Single side release vehicle article carrier system and method

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/742,153, filed on Dec. 2, 2005. The disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention relates to vehicle article carrier systems, and more particularly, to a single side release vehicle article carrier system that incorporates a cross bar having a latching mechanism that allows both ends of the cross bar to be locked or unlocked from associated support rails simultaneously from one side of the cross bar.

Vehicle article carriers are used in a wide variety of applications to transport a wide variety of articles on an exterior surface of a motor vehicle, such as a car, truck, SUV, etc. Often such vehicle article carrier systems include a pair of side rails that are fixedly mounted to a roof portion of the vehicle, and a pair of cross bars that are coupled between the side rails. The cross bars are used to support articles thereon above an outer body surface of the vehicle. One or more of the cross bars may be adjustable in position along the side rails so that the spacing between the cross bars can be optimized to best suit a particular article being supported on the cross bars.

Some vehicle article carrier systems employ cross bars that have a single side release mechanism. However, these mechanisms are often complex and/or expensive to construct. A single side release mechanism allows the locking components at each end of the cross bar to be simultaneously released from engagement with both of the side rails, when an operator manually engages an actuating or unlocking element at one side of the cross bar. Thus, there is no need for the user to walk around to the opposite side of the vehicle to unlock the other end of the cross bar; both locking mechanisms at opposite ends of the cross bar are simultaneously locked and unlocked from one side of the cross bar.

While such single side release mechanisms used with cross bars in an article carrier system have proven to be effective and to have added significant convenience and ease to the operation and adjustment of the cross bars of a vehicle article carrier system, it would nevertheless be desirable to provide a vehicle article carrier system having a single side releasable cross bar that has a simple, yet robust construction. It would further be desirable to provide a single side releasable cross bar that has a minimum number of independent component parts required for implementing the single side release feature.

The present disclosure is directed to a vehicle article carrier system incorporating at least one single side release cross bar. The cross bar achieves the single sided release function with a minimal number of independent component parts and provides a robust structure that is simple and convenient for an operator to use.

In one preferred form, a cross bar of the system includes an end support assembly at each end thereof. Each end support assembly includes a pivotally mounted locking member. One of the locking members also includes structure which enables an operator to easily manually grasp a portion of the locking member and to move it from a locked position to an unlocked position. The two locking members are coupled by a cable that extends within an interior area of the cross bar. The cable is coupled to each of the locking members such that movement of one of the locking members from a locked position to an unlocked position causes simultaneous movement of the locking mechanism at the opposite end of the cross bar from its locked to its unlocked position. In one preferred form, the cable is a steel cable coated with nylon.

In one preferred embodiment, each of the locking members, when moved into their unlocked positions, enable the cross bar to be lifted directly off of the support side rails. Thus, the cross bar can be easily removed from the side rails when it is not needed for use, without any disassembly of the side rails being required.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a motor vehicle incorporating a vehicle article carrier system in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the article carrier system with the locking members of each end support assembly of the cross bar in their unlocked positions, ready to allow the cross bar to be lifted off of the side rails;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the vehicle article carrier system with the locking members in locked positions;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the end support assemblies of the cross bar of FIG. 2 , which a user would manually grasp to unlock both of the locking members simultaneously;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the end support at the opposite end of the cross bar to that shown in FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the end support that includes the user actuable locking member showing the internal components of the end support assembly;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the end support assembly that is not user actuatable, illustrating the internal components of the end support assembly;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of the locking member that is manually actuatable by the user;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of the non-user actuatable locking member;

FIGS. 10 and 11 are enlarged side views of the user actuatable locking member in its unlocked and locked positions, respectively;

FIG. 12 is a side view of the non-manually engageable locking member in its unlocked position;

FIG. 13 is a side view of the end support of FIG. 12 but showing the non-manually engageable locking member in its locked position;

FIG. 14 is a side view of the cross bar showing both of the locking members at opposite ends of the cross bar in their unlocked positions; and

FIG. 15 is a side view of the cross bar with the locking members both in their locked positions.

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.

