1. A fifth wheel trailer hitch adapter comprising:
an L-shaped support frame having:
a hollow vertical shaft having an open top end, a bottom end, a front wall, a rear wall, a right wall, and a left wall;
a solid inner shaft telescopically disposed within the vertical shaft, the inner shaft having a pair of side walls and a back wall;
a plurality of vertically-aligned apertures centrally disposed through the side walls of the inner shaft;
a first lock pin selectively engaging one of the apertures;
a solid horizontal hitch frame having a rear end disposed on the front wall of the vertical shaft proximal the bottom end and further having a front end, an upper wall, and a pair of sideward walls, the hitch frame being perpendicular to the vertical shaft;
a plurality of aligned holes centrally disposed in the sideward walls along the hitch frame, one of the holes disposed proximal the front end;
a second lock pin selectively engaging one of the holes;
a single axle disposed through the right and left walls of the vertical shaft between the hitch frame and the bottom end, the axle having a pair of outer ends opposite each other;
a wheel rotatingly disposed on each of the outer ends;
a plate disposed atop the inner shaft in a position parallel to the hitch frame, the plate having a bottom surface, a top surface, a front surface, a rear surface, and a pair of side surfaces, the inner shaft being centrally disposed on the bottom surface;
a safety chain attached to each of the side surfaces of the plate, each safety chain having a pair of external ends, one of the external ends being permanently attached to the respective side surface, and an opposite one of the external ends being removably attached to the respective side surface;
a plurality of braces, one of the braces disposed on each of the side surfaces and rear surface of the plate, each brace having a pair of upper ends, each upper end disposed within the plate along each of the side surfaces, and further having a v-shaped portion attached to the upper ends, the v-shaped portion having a pair of inner sides and a lower apex disposed on each of the respective back wall and side wall of the inner shaft; and
a base having a flat lower end disposed on the plate top surface, a pair of triangular side outer surfaces proximal the plate side surfaces, and a pair of parallelepiped outer walls proximal the front and rear surfaces of the plate, a fifth-wheel trailer hitch assembly configured to couple to the base, the fifth-wheel trailer hitch assembly having a base component attached to the base and a head component configured to removably couple a fifth-wheel trailer, the base component configured to support the head component;
wherein the horizontal hitch frame is configured to telescopically engage a vehicle rear hitch.
2. The fifth wheel trailer hitch adapter of claim 1 further comprising a solid brace wedge disposed between the upper wall of the horizontal hitch frame and the front wall of the vertical shaft.
3. The fifth wheel trailer hitch adapter of claim 2 wherein the plate is parallelepiped.
4. The fifth wheel trailer hitch adapter of claim 3 wherein each safety chain has a length configured to permit the safety chain to extend proximal the respective wheel.
5. The fifth wheel trailer hitch adapter of claim 4 wherein the support frame, the plate, each brace, and the base are formed of steel.
6. A fifth wheel trailer hitch adapter comprising:
an L-shaped support frame having:
a hollow vertical shaft having an open top end, a bottom end, a front wall, a rear wall, a right wall, and a left wall;
a solid inner shaft telescopically disposed within the vertical shaft, the inner shaft having a pair of side walls and a back wall;
a plurality of vertically-aligned apertures centrally disposed through the side walls of the inner shaft;
a first lock pin selectively engaging one of the apertures;
a solid horizontal hitch frame having a rear end disposed on the front wall of the vertical shaft proximal the bottom end and further having a front end and an upper wall, the hitch frame being perpendicular to the vertical shaft;
a plurality of aligned holes centrally disposed along the hitch frame, a forward one of the holes disposed proximal the front end;
a second lock pin selectively engaging one of the holes;
a single axle disposed through the right and left walls of the vertical shaft between the hitch frame and the bottom end, the axle having a pair of outer ends opposite each other;
a wheel rotatingly disposed on each of the outer ends;
a parallelepiped plate disposed atop the inner shaft in a position parallel to the hitch frame, the plate having a bottom surface, a top surface, a front surface, a rear surface, and a pair of side surfaces, the inner shaft being centrally disposed on the bottom surface;
a safety chain attached to each of the side surfaces of the plate, each safety chain having a pair of external ends, one of the external ends being permanently attached to the respective side surface, and an opposite one of the external ends being removably attached to the respective side surface;
a plurality of braces, one of the braces disposed on each of the side surfaces and rear surface of the plate, each brace having a pair of upper ends, each upper end disposed within the plate along each of the side surfaces, and further having a v-shaped portion attached to the upper ends, the v-shaped portion having a pair of inner sides and a lower apex disposed on each of the respective back wall and side wall of the inner shaft;
a cross-brace continuously disposed between the inner sides of the v-shaped portion;
a base having a flat lower end disposed on the plate top surface, a pair of triangular side outer surfaces proximal the plate side surfaces, and a pair of parallelepiped outer walls proximal the front and rear surfaces of the plate, a fifth-wheel trailer hitch assembly configured to couple to the base, the fifth-wheel trailer hitch assembly having a base component attached to the base and a head component configured to removably couple a fifth-wheel trailer, the base component configured to support the head component; and
a solid brace wedge disposed between the upper wall of the horizontal hitch frame and the front wall of the vertical shaft;
wherein the horizontal hitch frame is configured to telescopically engage a vehicle rear hitch; and
wherein each safety chain has a length configured to permit the safety chain to extend proximal the respective wheel.
