Abstract:
A vehicle article carrier apparatus for supporting articles above an outer body surface of a vehicle that has a pair of support rails fixedly secured to the outer body surface. Each support rail may have at least one structural feature in a wall portion thereof. At least one cross bar having a pair of end supports may be supported on the support rails. At least one of the end supports may have a pivotally mounted locking lever and a pivotally mounted locking member operatively coupled together. The locking member may have an element adapted to engage the at least one structural feature in the support rail. Structure associated with each of the locking lever, a housing of the end support, and the locking member cooperate to prevent the locking lever from being moved into a seated position in a recess of the housing if the end support is not aligned with the structural feature in the support rail.

Description:
FIELD 
       [0001]    The present disclosure relates to vehicle article carrier systems, and more particularly to a vehicle article carrier system employing an end support that cannot be fully locked to an associated support rail unless the end support is properly aligned with particular structure of the support rail. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art. 
         [0003]    Vehicle article carriers are used in a wide variety of applications to support various articles above an outer body surface of a vehicle. In one specific implementation at least one cross bar is supported above the outer body surface by a pair of support rails. Typically the cross bar has an end support at each end thereof that is in some way coupled to one of the support rails to prevent the cross bar from moving along the support rails. In some previous systems the cross bar has structure that engages the support rail at predetermined locations along the support rail. It would be desirable to provide some form of end support for a cross bar that is able to be coupled at predetermined locations along a pair of support rails, but which cannot be locked to its respective support rail unless it is properly aligned at a predetermined longitudinal location on the support rails. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    In one aspect the present disclosure relates to a vehicle article carrier apparatus for supporting articles above an outer body surface of a vehicle. The apparatus may comprise a pair of support rails fixedly secured to the outer body surface and extending parallel to a major longitudinal axis of the vehicle. Each support rail may include at least one structural feature associated with a wall portion thereof. A pair of cross bars may be included that are adapted to be positioned to extend transversely between the support rails and to be supported on the support rails above the outer body surface, for supporting articles thereon. Each cross bar may include:
       at least a pair of end supports, with each end support including:
           a housing having a recess, the recess including a pocket therein;   a pivotally supported locking lever configured to be moved from an open, unlocked position, to a closed, locked position in which the locking lever is seated within the recess;   a locking member pivotally supported from the housing and operatively associated with the locking lever so as to be moved pivotally toward a wall of the support rail when the locking lever is moved from the open position to the closed position, and away from the wall when the locking member is moved from the closed position to the open position; and   the locking member, the housing and the locking lever each including structure that cooperatively enable the locking member to interfere with movement of the locking lever into the closed position when the end support is not longitudinally aligned with the structural feature in its respective said support rail.   
               
 
         [0010]    In another aspect the present disclosure relates to a vehicle article carrier apparatus for supporting articles above an outer body surface of a vehicle. The apparatus may comprise a pair of support rails fixedly secured to the outer body surface and extending parallel to a major longitudinal axis of the vehicle. A pair of cross bars may be adapted to be positioned to extend transversely between the support rails and to be supported on the support rails above the outer body surface, for supporting articles thereon. Each cross bar may include:
       a pair of end supports secured at opposing ends thereof, with each of the end supports including:   a housing having a recess, the recess including a pocket therein;   a pivotally supported locking lever configured to be moved from an open, unlocked position, to a closed, locked position in which the locking lever is seated within the recess;   a locking member pivotally supported from the housing and operatively associated with the locking lever so as to be moved pivotally when the locking lever is moved from the open position to the closed position, the locking member including an element for projecting into a hole in a wall portion of an associated one of the support rails when the end support is longitudinally aligned with the hole and the locking lever is moved into the closed position, thus enabling the locking lever to be seated in the recess; and   the locking member including a portion that interferes with a portion of the locking lever when the end support is not aligned with the hole and an attempt it made to move the locking lever into the closed position within the recess, to thus provide an indication to a user that the element of the end support is not engaged with the hole in the support rail.       