Referring to FIG. 1 , there is shown a vehicle article carrier system 10 positioned on an exterior body surface (i.e., roof) 12 of a motor vehicle 14 . The vehicle article carrier system 10 includes a pair of support rails in the form of side rails 16 a and 16 b . Side rails 16 a and 16 b are fixedly secured to the outer body surface 12 via four support feet 18 , such that the side rails 16 a , 16 b are elevated above the outer body surface 12 . In one preferred form, the system 10 includes a fixed cross bar 20 having end support assemblies 22 that can be fixed at the front or rear of system 10 . The cross bar 20 is not movable along the side rails 16 a , 16 b . In a specific embodiment, a movable tubular cross bar 24 is included having end-support assemblies 26 and 28 . End support assemblies 26 and 28 can be placed in either locked or unlocked positions. In unlocked positions, the cross bar 24 can be lifted off of the side rails 16 a and 16 b when the cross bar 24 is not needed for use. In their locked positions, the end support assemblies 26 and 28 secure the cross bar 24 fixedly at a desired point along the side rails 16 a , 16 b . In an alternative preferred embodiment, the system 10 includes two cross bars, such as two cross bars 24 , each having a pair of end supports 26 and 28 , that are both removable from the side rails 16 a and 16 b , and are both adjustably positionable along the side rails 16 a , 16 b.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 , the system 10 is shown apart from the vehicle 14 . In FIG. 2 , the end support assemblies 26 and 28 can be seen to include locking members 30 and 32 , respectively. Locking member 32 can be seen to include a lip 34 which enables it to be easily manually grasped by an individual and lifted into the position shown in FIG. 2 . The locking member 30 does not include any such lip. FIG. 3 illustrates the locking members 30 , 32 in their locked positions. With the locking members 30 , 32 in their positions shown in FIG. 2 , the cross bar 24 can be moved slidably along the side rails 16 a , 16 b , or it can be lifted vertically off of the side rails 16 a and 16 b if needed. With the locking members 30 and 32 in the position shown in FIG. 3 , the cross bar 24 is held fixedly on the side rails 16 a , 16 b.

FIG. 4 shows an enlarged perspective view of the end support assembly 28 . The end support assembly 28 includes a housing 36 having an opening 38 within which the locking member 32 sits, A clamping portion 40 lies over the side rail 16 b . A tubular neck portion 42 receives an end of the cross bar 24 and is secured thereto by suitable threaded fasteners (not visible).

End support assembly 26 is shown in enlarged fashion in FIG. 5 . Assembly 26 includes a housing 44 having an opening 46 within which the locking member 30 resides. A clamping portion 48 rests over side rail 16 a . A tubular neck portion 50 receives an end of the cross bar 24 and is secured to the end of the cross bar 24 via threaded fasteners (not shown).

FIG. 6 illustrates the internal structure of the end support assembly 28 . Tubular neck portion 42 is secured to the end of the cross bar 24 by threaded fasteners 52 extending through openings 54 in the neck portion 42 . The locking member 32 is pivotally supported via a pivot pin 56 . The pivot pin 56 is supported at its ends within recesses in the housing 36 such that the locking member 32 can be freely pivoted between locked and unlocked positions. The locking member 32 is biased into its locked position, as shown in FIG. 6 , by a spring 58 . With additional reference to FIG. 8 , the spring 58 includes a first end 58 a positioned in a slot 59 that abuts a wall portion 60 of the slot 59 . Portion 58 b of the spring 58 abuts an internal wall of the housing 36 such that the locking member 32 is continuously biased into the locked position shown in FIG. 6 .

With further reference to FIGS. 6 and 8 , a cable 62 is secured within a pocket 64 of the locking member 32 . The cable 62 includes an enlarged head portion 66 that fits within the pocket 64 . The cable extends through a groove 68 formed in the locking member 32 and through the interior area of the tubular cross bar 24 .

With specific reference to FIG. 6 , side rail 16 b can also be seen to include a plurality of openings 70 . With reference to FIGS. 6 , 10 and 11 , the locking member 32 can be seen to include a jaw portion 72 having a head portion 74 . Head portion 74 projects through one of the openings 70 when the jaw portion 72 is aligned with the selected opening 70 to allow the end support assembly 28 to be fixedly secured to the side rail 16 b at a desired longitudinal position.

