US Patent Issued to Crown Equipment on Nov. 11 for "Hitches including latch actuators and sensors, and vehicles incorporating the same" (Ohio Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 11 -- United States Patent no. 12,466,221, issued on Nov. 11, was assigned to Crown Equipment Corp. (New Bremen, Ohio).

"Hitches including latch actuators and sensors, and vehicles incorporating the same" was invented by Kevin Gilliland (Coldwater, Ohio), Adam Wietholter (Marysville, Ohio) and Michael Grover (Chickasaw, Ohio).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A materials handling vehicle comprising a hitch system, and a drive mechanism. The hitch system comprises a hitch and a hitch controller. The hitch comprises a latch, one or more sensors, an actuator, and a receiving member. The latch is positionable between open and closed positions. The actuator is positionable betwee...