 
         [0016]    In still another aspect the present disclosure may include a vehicle article carrier apparatus for supporting articles above an outer body surface of a vehicle. The apparatus may comprise a pair of support rails fixedly secured to the outer body surface and extending parallel to a major longitudinal axis of the vehicle. A pair of cross bars may be included that are adapted to be positioned to extend transversely between the support rails and to be supported on the support rails above the outer body surface, for supporting articles thereon. Each cross bar may include:
       a pair of end supports secured at opposing ends thereof, with each end support including:
           a housing having a recess, the recess including a pocket therein;   a pivotally supported locking lever configured to be moved from an open, unlocked position, to a closed, locked position in which the locking lever is seated within the recess;   a locking member pivotally supported from the housing and including a through hole;   a pivot block rotationally supported within the through hole;   a T-shaped member pivotally coupled to the locking lever and engaged with the pivot block to enable pivotal movement of the locking lever to cause a pivoting movement of the locking member when the locking lever is moved between the open position and the closed position;   the locking member further including an element that projects into a hole in a wall portion of an associated one of the support rails when the end support is longitudinally aligned with the hole and the locking lever is moved into the closed position, thus enabling the locking lever to be seated in the recess; and   the locking member further including a projecting lip portion extending therefrom that projects into the pocket in the recess of the housing, and which interferes with the tongue of the locking lever when the end support is not aligned with the hole and an attempt is made to move the locking lever into the closed position within the recess. This provides an indication to a user that the element of the end support is not engaged with the hole in the support rail.   
               
 
         [0025]    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. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0026]    The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. 
           [0027]      FIG. 1  is a simplified perspective view of one embodiment of a vehicle article carrier in accordance with the present disclosure; 
           [0028]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of one end support of one of the cross bars shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0029]      FIG. 3  is a side partial cross sectional view of the end support of  FIG. 2  in assembled form, with the locking lever in its fully closed (i.e., locked) position; 
           [0030]      FIG. 4  is a side partial cross sectional view of the end support of  FIG. 3  but with the rounded nose of the threaded element misaligned with a hole in the support rail, and illustrating how the locking lever is prevented from fully seating within the recess in the end support housing during this misalignment condition; 
           [0031]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the end support of  FIG. 3  illustrating the two tongue portions on the locking lever and the two corresponding pockets in the housing that the tongue portions engage in when the locking lever is fully seated in the recess of the housing; and 
           [0032]      FIG. 6  is another embodiment of the end support illustrating how the locking member may be formed to include an elongated, angular projecting portion that extends through an opening in a pocket at an upper end of the end support housing. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0033]    The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features. 
         [0034]    Referring to  FIG. 1  there is shown one embodiment of a vehicle article carrier  10  in accordance with the present disclosure. The vehicle article carrier  10  may have a pair of elongated support rails  12  that are fixedly secured to an outer body surface  14  of a vehicle  16  so as to extend generally parallel to a major longitudinal axis of the vehicle  16 . One or more cross bars  18  may be removably secured to the support rails  12 . Typically two cross bars  18  are employed and at least one is able to be positioned at various locations along the support rails  12 . Each cross bar  18  may have an end support  20  at its opposing ends that may be locked to an associated one of the support rails  12 . In this regard, in the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1  each of the support rails  12  may have at least one structural feature  22 , and more preferably a plurality of such structural features spaced along a longitudinal length thereof. In one embodiment the structural features  22  may form a plurality of holes, and will hereafter be referred to simply as “holes  22 ”. The holes  22  may be formed so as to be spaced apart at predetermined locations along the longitudinal length of each support rail  12 , with the holes  22  further being arranged such that each of the cross bars  18  may be secured to extend perpendicularly along between the support rails  12  when the end supports  20  are secured at the holes  22  in the support rails  12 . 
         [0035]    With reference to  FIG. 2 , one of the end supports  20  can be seen in greater detail. It will be appreciated that each of the end supports  20  shown in  FIG. 1  may be identical in construction. The end support  20  includes a housing  24  having a neck portion  26  which is fixedly secured to a tubular section  28  of the cross bar  18  via one or more threaded fasteners  30 . The housing  24  also includes a recess  32  in which a pivotally mounted locking lever  34  resides when the locking lever  34  is in its fully locked position. With brief reference also to  FIG. 5 , the locking lever  34  can be seen to also include a pair of spaced apart tongues  36 . The tongues  36  project into the recess  32  when the locking lever  34  is closed. The locking lever  34  further includes a bore  38  in which a head portion  42  of a T-shaped member  40  is captured. The head of the T-shaped member  40  is able to pivot about the head  42  when a user grasps an upper end  43  of the locking lever  34  and manipulates it towards or away from the recess  32 . The T-shaped member  40  also allows the locking lever  34  to be rotated about a longitudinal axis extending through the threaded shaft portion  44 , to thus apply a pre-tensioning force before the locking lever  34  is pivoted into its fully closed position, which will be explained further in the following paragraphs. 