Referring to FIGS. 9 , 12 and 13 , the locking member 30 is shown in greater detail. The tubular neck portion 50 is secured via threaded fasteners 76 that extend through openings 78 in the neck portion 50 to secure the neck portion 50 to an end of the cross bar 24 . The locking member 30 is mounted within the housing 44 of the end support assembly 26 for pivotal movement via pivot pin 80 . Pivot pin 80 is positioned within recesses (not visible) in the housing 44 such that the locking member 30 is free to pivot between the positions shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 . A biasing spring 82 having leg portions 82 a and 82 b is positioned within a pocket 90 ( FIGS. 7 , 9 , 12 and 13 ) and biases the locking member 30 into the locked position, as shown in FIG. 13 . The locking member 32 includes a lower jaw 84 having a head portion 86 , as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 , for engaging with one of openings 87 , of its associated side rail 16 a . In this regard, it will be appreciated that side rail 16 a is preferably of identical construction to side rail 16 b , and includes a plurality of spaced apart openings, such as openings 70 for side rail 16 b in FIG. 6 , to enable adjustable positioning of the end support assembly 26 at specific, desired positions along its side rail 16 a.

With further reference to FIGS. 7 and 9 , the end of the cable 62 opposite to head portion 66 includes an enlarged head portion 88 which is captured in a pocket 90 in the locking member. The cable 62 is preferably a steel cable coated with a layer of nylon, but any material having suitable strength could be employed. The spring 82 biases the locking member 30 into the closed position, as shown in FIG. 13 , by having leg portion 82 b abut a wall portion 92 ( FIG. 7 ) of the locking member 30 , while leg 82 a portion abuts an interior wall portion of the housing 44 .

To help guide the cable 62 for smooth movement through the cross bar 24 and the end support assemblies 26 and 28 , a channel 94 is formed in the housing 36 , as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 .

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15 , when the user needs to remove the cross bar 24 from the side rails 16 a , 16 b or to reposition the cross bar 24 along the side rails, the user grasps and lifts the lip portion 34 of locking member 32 and moves the locking member 32 rotationally (clockwise in FIGS. 14 and 15 ) from the position shown in FIG. 15 to the position shown in FIG. 14 . This moves the head portion 74 of the jaw 72 out of engagement with one of the openings 70 in the side rail 16 b . This rotational movement also draws the cable 62 to the right in the drawing of FIG. 14 , which simultaneously causes pivoting movement of locking member 30 from its locked position ( FIG. 15 ) to its unlocked position ( FIG. 14 ). In the unlocked position of FIG. 14 , the jaws 84 and 72 of the locking members 30 and 32 , respectively, clear their respective side rails 16 a , 16 b and enable the entire cross bar 24 , together with end supports 26 and 28 to be lifted directly off the side rails 16 a , 16 b . When the user releases the locking member 32 , the biasing force provided by springs 58 and 82 simultaneously return the locking members 30 and 32 to the positions shown in FIG. 15 . Accordingly, locking and unlocking of both of the end support assemblies 26 and 28 can be accomplished simply by moving the locking member 32 between its locked and unlocked positions. The user then is not required to first unlock one end of the cross bar 24 , and then walk around to the opposite side of the vehicle to separately unlock the opposite end of the cross bar.

The system 10 accomplishes simultaneous locking and unlocking of the end support assemblies 26 and 28 with a minimum number of independent component parts. Importantly, the cross bar 24 can be removed from its associated side rails 16 a , 16 b without any disassembly of the side rails. The cross bar 24 can also be positively secured at various predetermined locations along the side rails 16 a , 16 b by engagement within selected ones of the spaced apart openings 70 along each of the side rails 16 a , 16 b.

While various preferred embodiments have been described, those skilled in the art will recognize modifications or variations which might be made without departing from the inventive concept. The examples illustrate the invention and are not intended to limit it. Therefore, the description and claims should be interpreted liberally with only such limitation as is necessary in view of the pertinent prior art.