope On Board”). In addition, the indicia 140 can be provided in any language, including but limited to: English, Spanish, Italian, French, and the like.
The tube-hitch-insert 120 may include an L-shaped mounting plate 126 at the first-end 122. The L-shaped mounting plate 126 may be configured to attach over the back and the top side 115 of the board 110. The L-shaped mounting plate 126 may include a frictional surface 127. The frictional surface 127 may be provided by ridges, grooves, or otherwise raised surfaces on the L-shaped mounting plate 126. The frictional surface 127 may be configured to provide a step for the user on the top side 115 of the board. The step can assist users with accessing the vehicle's bed 15 (as shown in
The LED strips 150 may be electrically connected to the vehicle's 5 electrical tow package system (or otherwise known as the electrical lighting circuit) and is configured to provide illumination when one or more lights on the vehicle 5 are activated (e.g., brake lights, running lights, etc.). Connecting means may include a cord having a plug to electrically connect to the vehicle's 5 electrical tow package system. Those with ordinary skill in the art will now appreciate that upon reading this specification and by their understanding the art of connectors as described herein, methods of connecting to the vehicle's 5 electrical tow package system will be understood by those knowledgeable in such art.
It should be noted that step four 504 is an optional step and may not be implemented in all cases. Optional steps of method of use 500 are illustrated using dotted lines in
The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application.
The present application is related to and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/623,793 filed 30 Jan. 2018, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62623793 | Jan 2018 | US |