7. The fifth wheel trailer hitch adapter of claim 6 wherein the support frame, the plate, the brace, and the base are formed of steel.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A haptic system comprising:
first generating means for generating a first force sensation in response to receiving a first signal; and
second generating means for generating a second force sensation in response to receiving a second signal;
wherein the first signal is associated with a first application program, the first application program running during a first time period; and
wherein the second signal is associated with a second application program, the second application program running during a second time period that overlaps with the first time period in a multi-tasking environment.
2. The haptic system of claim 1, further comprising:
signal generating means for generating the first signal and the second signal;
signal receiving means for receiving the first signal and the second signal; and
transmitting means for transmitting the first signal and the second signal to the signal receiving means.
3. The haptic system of claim 2, wherein the first signal is generated only when the first application program is active in the multi-tasking environment, and the second signal is generated only when the second application program is active in the multi-tasking environment.
4. The haptic system of claim 2, wherein the transmitting means comprises a network.
5. The haptic system of claim 4, wherein the first application program is a first computer process thread running on a network server, and the second application program is a second computer process thread running on the network server.
6. The haptic system of claim 4, wherein the multitasking environment comprises a plurality of networked computers.
7. The haptic system of claim 1, wherein the first signal is a representation of a first data set comprising one or more force effects associated with the first application program, and wherein the second signal is a representation of a second data set comprising one or more force effects associated with the second application program.
8. The haptic system of claim 1, further comprising a wireless receiver configured to receive the first signal and the second signal.
9. The haptic system of claim 1, wherein the first generating means comprises a first haptic device adapted for use by a first user, and the second generating means comprises a second haptic device adapted for use by a second user.
10. The haptic system in claim 1, wherein the first force sensation is replicated in a plurality of user interface devices, and the second force sensation is replicated in a plurality of user interface devices.
11. A data structure embodied on one or more computer readable media, comprising:
a first routine for storing a plurality of data sets in memory, each data set comprising a representation of one or more force effects, wherein each one of the plurality of data sets is associated with one software application; and
a second routine for selecting one data set from among the plurality of data sets.
12. A haptic system comprising:
a moveable device;
a first processor configured to operate in a first mode and a second mode, the first processor being configured to send a first signal, wherein the first signal indicates absolute position information of the moveable device when the first processor is operating in the first mode, and wherein the first signal indicates relative position information of the moveable device when the first processor is operating in the second mode; and
a force sensation generator configured to output a force sensation when the first processor is operating in the first mode, the force sensation generator not being configured to output a force sensation when the first processor is operating in the second mode.
13. The haptic system of claim 12, wherein the first processor is further configured to receive a second signal from a second processor, and wherein the first processor is further configured to calculate the absolute position information at least partially based on the second signal.
14. The haptic system of claim 12, wherein the first processor is further configured to calculate the absolute position information at least partially based on the ballistic parameters.
15. The haptic system of claim 12, further comprising:
a sensor configured to emit a third signal,
wherein the first processor is further configured to calculate the absolute position information at least partially based on the third signal.
16. The haptic system of claim 12, further comprising:
a sensor configured to emit a third signal,
wherein the first processor is further configured to receive a second signal from a second processor;
wherein the first processor is further configured to calculate the relative position information at least partially based on the second signal; and
wherein the first processor is further configured to calculate the relative position information at least partially based on the third signal.
17. The haptic system of claim 12, wherein the first processor is configured to send a fourth signal containing force feedback information to the force sensation generator.
18. A haptic computer system comprising:
a computer memory storing a first application program and a second application program;
means for running the first application program during a first time period, and the second application during a second time period that overlaps with the first time period in a multi-tasking environment;
a force sensation generator configured to output a first set of one or more force sensations associated with the first application program, and a second set of one or more force sensations associated with the second application program.
19. A software method in a multi-tasking environment comprising:
storing a plurality of data sets in memory, each data set comprising a representation of one or more force effects, wherein each one of the plurality of data sets is associated with one software application;
calling an application programming interface;
determining which one of a plurality of application programs is active in the multi-tasking environment; and
generating a signal representing the data set associated with the active application program.