         [0036]    With further reference to  FIG. 2  the end support  20  can also be seen to include a locking member  46  that is operatively coupled to the locking lever  34  when the end support  20  is fully assembled. The locking member  46  may have a depending panel portion  48  with a pair of threaded openings  50 , a tubular portion  52 , an upper end  54  having a bore  56 , and a projecting lip portion  58 . The tubular portion  52  may include a through hole  60  and a secondary hole  61  arranged transverse to the through hole  60 , the purpose of both of which will be described shortly. A compliance member  62 , which may be a suitably thick rubber pad, may also be included for protecting the surface of the support rail  12  and ensuring a suitably sufficient clamping force. A pair of threaded elements  64  having rounded nose portions  66 , and preferably made from metal or some other suitable strong material, may be threaded into the threaded openings  50  of the panel portion  48 . However, it will be appreciated that while a pair of the threaded elements  64  are used in this embodiment, that possibly a single threaded element  64 , or possibly more than two such threaded elements  64 , may be employed. In one embodiment the locking member  46  may be formed as a full die-cast component with a single projecting rounded nose portion. 
         [0037]    Referring further to  FIG. 2 , the locking member  46  is pivotally supported relative to the housing  24  by a pivot pin  68  that extends through a bore  70  in the housing  24  and through the bore  56  in the upper end  56  of the locking member  46 . A pivot block  72  having a threaded bore  74  has rounded sides  76  and is dimensioned to be slidably inserted within the through hole  60  of the locking member  46 . The threaded shaft portion  44  is dimensioned to be threadably engaged within the threaded bore  74  of the pivot block  72  when the pivot block is inserted in through hole  60  and the threaded shaft portion  44  is inserted through the secondary hole  61  and threadably engaged in the threaded bore  74 . The through hole  60  and rounded sides  76  of the pivot block  72  enable the pivot block to rotate freely within the through hole  60 . The secondary hole  61  is dimensioned to provide the needed clearance for allowing a small degree of rotational movement between the threaded shaft portion  44  and the tubular portion  52 . A second compliance member  77 , which may be a suitably thick rubber pad, shaped in accordance with a contour of a lower surface  79  of the housing  24 , which itself conforms to a profile of an upper portion of the support rail  12 , may be secured to the lower surface  79  to protect the end support  20  and to ensure secure attachment of the end support  20  to its associated support rail  12  when the end support is clamped to the support rail  12 . 
         [0038]    Once the pivot block  72  and T-shaped member  40  are assembled to one another, and the pivot block  72  inserted in the through hole  60  of the locking member  46 , then pivoting movement of the locking lever  34  will cause pivotal movement of the locking member  46  about the pivot pin  68 . Rotational movement of the locking lever  34  in accordance with arrow  78  will cause a lower end  80  of the locking lever to be tightened, which effectively tightens the locking member  46 , relative to the housing  24 , when the locking lever  34  is urged from an open (unlocked) position to a closed (locked) position within the recess  32  in the housing  24 . To this end it will be appreciated that an edge surface  82  at the lower end  80  of the locking lever  34  provides an over-center locking action which serves to help maintain the locking lever  34  in its locked position once the locking lever is fully seated in the recess  32 . Optionally the locking lever  34  may also include a locking key  84  that may be disposed within a hole  86  at the upper end  43  of the locking lever  34 . The locking key  84  may rest within a recess  88  and a keyed shaft portion  90  may engage within a key shaped opening  92  in the recess  32  of the housing  24 . Rotation of the locking key  84  through manipulation with one or more fingers of a hand locks the upper end  43  of the locking lever  34  in its locked position in the recess  32  when the locking lever is fully seated within the recess  32 . The recess  32  has a pocket portion  93  at an upper end thereof which permits the upper end  43  of the locking lever  34  to be engaged with a finger when the locking lever  34  is fully seated in the recess  32 . 
         [0039]    With reference now to  FIGS. 2 ,  3  and  5 , the housing  24  can be seen to also include pockets  94  into which the tongues  36  project when the locking lever  34  is in its fully locked position, as shown specifically in  FIG. 3 . The rounded nose portion  66  is shown in phantom extending through one of the holes  22  in a wall portion  12   a  of the support rail  12  so as to project into an interior area of the support rail. Thus, when the end support  20  is longitudinally aligned with the hole  22 , the rounded nose portions  66  of each of the threaded elements  64  can be fully seated within respective ones of the holes  22 , and the projecting lip portion  58  of the locking member  46  will not interfere with entry of the tongues  36  into the pockets  94 . Thus, complete seating of the locking lever  34  in the recess  32  can be accomplished. Put differently, when the end support  20  is longitudinally aligned with a pair of the holes  22 , the rounded nose portions  66  of the threaded elements  64  are able to be fully engaged in the holes  22  in the support rail  12 , and the projecting lip portion  58  will be positioned such that it is not blocking the pockets  94  in the recess  32 . This allows the tongues  36  to move fully into the pockets  94 , which in turn permits the locking lever  34  to be fully seated within the recess  32 . When the locking lever  34  is in the closed (i.e. locked) position, an outer surface  35  is generally flush with an outer surface  24   a  of the housing  24 , which provides the end support  20  with an aesthetically pleasing and highly aerodynamic profile. 
         [0040]    Referring briefly to  FIG. 4 , the end support  20  is shown when the end support  20  is not longitudinally aligned with the hole  22 . The rounded nose portion  66  of the threaded element  64  is not aligned with the hole  22 , and therefore is abutting an inner wall portion  12   a  of the support rail  12 . In this position the tongues  36  are blocked from entering the pockets  94  by the projecting lip portion  58 . As a result, the user will not be able to fully close the locking lever  34 . This provides a highly useful means of indicating to the user that the end support  20  is not properly aligned with the holes  22  and is therefore not fully locked to the support rail  12 . Accordingly, there is significantly less chance that the user may inadvertently leave the locking lever  34  in only a partially closed position. 
         [0041]    Referring to  FIG. 6  another embodiment of an end support  20 ′ for the cross bar  18  is shown. End support  20 ′ is substantially identical to the end support  20  and common components with those of the end support  20  will be denoted using the same reference number but with a prime (′) symbol. A locking member  46 ′ in this embodiment includes an elongated, angled projecting portion  58 ′ that projects through a slot  93   a  in the pocket  93 ′ of the housing  24 ′ when the rounded noses  66 ′ of the threaded elements  64 ′ are not aligned with a pair of holes  22  in the support rail  12 . The elongated, angled projecting portion  58 ′ thus interferes with the upper end  43 ′ of the locking lever  34 ′ being fully seated within the recess  32 ′ within the housing  24 ′. In this embodiment it will be noted that the tongue portions  36  of the locking lever  34  are not required. When the rounded noses  66 ′ of the threaded elements  64 ′ are fully seated within a corresponding pair of the holes  22 , then the elongated, angled projecting portion  58 ′ will be placed in a position (shown partially in phantom) that permits the locking lever  34 ′ to be fully seated within the recess  32 ′. Those of ordinary skill in this art will appreciate that various other implementations of the locking members  46  and  46 ′, that accomplish preventing the locking levers  34  or  34 ′ from being fully seated in the recesses  32  or  32 ′, will be possible as well, and that these examples are intended to be non-limiting. 
         [0042]    The various embodiments thus form economical and easily implemented end support configurations that permit the user to be made aware from the end support is not properly aligned with the holes in a support rail. Advantageously, the various embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented with a relatively few independent component parts that do not appreciably increase the complexity of the end support either from a manufacturing complexity or an assembly complexity standpoint. The various components may be formed from high strength plastics, aluminum or steel (preferably stainless steel), or any other suitable components. 
         [0043]    While various embodiments have been described, those skilled in the art will recognize modifications or variations which might be made without departing from the present disclosure. The examples illustrate the various embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Therefore, the description and claims should be interpreted liberally with only such limitation as is necessary in view of the pertinent prior art.